819. The Roman Catholics have a sort of council towards the east of the southern region. At this their leading men assemble and debate various matters to do with their religion, especially how they can keep the common people in blind obedience, and how they can enlarge their domination. But no one is admitted to this council who had been Pope in the world, because a reflexion of Divine authority besets his mind, as the result of having while in the world usurped the power of the Lord. Nor is any cardinal permitted to attend the council, again because of his very high rank. The cardinals, however, meet in a large council-chamber below the others; but after staying there a few days, they are taken away, but where to I was not allowed to know.
[2] There is another meeting towards the west of the southern region*; its business is to admit the credulous common people into heaven. They arrange a number of communities around them, which engage in various external pleasures. In some there are dances, in others musical ,concerts, in some processions, in others theatres and stage competitions, in some there are people who by illusion produce Various appearances of magnificence, in others they clown and joke. In some they engage in friendly conversation, elsewhere they talk about religious matters, elsewhere about politics, elsewhere even about sex; and so forth. They admit the credulous to one or other of these communities according to what they wish, calling this heaven. But after they have been there for a day or two, they all become bored .and leave, because their pleasures are external and not internal. In this way also many of them are led away from the ridiculous belief in people having the power to admit to heaven. The details of their worship are more or less the same as in the world. It consists likewise-of masses, which are not conducted in the language shared by spirits, but one invented from lofty-sounding words which induce an external feeling of holiness and awe, because they are utterly unintelligible.
* A parallel passage in LJ 66.5 describes this as being 'in the north of the western region'.
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