The Shadow of Peter

This issue contains a Catholic religious pamphlet featuring two texts. "The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary" promotes a devotional prayer book in English vernacular for lay Catholics, referencing William Caxton's medieval printing legacy and contrasting modern spiritual materialism with traditional Marian worship. The main content is "The Shadow of Peter," a sermon preached by an English clergyman at St. James-the-Less in Plymouth during a National Catholic Congress presided over by Cardinal Bourne. The sermon systematically critiques three theological positions on Roman Catholicism held by English Churchmen—Protestant, High Church, and Anglo-Catholic views—arguing each is inadequate or contradictory. The preacher advocates recognizing papal authority while maintaining English ecclesiastical traditions, then challenges the claim that Roman Catholic presence in England constitutes usurped jurisdiction, arguing instead that Christian prelates hold authority over souls rather than territories.