ADDENDUM B
Leadbeater's work The Science of the Sacraments has appeared not only in English, but also in French translation. In addition to information allegedly obtained by 'clairvoyance', this tome contains a comparison of the liturgy of the Liberal Catholic Church with that of the Roman Catholic Church, a comparison that is quite instructive, for it shows how the first has been rather adroitly modified to dispose minds to accept Theosophical theories without the necessity of teaching them overtly; for it is of course not necessary to be a member of the Theosophical Society in order to be part of the Liberal Catholic Church. Many allusions which would be difficult for the public to understand but which are quite obvious to those familiar with the theories in question, have been slipped into this liturgy. We must also note that the cult of the Sacred Heart is used in the same way as being closely related with the coming of the new Messiah (we have already seen that Krishnamurti and his entourage, considered as direct disciples of the Bodhisattva, are said to 'belong to the heart of the world'). According to information reaching us from Spain, it is claimed that 'the Reign of the Sacred Heart will be that of the Spirit of the Lord Maitreya; and by announcing
it, it is in effect a veiled form of saying that his advent among men is imminent.'
But there is still more: not only is the liturgy altered, now the Gospel itself is altered under the pretext of a return to 'primitive Christianity'. To effect this, an alleged Gospel of the Twelve Saints is being circulated with the claim that it is the 'original and complete Gospel'. This is presented in a slender volume entitled Le Christianisme primatif dans l'Evangile des Douze Saints, by E. Francis Udny, 'priest of the Liberal Catholic Church'. It is well to note that at the time this book was written there was still some ambiguity as to the person of the future Messiah, for it was said that Christ might 'choose an individual in each country whom he would guide and inspire in a special way,' so as to be able 'without the obligation of travelling through the world bodily, to speak when he wished in this or that country of his choice as and when this might be most consonant with his activity' (p59 of the French translation). At first the title of the book made us think that it was a question of an apocryphal Gospel, of which there are a great number; but we were not long in realizing that this was no more than a simple hoax. This socalled Gospel, written in Aramaic, was supposed to have been preserved in a Buddhist monastery in Tibet, and its English translation transmitted 'mentally' to the Anglican priest Ouseley, who then published it. We are told moreover that the poor man was at that time 'aged, deaf, and physically weak; his eyesight at its worst, and his mind greatly slowed, he being more or less broken down by age' (p 26). Is this not an avowal that his state disposed him to play the role of dupe in this affair? But let us move on from this fantastic story to the explanation of the origin of this translation, the work of 'Master R' who, as we have previously seen (see p234, [15]), was at another time Francis Bacon. It is even claimed that Bacon's style can be recognized by comparing this translation to the 'Authorized Version' of the Anglican Church, or King James Bible, of which he was the principal author. In this connection we note in passing that the Liberal Catholic Church is placed under the special protection of St Alban, who would again be a former incarnation of the 'Master' (p39), because Bacon bore, among other titles, that of Viscount of St Alban. We could mention many more truly extraordinary
assertions, notably concerning certain 'feigned deaths' of the 'Masters' or their 'advanced' disciples, but we will limit ourselves to citing one of them as a curiosity:
During the last century [i.e., the nineteenth, TR] another feigned death to be noted was that of Marshall Ney, a Brother [sic], brave among the brave, who after his supposed execution in France lived for many years as a respected citizen of Rowan County, North Carolina' (p136).
But what is more interesting is to know the special teachings contained in the Gospel in question, said to be 'an essential part of original Christianity, the absence of which has impoverished and still impoverishes this religion' (p4). Now, these teachings come down to two: the Theosophical doctrine of reincarnation, and the prescription of a vegetarian and anti-alcoholic regimen dear to a certain Anglo-Saxon 'moralism'. This is what one would like to introduce into Christianity, all the while claiming that formerly these same teachings were also found in the canonical Gospels but were suppressed around the fourth century, and that only the Gospel of the Twelve Saints 'escaped the general corruption.' Really, this hoax is rather crude, but unfortunately there are still many people who let themselves be taken in. One must know the mentality of our time very poorly to be persuaded that something of this kind will have no success. Moreover, we are treated to a preview of an enterprise of the broadest scope: 'In the same book it is stated, in effect, that the author has reason to believe that a new and better Bible will shortly be placed at our disposal, and that the Liberal Catholic Church will probably adopt it; but he alone is responsible for this opinion, not having been authorized by the Church to assert it. For the question to be posed, it is naturally necessary that the better Bible should have appeared' (p41). This is still only a suggestion, but it is easy to see what is intended: the falsification is going to extend to the ensemble of the Holy Books. We are therefore warned, and each time an announcement is made of the discovery of some manuscript containing biblical or Gospel texts hitherto unknown, it is appropriate to be more wary than ever.