Vance Ferrell

Due to the widespread distribution of our tracts, we contact individuals in Europe and South America, as well as here in North America. This week, the fol­lowing letter arrived. It was mailed from a large city, as evidenced by the postmark, but there was no name or return address on the envelope or in the letter itself

We have omitted dates and place-names that might be identifying, in order to protect the writer. Here is the letter:

Dear Vance:

I have not been a Seventh-day Adventist for but a few years. But I do know what I saw in this church when I became a member in - [year]. But I loved God's truth more than mistakes of the people so I came in. I am no one of importance, I have little edu­cation, but so often I long to tell people what I know if I knew they would listen and be warned. But they won't understand, although I know there are a few that know where all this error is coming from.

I was partly educated in a Catholic school. I was asked to study to be a nun. My brothers were altar boys and my mother earnestly worked for the Church, that she and her children would be saved from the fires of hell. I have seen many things going on behind the visible scenes to the public.

I know of a priest who is married. His brother was the archbishop of - - diocese. This priest has been hired by the government and is still em­ployed under the Catholic Church and living at Our Lady of - Church on - Street in -, - and going part-time to work as a chaplain at - [Adven­tist] Hospital. I know this priest very well, and he knows the Catholic church is in error according to the scriptures from the Bible, and he will remain a priest because of his oath and the money.

Oh, I know how they pretend to believe and fool the people. But why not? After all they were taught by Satan himself to be deceivers. Here is what I learned while enrolled in one class for those who were going to be nuns. I was put into that class by error and later was transferred out in haste when they found out I did not belong there. I did not under­stand why our class went through vast details of a quit different history of the Church than my friends' classes.

But I found out that the Catholic Church sends out her people for to deceive and destroy the other churches. And my class was informed that after their vows they would work in the Catholic Church, but would go out to join the other churches and deceive them and cause them to turn or return to the Catho­lic faith. Years ago two churches were in disguise started by the Catholic Church to keep it from going under and are doing extremely well in keeping the people from joining other faiths. And these members do not know that the Catholic Church runs their church. Only those members that are nuns and priests in disguise know the absolute truth. Now this, we were taught, began years ago when one pope was im­prisoned and the church began to fall to pieces. And you know which pope that was.

We were informed that the pope had other plans that would soon cause the whole earth to be at peace. --'The churches that worship on Sunday are already in error and many of their leaders in fear have secretly paid homage to the pope and are being controlled as to how they are to run their church and teach their members. Many people [in these churches] believe the pope has no control over them but have a big sur­prise at the end that will be terrible.

Now the Church after earnest work has had a breakthrough, after years of sending in Jesuit priests. They had a tough time deceiving the people in that church that they [themselves] were [its] faithful fol­lowers. This church was a Sabbath-keeping church. It is the only one that chooses to follow error (accord­ing to Catholic teachings) and refuses to obey the pope. We were told that years ago we had to stay away from that church, as workers had been lost [who had been sent in] to that church. But now they are teaching more what should be taught, as the pope says, and are gradually falling away from their anti-Catholic errors. The girls will be trained for the work in that church, and there will be a report from the bishops that the Catholic Church will let go of some of its priests and nuns for lack of funds from Rome. Which was a lie, for they will be trained as nuns but will not work at the Catholic Church but in the other churches, but will give reports to the Church when difficulty arises. Then a priest who is already pos­itioned well can go to their aid.

Well, I can't tell you much more. I only was re­leased from that class without problems because I was stunned at their moves and too frightened to admit I understood any of the lessons. My bad grades backed me up. I wanted out of that class. My friends thought I was crazy when I spoke of what went on in that class and my mother was terribly angry at the reports from my friends' parents about me. The friends I had in that class behaved afterward as though they did not know me.

I feared for my life after being in that class and so I deceived many to believe I had forgotten all that was taught there. To me the Church was in total error and I no longer wanted to be a member of that church. I had been reading my mother's Bible since about eight years old and I believed every sweet word I read in the red lettering, and so I was aware of many errors taught by the priests. It would be easy for me to give the whole detail of my experience but I had best not.

But I do ask you to be careful. If ever anyone know I spoke of this openly they, the Catholics, would seek to destroy me secretly as all their revilers are destroyed or forced to recant.

But I fear not their strength, for "greater is He that is in me," and His strength is greater for all strength comes from Him and He is my protector as well as my guide.

It took me many years to find this Sabbath-keep­ing people, but the Lord led me at a safe pace for my own good. The Catholic Church is behind all these errors and hopes to turn it into a Sunday-keeping church or completely destroy its members by perse­cution if they will not change. And I know this for a fact. There are many Seventh-day Adventist from a Catholic background disguising it as though from other church backgrounds. But the Lord says, "I will make known your sins and no secret can be kept from Me."

The above letter is reprinted here as it was re­ceived, and this would include grammatical construc­tion and punctuation.

Any further communication with us by the above writer will be recognized by the handwriting, and we may be able to share it with you.

Although the training program was not com­pleted, enough was learned that we can have a fairly good idea of the objectives of the classroom training program, and the later results in the Protestant churches of Christendom.

This kind of activity has been going on for over four-hundred years. It began in earnest when the Pontifical Gregorian University was founded in Rome by Ignatius Loyola in the year 1551.

The Gregorian University ("Gregoriana, " as it is affectionately called by its graduates) was the first full-scale spy training school in history. It has laid the basis for other Roman Catholic secret agent schools in other countries.

Karl Marx, Nikolay Lenin, Adolf Hitler, and Benito Mussolini learned their tactics from Catholic exemplars before them.

The "Roman College," as Ignatius originally called it, began in a rented house, number fourteen via Capitolina, on the lower northern slope of that hill, near the Roman forum. As initially conceived by Loyola in 1548, it was destined to provide a lengthy course of study that would thoroughly train men to be agents of the pope, to crack open foreign govern­ments and non-Catholic churches to espionage work by Rome.

The objective was a simple one, to be carried out in four stages: (1) Bore within the organization and gain seating on authoritative committees; (2) promote a spirit of toleration and peace with separated breth­ren in Rome; (3) gradually reduce and then eliminate scholastic and printed opposition to Roman Catholic teachings; (4) restructure doctrinal positions so that they no longer conflict with those of Rome. The second and third steps were simultaneous, rather than conterminous.

Of course, the above was the more peaceful ap­proach. When permitted by national law, more direct persecution-and murder-was carried out by Jesuit agents as well as by their compatriots in other branches of the mother church.

"All that she has done in her persecution of those who reject her dogmas, she holds to be right; and would she not repeat the same acts, should the opportunity be presented? Let the restraints now imposed by secular governments be re­moved, and Rome be re-instated in her former power, and there would speedily be a revival of her tyranny and persecu­tion."-Great Controversy, 564.

"The pacific tone of Rome in the United States does not imply a change of heart. She is tolerant where she is helpless. Says Bishop O'Conner, 'Religious liberty is merely endured until the opposite can be carried into effect without peril to the Catholic world.' . . The archbishop of St. Louis once said:

'Heresy and unbelief are crimes; and in Christian countries, as in Italy and Spain, for instance, where all the people are Catholics, and where the Catholic religion is an essential part of the law of the land, they are punished as other crimes.'

" 'Every cardinal, archbishop, and bishop in the Catholic Church takes an oath of allegiance to the pope, in which occur the following words, "Heretics, schismatics, and rebels to our said lord (the pope), or his aforesaid successors, I will to my utmost persecute and oppose." -Great Controversy, 565.

"Romanism as a system is no more in harmony with the gospel of Christ now than at any former period in her history. The Protestant churches are in great darkness, or they would discern the signs of the times. The Roman Church is far-reach­ing in her plans and modes of operation. She is employing every device to extend her influence and increase her power in preparation for a fierce and determined conflict to regain con­trol of the world, to re-establish persecution, and to undo all that Protestantism has done. Catholicism is gaining ground upon every side."-Great Controversy, 565-566.

"The very beginning of the great apostasy was in seeking to supplement the authority of God by that of the church. Rome began by enjoining what God had not forbidden, and she ended by forbidding what He had explicitly enjoined." ­Great Controversy, 289-290.

"A large class, even of those who look upon Romanism with no favor, apprehend little danger from her power and in­fluence. Many urge that the intellectual and moral darkness prevailing during the Middle Ages favored the spread of her dogmas, superstitions, and oppression, and that the greater intelligence of modern times, the general diffusion of knowledge, and increasing liberality in matters of religion, forbid a revival of intolerance and tyranny. The very thought that such a state of things will exist in this enlightened age is ridiculed." -Great Controversy, 572.

"Protestants have tampered with and patronized popery; they have made compromises and concessions which papists themselves are surprised to see, and fail to understand. Men are closing their eyes to the real character of Romanism and the dangers to be apprehended from her supremacy. The people need to be aroused to resist the advances of this most dangerous foe to civil and religious liberty."-Great Controversy, 566.

"The Roman Church now presents a fair front to the world, covering with apologies her record of horrible cruelties. She has clothed herself in Christ-like garments; but she is unchanged. Every principle of the papacy that existed in past ages exists today."-Great Controversy, 571. 

Trained to be a Secret Agent part 2