Wi jlfpi itN F',U #' K «.' ■ Si BX ^^£ <^ L£ /^Avt-l*; / — ;/ £>r^v /7 fuus : 1/Z~ Vrt 4£> c / ' a s^^a .^} <^L i The Vicar of Christ; OR, LECTURES UPON THE OFFICE AND PREROGATIVES OF OUR HOLY FATHER THE POPE. BY THE VERY REV. THOMAS S. PRESTON, V.G., Pastor of St. Ann's Church, New York. "Uii Petrus, ibi Ecclesiay SECOND EDITION Bew Yorh : ROBERT CODDINGTON, PUBLISHER, No. 246 Fourth Avenue. 1878. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by REV. THOMAS S. PRESTON, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. LOAN : JOHN ROSS & CO., PRINTERS, 27 ROSE STREET, NEW YORK. Letter of Dedication P 7 TO HIS HOLINESS PIUS IX. Sanctissime Pater : Humiliter exponit minimus quamquam et devotissimus unus de filiis Tuis, ut sibi liceat ad pedes Beatitudinis Tuse deponere pignus hoc exiguum sui amoris erga Te, suae que devotionis erga fidem quam doces ac tueris, erga fidem illam cujus causa tristitia Tibi magna est, et continuus dolor. Ex quo enim illi datum est in ea Domini vineae regione operari, quam inimi- cus homo nititur erroris tenebris undequa- que obscurare, doctrinam nullam potius in iv Letter of Dedication to praedicandam aut fidelium cordibus altius inserendam duxit quam quae spectat ad singularia prorsus privilegia Successoris S. Petri, cui totius gregis Sui curam, omnis- que vitae aeternae verbi custodiam Dei Filius commisit. Super illam siquidem solam petram, quam Christus Dominus Noster Ipse fundavit immobilem, sua homini salus reperiunda est, suaque popu- lis securitas. Pro multitudine tribulationum quae in die ista mala et amara invenerunt Te nimis, Beatissime Pater, haec sane animam Tuam laetificat insignis omnino consolatio, quod in nullis Ecclesiae diebus praeteritis arctior unquam fuerit capitis et membrorum nexus, nullus tanto in amore tantaque in veneratione habitus olim populi Christiani Pontifex Summus. Ad pedes porro Beatitudinis Tuae provo- His Holiness Pius IX. v lutus benedictionem apostolicam sibi sus- ccptisquc pro animarum salute civiumque conversione laboribus, supplex orat atque obsecrat filius Tuus devotissimus, Thomas S. Preston, Pastor Ecclesiae Sanctae Annae. Neo Eboraci die 14a Decembris, A.D. 1871. Letter of His Holiness Pius IX. PIUS PP. IX. Dilecte Fili, Salutem et Apostolicam Benedictionem : Perlibenter excepimus munus tuum, Di- lecte Fili, non modo quia jucunde N ostris in angoribus afficimur testimoniis religiosae devotionis Nobis passim exhibitis a chris- tiano populo, sed etiam quia opportunissi- mas hisce temporibus et perutiles fidelibus ducimus eas lucubrationes, quae praeroga- tivas et jura Christi Vicarii propugnant, explicant, illustrant. Cum enim impietas diuturna saeculorum experientia edocta con- stanter frustratas viderit et in se conversas VI Letter of His Holiness Pius IX. vii machinationes adversus Ecclesiam institutas ; vires deniquc universas intendit ad Petram illam subruendam, cui divinitiis Ecclesia eadem fu.it inacdificata, futurum confidens, ut ea subducta, ista sponte corruerit. Incassum tamen ; siquidem dc hac Petra merito praedicari potest quod de angulari lapide Christo Jesu, " Qui occiderit super lapidem istum confringetur, super quem vero occiderit conteret eum." Verum si Petra commoveri nequit, si Ecclesia portas inferi non formidat, interim nefariis artibus hie illic errorum tenebrae mentibus offunduntur, de- cipiuntur simplices, fides concutitur, restin- guitur caritas, unitatis vincula laxantur, et non pauci e filiis Nostris paratis irretiti laqueis a Nobis abducuntur. Gratulamur itaque, te hisce malis occurrere studuisse per opus tuum ; cui propterea fructum ominamur amplissimum, tibique viii Letter of His Holiness Piits IX. mercedem zelo tuo respondentem ac divina largitate dignum. Caelestis vero favoris auspicem et paternae Nostrae benevolen- tiae, gratique animi pignus, Apostolicam Benedictionem tibi peramanter impertimus. Datum Romae, apud Sanctum Petrum, die 15 Februarii, Anni 1872. Pontifi- catus Nostri anno Vicesimo sexto. PIUS PP. IX. ENGLISH TRANSLATION. PIUS PP. IX. BELOVED SON, HEALTH AND APOSTOLIC BENE- DICTION : We have willingly accepted your offer- ing, beloved son, not only because in our present sorrows we are greatly consoled by the testimonies of religious devotion manifested to us by Christians throughout the world, but also because we judge most opportune in these days, and most useful to the faithful, these treatises which defend, explain, and illustrate the prerogatives and rights of the Vicar of Christ. For while impiety, taught by the experience of ages, constantly beholds its efforts against the church frustrated, and its machinations ix x English Translation. turned against itself, it bends all its ener- gies to destroy that Rock on which the church was divinely founded, knowing well that if that Rock could be moved the church would instantly fall. In vain, how- ever, are its artifices, for of this Rock may well be said the words spoken concerning Jesus Christ, the corner-stone : " He that shall fall upon this rock shall be broken, but upon whom it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder." But while the Rock can- not be shaken, while the church fears not the gates of hell, nevertheless here and there the shadows of error are thrown upon the mind by nefarious arts, the simple are deceived, faith is weakened, charity is ex- tinguished, the bands of unity are relaxed, and not a few of our children taken in the snares prepared for them are led away from us. English Translation. xi We congratulate you, therefore, that by your work, which we have received with favor, you have sought to meet and avert these evils, and we predict an ample fruit to your labors, and a reward correspond- ing to your zeal and worthy of the Divine blessing. As an earnest, then, of the celestial fa- vor, and a pledge of our fatherly kind- ness and grateful mind, we lovingly im- part to you the Apostolic Benediction. Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, the fif- teenth day of February, in the year 1872, the twenty-sixth year of our Pontificate. Pius PP. IX. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. In preparing a new edition of these lec- tures upon the Vicar of Christ it has seemed proper to add a few pages to the last chapter, which treats of the life and Pontificate of Pius IX., and thus briefly to close the short biography of this immor- tal Pontiff now gathered to his blessed rest. In the Appendix we have also printed the eulogium written by Mgr. Mercurelli, which was placed in the tomb of our venerated Holy Father. This important document is well worth preserving in a lasting form, and will ever be interesting to all Catholics. xiii xiv Preface to the Second Edition. We have also published our own dedi- cation of these lectures to His Holiness, and the gracious reply which he conde- scended to give. While this letter of Pius IX. is one of the great consolations of our life, it will add a new value to our humble labor. It may be proper also to say that we never presumed to claim for our work the merit of a complete theological treatise, but only sought to present a plain and popular argument for the prerogatives of the Vicar of Christ. We venture to hope that our efforts will not be altogether with- out fruit. T. S. P. Easter, 1878. po N T E N T S . PAGB LECTURE FIRST. The Supremacy of the Pope, TI LECTURE SECOND. The Infallibility of the Pope, 86 LECTURE THIRD. The Temporal Power of the Pope, ,.396 LECTURE FOURTH. The Pontificate of Pius IX., . 287 Appendix, . . . . » • . 379 PREFACE. The Conferences which it has been our privilege to give in S. Ann's Church dur- ing the season of Advent, have brought us naturally to the subject of these lectures. Having shown the essential unity of the Christian church, the harmonies of reason and revelation, and the necessary connec- tion between our Lord Jesus Christ and his mystical body, we are led to the con- sideration of the prerogatives of S. Peter and his successors. The church, which we have proved to be the instrumentality employed by our Redeemer for applying to man the fruits of his passion and death, would be incomplete and unfit for its work without an infallible head and a living centre of unity. The words of S. Am- brose, which we have placed upon our title-page, tell the great truth which the 4 Preface. world needs to know for its salvation : " Where Peter is, there is the church " — " Ubi Petrus, ibi ecclesia." This truth is the only remedy for hearts beguiled by sin, and intellects led astray by pride or false philosophy. All who call themselves Chris- tians must accept the words of Christ, and the historical teaching's of Christianity, or, rejecting both, fall a prey to the ever in- creasing infidelity of the day. No form of Protestantism can stand against the logic of the rationalist, or defend its feeble counterfeit of revelation. There is only one refuse for the honest and sincere. The Word made flesh hath not deceived us when he built his church upon a rock. To this foundation let every true heart come, casting aside the prejudices of edu- cation and the bands of early associations, and in Peter's faith find firmness and rest. There is no misery so great as that of those who make their own religion, and have no support beyond themselves in the day of trial. And while infidelity threatens Preface. 5 all the dogmatic relics of the Lutheran Reformation, and causes creeds of faith to fade away from formularies which have long since lost their binding power, the spirit of revolution enters the domain of law, and overturns the principles of justice, on which alone the state can securely rest. The sacredness of the marriage tie passes from the minds of men, who forget the duties of fathers and children, and the mutual responsibilities of princes and peo- ple. It behooves Christians and good citi- zens to look well to the dangers which threaten society before the hour of ruin come, lest they, unawares, be found among those who seek to level with the dust all that is dearest and most sacred to man. Simply and briefly as we have been obliged to treat the subjects of these lectures, we believe that we have offered to the earnest inquirer an unanswerable argument. So, with the most sincere good-will to all, and with the love of God constraining us, we Preface. urgently commend our reasoning to our intelligent and honest countrymen. Chris- tianity must be taken, as it has come down to us, from the hand of its founder, or be entirely abandoned. The rejection of any part of revelation is logically the rejection of the whole. Time will show that the truths we maintain are divine, and demonstrate, by the stern lessons of experience, that Christ and his Vicar are bound together; that the Papacy is the keystone of the sacred arch which sus- tains both religion and society. T. S. P. New York, Feast of All Saints, 1871. Lecture I THE SUPREMACY OF THE POPE. "Thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."— S. Matthew xvi. 18, 19. |[HE religious controversies of the day, with whatsoever evils they have been attended, have at least suc- ceeded in bringing great questions to an issue. The result of the Protestant principle, which applies the judgment of private reason to the intrinsic credibility of revealed truth, has been clearly manifested. If the rule, " By their fruits you shall know them," be employed, then that principle cannot be true which renders revelation an impossibility, by 1 2 The Supremacy of the Pope. taking from the intellect and heart the faculty to see objective truth. In the early days of Protestantism, it was common to discuss the doctrines re- vealed, as they had been taught by the Catholic Church, and to argue against their truth as if they were individual propositions standing by themselves, and not parts of one great system which could not be broken in pieces. Some of the reformers, on the eclectic plan, were willing to receive this or that portion of the old creed, rejecting other articles which did not suit their notions of God. It is possible thus to argue, and even thus to defend the parts of a faith which is true as a whole. That which is true as a whole is also true in its component parts. Yet this mode of argument is far from being satisfac- The Supremacy of the Pope. 1 3 tory ; nor is it altogether logical. In all matters of truth supernatural, there is really one question to be answered: " Has God, who is the one fountain of light, revealed them ? " If he has spoken, then, whatever be the impres- sions produced upon our minds by his words, the truth remains firm and un- alterable. Discussions upon separate doctrines, as regards their intrinsic credibility, which were so rife in the beginning of Protes- tantism, led naturally to the undervaluing of the doctrines themselves, and then of all dogma. It came to be practically admitted that points of belief were really of no consequence to our ultimate destiny, and did not affect our moral probation. Salvation could not be made to deoend upon the nature of our faith, 14 The Supremacy of the Pope. provided that our lives were in accord- ance with the divine law. As Christianity consists essentially of a set of dogmas, and falls when these dogmas are denied, so the question is not now, after three centuries of varied struggle, as to the truth or falsity of parts of the Apostolic creed, but as to Christ himself and his whole mission. The battle is not now so much for doctrines as for the fact of a revelation. Christianity in the hands of the reformers has been first broken to pieces, and then hopelessly shipwrecked. The Catholic Church fights now with open and undisguised infidelity. Her children hold the lance in rest not in a tournament for a doctrine or a name, but in a mortal encounter, in which the existence of faith is at stake. This was ever the case, since, if the The Supremacy of t/ie Pope. 15 pillar of truth be thrown down, there remains no truth for man ; but now the world sees it, and exults in it. So much have the controversies of our dav proved. The Catholic Church alone teaches by authority, or professes to speak in God's name. Her voice is to the world, " I am the pillar and ground of the truth " ; "He that is of God, heareth us " ; " Jesus Christ is God and man, the redeemer and teacher of mankind. He established the church that it might represent him, extend itself to all men, and teach in his almighty name." Protestants, in all their varied forms, profess no power to teach. It is their peculiarity to deny any such power, and to remit the whole question of belief to the individual mind. The reference to a 1 6 The Supremacy of the Pope. book whose inspiration they cannot prove, and whose meaning is as various as the texture of separate human intel- lects, is perhaps the greatest insult to the reason they claim to defend. Who is so short-sighted as not to see that the whole structure of Protestant dog- matism, if such it may be called, is the logical fallacy of "begging the question"? The inspiration of the Bible cannot be proved, except by another living, in- fallible authority. The Bible cannot prove itself, nor can historical testimony, as to the authenticity of its different books, substantiate its divine character. Protestants are too thoughtless or too dishonest to take notice of this great fallacy in their whole system ; but the world has long ago seen and pro- claimed it. The Supremacy of the Pope. 17 If you ask an infidel to believe in the authority of the Scriptures, you have to offer him reasonable evidence of their inspiration. If you cannot do this, you insult his understanding by bringing them into the controversy. No Protestant church can pretend to teach infallibly, and there is no other kind of teaching. Honest and sincere hearts have to meet the question as it is, and say if they are willing to re- nounce Christianity and an objective revelation, to give up Christ and the hopes of his Gospel; for to this has it come. They cannot hold logical con- tradictions, form their creed by their own or other people's minds out of a book which they cannot show to be the word of God, or go on for ever taking for granted that which they can 1 8 The Stipremacy of the Pope. demonstrate to no one. This is actual infidelity, though masked under the garb of sincerity or piety. In these lectures we propose to treat briefly and simply of the great question which concerns all sincere men. If this question be answered truly by us, there is no further need of controversy. We present no side issue, nor irrelevant mat- ter. Our argument will only establish the conclusions of reason and revelation, that God is truth, that he has spoken to the wants of our race, and that the light which he kindled shines clearly where all may find it who honestly seek it. And if our words are true, then it is the duty of all men who hope for salvation through Jesus Christ to hear the voice by which alone he speaks, and, disregarding all otiier questions, and re- The Supremacy of the Pope. 1 9 nouncing every opposing human interest, to yield obedience to that church which is really Christ teaching and redeeming the world. The argument of this lecture is very simple, and, to an unprejudiced mind, unanswerable. I. Jesus Christ, who is God, founded the Catholic Church, and his veracity, as a teacher, is bound up with this church. II. Of this church he made S. Peter and his successors the supreme pastors. III. Christianity is therefore identical with the church of which S. Peter and his successors are the head. IV. The rejection of Christianity is the actual rejection of natural religion and the light of reason. The fountains of evidence on which we rely are, first: facts which no sane 20 The Supremacy of the Pope, man can gainsay ; secondly, the Holy Scriptures, which are inspired to those who are willing to receive them as such, and authentic to every one ; and, thirdly, the testimony of reason itself, which must find harmony and propriety in the works of the divine hand. In short and concise conferences, such as we propose, our citations will neces- sarily be brief; but one good proof is sufficient when its force is direct and invincible. I. We do not intend here to enter upon the argument which establishes the divinity of Jesus Christ. It will answer our present purpose to simply state that he professed himself to be the Son of God, and, as such, equal in nature to his The Supremacy of the Pope. 2 1 1 Father. His miracles, which are matters of fact, witnessed by competent testimony, proved the truth of the divine character which he claimed.* God only can work genuine miracles, and he can never co- operate with falsehood. The fact that he founded a church to perpetuate his Gospel is generally admit- ted. Those who reject him altogether are not concerned to deny a fact so evident. And the various sects of Chris- tians, in the foundation and management of their different churches, testify to it, as a thinaf conceded without discussion. If it were necessary to prove it, we should only have to adduce historical testimony overwhelmingly abundant. The New Tes- *For fuller proof of the divinity of Jesus Christ, the reader is referred to the author's lectures upon Christ ana (he Church. 22 The Supremacy of the Pope. tament gives a full account of the estab- lishment of this church, and the commis- sion of its first pastors or teachers, while the Acts of the Apostles are simply the history of its early growth and vicissitudes. We need only quote the words of the text: "Thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church " ; or the great promise: "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations ; and behold, I am with you all days, even unto the consumma- tion of the world."* The continued existence of a church through nineteen centuries, deriving its authority professedly from him, and really tracing back its existence to him, is the strongest proof that can be presented. They who would reject this evidence can consistently accept no historical tes- * S. Matthew xxviii. 1S-20. The Supremacy of I fie Pope. 23 timony whatever. The only link wanting in the chain is the proof that the Catho- lic Church is the church which Jesus Christ founded. And here we have only to say, that if he founded any church, it must have been the Catholic Church ; for, first, there is no other church which can trace back its origin to him ; and, secondly, there is no other church which is founded upon Peter, as his was, by the testimony of his own words. The Protestant communions, without a single exception, can be traced to their found- ers at no very distant date, and every schism gives us the exact day and hour of its separation from the old church. These could not have been founded by Christ, since they took their rise long after his death and ascension. The peculiarity of the Christian church 24 The Supremacy of the Pope. was, and is, that it rests upon S. Peter and his successors as its foundation and immovable centre of unity. Surely there is no need to demonstrate that the Catholic communion alone has this characteristic and distinguishing mark of the true church. No Protestant body exists a day without the denial of this essential feature of the body of Christ. It cannot be said that the church estab- lished by our Lord has failed, become corrupt, or ceased to exist. The works of God are imperishable, and that which he commandeth to endure cannot pass away. If his church could cease to exist, then the gates of hell have pre- vailed against it, and his word has proved false. If it has become at any time corrupt and unfit for its mission, then has it so signally failed that the The Supremacy of the Pope. 25 powers of evil have mastered it, and turned it against its founder. If it could be divided, so as to break its unity and extinguish its living, infallible voice, then has Christ been worsted in the stru cMe with the devil, and his o o promises have come to naught. Who is so blind as not to see that his veracity as a teacher, and therefore the success of his whole mission on earth, are bound up with the perpetuity and triumph of that one church which he established? If his word can fail, then he is not God, and Christianity is a wreck of delusion and imposture. There is no other conclusion to which a just and unprejudiced mind can come. 26 The Supremacy of the Pope. II. It is important, however, to bring into greater light the fact on which we have for a moment dwelt. Of this church which Christ founded, and to which he gave the whole strength of his divinitv, S. Peter and his successors were consti- tuted the supreme head. This truth being once established, every religious question is settled among those who profess themselves followers of Jesus Christ. I. Our proposition is only the state- ment of a fact, better substantiated than almost any fact in history. If our Lord did not found his church upon Peter, then he did not found any church at all. The evidence for the one is equal to the evidence for the other. The Supremacy of the Pope. 27 First, we have his promise to this apostle, given in the most solemn manner. His name was not originally Peter. He was Simon the son of Jonas. At his first call to the apostleship, our Lord changed his name, and called him Peter, or " the rock." The other apostles were not called by such a name, and therefore it is certain that something special and important was in- tended by such an appellation. To suppose anything else would be really to make our Lord senseless and more foolish than any ordinary man. And there is no other interpretation of his words possible, except one which would throw ridicule upon Peter. Upon him as " the rock," or foundation, Jesus Christ promised to build his church. It was no ordinary edifice, but one which 28 The Supremacy of the Pope. the powers of evil or the changes of time should not be able to destroy. " Thou art Peter ; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." After the resurrection, the supremacy and pastorship promised were plainly con- ferred. "Jesus said to Simon Peter: Simon son of John, lovest thou me more than these ? He saith to him : Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith to him : Feed my lambs. He saith to him again : Simon son of John, lovest thou me ? He saith to him : Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith to him : Feed my lambs. He saith • to him the third time : Simon son of John, lovest thou me ? Peter was grieved, because he said to him the The Supremacy of the Pope. 29 third time, Lovest thou me ? And he said to him : Lord, ' thou knowest all things: thou knowest that I love thee. He said to him: Feed my sheep."* The lambs and sheep of Christ con- stitute his entire fold, and therefore by these words S. Peter is made the pastor of the whole flock. The power conferred here is not given to the other apostles, but they rather are placed under the direction of their chief. " Lovest thou me more than these ? " signifies a greater trust, and therefore a greater devotion. Any other interpre- tation would imply that the God- Man was either ignorant of the meaning of words, or that he intended to deceive. Christians have ever understood his words in their plain, literal sense, and * S. John xxi. 15-17- 3