"In the year 1866, Pope Pius IX. sanctioned the establishment of one of
the most appalling institutions of immorality and wickedness ever
countenanced under the form and garb of religion."
Briefly, this institution authorized priests and nuns who had been in
service long enough to inspire confidence, to live in sexual relations,
like man and wife. Dr. Fulton proceeds at length to describe how the
priest selects his nun, how he makes his wishes known to her, how he
quotes Scripture to overcome her scruples, how the "love room" is
adorned with holy emblems and images, how the priest sprinkles holy
water over the bed, how he then kneels and prays for a blessing on the
union about to take place, and then----!
As I have said a number of times, Dr. Fulton submitted his manuscript to
Anthony Comstock. The chaste Cato of New York, advised the omission of
many passages; but the whole of this hideous chapter describing how
Pope Pius IX. authorized the priests to make use of the nuns, sexually,
appears in the book with sufficient clearness to lay it in parallel
columns with the abominations of Sodom, Gomorrha, the White Slave
Traffic, the Decameron, the Heptameron, and Balzac's Merry Tales of the
Abbeys of Touraine.
Dr. Fulton's book was published in 1888. _He was never prosecuted for
that terrible charge against Pope Pius IX._ He was never sued for
libelling the priests and nuns. His charges were never officially
denied.
Cardinal Gibbons wrote his mendacious book, "The Faith of our Fathers,"
for the purpose of answering all that had been said against Popery. He
mentioned Maria Monk by name, and denounced her true story as false.
Yet, although Gibbons published his book _sixteen years after Dr. Fulton
had hurled his awful charge against Pope Pius IX._, the Baltimore priest
dared not challenge the statement of Dr. Fulton!
Maria Monk--poor, outraged, persecuted woman, was dead: Dr. Justin D.
Fulton, a fearless, powerful man, _was alive_! Gibbons was brave enough
to vilely attack the dead woman: he was too much of a contemptible
coward to attack the living man.
The living man was ready with his evidence, _and he was a fighter_--and
the catlike Gibbons knew it.