_Herm._ Such power as you or all priests have to forgive sin, all men have; for Christ says, Mark 11:25: “Forgive, if ye have aught against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” Again, Luke 6:37: “Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.”
_Fr. Corn._ O you accursed Anabaptist, have you laymen priestly authority to forgive sin in confession? Bah, the forgiveness of sin of which Christ speaks, Mark 11; Luke 6, does not concern confession or absolution. * * * Bah, we priests have in the sacrament of confession and absolution a special priestly authority to forgive and to retain sin, that we do.
_Herm._ Whence do you priests get a special authority to forgive sin, more than we, whom you call laymen?
_Fr. Corn._ Bah, this special authority which Christ delivered to his vicar, St. Peter, and St. Peter left it to his vicars the popes, and the popes impart to us of that power, because they cannot themselves in person everywhere hear confession, and absolve, see.
_Herm._ That the popes and you priests have the special power to forgive and to retain sin, which Christ gave to Peter, this you will not be able to show to me with the holy Scriptures.
_Fr. Corn._ Indeed? O you accursed Anabaptist, the executioner will be able very well to show it to you, by kindling a good fire * * * and the very devils in hell will also well show it to you with burning pitch, brimstone, and tar in the fire of hell; this I swear to you, that I do.
_Herm._ You papists can demonstrate your faith, doctrine and religion with nothing better than with the executioner, and with sword, fire, rope and gallows; for these are the best demonstrations or proofs which you have, and thus your forefathers demonstrated their faith and doctrine to God’s prophets, to Christ, to his apostles, and to the saints of God, from the blood of Abel until now.
_Fr. Corn._ Ha, you hellish, devilish, damned, accursed Anabaptists, for what do you take our holy fathers the popes and us priests? may thunder and lightning kill, burn and pulverize you. Bah, that I should thus excite, exasperate and disquiet myself for such an accursed Anabaptist.
_Clerk of the criminal court._ Tush, tush, Father Cornelis, and Herman, speak gently with each other.
_Fr. Corn._ Yes indeed, be gentle towards such bedeviled, bewitched, heretics, who do not believe anything. In good faith, do you Anabaptists then go thus unconfessed and unabsolved to your supper? I suppose so; for you regard it but as a bit of simple common bread, and a little draught of common, flat wine. The transubstantiation in the sacrament of the altar with you is only popery, yea, sorcery, and we priests are regarded as sorcerers by you, because we adjure and conjure the true flesh and blood of Christ in the host and in the cup, as you Sacramentarians say, ill betide you.
_Herm._ Such confession, or absolution, or sacrament of the altar we do not use in our church, but we observe such forgiveness of sins, as Christ commands us, Mark 11; and Luke 6, and such breaking of bread, and distribution of the cup, as he in his last supper commands us to do for his remembrance.
_Fr. Corn._ Bah, but with that forgiveness of sins Christ means this when your neighbor has done aught amiss to you; but I ask concerning the sins which you people have sinned against God, whether you go with these unconfessed and unabsolved to your devil’s supper, eh?
_Herm._ We pray as Christ has taught us, Matthew 6:12. “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” And we use no devil’s supper.
_Fr. Corn._ Your breaking of bread, and distribution of the cup is the devil’s supper of which Paul writes in the tenth chapter of his first epistle to the Corinthians: Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils; ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. But the cup of blessing which we bless, that is, we Catholics, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? Bah, and is your bit of bread, and your cup with a little draught of flat wine not a devil’s supper? for you sacramentarians do not bless your cup, nor do you consecrate your bit of bread, but it is wine and bread, and remains wine and bread; bah, let us hear what you can answer against this, that will be conclusive.