APPENDIX TO THE DISCOURSE ON THE

ROMAN PONTIFF.

DECLARATIONS OF EMINENT Men, at Different Times, respectING THE TEMPORAL SOVEREIGNTY Of the Pope.

BOSSUET. In his discourse on the unity of the Church, and his defence of the declaration of 1682 :-"We know that the Roman Pontiffs, and the Sacerdotal order, hold by the concession of Princes, and possess most legitimately, temporal goods, rights, and positions of authority to rule over others in the same way as other men. We know that these possessions, inasmuch as they are consecrated to God, ought to be held sacred, and no one can invade them, plunder them, and give them over to seculars without committing sacrilege. The Sovereignty of the city of Rome and other possessions have been granted to the Apostolic See, in order that it might exercise its authority with the greater liberty over the entire universe. We congratulate not only the Apostolic See on this account, but the universal Church; and we desire, with all the ardour of our best wishes, that this Sovereignty continue safe and sound in all manner of ways."-Gosselin, Pouvoir du Pape, lib. 1, sec. 1, cap. 16.

Those words of the great Bishop of Meaux were quoted by the excellent Abbé Emery in presence of Napoleon I., as he was planning the overthrow of the temporal authority of the Holy See.

NAPOLEON I. He is reported by M. Thiers, as stated by Cretineau Jolly (l'Eglise Romaine en face de la Révolution) to have said:"The Institution, which maintains the unity of the Faith, that is to say, the Pope, guardian of Catholic unity, is an admirable Institution. People complain that he is a foreign Sovereign. This head is, indeed, a foreigner, and we have to thank heaven on that account. The Pope is

He is not at

away from Paris, and it is well that he is so. Madrid, nor at Vienna, and, therefore, is it that we uphold his spiritual authority. Were he at Madrid, or at Vienna, there would be reason for speaking otherwise. Do people believe that, were he in Paris, the people of Vienna or Madrid. would consent to accept his decisions? We should, therefore, be very happy that he resides away from amongst us, and that in residing away from amongst us he does not reside amongst those who could be our rivals, that he inhabits that old city of Rome, far out of the reach of the Emperors of Germany, out of that of the Kings of France, or the Kings of Spain, holding the balance between the Catholic Sovereigns, inclining always a little towards the strongest, but soon standing erect, if the strongest become an oppressor. This was brought about by ages, and the result is excellent. For the government of souls it is the best, the most beneficent Institution, that can be imagined. I do not support these things by the obstinacy of a devotee, but by the force of conviction."

In the years 1848 and 1849, when Pope Pius IX., was in exile, there were numerous declarations of eminent men respecting the necessity of his temporal Sovereignty. Amongst them M. THURIOT DE LA ROSIERE Spoke as follows in the Legislative Assembly:-"It is necessary that the Pope be a Sovereign, because if the human soul, if the temporal power, could suspect his independence, if he had not the evidence, the high reputation of independence, souls and temporal powers so naturally inclined to resistance would resist his decrees. It is necessary, in fine, that he be a Sovereign, because, were he not a Sovereign, he should be subjected, and he should submit to all the vicissitudes, diplomatic and military, of a State of which he would not have the government. It was necessary, moreover, that he should be a Sovereign, because, just as the human soul has need of the organs of sense in order to act, the spiritual power

should have a free atmosphere, with agents free to execute its will."-Ami de la Religion, tr. 153, p. 203.

NAPOLEON III. wrote as follows to the Apostolic Nuncio in 1848 "The temporal Sovereignty of the venerable Head of the Catholic Church is intimately bound up with the splendour of Catholicism, as it is with the liberty and independence of Italy."

M. BARTHE, later on, the 6th March, 1862, amidst the applause of the French Senate, exclaimed-"Yes, for the good of Catholics, the Chief of Catholicity should be a I desire complete liberty of Sovereign completely free. conscience, but I desire also complete freedom for the Chief of Catholicity. I am opposed to his liberty being, I will not say attacked, but even suspected, and for that he requires the fullest independence. Let me be allowed to quote on this subject what Frederick the Great said to Voltaire :-The question is how to overthrow the temporal power, because the temporal power once overthrown, the spiritual power will be what it can be, and we will come by that means to have national churches, as we have national languages.""

At the same period, very many others, eminent for their talent and learning, spoke and wrote to the same effect, and amongst them Bishops Dupanloup, Gerbet, Parisis, Pie, Plantier; as also the following distinguished laymenMM. de Falloux, Nettement, Poujoulat, Thiers, Villemain. Also, about the same time, there were several Councils held in France, at Tours, Rheims, Rouen, Toulouse, Albi, Bourges, that adopted as an oracle of their sentiments the words of Bossuet-"We pray with all our best wishes that the sacred Princedom remain by all means safe and sound"; and the Fourth Council of Bordeaux going still farther, in 1859, adopted most cordially the words of Pius IX., in his

Encyclical of the 18th June, which will be recited in the sequel.

Pius IX., in his allocution, delivered in the Consistory, held 20th April, 1849, spoke as follows:-"We cannot refrain from advising and reproving in particular those, who applaud the decree, by which the Roman Pontiff is despoiled of all this honour and dignity of his civil power, and assert that the said decree conduces very much to procure the liberty and happiness of the Church itself. Here, however, we openly and publicly declare, that we do not speak from any ambition of ruling, or any desire of temporal sovereignty, our disposition and inclination being averse to all kind of authority over others. But the duty of our position requires of us, that in defending the civil princedom of the Apostolical See, we maintain with all our strength the rights and possessions of the Holy Roman Church and the liberty of the said See, which is bound up with the liberty and interests of the entire Church. And, indeed, the men who, in applauding the above-mentioned decree, assert such false and absurd things, are either ignorant, or pretend to be ignorant, that by a most special arrangement of divine Providence the Roman Empire having been broken up into a variety of kingdoms and states, the Roman Pontiff, to whom the government and care of the whole Church was confided by Christ our Lord, should possess a temporal Sovereignty for the precise purpose, that, in governing the whole Church, and maintaining her unity, he should enjoy that complete liberty, which is necessary for the fulfilment of the office of the supreme Apostolic Ministry. For it is manifest to every one, that the faithful nations and kingdoms would not afford full confidence or dutiful respect to the Roman Pontiff were they to regard him as subject to any ruler or government, and not free, since the faithful, and other kingdoms, could not help suspecting very much, and fearing that the Pontiff

M

would conform his acts to the will of the Ruler or Government of the territory, where he would abide, and, therefore, under this pretext would often resist his acts. And, indeed, let the very enemies themselves of the temporal Sovereignty of the Apostolic See, who now are masters of Rome, say with what confidence and respect they would accept the exhortations, admonitions, commands, and constitutions of the Supreme Pontiff, in case they knew him to be subject to the control of any Ruler or Government, especially were he under any Ruler between whom and the Roman Power war for any length of time might be going on."

Again, in his Encyclical of the 18th of June, 1859, Pius IX. says "We openly declare a temporal Sovereignty to be necessary for this See, that it may exercise its sacred authority without any obstruction for the good of religion."

The Bishops assembled in Rome, adopting the declarations of Pius IX., addressed him under date 8th June, 1862, in the following terms :-"We are all to hold as most certain, that this temporal kingdom became annexed to the Holy See not by chance, but was granted to it by a special divine dispensation, and that it was strengthened and preserved almost miraculously through a lengthened series of years, and with the unanimous consent of all kingdoms and governments; and, therefore, do we declare with loud and solemn statement, that you have desired constantly to preserve and maintain entire and inviolate the civil Princedom of the Roman Church, and its possessions and rights as belonging to the universal Catholic world; and moreover, that the safe-keeping of this Princedom of the Holy See, and the Patrimony of the Blessed Peter, is the concern of all Catholics, and that you are ready to lay down your life rather than abandon in any manner this cause of the Church of God and of justice, to which noble words we reply with acclamation and applause, 'that we are ready to go with you both to prison and to death." (Luke, xxii. 33)