Observations.

As to these Prayers for His Majesty, I shall on­ly Note, That if this Paper and these Prayers are real, Then this Dying Lord appears not to have been altogether of the same Religion with many Learned and Leading Roman Catholick Priests of Ireland, (even since his Majesties Reign and happy Restaura [...]ion) For I find they had great Scruples of Conscience about Praying for his Majesty, Nay utterly denyed to do it: And for Evidence hereof, I shall produce a Wit­ness of their own, No worse man then Father Peter Walsh a Franciscan Fryar, who in his Book, Intituled, The History of the Loyal Formulary; Printed 1674. Fol. 706. and 707. Assures us, That at their Popish National Synod held at Dublin in the year 1666. (the like of which, he says elsewhere they had not held since Q. Maries days) He himself propounded this very matter to the Fathers to be Debated, and pray'd a posi­tive Decree in the Point, Saying—That he know MANY CHURCH-MEN Omitted to pray in publick at their Altars for the King, that is, at all so much as for his Spiritual Welfare; yea some, for example, Father Dominick Dempsy a Franiiscan (Esteemed a very Grave and Holy man, and there­fore a Leading Person) and Father Long the Je­suite, Asserted, That because the King was out of the Roman Catholick Church, it was not Lawful to pray for Him ATT ALL; or at least not pub­lickly on any other day in the year than Good Fri­day, nor then in particular for Him, but in Gene­ral only, that is, forasmuch as he was Comprehend­ed amongst the great Generality of Infidels, or of Jews, Mahumetons, Pagans and Hereticks, for whom altogether the Church Prayed on Good-Fry­day, as being Anniversary of that Day whereon our Saviour Dyed for all the Children of Adam in ge­neral; Nor yet then, or so to pray for Him with­out [Page]some further Qualification and Restriction of what we should Beg of God, or wish from Heaven to Him, that is, To Pray only for what concern'd the Spiritual Welfare of his Soul, and therefore on­ly to Pray for his Conversion to the Roman Ca­tholick Church, but not for His Temporal Prospe­rity in this Wor [...], until He be a true Member of the only true C [...]rch.—Thus far the very Words of Father Walshes Testimony of the punctual Doctrine of those Holy Loyal Fathers in this Case. But it seems they were none of my Lord Petre's Confessors; And yet perhaps They might too; For who knows but this Letter was writ on a Good-Fryday? Since the Publishers have put no Date to it; Which 'tis like was not Omit­ted but for some special Design, since it might otherwise, (if the Letter were real) be of great use to give his Majesty Satisfaction how near his Death he made it.

Observations.

1. Touching my Lord Petre's Guilt or Inno­cency, I meddle not; He is gone to his place: But this I will say, That the Contrivers of this Letter might however have had more manners than to Call a Legal Impeachment in the High­est Court of Judicature of this Kingdom, A false and Injurious Calumny.

2. The Strength of this Protestation as to us, (for how it is in it self true or false, we cannot Determine,) Depends first on the Truth of this Paper's being the Lord Petre's own handy work, which we have already Detected of seve­ral Symptomes of Forgery, and till that be bet­ter clear'd, it can be of no Force at all; but on­ly to add to the Suspition of his Guilt, if it should prove Forg'd; for Innocence never desires its Friends should invent Shams or Lies for its Re­putation, tho' it self be never so much Oppress'd by Calumny. 2dly. Suppose it Real, 'Tis only a Dying Romanists word in his own Case, and wherein the Reputation of his Church is highly Concern'd; And it may be he could not get an Absolution from his Ghostly Father without he sign'd this Paper; And therefore how far the same is to be Credited, any that are acquainted with the Popish Priests Practical Divinity, and the Wicked Tyrannies and Devilish Impostures they dayly Impose on poor Dying Creatures [...] will soon be able to judge.

3. In this Protest, there seems a Fallacy or E­quivocation in the very Words, For he speaks of Oates's having Sworn that He (the Lord Petre) received a Commission [...]onstituting him Lieute­nant. General of an Army, which was to come into England, and protests he never saw any Such Commission; whereas I believe it will be found Oats deposed not of an Army that was to come in­to England, but to be raised in England; And be­sides, as I Remember, Oats tells us, That they call'd these Instruments from the Jesuites General, Pateuts. Now this Protester denies not the receiv­ing of any Patent, Letter or Instrument from De Oliva, but only a Commission, which perhaps the [...] will now say it could not be, because Oliva ha [...] no Legal Power to grant a Commission of tha [...] kind.

Observations.

This Paragraph smells rank of a Popish Priests Contrivance, being the highest Affront imagi­nable, since it not only openly Arraigns the Government, the Wisdom, the Justice of the Nation, but in effect pro­claims, his Sacred Majesty (horresco referent!) several Parliaments, all our Judges, &c. to be all Fools or Madmen. But so far is it from Truth, That any sober men are Convinced of the Folly or falshood of Mr. Oat's Evidence, That it stands still unshaken by all the little Arts the Romanists have used to supplant it, and firm as the Pillars of the Earth (for so is every Truth.) Whereas true it is on the other side all sober men cannot but observe the Numerous Calumnies and Subornations, &c.—Which the Papists have set on foot to Blast Oats's Credit, have been abundantly detected by Providence to their Confusion, and are legible in our Records to all future Generations, as in the Case of Knox and Lane, &c.—And what need was there of such Hellish Artifices, if their Cause durst have look­ed Heaven and Truth, and Innocence in the Face?

But we may rationally make Judgment of the whole Paper by that which follows; For he that will Avouch with the highest Asseverations one Notorious Untruth, cannot expect to be believed in his other Affirmations, by any that are not Bankrupt of Reason, and too prodigal of their Faith.

Observations.

What an Innocent Loyal parcel of Folks would this man perswade us, his Church of Rome consists of! Never, alas, was Prince Assassi­nated, Never Arms taken up by them against their Soveraigns upon the Account of Religion!—Their Church only Excommunicates a Prince, and gives him to the Devil a little, and deposes him from his Crown, if he will not believe and do as she would have Him; And then if any zealous Son of the Church shall think fit to Kill him, this is no Murthering of a King, for nei­ther is the Prince, according to her Doctrine, any longer a King, nor the Act Murther, but doing of Justice on an Enemy to God and the Church. Nor does she allow Subjects to take up Arms against their Soveraigns, only she Absolves them from their Allegiance when she thinks meet, and thenceforwards they cease to be Subjects, and their King to be their Soveraign.—What Sots, what Dolts, what ignorant not observing Cockscombs does the Author of this Libel fancy us Englishmen to be? Or how could he have the Impudence to Address this stuff to that Sagacious Majesty, who both by the Works and Perils of his Royal Grandfather; the Rebellion of the Irish Papists against his In­comparable Father; by his own Experience, and a tho [...]sand Observations, cannot but know, this bold Averment to be either wholly delusive, or utterly false. I.

For what does this Author mean by his Ro­man Catholick-Church? Or by an Authoriz'd Principle? If by Church, he intends the Pope, whom they call the Church Vertual, and whom all of their Communion are bound to obey; how many Kings has he deposed? how many Assassinations Commanded, Encouraged or Abetted? as against Queen Elizabeth, the two last Henries of France, and King Charles the first in Ire­land, where the Popes Nuntio was in the Head of the Rebels? If by Church, he under­stands Councils, acknowledged by them lawful and general, whom they call the Church Repre­sentative; They have Justified, approved and Commanded this Deposing Rebellious Doctrine, As the Council of Lions and their great Late­ran Council, held in the year 1215. in which (if they misreckon not) there were no less than 1215. Fathers; where it was Synodically and Categorically Concluded, The Pope might depose Kings, absolve their Subjects from their Oaths of Allegiance, and give away their Kingdoms. If by Authoriz'd Principle, he means the Dictates of their Canon Law, (the Rule whereby their Church acknowledges to be governed, and holds in a manner equal to Sacred Scripture) there we find the same things asserted. If the Judgment of their most famous Divines, and Casuists in their Books, unreproved, unsentenced, uncon­demned, may together with concurrent practi­ses and attempts in Fact, be supposed to be the Voice of their Church, they have avowed and justified all this, as is unanswerably proved by that Judicious Monument of Honour to our Pro­testant Church, the Reverend Bishop of Lan­colns Elaborate Treatise on this Subject. Or if you would rather, have the Testimo [...] of a Professed Romanist, hea [...] the before [...]med Father Walsh in his Preface, where amo [...]st o­ther lewd Principles, he instances these that fol­low,—That the Pope hath [...]er to depo [...] [...] ­ces, and absolve Subjects, and Command them to raise Arms against their Princes, so deposed, and to pursue them with Fire and Sword to death if they resist; And that whoever Kills any Prince by the Pope Deposed or Excommunicated, Kills not a Law­ful Prince, but [...] Ʋsurping Tyrant, and cannot be said to Murther the Anointed of God, or to Kill his own Prince; And that whoever out of pure zeal to the Roman Church, ventures himself, and dyes in the War against such a Prince, dies a True Martyr of Christ, &c. All and every one of these Tenets (saith Father Walsh) are maintained ei­ther in Formal or Vertual Terms not only by many of our most famous and most Classical Authors of all sorts, out by the Roman Bishops themselves.

Now if all or none of these are enough to de­clare to us the Sense and Principles of the Ro­man Church, (wherein our Author says this Lord dies) we must I think for ever despair of finding either what that Church is, or what it maintains.

But here again we meet with another Equi­vocation—Aspersions (as he calls them) thrown on the Roman Catholick Church, of which he knowingly affirms there is nothing more dete [...]t­ed by the Catholick Church—Very true; but nothing to his purpose; Such Principles are in­deed detested by the Catholick Church, that is, by all sincere real▪ Members of Christ; but still 'tis as true, that nothing is more plainly vouch­ed or practised by the Apostatiz'd Politick Bro­therhood that call themselves the Roman Church, who are indeed Members of Antichrist, and the Synagogue of Satan. And this our Author ta­citely acknowledges, by dropping there the word Roman, whereon the whole Hing of the Questi­on depended.

Nor is there any thing more absurd than his Suggestion in the following Clause; That his Church detests it as being expresly contrary to the Command of our Saviour, and Christian Doctrine; For is not his Churches denying the Cup to the Laiety, forbidding Priests Marriage, Injoyning Prayer in an Unknown Tongue, and many other Tenets, as expresly contrary to the Command of our Saviour and Christian Doctrine? And yet they are not ashamed not only to practise, but inforce them, under the highest Penalties.

Besides, Our Author makes the Lord only say, That he detests it as such; that is, As far as 'tis contrary to Christian Doctrine: But what if with the Popes, the Councils, the numerous Doctors of his Church before-mentioned, he believ'd Killing or Rising in Arms against an Ex­communicated Prince, not to be Murthering of a King, or Raising Rebellion against his Soveraign, according to Christs Command, when his (sup­posed) [Page]Vicar requires it, and declares it lawful; Where then is the Kings Safety, or the Papists Loyalty?

Observations.

As to the Sincerity of this Paper, the Reader may I hope by this time be better able to make a Judgment: And so I take leave of it: Being certain that all good Subjects will joyn in hearty Prayers to GOD, to Defend His Majesty from all His Enemies: And that they will also believe That no Papist that understands his Religion, and is true to it, can ever be a Friend or a Loyal Sub­ject (any longer then the Pope pleases) to a PROTESTANT PRINCE.