More than 20 years have gone by since my first edition was printed and put on the market in Leipzig, Germany. There were signs of reaction immediately everywhere. It was as if the spirit of man, feeling mature and strong enough, rose up with much indignation against the despotic powers of the past centuries, which had forced upon the people and nations their doctrines and heresies while governments tried their often tested and successful ways to bring any change in status quo under submission.

The censors used their office with narrow-minded rigidity to suppress news papers in spite of existing laws that allowed freedom of the press. Editors and publishers were kept on a short reign and sometimes put in prison, because what was written by them revealed the spirit of a nation that didn't understand that it had not graduated from kindergarten.

The R.C. church was very active during this time. Many old and often considered useless relics, doctrines and dogmas were brought back to live again and many made their pilgrimage to the city of Trier, Germany to see a gown of Jesus and to pray before it. Hundreds and thousands went to follow the call of the bishop of this city.

The city of Leipzig was the indisputable metropolitan of the German book exhibition and it was no accident that many successful writers met here during that time. Here also met a group of like minded authors who made it their business to start a writers guild through which many good thoughts were born that later brought forth much fruit. I was one of the 14 founders and no idle member. Together with a colleague whose name was Mr. Held I became involved with a weekly magazine called "The Locomotive" which was designed to awaken the sleeping nation with an ear piercing sound of a whistle. I had just finished the 5th volume of another book called "The Netherlands Revolution".

We thought that it was time to let the people know that the time of the spiritual slave drivers is about to come to end and that freedom was about to come back around the world.

The pilgrimage to Trier had even some of the better informed and educated Catholics up in arms. A movement came out of it which would have made quite a dent into the bishops power if they would have had a powerful leader with talent, but to simply will something is not enough and so it died again shortly after birth.

My historical studies and my research background came through "The Netherlands Revolution". It was written to show the historical facts about the struggle between Holland and Spain's Philip II. which was centered around the religious element. This brought me into contact with information and documents that no ordinary person will ever come in contact with, because they were jealously guarded by the Vatican and its priesthood so they would not ever fall into the hands of common folks. Any question regarding this subject was either carefully concealed, or mutilated and offered in revised form from the Vatican. I have read the writings of so called "church fathers" and the best known church historians and the more I read, the more I researched, the more I became aware of the baseness of the dreadful crimes , and it became more and more clear to me what the R.C. church has done to the human race. I was even more taken by the unbelievable audicities and perfidiousness with which all this was done, and still is done. I saw more and more that the slavery, under which mankind is suffering, has its roots in the R. C. church and that every effort to free ourselves from it will be doomed to fail unless we free ourselves from the spirit of religion which enslaves many men and women.

This enlightening triggered the decision to write this book so eyes would be opened to individuals and nations to give them an inside view of the R.C. workshop were the chains are wrought that keep people in bondage. The religiosity and the fanaticism that has developed from it shows itself as the most disgusting foe of freedom. To battle against it and to destroy it seems to be necessary to show the nations not only the devastating results of fanaticism on hand of historical evidence, but also to show the deceiving sources as to the authenticity of it.

Anything that was spoken by the priests was accepted as being the truth even if it stood against any previous experiences and common sense, because the people believed that priests were honest and good people who stick to the truth, are being unselfish, and had a high regard for morality. Therefore, I have began this fight the believe that authorities are better people in regard to their character and conduct and I found it quite natural to use history to shed light into the darkness created by the Vatican. Through this I can uncover, prove and sustain my findings that the people are led to the slaughter by the R.C. church through false presuppositions. To achieve such a goal I have decided through my introduction to show how the papacy, e.g. the priesthood, has developed and what the resulting consequences of it in society and priesthood has been. It was to be followed by the books the Flagellators, the Albigensians, the Waldensians, the Anabaptists, the Inquisition, and the persecution of the Jews.

This introduction gave me much trouble, because I found it nearly impossible to press hundreds of years of documentation into a narrow time frame of a few chapters. Furthermore, under the existing circumstance I had to be very selective and cautious in the selection of the material. Censorship still existed, and because of it, I was limited to facts that could be proven to be authentic and could not be challenged even by the Vatican. My great antagonist was a censor named professor Hardenstern, who did sent many of my manuscripts back with thick red lines across them, but in all instances he had to accept them because I was able to prove to him that they were all taken from existing R.C. church authority. This was the confirmation I needed because now, the book had been approved by a government whose king was a R.C. himself. The book was, except in Austria, never confiscated. The facts were never challenged by the R.C. clergy, although they condemned it with all they could muster. Most critics spoke well of my book and acknowledged the time and work that had gone into it.

Some friends suggested I had gone to far and that this book would have been more successful if I had left out the more shocking episodes. I have to disagree wholeheartedly. Would I have done what these friends had suggested it would have done the same as the Jesuits do, watering down the truth. A path that is not straight is crooked, a white lie is still a lie no matter what. It is quite possible that some Catholics did not believe the facts, but was because they could not believe that their church was actually capable of such doings, and they found much encouragement from the priesthood. Their aim was to rob me of this powerful tool, the written word.

Whoever accuses me of lying let him come forward and tell me face to face and I will show him the documents from which I have gleaned the truth spoken of by their own bishops and prelates. As far as my opinion is concerned, I have spoken often in a harsh and crude way, but I have ask myself, what right has the Vatican, e.g. the R.C. church, to demand considered and sensitive treatment. To say the truth does not hurt as much as being burned at the stake for not accepting a lie. No, what I believe as evil, I call it evil.

The R.C. church is no friend of humanity. If I expose weakness and infirmity in the enemy I will exploit it, for I am aiming at the heart.

This book is not really for the educated ones, nor is it meant for the beer parlor crowd, but for the average folks so they would read and learn something from it. If there is anything written that seems to be unbelievable may I recommend to take it up with the saints, popes, and priests that committed these atrocities. It is not my intend to take consideration of some weak willed gigolo when standing against insolent and impudent forces of hell in the fight for the truth.

Corvin 1868

INTRODUCTION TO THE THIRD EDITION

I was whole heartedly convinced that this book "The Mirror of the Clergy" has been a timely book> However, I was very much surprised that within a few weeks time a third edition was necessary, and I hope it will not be the last.

A favorable circumstance allowed me to show others the facts of past profligacy's committed by the R.C. church most of them in monasteries and that those atrocious crimes were committed during the time of Christianity, and not B.C. and that they are the consequences of the prevalent and unchangeable principles of the R.C. church which are worse today than a millennium ago. The R.C. church has however, learned to keep things hidden from the public eye and is now more secretly and crafty, and has not changed at all.

As long as the R.C. church ruled over emperors, kings, and nations unrestraint, the priesthood made little, or no attempt to cover up and hide their atrocities. The Vatican had no interest in it, and secular laws didn't have the power to check those horrendous criminals who committed crimes under the cover of religiosity, or to stop them. Even Emperors and kings who were quite willing to let the Vatican roam about at will, because they had a self-interest in keeping the multitude ignorant, were unable to bring these criminals to trial. It was because of public pressure that kings were forced to go into exile, kings that formerly supported the Catholic cause, and the priesthood who enjoyed the safety were now exposed and had nowhere to turn to.

We might laugh about it today, but when the truth takes hold and the nations begin to free themselves from the spiritual chains of the R.C. church making it impossible to have those despotic princes to return, liberty can truly arrive. The princes who now have to submit themselves to the laws of the land are no longer there to safeguard the priesthood, who constitutionally keep breaking the law. When public opinion will demand equal rights for all the privileges of the R.C. priesthood will no longer be tolerated.

The R.C. church believes that they Canon laws and ordinances are infallible and she declares that it is the spirit of the age that has gone astray and the church has it set in her mind to call a church council to move things back to its former position. It stands to reason that there is a likelihood that the Vatican's tyranny will come back.

I like to believe that it should be every citizen's duty to move governments to launch intensive investigations into the activities of the R.C. church in order to reveal the true side of this entity. Once more I like to ask the reader who mean well to all men to expose theses clergies and their crimes by writing to me with the guarantee of strict confidence. Established cases will than be publicly mentioned in future editions and in the News Paper to let the public know what they are up against.

Rorschach, Lake Constance, Germany, August 1869. Corvin