Her Own Story of Thirty-One Years as a Sister of Charity in the Order of the Sisters of Charity of Providence of the Roman Catholic Church

THE DEMANDS OF ROME

PREFACE.

After many entreaties and a sincere vow, it is now "mine to tell the story" of "The Demands of Rome" as I have lived them during my long life and faithful service in the Roman Catholic Church and sisterhood. I would sound this story in the ear of everyone who has the interest of the oppressed at heart—in the ear of everyone who has the interest of disseminating knowledge, the light and power of which would be a great help to the freeing of the captive from religious bondage. For as I view it now, religious bondage is the most direful of all.
In a few words, "The Demands of Rome" from the individual are from the "cradle to the grave," and they do not stop there, he is followed through "purgatory" and into eternity. In the commercial world, you must listen to "The Demands of Rome" or the Roman Catholic trade goes elsewhere, and the anathema of the church is invoked upon you.
The church of Rome demands property, and when they have it, demand that they be not taxed for that privilege; they demand wealth, never being satisfied, but forever demanding; they demand the suppression of liberty; they demand life; they demand death.
Now, as a sister in the church of Rome, it is demand from the very day she enters the convent, as I have explained throughout this book. The first demand is the hair of the victim. The Word of God says, "If a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her," but what does the church of Rome care what the Bible says? It is the demand from the church, and blind obedience of the subject to that demand[8] that Rome cares about. It is their endless demands for supremacy of heaven, earth and hell.
We have all heard of the dumb animal which would run back to his stall in case of fire; nevertheless, we must take an interest in the faithful old horse and use every effort to save his life from the horrible death that he would rush to.
How much more must we take an interest in the lives of the poor, oppressed humans, the over-burdened, entrapped nuns behind the convent walls, though she may imagine that she is enjoying the greatest freedom and the happiest life. Yes, we must all look well to the doors that stand between Liberty and bondage, even though those doors seem bright with "religious" paint.
Let me say with the poet, that I cannot hope to "live but a few more days, or years, at most," and my one aim is to give to the world a book that will stand the crucial time of the changing years—a book that shall be known and read long after the author is forgotten. I write it with a fond hope that it may be helpful to "those who have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge," those who may be floundering in the meshes of a crooked and perversed theology. I want no other monument.
ELIZABETH SCHOFFEN.

February, 1917.
[9]

CONTENTS

Chapter.		Page
I.	Introductory	11
II.	My Early Life and Schooling	17
III.	My Novitiate Life	23
IV.	A Virgin Spouse of Christ—My First Mission	37
V.	My Begging Expedition—St. Vincent's Hospital—Routine of a Sister	47
VI.	How I Educated Myself—I Become Superintendent of the Third Floor at St. Vincent's	61
VII.	Sacrament of Penance—Mass and Communion—Extreme Unction—Indulgences—Annual Retreat	72
VIII.	My Trip to the General Mother House	85
IX.	I Receive My Diploma for Nursing from St. Vincent's Hospital—Trouble Among the Sisters	103
X.	My Removal from St. Vincent's Hospital	122
XI.	Two Interesting Letters from Sisters—My Letters for Redress to Archbishop Christie	130
XII.	My Emancipation	144
XIII.	I Quit the Roman Catholic Church	155
XIV.	Form for Dispensation of the "Holy" Vows—My Suit and Settlement With the Sisters of Charity	165
XV.	My Recommendation from the Doctors of Portland—The Good Samaritan—I Affiliate With a Protestant Church—My New Work	181
XVI.	My "Advertisement" in the Catholic Sentinel	191
XVII.	The Care of Old Sisters by the Roman Catholic System	199
XVIII.	Conclusion	205
	Appendix	217

[10]

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Page
Elizabeth Schoffen attired in the garb of a Sister	2
Elizabeth Schoffen—Lecturer and Author	3
Elizabeth Schoffen one month before she entered the Convent	25
"Father" Louis de G. Schram	33
Sister Ethelbert	49
Caught in the Act of Kissing the Floor	55
St. Vincent's Hospital, Portland, Oregon	65
Mother House, Montreal, Canada	89
Fac-simile of My Diploma	107
Archbishop Alexander Christie of Portland, Oregon	139
Fac-simile of the Check I received from the Sisters of Charity	180
A Gift from God	195