EESE LIBRA RSITY OF CALIFORNIA. N W&r/ • • f THE GROWTH OF THE TEMPORAL POWER OF THE PAPACY. THE GROWTH OF THE TEMPORAL POWER OF THE PAPACY A HISTORICAL REVIEW, WITH OBSERVATIONS UPON THE « COUNCIL OF THE VATICAN 1 BY ALFRED OWEN LEGGE PASSIAMO PRESTO, E SULLA PUNTA DEI PIEDI, QUEL MACCHIO DI FIMO E DI SANGUE CHE SI CHIAMA PAPATO.'— Guerrazzi. (university) macmillan and co. 1870 [All rights reserved] OXFORD: BY T. COMBE, M.A., E. B. GARDNER, E. P. HALL, AND H. LATHAM, M. A. PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY. iu>( TO MY MOTHER, THE TEACHER OF MY YOUTH, THE TRIED AND FATTHFUL COUNSELLOR OF RIPER YEARS, I DEDICATE WITH PROFOUND AND REVERENT LOVE MY FIRST ESSAY IN LITERATURE. & c Since it is manifest that there was a Church in existence ten centuries back, which held the same doctrines in the East as in the West, in the old as in the new Rome, let us each recur to that and see which of us has added aught, which has diminished aught therefrom ; and let all that may have been added be struck off, if any there be, and wherever it be ; and let all that has been diminished therefrom be re-added, if any there be and whatever it be; and then we shall all unawares find ourselves united in the same symbol of Catholic orthodoxy from which Rome, in the latter centuries having strayed, takes pleasure in widening the breach by ever new doctrines and insti- tutions at variance with holy tradition/ Those of the Eastern bishops who treated the Papal briefs with less of contumacy than was bestowed upon them by the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Jerusalem, and Alexandria, took care to affirm that it was because they viewed them in the light of private communi- cations; and that they equally rejected the appeal of the Pope who, c with the two arms of crucified love' had opened to non-Catholics c the bosom of living unity,' by inviting them to his (Ecumenical Council 1 . The Times of the 15th September, 1869, has the following remarks upon the attitude assumed by the Eastern bishops : — c On the 29th of June, 1868, the bull of the indic- tion of the Council was duly promulgated. This was followed on the 8th of September of the same year by an apostolic letter addressed to all the bishops of the Oriental rite not in communication with Rome, inviting them to be present at the Synod, "even as 1 See Father Felix's 'Conferences' in Notre Dame. 224 THE TEMPORAL POWER [i CHAP. their ancestors had been present at the second Council of Lyons and that of Florence," where they were not allowed to vote, and had to sit apart. Abbate Testa was delegated to deliver these missives personally to the schismatic bishops or patriarchs. Finally, on the 13th of September, that apostolic letter to all Pro- testants and other non-Catholics was indited, which exhorts them to "embrace the opportunity of this Council" (occasionem amplectantur hujus concilii). We remarked at the time that the effect upon the schis- matic mind of the East was scarcely to be called encouraging. The Greek Patriarch would not look at the letter, though it was handsomely bound in red morocco and emblazoned with gold letters bearing his own name. He had read all about it in the news- papers, and did not see how the Council could do aught but lead to further strife. The peace once arrived at by the two Churches had long fallen to the ground. His mind was perfectly easy on the subject. And so the gorgeous volume was taken from the divan and handed back to the delegate, who was bowed out, and departed in peace. The Metropolitan of Chalcedon returned the Encyclical, with the simple but graphic " Epistrephete," which might be freely rendered "Avaunt." The Bishop of Varna did not see how he could accept what his master had refused, and so he sent back the Encyclical. The Bishop of Salonica had no less than five reasons for his declining, to wit — 1, What would his Patriarch say? 2. Why at Rome, why not in the East ? 3. Because the Pope wants to get us into his grasp. 4. The Pope wears a sword, which is against Scripture; let him put it down and disband his army. 5. Let him give up the XIII.] OF THE PAPACY. 11$ "Filioque" and there will be no more disunion be- tween Greeks and Latins — which last proposition, all things considered, is very delicious. Yet there were some exceptions, which the official Roman press calls cc consoling." One schismatic bishop returned the letter, yet with the promise that he would think about it for himself; and another, the venerable Bishop of Trebi- zond, well stricken in years, seems to have been quite overcome, and received the (Ecumenial with the most profound tokens of reverence and admiration, pressed it to his forehead, then to his bosom, looked at it from all sides, for, alas! he knew not the mystery of Latin characters, and exclaimed from time to time, "Oh, Rome! oh, Rome! oh, Holy Peter! oh, Holy Peter!" But, adds the official account quaintly enough, it was utterly impossible to get anything else out of him — notably, whether he meant to come to the Council or not/ It is difficult to arrive at any other conclusion than that the venerable Churches of the East were excluded from participation in the Council of Pius IX as de- liberately, in spite of these specious negotiations, as were the whole body of the Protestant Churches who were not invited at all. But the recognition of their right to participation condemns by anticipation the (Ecu- menicity of a Council from 'which they are absent. The Council may not be without importance. Everything indicates that it will prove pregnant of the most im- portant results to the Roman Catholic Church; and we rejoice both in the Council and in the claims on which it is based, inasmuch as both combine to show priestcraft in its true colours. It is, however, only in pure ignorance or perversion of the historical sig- Q 226 THE TEMPORAL POWER [CHAP. nificance of the name that the Council can be called (Ecumenical. However impressive the splendours of its ceremonial, or however pompous its claims to speak with authority upon the various questions by which the Christian society of the age is convulsed; however imperious the restraints it may impose upon the free utterance of opinion; however malicious and all-embracing its anathemas ; or however momentous the decrees it may embody in formularies binding upon its adherents, the disdainful apathy with which it is universally regarded to-day reflects the verdict of posterity, who will treat its pretensions with scorn, — softened perhaps with a touch of sympathy for the aged Pontiff whose baffled ambition has exposed him to the contempt of the scoffer, and to the hatred of those who, with himself, he has made the laughing-stock of Europe. The attitude assumed towards the Council by the lay-Catholic powers is significant rather for what is implied, than for what is said, in the recondite utter- ances from which alone it can be gathered. If, aban- doning its pretensions to (Ecumenicity, the Council had busied itself only upon matters of ecclesiastical discipline and matters of doctrine, such as were indi- cated in the series of propositions originally submitted by the Roman curia to the Roman Catholic Bishops, the secular courts of Europe would have disdained interference in such controversies. But as the pre* tensions of the Roman Sse became more apparent, and the rumour — first vague and improbable, but soon sur- rounded with such a pomp of circumstance as to remove all doubt — was circulated of the avowed intention to elevate the syllabus of a.d. i 864 into a dogma, a chal- XIII.] OF THE PAPACY, 227 lenge was thrown down which it was impossible for any Catholic power to ignore ; and here and there an appeal on behalf of more moderate counsels was ad- dressed to Rome. That of Prince Hohenlohe, the Prime Minister of Bavaria, and himself the brother of a Cardinal, will be remembered. When Rome, overstepping the limits of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, threatened to impose ordinances upon her clergy which conflicted with the civil laws of other lands, the govern- ments of such countries were at once placed on the defensive, and from all quarters we hear the echo of the same word — Hold ! True it is that three centuries have elapsed since Europe has been agitated by the question of the Pon- tifical right to absolve subjects from allegiance to their rulers ; but the bull Coena Domini, to which reference has been made, and which claims this power as properly belonging to the Holy See, is still in force, and though obsolete, so long as it is not formally repealed, remains a source of danger to the peace of the world, and justi- fies the jealous scrutiny of every new Papal pretension by the lay governments of Europe. But if the promulgation of the doctrines of the Syllabus is thus fraught with danger, much more is there cause for alarm in the projects, no longer con- cealed or apologised for, of dealing similarly with such matters as the Temporal Power and the Personal In- fallibility of the Pontiff. Pius IX boldly declares him- self the enemy of modern civilization, detesting from his heart all that the broad stream of modern thought assumes to be good and true, whilst his pleasure will certainly be law to an immense majority of the assembled prelates. Hence the justifiable alarm of the French and Q % 238 THE TEMPORAL POWER [CHAP. German bishops, and the attitude of hostility assumed by their respective governments. Whilst the two leading Catholic powers, Austria and France, hold the same views, German and American prelates, with many distinguished Italians, are united in their approval of a policy of common-sense, as opposed to the projects of the Ultramontanes. The Berlin correspondent of the Times makes the following statement in reference to the position assumed by Germany towards the pre- tensions of Pius IX : — c On the subject of infallibility it is becoming more and more evident that all German sovereigns and many German bishops are arrayed against the Pope. Not to speak of conscientious scruples, the bishops are ob- viously afraid that to declare the Pope a god will outrage the feelings of every civilized being among their flocks, and cause many hitherto accommodating, though perhaps somewhat indifferent, members of the Church to desert, renounce, and attack it. As to the sovereigns, they have no wish to assist the Pope in arousing a religious movement which might go any length, and which, should it attain serious proportions, would be sure to extend to Protestantism also. In Germany, religious apathy — the prevailing feature of the age — is accompanied with so much downright op- position to all that has been hitherto considered ortho- dox, that for the Pope to treat this country on a footing of intellectual equality with Italy, Spain, and France, and desire the Germans to adore and idolize him in the same way he asks others, is to let off squibs over a barrel of gunpowder. They need not necessarily ignite the inflammable material over which they fly and crack, but they may do so. Already Protestant Xril.] OF THE PAPACY, 229 Liberalism is preparing for such an event In the meantime, two more Catholic professors of theology have publicly declared against infallibility, viz. Pro- fessor Michelis, of the Clerical Seminary of Braunsberg, in East Prussia, and Dr. Schulte, one of the most re- nowned professors of canon law at the University of Prague. In addition to these literary announcements of opinion we have to record an address sent by the leading ecclesiastics of the diocese of Paderborn to their Bishop, the notorious partisan of the Pope in the Council. The address declares against infallibility^ and entreats the Bishop to conform his attitude to the wishes of his chapter and flock.' The publication of the Twenty-one Canons, to which I shall refer more particularly hereafter, afforded the Governments of France and Austria the opportunity, of which they were not slow to avail themselves, of energetically protesting against the definition of the threatened dogmas. In a despatch remarkable alike for its candour, dignity, and conciliatory tone, the Foreign Minister of Austria pointed out to the Court of Rome the complications and dangers likely to arise from a struggle between Church and State. In a com- munication addressed by Count Beust to the Austrian Ambassador at Paris, of which the following is an abstract, he lucidly states the reasons for the firm attitude of remonstrance assumed by the government of Francis Joseph : — c The Catholic Powers, and more especially Austria and France, being anxious to leave the Church at liberty to conduct its own concerns, have not inter- fered with the arrangements for the Council and re- signed the right properly belonging to them of sending 23O THE TEMPORAL POWER [CHAP. representatives to that assembly. In thus abstaining from all interference they had been actuated by a wish to show their respect to the Church, and likewise by a recognition of that principle of modern civilization which accorded full and unrestrained liberty to Church and State within their respective spheres. For France it had been more easy to adopt such a course than for Austria, the former, by her treaties with the Pope, being entitled to stop the promulgation on her terri- tory of any objectionable ecclesiastical decrees, a right which the latter, by her own Concordat, did not possess. In view, therefore, of what was preparing at the Council, and remembering the protests a short time ago couched by the Austrian bishops against the new school and marriage laws, and the agitation to which their resistance bad given rise, Austria could not but feel uneasy concerning the future. It was not, indeed, the intention of the Council to enact Papal Infallibility that disquieted her, for he trusted that this doctrine, if proclaimed at all, would be ex- pressed in a mild and merely theoretical form, similar to the one adopted by the Florentine Council, and, therefore, without much practical influence on the course of events. Nor had the State a right to object to the proclamation of other purely religious dogmas, such as the immaculate conception and glorification of the Virgin Mary. But it was different when the Church was about to claim a permanent and com- prehensive supremacy over the State, and to arrogate to herself the right of deciding which of the laws laid down by the secular powers were binding on the subject and which not. Unfortunately, this was the stand- point assumed in the Twenty-one Canons submitted to the Council, and warmly advocated by certain XIII.] OF THE PAPACY. 23 1 parties. But, not content with establishing so unac- ceptable a principle, the canons proceeded at once to make use of the prerogative claimed, and declared many of the fundamental laws of all modern and civi- lized states to be unsound, invalid, and, in short, accursed. The canons, for instance, anathematized liberty of religion, liberty of the press, liberty of in- struction, civil marriage, the amenability of the clergy to the criminal code, and a variety of other statutes asserted in them to be contrary to the laws of God and Holy Church. Now, supposing these Schemata to be really passed by the Council the danger to France would be very small, as the principles denounced had been the law of the land for nearly a century, and were likely to be upheld by the common consent of society. But in Austria legislation had only recently begun to recognize the necessity of enacting the laws long intro- duced in France, and the consequences resulting from clerical opposition to the new statutes would, therefore, be much more unpleasant. For this reason the Austrian Government had applied to Rome, and pointed out the disastrous results likely to arise from a struggle between Church and State. Whatever might be enjoined by the Church, the Austrian courts of law would not be in- duced to look leniently on those that broke the laws or incited others to break them. Add to this that the majority of the Austrian Bishops were opposed to the canons, and in the event of their being passed would be subjected to the cruel alternative of either not pub- lishing them or of doing so against their better judg- ment, and it could not be denied that there were many reasons for apprehending an undesirable issue. Rome should beware of throwing down the gauntlet to the civilized world.' ^< >^ (university) 232 THE TEMPORAL POWER [CHAP. The protest of Count Daru, conveyed in his now famous note of the 20th February, is yet more emphatic than that of the Austrian minister. Nothing can be more explicit than the language in which he commends the firm attitude of the minority of the bishops who oppose the adoption of the Syllabus and the promulga- tion of the dogma of Infallibility ; and significantly hints that an imprudent persistence in this course would imperil not only the Concordat, but the protection which alone has rendered the meeting of the Council possible. c People cannot be so blind as to suppose that the maintenance of our troops would be possible the day after the dogma of the Infallibility should be pronounced. We might be willing to leave them in Rome, but we should not be able/ It is true that His Excellency has recently been represented as so uncom- promisingly hostile to the project for the withdrawal of the army of occupation, that he has threatened to resign his portfolio sooner than accede to it. However plausible the reasons assigned for the reversal of the policy sketched out in Count Daru's note of the 20th of February, it is difficult to believe that the cabinet of the Tuileries can have so misjudged the temper of the French nation, or miscalculated the endurance of Italy, as to commit the egregious folly of adopting a policy distasteful to c that generous French nation, 5 — recently eulogized by Pius IX to the disparagement of their ruler, — hostile to Italy, and subversive of the Septem- ber convention. However this may be, it is unques- tionable that the issues raised by the publication of the Twenty-one Canons, appeared to the French government so to modify the position of neutrality which it had originally taken up, as to warrant the XIII.] OF THE PAPACY. 233 claim to representation in the Council by a special envoy. It is stated that an attack of gout, especially affect- ing the hands \ accounts for the dilatoriness of Cardinal Antonelli in replying to the French note. That reply however, has now reached the Tuileries ; and the con- flicting rumours concerning its import suggest that, consistently with all the diplomacy of Rome, it is ambiguous and indecisive. The Patrie of March 26 says: — c The reply of Cardinal Antonelli is lengthy, and very skilfully framed. The most remarkable facts to be noted are — first, that it does not dispute the authenticity of the text of the canons as published by the Gazette d'Augsburg ; and, secondly, it opposes to the demand of direct intervention on the part of the French Government in the Council a series of obstruc- tive reasons which do not go so far as to offer a definitive and categorical refusal. The cardinal takes pains to show that a signification and consequences have been attributed to these canons such as the court of Rome has never understood to be ascribed to them ; that in such matters it is essential to distinguish be- tween the absolute and theoretical and the relative and practical sides ; that, the Church being a spiritual and divinely constituted society, it is its duty to offer to men's consciences solutions of all the problems which human life encounters ; but the note adds that the exercise of this spiritual right in no way implies an intention on the part of the Church to meddle with political questions ; and that in all cases, with regard to nations with which she has concluded Concordats, 1 It is a well-known fact that Cardinal Antonelli is in the habit of writing his own despatches. 234 THE TEMPORAL POWER [CHAP. the Church will always remain faithful to the clauses of the treaties to which she is a party. In conclusion, Cardinal Antonelli expresses a hope that the explana- tions contained in his despatch may appear sufficient to the Cabinet of the Tuileries, and that they will induce it not to insist upon the demand conveyed in the note of Count Daru. We know not what resolution will be adopted by the Cabinet of the Tuileries in consequence of this Roman despatch, the effect of which, however, must previously have been made known by M. De Banneville. We have reason to believe, however, that at the moment we write no determination has been arrived at.' The question of the representation of France in the Council remains, therefore, in abeyance. But it ap- pears probable that this reasonable claim of the Em- peror will, eventually, be conceded. Meanwhile, the Papal court — which has everything to gain by delay — secures a plausible pretext for adjourning the discussion of the schema relative to infallibility, from the con- siderate disposition to give France time to consider her ways. The Council, whose duration it was boldly prognos- ticated would not be longer than that of Chalcedon — that is, that its labours would be completed within three weeks, and the promulgation of its decrees form a fitting close to the most eventful year of the Pontifi- cate of Pius IX — has now been in session upwards of four months. The Pontiff', whose inflexibility of pur- pose sufficed to bring the Council together, has probably abandoned all hope of witnessing its termination. The motives for the convocation of the Council, from which Pius IX anticipates the regeneration of the XIII.] OF THE PAPACY. I^S world, however transparent, were certainly not specified with any distinctness in the Bull of Convocation, in which they were nowhere more clearly expressed than in the following passage : — c In this General Council, then, there must be examined with the greatest care, and established, whatever, above all, especially regards, in these most difficult times, the greater glory of God, the integrity of the faith, the dignity of divine worship, the eternal salvation of souls, the discipline of the secular and regular clergy, the salutary and solid in- struction of the clergy, the observation of ecclesiastical laws, the correction of morals, the Christian education of youth, and universal peace and concord betwixt all. It must also be endeavoured with the . most active zeal that, with God's help, all evils may be kept away from the Church and civil society, and that unhappy wan- derers may be called back to the right path of truth, justice, and salvation ; and that, vices and errors being once for all extirpated, our august religion and its salutary doctrine may revive in the whole world, spreading and governing more and more : so that piety, honour, probity, justice, charity, and all Chris- tian virtues may acquire vigour and flourish to the greatest advantage of human society/ It is self-evident that this programme of the delibera- tions of the Council is incomplete, as it affords no justification for bringing together 700 ecclesiastics — most of them advanced in years — from every corner of the habitable world, at the cost of personal sacrifices which it is deplorable to contemplate, and at an ex- pense of ^1000 per diem to the already exhausted Pontifical treasury. The solution must be sought in the extreme elasticity of the phrases employed. Nor can it 2$6 THE TEMPORAL POWER [CHAP. be denied that they afford scope for the widest possible range of interpretation. In opposition to the materialism of the age, to the advancing power of science and of unfettered thought, Pius IX desires to exhibit the moral power of the Church, of which he claims to be the infallible head ; to assert for it alone the right and power of leading the progress of mankind; and to receive the plaudits of his contemporaries, as well as of posterity, for this closing act of a Pontificate which, commencing in the throes of revolution, has presented to Europe the unique spectacle of a Pope governing upon Constitu- tional principles; the spectacle, more familiar, of a fugitive Pontiff \ with a Republic proclaimed at Rome in his absence; the spectacle of a Pope restored, to the disgust of his subjects, coerced into submission by foreign bayonets ; and, finally, of a Pope, despoiled of four-fifths of his territory, claiming authority, and gravely asserting spiritual pretensions worthy of a Boniface, and the first announcement of which Chris- tendom, Catholic and Protestant alike, received with incredulous amazement. The court of Rome is bent upon surrounding the pro- ceedings of the Council with such profound secrecy that, not content with imposing the penalty of excommuni- cation upon any violation of confidence, it has actually prohibited the publication of the names of the speakers. It is thus in a position to answer those upon whom we are dependent for information with the charge of mis- representation — that frequent resource, with a certain class of mind, when suffering under the process of exposure. I shall not attempt to probe unrevealed mysteries, but rest content with a cursory glance at the XIII.] OF THE PAPACY. 237 present position of the two great parties in fhe Council, and an inquiry into the probable effects of the decisions which may be expected on some of the leading ques- tions upon which the Council will have to deliberate. It is now reported that in the event of the ultimate disallowance by the Vatican of the French Emperor's proposal to send a special envoy to the Council, or of its disregard of the legitimate influence of the lay governments, the liberal prelates will withdraw from Rome in a body. It may be anticipated that this course will either be immediately adopted, or defini- tively abandoned, as a secession now, it is affirmed, would imply nothing more than a protest ; whereas, at a later stage, and after an important division— say, on the subject of Infallibility — it would amount to a schism. Would Pius IX congratulate himself on being thus rid of his opposition ? If the French, the Austro- Hungarian, and the American prelates, to the number of two hundred, withdrew from the Council, even Pius IX must allow, in deference to the precedent established by the disavowal of the (Ecumenicity of the Council of Sardica, a.d. 433, that the (Ecumenicity of the Council of the Vatican is wholly destroyed. It is a matter of certainty that this plan for nullifying the decisions of the Council is under the consideration of those whom it concerns. These prelates inveigh bitterly against the disadvantageous position in which they are placed by that peculiar organization of the Roman and Italian Episcopate, which secures to the Italian prelates a most unfair and absurd majority of numbers. But this is the very reason why the Council is necessary to the Pope. His court, a senate of cardinals, is too ex- clusively Italian. This source of weakness is appre- 238 THE TEMPORAL POWER [CHAP. dated in Rome. It is a scandal which irritates against her every national sentiment in the world. c It is the majority of her own subjects that she is now in difficul- ties with. The boasted majority she has not the courage to use represents mythical sees, decayed orders, a multitude of petty bishoprics near home, and purely official creations of her own temporal power. The mi- nority represents the people — that is, the majority of the Roman Catholic communion throughout the world 1 . 5 The merest glance at the representative composition of the Council suffices to establish the reasonableness of the grievance alleged by the recalcitrant prelates. Italy with her population of 27,000,000 is represented by 230 cardinals, bishops, abbots, and fathers-general of monastic orders • whilst France, with her population of 34,000,000 has to content herself with sending eighty-four reverend fathers to the Eternal City. Nine- teen million German Catholics are represented by nine- teen deputies. Spain sends forty, South America thirty, the Orientals forty-two, China fifteen, Australia thir- teen. We must cap this list by observing that 3,000,000 of semi-civilized Sclavonians are represented by no less than twelve docile deputies, all pledged to support the utmost pretensions of the Holy See. Allowing, in con- sideration of their more advanced civilization, and their proportionately-enhanced moral responsibility and rightful influence, double this proportion of numerical re- presentation to Italy, France, and Germany, Italy should have 216, France 264, and Germany 152 de- legates. The actual numbers are, Italy 230, France 84, and Germany 19 2 . 1 The Times. 2 See letter of the Berlin correspondent of the Times, February 19th, 1870. In Times of February 24th. XIII.] OF THE PAPACY, - 239 Notwithstanding the statement of so great an au- thority as Archbishop Manning, that c the ranks of the opposition are daily melting like snow in the glance of Pio Nono;' or the assurances of the Tablet that an opposition has hardly an existence ; we prefer the testi- mony of facts to the word of an Archbishop, or to the asseverations of an ultramontane journal pledged to the demonstration of a foregone conclusion. The courtiers of the Vatican predicted, with real or simulated con- fidence, that so soon as the Council met the personal infallibility of the Pontiff would be voted by acclama- tion. The programme was imposing, and, while the Pontiff lent a willing ear, its success was not so utterly improbable but that Europe listened, with bated breath, for the firing of cannon and the ringing of bells which should announce the intelligence to the world. We were told, and we received the information with be- fitting credulity, that every bishop attending the Council would, by his presence alone, have signified his adherence to the programme laid down by the Jesuits. The great dogma was to be proclaimed c by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost;-' and a distinguished English clergyman, who was in Rome at the opening of the Council, was told by a high dignitary of the Church that the non-acoustic properties of the Council Hall constituted its special recommendation ; c for/ he naively added, c we don't want any debating!' The Jesuits had laid their plans with that precision and adroit organization of which they have ever proved themselves the most consummate masters. The time was come, they held, when those who were not with the Pontiff must understand that they were against him. The opportunity of the great influx of Catholics 240 • THE TEMPORAL POWER [CHAP. into Rome during the festivities of the centenary of St. Peter, in 1867, was seized to administer the follow- ing oath to thousands of both clergy and laity. c Holy Prince of the Apostles, St. Peter, I, N. N., moved by a desire to offer to thee, and in thee to thy successors in the apostolic chair, a tribute of especial devotion, which may be, on the one hand, for thee and for the Church a compensation for the outrages done to the see of Rome; and, on the other, may bind me more to honour her, do swear to hold and to profess, if necessary at the price of my blood, the doctrine already common among Catholics, which teaches that the Pope is infallible when he defines in his character of Uni- versal Master, or as it is called, ex cathedra, what must be believed in questions of faith and morals, and that consequently his dogmatic decrees are irreformable and binding in conscience, even before they have received the assent of the Church.' Six hundred and fifteen bishops, we were told, had com- mitted themselves to teach, support, and defend, usque ad effusionem sanguinis, if necessary, the dogma of Papal Infallibility. No debate would be permitted. The business of the Council was simply to define and en- force the dogma. Such were the confident vaticinations of the Jesuits in Rome. But they did not avail to drown the notes of discord which heralded the crowning act of the Pontificate of Pius IX. The astute cardinal who, for twenty years, has been the most influential of the PontifFs advisers, foreseeing how the projected Council would be received by the cismontane Catholics, after vainly exerting himself to save the Church from a gra- tuitous peril accepted a qualified disgrace rather than XIII.] OF THE PAPACY. 241 give in his adhesion, all at once, to a forlorn project for framing new bonds of union out of ignorance and fanaticism. The press of France teemed with urgent appeals for protective measures against the black de- signs of the Council. And although thousands of Catholics in France, as in Italy or Spain, would prob- ably accept any dogmatical creed propounded by the Council with that indifference which the comprehen- sive faith of Roman Catholic Christendom engenders, it soon became apparent that no encroachments upon the civil law or political independence of the State would be for a moment tolerated. But the less com- prehensive faith of the Germans rebelled against all dogmatic absurdities. Austria, exulting in the new life quickened by the adoption of constitutional insti- tutions which had their birth in the abrogation of the Concordat, was little likely to tolerate any despotic encroachments of the court of Rome : whilst in Ba- varia the Roman Catholic Premier — the brother of a cardinal — conferred with other German cabinets, and solicited the opinion of the most eminent Roman Catholic theological faculties in Germany, upon the course to be adopted in the event of the Pope's infallibility being dogmatically promulgated, or the Ultramontane faction, i. e. the Holy Father, deriving additional authority in the State, from any decrees that might be voted by the Council 1 . All doubt was re- 1 The following are the questions which were submitted, and to which the faculty of Munich replied emphatically in the sense of the government : — 1. If the theses of the Syllabus and the Papal infallibility are raised into dogmas at the forthcoming Council, what changes would arise therefrom in the doctrine of the relation between R 242 THE TEMPORAL POWER [CHAP. moved that the Liberal Catholic party in North Ger- many, though disapproving equally with Bavaria of the assembling of the Council, would make a combined effort with the prelates of Austria, France, and Italy, who were hostile to the pretensions of the Ultramontane party, not only to secure free discussion, but also to Church and State as hitherto held, both theoretically and prac- tically, in Germany ? 2. Would in that case the public teachers of dogmatics and ecclesiastical law feel bound to make the doctrine of the divinely set rule of the Pope over the monarchs, either as Potest as direct a or indirecta, as binding to the conscience of every Christian, the basis of their teaching ? 3. Would the teachers of dogmatics and ecclesiastical law con- sider themselves bound forthwith to receive into their lectures and writings the doctrine that the personal and real immunities of the clergy are juris divini, and belong to the province of re- ligious doctrine ? 4. Are there any generally acknowledged criteria whereby it can with certainty be decided whether a Papal utterance, ex cathedra — according to the doctrine of the Council eventually to be fixed— is absolutely binding to every Christian's conscience? And if there be such criteria, which be they ? 5. How far might the prospective new dogmas, and their ne- cessary consequences, exercise an altering influence also upon popular education in school and church, and further upon the school-books, the catechisms, &c, now in use ? ' On this last point they give the very decided answer, that there would, indeed, ensue very considerable changes in the catechisms, changes which they point out as clearly as may be. The juridical faculty to whom the same questions have been sub- mitted has not answered yet, nor has the theological faculty at Wurzburg sent in their reply. But there is no question about its purport. Europe in general passes the Council by silently. Catholic Germany speaks through its highest authorities, and unconditionally condemns its aims and purports.' — Pall Mall Gazette. XIII.] OF THE PAPACY. 243 wring from the Council an authoritative sanction of their proposals for the complete separation of Church and State, the suppression of the Index, and other reforms for which they had petitioned and agitated \ 1 In a lengthy abstract of a paper which, according to the Wanderer, the Bohemian clergy proposed to submit to the Coun- cil, we find the following bold suggestions. The paper begins by saying that in a time like ours, when the fundamental doctrines of Christianity are being called in question, when doubts are ex- pressed as to the existence of a God and the nature and immor- tality of the soul, the Council would be guilty of an error in tactics if it were to employ its forces against the light troops of a doubtful ally instead of directing its whole attention to the attack that threatens the very centre of the fortress. ' The task of the Council is therefore solemnly to define and proclaim those doctrines which are calculated to support religion in general, revelation, and the authority of the Church.' It is advised to follow the example of the Council of Trent, in avoiding, as far as possible, a philosophic terminology, as it is liable to be mis- understood, and thus open up a way for objections. Certain boundaries, too, must be observed, and even those doctrines to which true believers are sincerely attached should not be inserted in the dogmatic code without weighty reasons. ' Thus the Council should not proclaim the infallibility of the Pope. This is the sincere wish of the most learned, intelligent, and earnest of the adherents of the holy chair.' Such a step would only give rise to ridicule among unbelievers, while for believers it is quite un- necessary, as their attachment to the Roman See was never greater than at present. It seems equally unadvisable to make any further authoritative statements as to the corporal assump- tion of the Virgin Mary, the state of nature, the cause and means of supporting grace, the manner in which the body is governed by the soul, and similar matters. These have already engaged the attention of former Councils, particularly that of Trent, and may now safely be left to theology. With respect to the Index of forbidden books, it is urged that before a work is condemned the opinion of the bishop in whose diocese it appeared should be asked - ^££5eTIbr^ R 2 ( (university \^ California 244 THE TEMPORAL POWER [CHAP. In Rome rumours were rife of revolutionary plots, formed for the purpose of preventing the meeting of the Council, or of cutting short its deliberations by assassination and incendiarism. The Council was not only distasteful to the Mazzinians ; it was opposed by many of the Italian episcopacy. The Archbishop of Genoa resigned his see, and retired to Savoy, rather than consent to attend, and the government deemed it prudent to employ large bodies of firemen to watch the erection of the structures in St. Peter's for the accommo- dation of the members of the Council. Provision was also made for a large number of fire-engines in different parts of the cathedral, and for the permanent accommo- dation of the requisite number of firemen. It was said that the Jesuits were alarmed, as well they might be, by such indications of the apprehension entertained, in official quarters, of an outbreak of popular disaffection. Certain it is that many of them would fain have persuaded the Pope to abandon the Council of which they had been the chief projectors. But the Pope stood firm. In the course of nature his Pontificate must soon come to an end ; and there was nothing he was unwilling to risk for the sake of the grand spectacle which should close his eventful career. To every suggestion of expediency or of danger he turned a deaf ear. The quicksands before which an Antonelli stood appalled, affrighted him not. As to a schism upon matters of faith, he cheerily dispersed, with the ready joke ever upon his lips, the mists of apprehension and doubt which obscured the intellects, and paralyzed the hands, of less resolute cardinals. There is much reason to believe that the infatuated Pontiff was less prepared than were many members of XIII.] OF THE PAPACY. 1<\$ the curia for the determined attitude which was early assumed by the compact phalanx of a powerful oppo- sition. The violent and arbitrary measures which have been adopted for their suppression — as, in addition to others already mentioned, the prohibition of unofficial meetings of the bishops even in private houses — have immeasurably strengthened their position. The most nervously apprehensive mind amongst the members of the curia probably little anticipated that, by the pro- ceedings to which they lent themselves, a machinery was being called into existence utterly beyond their power to manipulate. The information which reaches us of the character of this opposition is so cumulative and circumstantial, that it is impossible to ignore its general authenticity, however it may be challenged in some of its details. The bold assault of Strossmayer, Archbishop of Bosnia and Syrmia, on the eighteen propositions brought before the Council in January, and the censure of Cardinal de Luca for not stopping the debate ; the threat of the Archbishop of Paris, supported by many of his brethren, that in the event of any attempt being made to carry the new dogma by acclamation, he would leave Rome and protest against the validity of the Council, are matters of fact. So also is the following Anti-Infalli- bility address drawn up by Cardinal Rauscher, Arch- bishop of Vienna, and signed by a large number of bishops : — c Most Holy Father, — We have received the draught of a petition circulating among the Fathers of the CEcumenical Council, and calling upon them to declare supreme and infallible authority to be vested in the Roman Pontifex when imparting Apostolical teaching 246 THE TEMPORAL POWER [CHAP. to all the faithful upon subjects connected with religion and morals. It is certainly strange that the judges of matters religious should be asked to decide a question before it has been discussed, but as thou, most Holy Father, divinely appointed to attend the flock of Christ, so piously takest care of the souls redeemed by His blood, and with paternal compassion lookest upon the dangers threatening them, we have thought it right to address ourselves to thee in this matter. The times are past when the Catholics used to contest the rights of the Holy See. We all are aware that as the human body, without the head, is but a mutilated trunk, so can no Council of the entire Church be held without the successor of St. Peter ; and we all obey the mandates of the Holy See with ready willingness. As regards the authority which the faithful are obliged to concede to the Roman Pontiff, this has been settled by the Council of Trent, and also by the Council of Florence. The decrees of the latter, particularly, ought to be the more faithfully observed, inasmuch as, having been enacted with the common consent of Latins and Greeks, they are destined some day, when the Lord will take pity on the Orient now oppressed by so many evils, to become the basis of the reunion of the Church. Nor must we leave it unmentioned that at a time when the Church is compelled more earnestly than ever to wage war against those who denounce religion as a mere fiction, vain and idle indeed, yet pernicious to the human race, it cannot be opportune to exact of the Catholic nations, already exposed to so much seduc- tion and temptation, heavier duties (majora) than were enjoined on them by the Council of Trent. It is true that, although Bellarminus, and with him the whole XIII.] OF THE PAPACY. 247 Catholic Church, affirms that matters of faith are to be chiefly decided by Apostolical tradition and the com- mon consent of the Church, and although the best way to ascertain the decision of the Church is to convene a Universal Synod, yet from the Council of the Apostles and Elders of Jerusalem down to the Council of Nice have the innumerable errors of the local Churches been checked and extinguished by the decisions of the suc- cessors of St. Peter, approved by the entire Church. Nor do we deny that while all faithful believers are bound to obey the behests of the Holy See, there are pious and erudite men teaching over and above this that any utterances of the supreme Pontiff on matters of religion and morality, when formally (ex cathedra) made and announced, must be held irrefragable, al- beit lacking the express consent of the Church. Yet we must not omit stating that grave objections to this teaching may be based on the acts and utterances of the Fathers of the Church, — objections supported by the evidence of genuine historical documents and the Catholic doctrine itself. Unless the difficulties arising from this circumstance are entirely solved and done away with, it is possible that the doctrine advocated in the above-mentioned petition will some day be inculcated on the Christian people as one revealed by the Almighty. We have no wish to dwell upon this prospect (yerum ab k'tsce discutlendls refuglt animus)^ and confidently entreat thee to obviate the necessity of such a discussion. We think we may say that per- forming episcopal functions among the more eminent nations of the Catholic world, and being by daily ex- perience well conversant with the state of things in our respective countries, the enactment of the doctrine 248 THE TEMPORAL POWER [CHAP. proposed will only supply fresh arms of attack to the enemies of religion, and enable them to rouse invidious feelings even in better and more virtuous men (melioris not 'I firmly believe in the im- morality of the punishment of death ; and it seems to assume a colour yet more degrading to our age, when visited on political offences.' This association, then, whatever view we take of its claim to consideration on the ground of moral, social, or political expediency, or of its appropriateness to the circumstances Y 314 APPENDIX. and the character of the Italian people, was in advance of those secret societies by which it was preceded, and par- ticularly of Carbonarism, out of which it sprang, and which it had sufficient vitality to absorb and transform, in these particulars. It suppressed all condemnations to death, and in the punishment of treachery and insubordination substituted simple expulsion from its ranks for the stiletto of the assassin. By announcing a definite programme and political faith, it afforded a test which enabled its members to rely upon union in the pursuit of a common object, when the insurrection should be accomplished. By its widely-circulated writings it kept the great funda- mental objects at which it aimed constantly before its mem- bers, thus educating them to unity of purpose. By insisting upon unity of religion on a broad basis, it closed the door at once to ill-timed religious discussion and to the infidelity which had proved a source of much weak- ness to Carbonarism. By limiting the association to the youth of Italy, and ex- cluding all above forty years of age, it secured a degree of enthusiasm which was invaluable ; and if this were purchased by the loss of the wisdom and experience which belong to age, the limitation further excluded many dangerous men, deeply imbued with Carbonarism, and hostile to the Re- publican form of government. And lastly, By boldly proclaiming that Italy was strong enough to effect her own deliverance without the aid of foreign govern- ments, it struck at the root of that pusillanimous fear which, pointing to foreign alliances as Italy's only hope, had ener- vated and eventually destroyed Carbonarism. But it had also this radical weakness, — its centre of autho- rity was placed abroad. The refugees were to be the real APPENDIX. 315 soul of the movement. ' This/ says Farini, ' was a recur- rence to the times and customs of the Middle Ages, when as often as citizens were banished by their opponents, who had gained the ascendancy, from those turbulent republics, they used to apply themselves in exile to raise money and troops in rival cities, or in intriguing courts, and then attempted the conquest of their country by stirring up the factions at home.' And it must be confessed that in the face of power- ful standing armies, and the secure alliances under which all the Italian Governments, and particularly that of the Pope, reposed, the tactics of Young Italy appear quixotic, and ill- adapted to the attainment of the objects of its lofty and patriotic ambition. Another important politico-religious association demands a reference, on account of the influence which it exercised in the north of Italy, and particularly in Piedmont. La Catollica was essentially an institution of the Jesuits ; it took its rise during the French occupation of Italy at the close of the eighteenth century, and became affiliated with the govern- ment of the princes of Savoy, whose territory was then con- fined to the island of Sardinia. Its avowed objects were the maintenance of the privileges of the Church, and of the principles of absolute government ; hence the tenacity with which it retained its influence over the court and the clergy. Councillors of State, bishops, and clergy were generally chosen from its ranks ; whilst the powerful engine of educa- tion was employed for extending its ramifications throughout Piedmont, where, at the commencement of the reign of Charles Albert, its power was practically unlimited, and secured for prince and people the distrust of the Liberals in the other Italian States. 316 APPENDIX. APPENDIX B. The printed scheme of the dogma of Infallibility has been distributed. It contains five canons : — I. If any one should say that the episcopal chair of the Roman Church is riot the true and real infallible chair of Blessed Peter, or that it has not been divinely chosen by God as the most solid, indefectible, and incorruptible rock of the whole Christian Church, let him be anathema. II. If any one should say that there exists in the world another infallible chair of the truth of the Gospel of Christ our Lord, distinct and separate from the chair of Blessed Peter, let him be anathema. III. If any one should deny that the divine magisterium of the chair of Blessed Peter is necessary to the true way of eternal salvation for all men, whether unfaithful or faithful, whether laymen or bishops, let him be anathema. IV. If any one should say that each Roman Pontiff, legi- timately elected, is not by Divine right the successor of Blessed Peter, even in the gift of the infallibility of magis- terium, and should deny to any one of them the prerogative of infallibility for teaching the Church the Word of God, pure from all corruption and error, let him be anathema. V. If any one should say that General Councils are established by God in the Church as a power of feeding the Divine flock in the word of faith superior to the Roman Pontiff, or equal to him, or necessary by Divine institution, in order that the magisterium of the Roman Bishop should be preserved infallible, let him be anathema. /^\£ (UNIVER.., /•/, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY BERKELEY NRL£ irn to desk from which borrowed. This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. ! 17 -M REC'D uo. < jM 3 1962 SENITONILL MB 1 1997 . . . ' :{.¥ U. C. BERKELEY IN STACKS JAN 7 / w*??t5 IPS 7 Sep'6!L2| * LD 21-100m-9,'48(B399sl6)476 YB