Appendix

A Sacra Oecumenica Synodo Vaticana infrascripti Patres humillime instanterque flagitant, ut apertis, omnemque dubitandi locum excludentibus verbis sancire velit supremam, ideoque ab errore immunem esse Komani Pontificis auctoritatem, quum in rebus fidei et morum ea statuit ac praecipit, quae ab omnibus christifidelibus credenda et tenenda, quaeve reiicienda et damnanda sint.

BATIONES OB QUAS HAKC PROPOSITIO OPPORTUNA ET NBCESSARIA CENSETUR.

Roman! Pontificis, beati Petri Apostoli successoris, in universam Christi Ecclesiam iurisdictionis, adeoque etiam supremi magisterii primatis in sacris Scripturis aperte docetur.

Universalis et constans Ecclesiae traditio turn factis turn sanctorum Patrum effatis, turn plurimorum Conriliorum, 8 (169)

etiam oecumenicorum, et agendi et loquendi ratione docet, Romani Pontificis iudicia de fidci morumque docvrina irreformabilia esse.

Con sent ientibus Graecis et Latinis, in Concilio II Lugdunensi admissa professio fidei est, in qua declaratur: <; Subortas de fide controversial debere Romani Pontificis mdicio definiri." In Florentina itidem oecumenica Synodo definitum est: " Romanum Pontificem esse verum Christi Vicarium, totiusque Ecclesiae caput. et omnium christianorum patrem et doctorem; et ipsi in beato Petro pascendi, regendi ac gubernandi universalem Ecclesiam a Domino nostro lesu Christo plenam potestatem traditam esse." Ipsa quoque sana ratio docet, neminem stare posse in fidei communione cum Ecclesia catholica, qui eius capiti non consentiat, quum ne cogitatioiie quidem Ecclesiam a suo capite separare liceat.

Attamen fuerunt atque adhucdum sunt, qui, catholicorum nomine gloriantes, eoque etiam ad infirmorum in fide perniciem abutentes, docere praesumant, earn sunicere submissionom erga Romani Pontificis auctoritatem, qua eius de fide moribusque decreta obsequioso, ut aiunt, silentio, sine interno mentis assensu, vel provisorie tantum, usqueduni de Ecclesiae assensu vel dissensu constiterit, suscipiantur.

Hacce porro perversa doctrina Romani Pontificis auctoritatem subverti, fidei unitciem dissipari, erroribus campum amplissimum aperiri, temp usque late serpendi tribui, nemo, non \ddet.

Quare Episcopi, catholicae veritatis custodes et vindices, his potissimum temporibus connisi sunt, ut supremam Apostolicae Sedis docendi auctoritatem synodalibus praesertim decretis et communibus testimoniis tuerentur.¹

Quo evidentius vero catholica veritas praedicabufcur, eo

APPENDIX. I/l vehementius, tarn libellis quam ephemeridibus, nuperrime impugnata est, ut catholicus populus contra sanam doctrinani commoveretur, ipsaque Vaticana Synodus ab ea proclamanda absterreretur.

Quare, si untea de opportunitate istius doctrinae in hoc Oecumenico Concilio pronuntiandae a pluribus dubitari adhuc potuit, nunc earn definire necessarium prorsus videtur. Catholica enim doctrina iisdem plane arguments denuo iinpetitur, quibus olim homines, proprio iudicio condemnati, adversus earn utebantur; quibus, si urgeantur, ipse Ro-mani Pontificis primatus, Ecclesiaeque infallibilitas pessumdatur; et quibus saepe deterrima convicia contra Apostolicam Sedem admiscentur. Immo acerbissimi catholicae doctrinae impugnatores, licet cathoh'cos se dicant,

(Romanus Pontifex) cst omnium Christianorum pater et doctor, cuius in fidei quaestionibus per se irreformabile est iudicium.'1''

2. Episcopi in Concilio provincial! Ultraiectensi anno 1865 congregati apertissime edicunt: u (Romani Pontificis) iudicium in iis, quae ad fidem moresque spectant, infallibile esse, indubitanter retinemus."

3. Concilium provinciale Uolocense, anno 1860 celebratum, haec statuit: " Quemadmodum Petrus erat... doctrinae fidei magister irrefragabilis, pro quo fpse Domiuus rogavit, ut non deficeret fides eius...; pari modo legitimi eius in cathedrae Romanae culmine successores... deposit um fidei summo et irrefragabili oraculo custodiunt... Unde pro positiones cleri gallicani anno 1682 editas, quas iam piae memoriae Geor gins Archiepiscopus Strigoniensis una cum ceteris Hungariae Praesulibus eodcm adhuc anno publice proscripsit, itidem reiicimus, proscribimus, atque cunctis Provinciae liuius fidelibus interdicimus, ne eas legere vel

. tenere, multo minus docere auderent."

' 4. Concilium plenarium Baltimorense, anno 1866 coactum, in decretis, quibus 44 Archiepiscopi et Episcopi subscripserunt, inter ali a haec docet: " Viva et infallibilis auctoritas in ea tantum viget Ecclesia, quae a Christo Domino supra Petrum, totius Ecclesiae caput, prlncipem et pastorem, cuius fidem nunquam defecturam promisit, aedificata, suos legitimos semper habet Pontiflces, sine intermissione ab ipso Petro ducentes originem, in eius cathedra collocatos, et eiusdem etium doctrinae, dignitatis, honoris et potestatis haeredes et vindices. Et quoniam ubi Petrus, ibi Ecclesia, ac Petrus per Romanum Pontificcni loquitur et semper in suis successoribus vivit et iudicium exercet, ac praestat quaerentibus fidei veritatem; idcirco divina eloquia eo plane xenxu sunt accipienda, quae tniuit ac tenet haec ftomana bcatissimi Petri cathedra, quae omnium Ecclesiarum mater et magistra, fidem a Chneto Domino traditam intcgram inviolatamt4ue blaterare non erubescunt, Florentinam Synodum, supremam Eomani Pontificis auctoritatem luculentissime profitentem, oecumenicam non fuisse.

Si igitur Concilium Vaticanum, adeo provocatum, taceret et catholicae doctrinae testimonium dare negligeret, tune catholicus populus de vera doctrina reapse dubitare inciperet, neoterici auteni gloriantes assererent, Concilium ob argumenta ab ipsis allata siluisse. Quinimmo silentio hoc semper abuterentur, ut Apostolicae Sedis iudiciis et decretis circa fidem et mores palam obedientiam negarent, sub praetextu quod Komanus Pontifex in eiusmodi iudiciis falli potuerit.

Publicum itaque rei cliristianae bonum postulare videtur, ut Sacrosanctum Concilium Vaticanum, Florentinum desemper servavit, eamque fideles edocuit, omnibus ostendens salutis semitam et incoruptae veritatis doctrinam.

5. Concilium primum provinciate Westmonasteriense, anno 1852 habitum, profitetur: "Cum Dominus noster adhortetur dicens: Attendite ad petram, unde excisi estis; attendee ad Abraham, patrem vestrum: aequum est, nos, qui immediate ab Apostolica Sede fidem, sacerdotium, veramque religionem accepimus, eidem plus ceteris amoris et observantiae vinculis udstringi. Fundamentum igitur verae et orthbdoxa: fidei ponimus, quod Dominus noster Jesus Christus ponere voluit inconcussum, scilicet Petri cathedram, totius orbis magistram et matrem, 8, Momanam Ecdesiam. Quidquid ab ipsa semel definUum est, eo ipso ratum et cerium tenemus; ipsius traditiones, ritus, pios usus et omnes apostolicas constitutiones, disciplinam respicientes, toto corde amplectimur et veneramur. Summo denique Pontifici obedientam et reverentiam, ut Christi Vicario, ex animo profitemur, eique arctissime in catholica communione adhaeremus."

6. Quingenti prope Episcopi, ex toto terrarum orbe ad agenda solemnia saecularia Martyrii Sanctorum Petri et Pauli anno 1867 in hac alma Urbe congregati, miuime dubitarunt, Supremum Pontificem Pium IX hisce alloqui verbis: "Petrum per os Pii locutum fuisse credentes, quae ad custodiendum depositum a Te dicta, confirmata, prolata sunt, nos quoque dicimus, confirmamus, annunciamus, unoque ore atque animo reiicimus omnia, quae divinae fidei, saluti animarum, ipsi societatis humauae bono adversa, Tu ipse reprobanda ac reiicienda iudicasti. Firmum enim menti nostrae est, alteque defixum, quod Patres Florentini in decreto unionis defmierunt: Romanum Pontificem Christi Vicarium, totius Ecclesiae caput et omnium Christianorum Patrem et Doctorem excretum de Eomano Pontifice denuo profitens et uberius explicans, apertis, omnemque dubitandi locum praecludentibus verbis sancire velit supremara, ideoque ab errore immunem esse eiusdem Komani Pontificis auctoritatem, quum in rebus fidei et morum ea statuit ac praecipit, quae ab omnibus christifidelibus credenda et tenenda, quaeve reiicienda et damnanda sint.

Non desunt quidem qui existiment, a catholica hac veri-tate sancienda abstinendum esse, ne schismatici atquo haeretici longius ab Ecclesia arceantur. Sed in primis catholicus populus ius habet, ut ab Oecumenica Synodo doceatur, quid in re tarn gravi, ef tam improbe nuper impugnata, credendum sit, ne simplices et incautos multorum animos perniciosus error tandem corrumpat. Idcirco etiam Lugdunenses et Tridentini Patres rectam doctrinam stabiliendam esse censuerunt, etsi schismatici et haeretici offenderentur. Qui si sincera mente veritatem quaerant, non absterrebuntur sed allicientur, dum ipsis ostenditur, quo potissimum fundamento catholicae Ecclesiae unitas et firmitas nitatur. Si qui autem, vera doctrina ab Ocumenico Concilio definita, ab Ecclesia deficerent, hi numero pauci et iamdudum in fide naufragi sunt, praetextum sohimmodo quaerentes, quo externa etiam actione ab Ecclesia se eximant, quam interno sensu iam deseruisse palam ostendunt. Hi sunt, qui catholicum populum continuo turbare uon abhorruerunt, et a quorum insidiis Vaticana Synodus fideles Ecclesiae fih'os tueri debebit. Catholicus enimvero populus, semper edoctus et assuetus, Apostolicis Romani Pontificis decretis plenissimum mentis et oris obsequium exhibere, Vaticani Concilii sententiam de eiusdem suprema et ab en*ore immuni auctoritate laeto fidelique animo excipiet.

TRANSLATION OF THE POSTULATUM FOR THE DEFINITION.

TO THE HOLY (ECUMENICAL VATICAN COtJNCIL.

The undersigned Fathers humbly and earnestly beg the holy (Ecumenical Council of the Vatican to define clearly, and in words that cannot be mistaken, that the authority of the Eoman Pontiff is supreme, and, therefore, exempt from error, when in matters of faith and morals he declares and defines what is to be believed and held, and what to be rejected and condemned, by all the faithful.

REASONS FOE WHICH ^ms DEFiNiTion is THOUGHT OPPOKTUNE; AND NECESSAEY.

The Sacred Scriptures plainly teach the Primacy of jurisdiction of the Roman Pontiff, the Successor of St. Peter, over the whole Church of Christ, and, therefore, also his Primacy of supreme teaching authority.

The universal and constant tradition of the Church, as seen both in facts and in the teaching of the Fathers, as well as in the manner of acting and speaking adopted by many Councils, some of which were (Ecumenical, teaches us that the judgments of the Eoman Pontiff in matters of faith and morals are irreformable.

Tn the Second Council of L^ons, with the consent of both Greeks and Latins, a profession of faith was agreed upon, which declares: " "When controversies in matters of faith arise, they must be settled by the decision of the Roman Pontiff." Moreover, in the (Ecumenical Synod of Florence, it was defined that "the Roman Pontiff is Christ's true Vicar, the Head of the whole Church, and Father and Teacher of all Christians; and that to him, in blessed Peter, was given by Jesus Christ the plenitude of power to rule and govern the universal Church." Sound reason, too, teaches us that no one can remain in communion of faith with the Catholic Church who is not of one mind with its head, since the Church cannot be separated from its head even in thought.

Yet some have been found, and are even now to be found, who, boasting of the name of Catholic, and using that name to the ruin of those weak in faith, are bold enough to teach, that sufficient submission is yielded to the authority of the Koman Pontiff, if we receive his decrees in matters of faith and morals with an obsequious silence, as it is termed, without yielding internal assent, or, at most, with a provisional assent, until the approval or disapproval of the Church has been made known. Any one can see that by this perverse doctrine the authority of the Roman Pontiff is overturned, all unity of faith dissolved, a wide field open to errors, and leisure afforded for spreading them far and wide.

Wherefore the Bishops, the guardians and protectors of Catholic truth, have endeavored, especially now-a-days, to defend in their Synodal decrees, and by their united testimony, the supreme authority of the Apostolic See.²

But the more clearly Catholic truth has been declared, the more vehemently has it been attacked both in books and in newspapers, for the purpose of exciting Catholics against sound doctrine, and preventing the Council of the Vatican from defining it.

Though, then, in times past many might have doubted the opportuneness of declaring this doctrine in the present CEcumenical Council, it would seem now to be absolutely necessary to define it. For Catholic doctrine is now once more assailed by those same arguments which men, condemned by their own conscience, used against it in old times; arguments which, if carried to their ultimate consequences, would bring to the ground the very Primacy of the Roman Pontiff and the infallibility of the Church itself; and to which, also, is frequently added the most violent abuse of the Apostolic See. Nay, more; the most bitter assailants of Catholic doctrine, though calling themselves Catholics, are not ashamed to assert that the Synod of Florence, which so clearly declares the supreme authority of the Roman Pontif, was not (Ecumenical.

If, then, the Council of the Vatican, being thus challenged, were to be silent, and omit to give testimony to the Catholic doctrine on this point, then Catholics would, in fact, begin to doubt the true doctrine, and the novelty-mongers would triumphantly assert that the Council had been silenced by the arguments brought forward by them. They would, moreover, abuse this silence on every occasion, and openly deny the obedience due to the judgments and decrees of the Apostolic See in matters of faith and morals, under pretext that the judgment of the Roman Pontiff is fallible on such points.

Wherefore the public good of Christianity seems to require that the holy Council of the Vatican, professing once again, and explaining more fully, the Florentine decree, should define clearly, and in words that can admit of no doubt, that the authority of the Roman Pontiff is supreme, and, therefore, exempt from error, when in matters of faith and morals he decrees and ordains what is to be believed and held by all the faithful of Christ, and what to be rejected and condemned by them.

There are, indeed, some who think that this Catholic truth should not be defined, lest schismatics and heretics should be repelled yet further from the Church. But, above all other considerations, Catholics have a right to be taught by the (Ecumenical Council what they are to believe in so weighty a matter, and one which has been of late so iniquitously attacked; lest this pernicious error should in the end infect simple minds, and the masses of people unawares. Hence it was that the Fathers of Lyons and of Trent deemed themselves bound to establish the doctrine of the truth, notwithstanding the offence that might be taken by schismatics and heretics. For if these seek the truth in sincerity, they will not be repelled, but, on the contrary, drawn towards us, when they see on what foundations the unity and strength of the Catholic Church chiefly repose. But, should any leave the Church in consequence of the true doctrine being denned by the (Ecumenical Council, these will be few in number, and such as have already suffered shipwreck in the faith; such as are only seeking a pretext to abandon that Church by an overt act, which they plainly show they have deserted already in heart. These are they who have never shrunk from disturbing our Catholic people; and from the snares of such men the Council of the Vatican ought to protect the faithful children of the Church. For all true Catholics, taught and accustomed to render the fullest obedience both of thought and word to the Apostolic decrees of the Roman Pontiff, will receive with joyful and devoted hearts the definition of the Council of the Vatican concerning his supreme and infallible authority.

DECISIONS OF PROVISIONAL SYNODS RECENTLY HELD, SHOWING THE COMMON OPINION OF BISHOPS CONCERNING THE SUPREME AND INFALLIBLE AUTHORITY OF THE ROMAN PONTIFF IN MATTERS OF FAITH AND MORALS.

1. The Provincial Council held at Cologne in 1860, to which, in addition to his Eminence Cardinal Geissel, Archbishop of Cologne, five Bishops subscribed, expressly declared: " He (the Roman Pontiff) is the father and teacher of all Christians, whose judgment in questions of faith is per se ' unalterable"

2. The Bishops assembled in the Provincial Council, held at Utrecht in 1865, most openly assert: " We unhesitatingly hold that the judgment of the Roman Pontiff in matters which refer to faith and morals is infallible"

3 The Provincial Council of Prague,³ in 1860, to which his Eminence Cardinal Archbishop Frederic de Schwarzenberg and four other Bishops subscribed, under the heading, " On the Primacy of the Roman Pontiff/' decreed as follows: " We reject, moreover, the error of those who pretend that the Church can exist anywhere without being joined in bonds of union with the Church of Rome, in which the tradition which has been handed down by the Apostles, has been preserved by those who are in every part." (S. Irenseus, Adv. Hoer. 1. 3, c. 3, n. 2.)

'• We know that no one who is not joined to the Head can be considered as a member of the Body of the Church which Christ founded on Peter, and established on his authority. Let all then prefer to confess with us and with the multitude of orthodox believers spread over the whole world, the Headship of the Roman Church and the Primacy of the Roman Pontiff; let them, as is fitting, with us, reverence and honor with dutiful affection our Most Holy Father Pius IX., by God's Providence Pope, the lawful Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, the Vicar of Christ on earth, the Chief Teacher of Faith, and Pilot of the Ship of Christ, to whom the most exact obedience and internal assent is due from all who wish to belong to the fold of Christ. We declare and teach, that this authority of the Roman Pontiff comes from Christ our Lord, and that consequently it is dependent upon no power or favor of men, and remains unimpaired in all times, even in the most bitter persecutions which the Church of Rome has suffered, as was the case during the imprisonment and martyrdom of blessed Peter."

4. The Provincial Council of Kalocza, held in 1860, de-dared: " That as Peter was... the irrefutable teacher of the doctrines of faith, for whom the Lord Himself prayed that his faith might not fail; so his legitimate successors seated aloft on the Chair of Rome... preserve the deposit of faith with supreme and irrefutable powers of declaring the truth.... Wherefore we also reject, proscribe, and forbid all the faithful of this Province, to read or maintain, and much more to teach, the propositions published by the Gallican Clergy in 1682, which have already been censured this same year by the Archbishop of Gran, of pious memory, and by the other Bishops of Hun-gary-"

5. The Plenary Council of Baltimore, which met in 1866, and to which 44 Archbishops and Bishops subscribed, says: " The living and infallible authority flourishes in that Church alone which was built by Christ upon Peter, who is the Head, Leader, and Pastor of the whole Church, whose faith Christ promised should never fail; which ever had legitimate Pontiffs, dating their origin in unbroken line from Peter himself, being seated in his Chair, and being the inheritors and defenders of the like doctrine, dignity, office, and power. And because, where Peter is, there also is the Church, and because Peter speaks in the person of the Roman Pontiff, ever lives in his successors, passes judgment, and makes known the truths of faith to those who seek them; therefore are the Divine declarations to be received in that sense in which they have been and are held by this Roman See of blessed Peter, that mother and teacher of all Churches, which has ever preserved whole and entire the teaching delivered by Christ, and which has taught it to the faithful, showing to all men the paths of salvation and the doctrine of everlasting truth"

6. The first Provincial Council of Westminster, held in 1852, states: " When our Blessed Lord exhorts us, saying, Look to the rock whence you are hewn; look to Abraham your father, it is fitting that we who have received our faith, our priesthood, and the true religion, directly from the Apostolic See, should more than others be attached to it by the bonds of love and fidelity. Therefore do we maintain that foundation of truth and orthodoxy which Jesus Christ willed should be maintained unshaken; namely, the See of Peter, the teacher and mother of the whole world, the Holy Roman Church. Whatever is once defined by it, for that very reason alone we consider to be fixed and certain; when we look at its traditions, rites, pious customs, discipline, and all its Apostolic Constitutions, we follow and cherish them with all the affection of our hearts. In fine, we of set purpose publicly declare our obedience and respect for the Pope as Christ's Vicar, and we remain united to hifh in the closest bonds of Catholic unity."

7. Nearly five hundred of the Bishops assembled in Rome to celebrate the Centenary of the Martyrdom of SS. Peter and Paul, in the year 1867, had no hesitation in addressing Pius IX. in the following terms: " Believing that Peter has spoken by the mouth of Pius, whatever has been said, confirmed, and decreed by You to preserve the deposit of faith, we also repeat, confirm, and profess, and with one mind and heart we reject all that You have judged it necessary to reprove and condemn as contrary to Divine faith, to the salvation of souls, and to the good of society. For what the Fathers of Florence defined in their Decree of Union, is firmly and deeply impressed in our minds; that the Roman Pontiff is the Vicar of Christ, the Head of the whole Church, the Father and Teacher of all Christians."

n.

LETTER OF H. E. CARDINAL ANTONELLI TO THE NUNCIO AT PARIS.

HOME, March 19th, 1870.

MY LOBD: — The Marquis de Banneville, ambassador of his Majesty, read me, a few days ago, a despatch forwarded to him under date February 20, last, from Count Dam, Minister of Foreign Affairs, relative to the affairs of the Council. In this communication, of which the ambassador was kind enough to leave me a copy, the aforesaid minister, referring to the resolution come to by the French Government not to take part in the deliberations of the General Council, desiring at the same time its liberty to be guaranteed fully and absolutely, states that such resolution, was based on the supposition that that venerable assembly would occupy itself solely about the sacred interests of the Faith, and would abstain from touching questions of a purely political order. But the publication (he says) by the " Augsburg Gazette " of the canons appertaining to the draft of constitution on the Church and on the Roman Pontiff, showing that there is question of deciding whether the power of the Church and of her Head extends to the whole aggregate of political rights; the government, keeping firmly to the resolution of leaving, upon this point also, entire liberty to the deliberations of the august assembly, intends to exercise the rights given.it by the Concordat of making known to the Council its opinion on questions of such nature.

Passing to the examination of the said canons, the roin« ister sums up their contents (on which he wishes to corninent) in the two foUowing propositions: — First, " the Infallibility of the Church extends not only to the Deposit of Faith, but to ah1 that is necessary for the preservation of such deposit;" and secondly, " the Church is a society divine and perfect; its power is exercised at once in foro interno et externo; is absolute in the legislative, judicial, and coercive order, and is to be exercised by her with full liberty and independence from any civil power whatever." Hence, as corollaries of these two propositions, he deduces the extension of infallibility to all that is thought necessary for the defence of revealed truths, and consequently to facts, whether historical, philosophical, or scientific, external to revelation; as also the absolute subordination to the supreme authority of the Church of the constituent principles of civil society; of the rights and duties of Government; of the political rights and duties of citizens, whether electoral or municipal; of all that relates to the judicial and legislative order, as well in respect of persons as of things; of the rules of public administration; of the rights and duties of corporations, and, in general, of all the rights of the State, not excluding the rights of conquest, peace, and war.

Next the minister passes on to note the profound impression which the simple enunciation of such doctrines must produce in the entire world; and asks at the same time how it could be possible for the Bishops to consent to abdicate their episcopal authority, concentrating it in the hands of one alone; and how it could have been imagined that princes would lower their sovereignty befjre the supremacy of the Court of Rome.

Lastly, concluding, from all that has been set forth, that political and not religious interests are being discussed in. the Council, Count Daru demands that the Governments be heard, or at least admitted to bear testimony to the characters, dispositions, and spirit (disposizioni di spirito)

of the people they represent; and in particular France, by reason of the special protection twenty years she has exercised over the Pontifical Sta! has quite special duties to perform, he demands that the Government of that nation be permitted to exercise its right of receiving communication of projected decisions touching politics, and of requesting the delay necessary for bringing its observations before the Council, before any resolution be adopted by the same.

This is an abstract of the dispatch communicated to me by the Marquis de Banneville. I have thought proper to inform your Lordship of it; with the view, moreover, of communicating to you some short considerations which I think necessary to put in a clearer light the points touched upon by the minister, and to reply to the deductions made by him with respect to the points submitted to the deliberations of the Council.

And first, I cannot dispense myself from manifesting to your Lordship the satisfaction with which the Holy Father received the declaration expressed at the beginning of Count Daru's despatch, and repeated in the sequel, of the fixed intention of the French Government to respect, and cause to be respected, in any event, the full liberty of the Council, as well in the discussion of the constitution refer-red to as of all others which shall hereafter come to be proposed to the examination of the venerable assembly. This declaration, which does great honor to the Government of a Catholic nation, is considered by the Holy See as the natural consequence of that protection which, for more than twenty years, France has exercised towards it; a protection which has called forth several times public demonstrations of gratitude on the part of the Supreme Pontiff, who always, but especially at the present moment, cannot do less than recognize and appreciate all its importance.

But, coming closer to the object of Count Daru's de« spatch, I must say frankly that I am quite unable to understand (non mi e dato di comprendere) how the declarations contained in the draft of Constitution on the Church, and the respective canons — published in the " Augsburg Gazette " by a breach of the Pontifical secret — could have produced so grave and profound an impression on the mind of the French Cabinet, as to induce it to change the line of conduct which it had properly traced out for itself in regard to the discussions of the Vatican Council. The subjects treated in that draft of constitution, and in the canons appertaining to it, whatever modification they may undergo in the sequel from the judgment and decision of the Episcopate, are no more than the exposition of the maxims and fundamental principles of the Church; principles repeated over and over again in the Acts of former General Councils, proclaimed and developed in several Pontifical Constitutions, published in all Catholic states, and particularly in the celebrated dogmatic Bulls beginning. " Unigenitus," and " Auctorem Fidei," where all the aforesaid doctrines are generally confirmed and sanctioned; principles, finally, which have constantly formed the basis of teaching in all periods of the Church, and in all Catholic schools, and have been defended by an innumerable host of ecclesiastical writers, whose works have served for text in public schools and colleges, as well Government schools as others, without any contradiction on the part of the civil authority, but rather, for the most part, with the approbation and encouragement of the same.

Much less would it be possible for me to agree upon the character and extent given by the minister to the doctrines contained in the aforesaid canon. In virtue of them there is not attributed, either to the Church or the Roman Pontiff, that direct and absolute power over the whole aggregate of political rights, of which the despatch speaks; nor is the subordination of the civil to the religious power to be understood in the sense set fort! by him, but in another order of quite different bearing.

And hi truth the Church has never intended, nor no^t intends, to exercise any direct and absolute power over the political rights of the State. Having received from God the lofty mission of guiding men, whether individually or as congregated in society, to a supernatural end, she has by that very fact the authority and the duty to judge concerning the morality and justice of all acts, internal and external, in relation to their conformity with the natural and divine law. And as no action, whether it be ordained by a supreme power, or be freely elicited by an individual, can be exempt from this character of morality and justice, so it happens that the judgment of the Church, though falling directly on the morality of the acts, indirectly reaches over everything with which that morality is conjoined. But this is not the same thing as to interfere directly in political affairs, which, by the order established by God and by the teaching of the Church herself, appertains to the temporal power without dependence on any other authority. The subordination, also, of the civil to the religious power is in the sense of the pre-eminence of the sacerdotium over the imperium, because of the superiority of the end of the one over that of the other.⁴ Hence, the authority of the imperium depends on that of the sacerdotium, as human things on divine, temporal on spiritual. And if temporal happiness, which is the end of the civil power, is subordinate to eternal beatitude, which is the spiritual end of the sacerdotium, it follows that in order to reach the end to which it has pleased God to direct them, the one power is subordinate to the other. Their powers (I say) are respectively subordinate in the same way as the ends to which they are directed.

It results from these principles that, if the infallibility of the Church extends also (not, however, in the sense indicated by the French despatch) to all that is nece&sary to preserve intact the Deposit of Faith, no harm is thereby done to science, history, or politics. The prerogative of infallibility is not an unknown fact in the Catholic world; the supreme magisterium of the Church has dictated in every age rules of faith, without the internal order of States being thereby affected (risentirsene), or princes being disquieted thereat; rather, wisely appreciating the influence which such rules have on the good order of civil society, these have been themselves, from time to time, the vindicators and defenders of the doctrines denned, and have promoted, by the concurrence of the royal power, their full and respectful observance.

It follows, moreover, that if the Church was instituted by its Divine Founder as a true and perfect society, distinct from the civil power and independent of it, with full authority in the triple order, legislative, judicial and coercive, no confusion springs therefrom in the march of human society, and in the exercise of the rights of the two powers. The competence of the one and the other is clearly distinct and determined, according to the end to which they are respectively directed. The Church does not, in virtue of her authority, intervene directly and absolutely in the constitutive principles of governments, in the forms of civil regulations, in the political rights of citizens, in the duties of the State, and in the other points indicated in the minister's note. But, whereas no civil society can subsist without a supreme principle regulating the morality of its acts and laws, the Church has received from God this lofty mission, which tends to the happiness of the people, while she in no way embarrasses, by the exercise of this her ministry, the free and prompt action of governments. She, in fact, by inculcating the principle of rendering to God that which is God's, and to Caesar that which is

Caesar's, imposes at the same time upon her children the obligation of obeying the authority of princes for conscience sake. But these should also recognize that if anywhere a law is made opposed to the principles of eternal justice, to obey would not be a giving to Caesar that which is Caesar's, but a taking from God that which is God's.

I proceed now to say a word on the profound impression which the minister expects will be made throughout the world by the mere enunciation of the principles developed in the draft of constitution which forms the object of his despatch. In truth it is not easy to persuade oneself how the doctrines contained in that draft, and understood in the sense above pointed out, can produce the profound impression of which the minister speaks; unless indeed their spirit and character be wrested, or that he speaks of those who, professing principles different from those professed by the Catholic Church, cannot of course approve of such principles being inculcated and sanctioned afresh. I say afresh; because the doctrines contained in that document, as I have already remarked, far from being new and unheard of, embrace no more (non sono nel loro complesso) than the reproduction of the Catholic teaching professed in every age and in every Church, as will be solemnly proved by all the pastors of the Catholic name, called by the head of the hierarchy to bear authentic witness, in the midst of the Council, to the faith and traditions of the Church Universal. It is to be hoped rather that the Catholic doctrine, once more solemnly confirmed by the Fathers of the Vatican Council, will be greeted by the faithful people as the rainbow of peace and the dawn of a brighter future. The object of confirming those doctrines is no other than to recall to modern society the maxims of justice and virtue, and thus to restore to the world that peace and prosperity which can only be found in the perfect keeping of the divine law. This is the firm hope of all honest men, who received with joy the announcement of the Council; this is the conviction of the Fathers of the Church, who have assembled with alacrity in such numbers at the voice of the Chief Pastor; this is the prayer which the Vicar of Jesus Christ is always sending up to God in the midst of the grievous troubles which surround his Pontificate.

For the rest, I do not understand why the bishops should have to renounce their episcopal authority in consequence of the definition of Pontifical authority. This prerogative is not only as ancient as the Church herself, but has been, moreover, always exercised in the Roman Church, without the divine authority and the rights conferred by God on the pastors of the Church being thereby altered in the least degree. Its definition therefore would in no way go to change the relations between the bishops and their head. The rights of the one and the prerogatives of the other are well defined in the Church's divine constitution; and the confirmation of the Roman Pontiff's supreme authority and magisterium, far from being prejudicial to the rights of bishops, will furnish a new support to their authority and magisterium, since the strength and vigor of the members is just so much as comes to them from the head.

By parity of reason — the authority of the pastors of the Church being strengthened anew by the solemn confirmation of Pontifical Infallibility — that of princes, especially Catholic princes, will be no less strengthened. The prosperity of the Church and the peace of the State depend upon the close and intimate union of the two supreme powers. Who does not see then that the authority of princes not only will not receive any blow from the pontifical siipremacy, but will instead find therein its strongest support? As sons of the Church they owe obedience, respect, and protection to the authority placed on earth by God to guide princes and peoples to the last end of eternal salvation; nor can they refuse to recognize that royal power has been granted them for the defence also and

APPENDIX. W?

v guardianship of Christian society. But by the vesfact of the principle of authority receiving new vigor • Church and in its head, the sovereign power must necessa^ rily receive a new impulse, since it has from God a common origin, and consequently common interests also. And so, if the wickedness of the age, by separating the one from the other, has placed both in troublesome and painful conditions, to the great injury of human society, closer relations will unite both in indissoluble bonds for the defence of the grand interests of religion and society, and will prepare for them the way to a brighter and more prosperous future.

From what has been said up to this point it results clearly that the Council has not been called to discuss political interests, as the despatch of Count Daru seems to indicate. We may conclude, therefore, that the French Government, finding no kmger a sufficient reason for departing from the line of conduct it had set itself to follow in respect of the Council, will not desire to insist on the request for communication of the Decrees which will be submitted to the examination and discussion of the venerable assembly of Bishops. On which point indeed it occurs to me to observe that the right claimed for this purpose by the minister on the ground of the Concordat in force between the Holy See and France, cannot, in my opinion, find any support in that act. In the first place, no special mention of this particular point is found in the articles of that convention. Then, further, the relations of Church and State on points belonging to both Powers (punto di mista competenza) having been regulated by the Concordat, the decisions, which may be come to by the Vatican Council on such matters will in no way alter the special stipulations made by the Holy See, as well with France as with other governments, as long as these place no obstacles in the way of tne full keeping of the conditions agreed upon. 1 may also add that if the Holy See has not thought fit to invite Catholic princes to the Council, as it did on other occasions, every one will easily understand that this is chiefly to be attributed to the changed circumstances of the times. The altered state of the relations between the Church and the Civil Governments has made more difficult their mutual action in the regulation of things religious.

I desire however to hope that the Government of his Majesty the Emperor, fully satisfied with the explanations given by me in the name of the Holy See to the various points of Count Daru's despatch, and recognizing at the same time the difficulties in which the Holy Father might find himself, will not insist further on the demand of communication beforehand of the drafts of constitutions to be examined by the Fathers of the Council. Were such demand conceded, there would be question of things tending to embarrass the free action of the Council. Moreover, since the Church is keeping within the limits assigned to her by her Divine Founder, no anxiety need remain to the Government of his Majesty on account of the deliberations which may come to be adopted by the Episcopal assembly. Finally the French Government will thus give, by the very-fact, a new proof of those dispositions of good will which it has manifested in respect of the full liberty of the Conciliar deliberations, and of the confidence which it declares it reposes in the wisdom and prudence of the Apostolia See.

Your Lordship will please read this despatch to Count Daru, as also leave him a copy.

Meanwhile receive, &c., &c.,

(Signed) G. CAKD. ANTONELLI m.

ACT OF CONDEMNATION BY THE COUNCIL OF CERTAIN PAMPHLETS, &c.

RLTERENDISSIMI PATKES, — Ex quo Sacrosancta Synodus Vaticana, opitulante Deo, congregata est, acerrinmm sfcatim contra earn bellum exarsit; atque ad venerandara, eius auctoritatem penes fidelem populum imminuendam, ac si fieri posset, penitus labefactandam, contumeliose de ilia detrahere, eanique putidissimis calumniis oppetere plures scriptores certatim aggressi sunt non modo inter heterodoxos et apertos Crucis Christi inimicos, sed etiam inter eos qui Catholicae Ecclesiae filios sese dictitant, et quod maxime dolendum est inter ipsos eius sacros ministros.

Quae in publicis cuiusque idiomatis ephemeridibus, quaeque in libellis absque auctoris nomine passim editis et furtive distributis, congesta hac de re fuerint probrosa mendacia, omnes apprime norunt, quin nobis necesse sit ilia singillatim edicere. Yerum inter anonymos istiusmodi libellos duo praesertim extant, gallice conscripti sub titulis: Ge qui se passe au Concile et La derniere heure du Concile, qui ob suam calumniandi artem, obtrectandique licentiam ceteris palmam praeripuisse videntur. In his enim nedum hums Concilii dignitas ac plena libertas turpissimis oppugnantur mendaciis, iuraque Apostolicae Sedis evertuntur; sed ipsa quoque SSmi Dili Nostri augusta persona gravibus lacessitur iniuriis. lam vero Nos officii nostri memores, ne silentium nostrum, si diutius protraheretur, sinistre a malevolis hominibus interpretari valeat, contra tot tantasque obtrectationes vocem extollere cogimur, atque in conspectu omnium vestrum, Bmi Patres, protestari ac declarare: falsa omnino esse et calumniosa quaecumque in praedictis epbemeridibus et libellis effutiuntur, sive in spretum et contumeliam SSmi Dni Nostri.et Apostolicae Sedis, sive in dedecus huius Sacrosanctae Synodi, et contra assertum defectum in ilia legitimae liber tatis.

Datum ex Aula Concilii Yaticani, die 16 lulu 1870.

PHILIPPUS Card. DE ANGELIS Praeses. ANTONINUS Card. DE LUCA Praeses. ANDREAS Card. BIZZARRI Praeses. ALOTSIUS Card. BILIO Praeses. HANNIBAL Card. CAPALTI Praeses.

IOSEPHUS Ep. S. Hippolyti, Secretarius.

IV.

TEXT OF THE CONSTITUTIONS.

CONSTITUTIO DOGMATICA DE FIDE CATHOLICA.

PIUS EPISCOPUS, SERVUS SERVORUM DM. SACRO APPROBANTE CONCTLIO, AD PEKPETUAM REI MEMORIAM.

DEI Filius et generis humani Kedeinptor Dominus Noster Jesus Christus, ad Patrem co3lestem rediturus, cum Ecclesia sua in terris militante, omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem saeculi futurum se esse promisit. Quare dilectas

Sponsse praesto esse, adsistere docenti, operand benedicere, periclitanti opem ferre nullo unquam tempore destitit Haec vero salutaris ejus providentia, cum ex aliis beneficiis innumeris continenter apparuit, tum iis manifestissime comperta est fructibus, qui orbi christiano e Conciliis cecumenicis ac nominatim e Tridentino, iniquis licet temporibus celebrate, amplissimi provenerunt. Hinc enim sanctissima religionis dogmata pressius definita, uberiusque exposita, errores damnati atque cohibiti; hinc ecclesiastica disciplina restituta firmiusque sancita, promotum in Clero scientiae et pietatis studium, parata adolescentibus ad sacram militiam educandis collegia, christiani denique populi mores et accuratiore fidelium eruditione et frequentiore sacramentorum usu instaurati. Hinc prseterea arctior membrorum cum visibili capite communio, universoque corpori Christi mystico additus vigor; hinc religiosae multiplicatae familiae, aliaque christianae pietatis instituta, hinc ille etiam assiduus et usque ad sanguinis effusionem con-stans ardor in Christi regno late per orbem propagando.

Verumtamen haec aliaque insignia emolumenta, quae per ultimam maxime cecumenicam Synodum divina clementiA Ecclesiae largita est, duni grato, quo par est, animo recolimus, acerbum compescere haud possumus dolorem ob mala gravissima, inde potissimum orta, quod ejusdem sacrosanctse Synodi apud permultos vel auctoritas contempta, vel sapientissima neglecta fuere decreta.

Nemo enim ignorat haereses quas Tridentini Patres pro scripserunt, dum, rejecto divino Ecclesiae magisterio, res ad rengionem spectantes privati cujusvis judicio permitterentur, insectas paulatim dissolutas esse multiplices, quibus inter se dissentientibus et concertantibus, omnis tandem in Christum fides apud non paucos labefacta est. Itaque ipsa sacra Biblia, qnae an tea christianae doctrinae unicus fons et judex asserebantiir, jam non pro divinis haberi, imo mythicis commentis accenseri cceperunt.

Tum nata est et late nimie per orbem vagata ilia rationalisxni seu naturalism! doctrina, quae religion! Christianas utpote supernatural! instituto per omnia adversans, summo studio molitur, ut Christo, qui solus Dominus et Salvator noster est, a mentibus humanis, a vita et monbus populorum excluso, merae quod vocant rationis vel naturae regnum stabiliatur. Relicta autem projectaque Christiana religione, negato vero Deo et Christo ejus, prolapsa tandem est multorem mens in pantheism! materialism! atheism! barathrum, ut jam ipsam rationalein naturam, omnemque justi rectique normam negantes, ima humanse societatis fundamenta diruere connitantur.

Hac porro impietate circumquaque grassante, infeliciter contigit, ut plures etiam e catholicae Ecclesiae filiis a via verae pietatis aberrarent, in iisque, diminutis paullatim veritatibus, sensus catholicus attenuaretur. Variis enim ac peregrinis doctrinis abducti, naturam et gratiam, scientiam humanam et fidem divinam perperam commiscentes, genuinum sensum dogmatum, quern tenet ac docet SanciJa Mater Ecclesia, depravare, integritatemque et sinceritatem fide! in periculum adducere comperiuntur.

Quibus omnibus perspectis, fieri qui potest, ut non commoveantur intima Ecclesiae viscera? Quemadmodum enim Deus vult omnes homines salvos fieri, etad agnitionem veritatis venire; quemadmodum Christus venit, ut salvum faceret, quod perierat, et filios Dei, qui erant dispersi, congregaret in unum: ita Ecclesia, a Deo populorum mater et inagistra const! tuta, omnibus debitricem se novit, ac lapses erigere, labantes sustinere, revertentes amplecti, confii'mare bonos etad meliora provehere parata semper et intenta est. Quapropter nullo tempore a Dei veritate, quae sanat omnia, testanda et praedicanda quiescere potest, sibi dictum esse non ignorans: " Spiritus meus, qui est in te, et verba mea, quae posui in ore tuo, non recedent de ore tuo amodo et usque in sempiternum." *⁵

Nos itaque, inhaerentes Prsedecessorum Nostrorum vestigiis, pro supremo Nostro Apostolico munere veritatem catholicam docere ac tueri, perversasque doctrinas reprobare nunquam intermissimus. Nunc autem sedentibus Nobiscum et judicantibus universi orbis Episcopis, in hanc cecumenicam Synodum auctoritate Nostra in Spiritu Sancto congregatis, innixi Dei verbo scripto et tradito, prout ab Ecclesia catholica sancte custoditum et genuine exposition! accepimus, ex hac Petri Cathedra in conspectu omnium salutarem Christi doctrinam profiteri et declarare constituimus, adversis erroribus potestate nobis a Deo tradita proscriptis atque damnatis.

DE DEO REEUM OMNIUM CBEATOBE.

Sancta Catholica Apostolica Romana Ecclesia credit et confitetur, unum esse Deum verum et vivum, Creatorem ac Dominum cceh' et terrse, omnipotentem, seternum, immensmn incomprehensibilem, intellectu ac voluntate omnique perfectione infinitum; qui cum sit una singularis, simplex omnino et incommutabilis substantia spiritualis, prsedicandus estre et essentia a mundo distinctus, in se et ex se beatissimus, et super omnia, quse prseter ipsum sunt et concipi possunt, ineffabiliter exeelsus.

Hie solus verus Deus bonitate sua et omnipotenti virtute nou ad augendam suam beatitudinem, nee ad acquirendam. sed ad manifestandam perfectionem suam per bona, quse creaturis impertitur, liberrimo consilio siinul ab initio ternporis utramque de nihilo condidit creaturam, spiritualem et corporalem, angelicam videlicet et mundanam, ac deinde humanam quasi communem ex spiritu et corpore constitutain.*

Universa vero, quse condidit, Deus providentia sua tuetur atque gubernat, attingens a fine ttsque ad finem fortiter, et disponens omnia suaviter.f Omnia enim nuda et aperta sunt oculis ejus,J ea etiam, quse libera creaturarum actione futura sunt.

DE REVELATIONS.

Kadem sancta Mater Ecclesia tenet et docet, Deum, lernm omnium principium et finem, naturali humanse rationis lumine e rebus creatis certo cognosci posse; invisibilia enim ipsius, a creatura mundi, per ea quae facta sunt, intollecta, conspiciuntur: § attamen placuisse ejus sapientise et bonitati, alia, eaque supernaturali via se ipsum ac seterna \oluntatis suse decreta humano generi revelare, dicente Apostolo: " Multifariam, multisque modis olim Deus loquens patribus in Prophetis: novissime, diebus istis locutus est nobis in Filio." ||

Huic divinse revelationi tribuendum quidem est, ut ea, quse in rebus divinis humanse rationi per se impervia non sunt, in prsesenti quoque generis humani conditione ab omnibus expedite, firma certitudine et nullo admixto errore cognosci pocsint. Non hac tamen de causa revelatio abso-.lute necessaria dicenda est, sed quia Deus ex infinita boni-tate sua ordinavit hominem ad finem supernaturalem, ad participanda scilicet bona divina, quse humanae mentis in-⁶⁷ telligentiam omnino superant; siquidem oculus non vidit, nee auris audivit, nee in cor hominis ascendit, quse prseparavit Deus iis, qui diligunt ilium.⁸

Hsec porro supernaturalis revelatio, secundum universalis Ecclesiae fidem, a sancta Tridentina Synodo declaratam, continetur in libris scriptis et sine scripto traditionibus, quse ipsius Christ! ore ab Apostolis accept-ae, aut ab ipsis Aposiolis Spiritu Sancto dictante quagi per manus traditse, ad nos usque pervenerunif Qui quidem veteris et novi Testament! libri integri cum omnibus suis partibus, prout in ejusdem Concilii decreto recensentur, et in veteri vulgata latin a editione habentur, pro sacris et canonicis suscipiendi sunt. Eos vero Ecclesia pro sacris et canonicis habet, non ideo quod sola humana industria concinnati, sua deinde auctoritate sint approbati; nee ideo dumtaxat, quod revelationem sine errore contineant; sed propterea quod Spiritu Sancto inspirante conscripti Denm habent auctorem, atque ut tales ipsi Ecclesiae traditi sunt.

Quoniam vero, quse sancta Tridentina Synodus de interpretatione divinse Scripturae ad coercenda petulantia ingenia salubriter decrevit, a quibusdam hominibus prave exponuntur, Nos, idem decretum renovantes, hanc illius mentem esse declaramus, ut in rebus fidei et morum, ad aedificationem doctrinae Christian 89, pertinentium, is pro vero sensu eacrae Scriptures habendus sit, quem tenuit ac tenet Sancta Mater Ecclesia, cujus est judicare de vero sensu et interpretatione Scrip turarum sanctarum; atque ideo nemini licere contra hunc sensum, aut etiam contra unanimem consensum Patrum ipsam Scripturam sacram interpretari.

CAPUT in

DE FIDE.

Quuin homo a Deo tanquam Creatore et Domino suo totus dependeat, et ratio creata increatse Veritati penitus subjecta sit, plenum revelanti Deo intellectus et voluntatis obsequium fide prsestare tenemur. Hanc vero fidem, quse humanse salutis initium est, Ecclesia catholica profitetur, virtutem esse supernaturalern, qua, Dei aspirante et adjuvante gratia, ab eo revelata vera esse credimus, non propter intrinsecam rerum veritatem naturali rationis lumine perspectam, sed propter auctoritatem ipsius Dei revelantis, qui nee falli nee fallere potest. Est enim fides, testante Apostolo, sperandarum substantia rerum, argumentum non apparentium.⁹

Ut nihilominus fidei nostrse obsequium rationi consentaneum esset, voluit Deus cum internis Spiritus Sancti auxiliis externa jungi revelationis suse argumenta, facta scilicet divina, atque imprimis miracula et prophetias, quse cum Dei omnipotentiam et infinitam scientiam luculenter commonstrent, divinse revelationis signa sunt certissima et omnium intelligentise accommodata. Quare turn Moyses et Prophetse, turn ipse maxime Christus Dominus multa et inanifestissima miracula et prophetias ediderunt, et de Apostolis legimus: " nii autem profecti prsedicaverunt ubique, Domino cooperante, et sermonem confirm ante, sequentibus signis." f Et rursum scriptum est: " Habemus firmiorem propheticum sermonem, cui bene facitis attendentes quasi lucernse lucenti in caliginoso loco." J

Licet autem fidei asseasus nequaquam sit motus animi cfficus: nemo tamen evangelicae prsedicationi consentire

2 Petr. i. 19.

potest, sicut oportet ad salutem consequendam, absque illuminatione et inspiratione Spiritus Sancti, qui dat omnibus suavitatem in consentiendo et credendo veritati.¹⁰ Quare fides ipsa in se, etiamsi per charitatem non operetur, donum Dei est, et actus ejus est opus ad salutem pertinens, quo homo liberam praestat ipsi Deo obedientiam gratiae ejus, cui resistere posset, consentiendo et cooperando.

Porro fide divina et catholica ea omnia credenda sunt, quae in verbo Dei scripto vel tradito continentur, et ab Ecclesia sive solemni judicio sive ordinario et universali magisterio tamquam divinitus revelata credenda proponunfcur.

Quoniam vero sine fide impossibile est placere Deo, etad filiorum ejus consortium pervenire; ideo nemini unquam sine ilia contigit justificatio, nee ullus, nisi in ea perseveraverit usque in finem, vitam aeternam assequetur. Ut autem omcio veram fidem amplectendi, in eaque constanter pereeverandi satisfacere possemus, Deus per Filium suum unigenitum Ecclesiam instituit, suaeque institutionis manifestis notis instruxit, ut ea tamquam custos et magistra verbi revelati ab omnibus posset agnosci. Ad solam enim catholicam Ecclesiam ea pertinent omnia, quae ad evidentcm fidei christianae credibilitatem tarn multa et tarn inira divinitus sunt disposita. Quin etiam Ecclesia per se ipsa, ob suam nempe admirabilem propagationem, eximiam sanctitatem et inexhaustam in omnibus bonis foecunditatem, ob catholicam unitatem, invictamque stabilitatem, magnum quoddam et perpetuum est motivum credibilitatis et divinaB suse legationis testimonium irrefragabile.

Quo fit, ut ipsa veluti signum levatum in nationes,f etad se invitet, qui nondum crediderunt, et filios suos certiores faciat, firmissimo niti fundamento fidem, quam profitentur. Cui quidem testimonio efiicax subsidium accedit ex superna virtute. Etenim benignissimus Dominus et errantes grati& sua excitat atque adjuvat, ut ad agnitionem veritatis venire possint; et eos, quos de tenebris transtulit in admirabile lumen suum, in hoc eodem lumine ut perseverent, gratia sua confirm at, non deserens, nisi deseratur. Quocirca minime par est conditio eorum, quiper coeleste fidei donum catholicae veritati adhaeserunt, atque eorum, qui ducti opinionibas humanis, falsam religionem sectantur; illi enim, qui fidem sub Ecclesise magisterio susceperunt, nullam unquam habere possunt justam causam mutandi, aut in dubium fidem eamden revocandi. Quae cum ita sint, gratias agentes Deo Patri, qui dignos nos fecit in partem sortis sanctorum in lumine, tantam ne negligamus salutem, sed aspicientes in auctorem fidei et consummatorem Jesum, teneamus spei nostrse confessionem indeclinabilem.

CAPUT IV.

DE FIDE ET EATIONE.

Hoc quoque perpetuus Ecclesise catholicae consensus tenuit et tenet, duplicem esse ordinem cognitionis, non solum principio, sed objecto etiam distinctum: principio quidem, quia in altero naturali ratione, in altero fide divina cognoscinms; objecto autem, quia praeter ea, ad quse naturalis ratio pertingere potest, credenda nobis proponuntur mysteria in Deo abscondita, quaa, nisi revelata divinitus, innotescere non possunt. Quocirca Apostolus, qui a gentibus Deum per ea, quae facta sunt, cognitum esse testatur, disserens tamen de gratia et veritate, quaa per Jesum Christum facta est,¹¹ pronuntiat: " Loquimur Dei sapientiani in mysterio, qua3 abscondita est, quam praedestinavit Deus ante saacula in gloriam nostram, quam nemo principum hujus saeculi cognovit: nobis autem revelavit Deus per Spiritum suum: Spiritus enim omnia scrutator, etiam profunda Dei.¹² Et ipse Unigenitas confitetur Patri, quia abscondit hsec a sapientibus, et prudeiitibus, et revelavit ea parvulis.f

Ac ratio quidem, fide illu strata, cum sedulo, pie et sobrie quaerit, aliquam, Deo dante, mysteriorum intelligentiam eamque fructuosissimam assequitur, turn ex eorum, quae naturaliter coguoscit, analogia, turn e mysteriorum ipsorum nexu inter se et cum fine hominis ultimo; numquam tamen idonea redditur ad ea perspicienda instar veritatum, quae proprium ipsius objectum constituunt. Divina enim mysteria suapte natura intellectum creatum sic excedunt, ut etiam revelatione tradita et fide suscepta, ipsius tamen fidei velamine contecta et quadam quasi caligine obvoluta maneant, quamdiu in hac mortali vita peregrinamur a Domino: per fHem enim ambulamus, et non per speciem.J

Verum etsi fides sit supra rationem, nulla tamen unquam inter fidem et rationem vera dissensio esse potest; cum idem Deus, qui mysteria revelat et fidem infundit, animo humano rationis Irmen indiderit; Deus autem negare seipsum non possit, rec veram vero unquam contradicere. Inanis autem bujus contradictionis species inde potissimum oritur, quod vel fidei dogirata ad mentem Ecclesiae intellecta et exposita non fuerint, ve! opinionum commenta pro rationis effatis habeantur. Orm?era igitur assertionem veritati illuminatae fidei contrariam omoino falsam esse definimus.§ Porro Ecclesia, quae una cum apobtolico munere docendi, mandatum accepiib, fidei depositum custcdiendi, jus etiam et ofiicium divinitus babet falsi nominis scientiam proscribendi, ne quis decipiatur per philosophiam, ^t inanera fallaciam.|| Quapropter omnes cbristiani fideles hujusracxii opiniones, quae fidei doctrinae contrariae esse cognoscuntiir

$ Concil. Lateran. V. Build Apotf? fr r^itninia. \ Co^os**. ii. 8.

O* maxime si ab Ecclesia reprobate fuerint, non solum proliibentur tanquam legitimas scientise conclusiones defendere, sed pro erroribus potius, qui fallacem veritatis speciem prse se ferant, habere tenentur omnino.

Neque solum fides et ratio inter se dissidere nunquam pessunt, sed opem quoque sibi mutuam ferunt, cum recta ratio fidei fundamenta demonstret ejusque lunrine illustrata rerum divinarum scientiam excolat; fides vero rationem ab erroribus liberet ac tueatur, eamque multiplici cognitione instruat., Quapropter tantum abest, ut Ecclesia hurnanarum artium et disciplinarum culturse obsistat, ut bane multis modis juvet atque promoveat. Non enim commoda ab iis ad hominum vitam diamanantia aut ignorat aut despicit; fatetnr imo, eas, quemadmodum a Deo, scientiarum Domino, profectse sunt, ita si rite pertractentur, ad Deum, juvante ejus gratia, perducere. Nee sane ipsa \etat, ne hujusmodi discipline in suo quoeque ambitu propriis utantur principiis et propria methodo; sed justam hanc libertatem agnoscens, id sedulo cavet, ne divinre doctrinae repugnando errores in se suscipiant, aut fines proprios trangressse, ea, quoe sunt fidei, occupent et perturbent.

Neque enim fidei doctrina, quam Deus revelavit, velut philosophicum inventum proposita est humanis ingeniis perficienda, sed tanquam divinum depositum Christi SponS03 tradita, fideliter custodiendo et infallibiliter declaranda. Hinc sacromm quoque dogmatum is sensus perpetuo est retinendus, quern semel declaravit Sancta Mater Ecclesia, nee unquam ab eo sensu, altioris intelligentiae specie et nomine, recedendum. Crescat igitur et multum vebementerque proficiat, tarn singulorum, quam omnium, tarn unius hominis, quam to tins Ecclesise, setatum ac saBculorum gradibus, intelligentia, scientia, sapientia: sed in suo dumtaxat genere, in eodem scilicet dogmate, eodem sensu, eademque sententia *¹³

CANONES. L

Dt Deo rerum omnium Creatore.

1. Si quis ununi verum Deum visibilium et invisibilium Creatorum et Dominum negaverit; anathema sit.

2. Si quis prseter materiam nihil esse affirmare non erubuerit; anathema sit.

3. Si quis dixerit, unam eamdemque esse Dei et rerum omnium substantiam vel essentiam; anathema sit.

4. Si quis dixerit, res finitas, turn corporeas turn spirituales, aut saltern spirituales, e divina substantia emanasse;

aut divinam essentiam sui manifestatione vel evolutione fieri omnia;

aut denique Deum esse ens universale seu indefinitum, quod sese determinando constituat reruni universitatem in genera, species et individua distinctam; anathema sit.

5. Si quis non confiteatur, mundum, resque omnes, quoe in eo continentur, et spirituales et materiales, secunduin totam suam substantiam a Deo ex nihilo esse productas;

aut Deum dixerit non voluntate ab omni necessitate libera, sed tarn necessario creasse, quam necessario amat seipsum;

aut mundum ad Dei gloriam conditum esse negaverit; anathema sit.

°De Bevelatione.

1. Si quis dixerit, Deum unum et verum, Creatorem et Dominum nostrum, per ea, quoe facta sunt, naturali rationis humano) lumine certo cognosci non posse; anathema sit.

2. Si quis dixerit, fieri non posse, aut non expedire, ut per revelationem divinam homo de Deo, cultuque ei exhibendo edoceatur; anathema sit.

3. Si quis dixerit, hominem ad cognitionem et perfec tionem, quse naturalem superet, divinitus evehi non posse, sed ex seipso ad omnis tandem veri et boni possessionem jugi profectu pertingere posse et debere; anathema sit.

4. Si quis sacra3 Scripturse libros integros cum omnibus suis partibus, prout illos sancta Tridentina Synodus recensuit, pro sacris et canonicis non susceperit, aut eos divinitus inspiratos esse negaverit; anathema sit.

m.

De Fide.

1. Si quis dixerit, rationem humanam ita independentem esse, ut fides ei a Deo imperari non possit; anathema sit.

2. Si quis dixerit, fidem divinam a naturali de Deo et rebus moral ibus scientia non distingui, ac propterea ad fidem divinam non requiri, ut revelata veritas propter auctoritatem Dei revelantis credatur; anathema sit.

3. Si quis dixerit, revelationem divinam externis signis credibilem fieri non posse, ideoque sola interna cujusque ex perientia aut inspiratione privata homines ad fidem moveri debere; anathema sit.

4. Si quis dixerit, miracula nulla fieri posse, proindeque omnes de iis narrationes, etiam in sacra Scriptura contentas, inter fabulas vel mythos ablegandas esse: aut miracula certo cognosci numquam posse, nee iis divinam religionis christianse originem rite probari; anathema sit.

5. Si quis dixerit, assensum fidei christianse non esse liberum, sed argumentis humanae rationis necessario produci; aut ad solam fidem vivam, qua? per charitatem opera-tur, gratiam Dei necessariam esse; anathema sit.

6. Si quis dixerit, parem esse conditioneni fidelium atque eorum, qui ad fidem unice veram nondum pervenerunt, ita lit catholic! justam causam habere possint, fidem, quam sub Ecclesioe magisterio jam susceperunt, assensu suspense in dubium vocandi, donee demonstrationem scientificam credibilitatis et veritatis fidei suse absolverint; anathema sit. •

IV.

De Fide et Ratione.

1. Si quis dixerit, in revelatione divina nulla vera et proprie dicta mysteria contineri, sed universa fidei dogmata posse per rationem rite excultam e naturalibus principiis intelligi et demonstrari; anathema sit.

2. Si quis dixerit, diaciplinas humanas ea cum libertate tractandas esse, ut earum assertiones, etsi doctrinae revelatse adversentur, tanquam verse retineri, neque ab Ecclesia proscribi possint; anathema sit.

3. Si quis dixerit, fieri posse, ut dogmatibus ab Ecclesia propositis aliquando secundum progressum scientise sensus tribuendus sit alius ab eo, quern intellexit et intelligit Eo clesia; anathema sit.

Itaque supremi pastoralis Nostri ofiicii debitum exequentes, omnes Chiisti fideles, maxime vere eos, qui praesunt vel docendi munere funguntur, per viscera Jesu Christi obtestamur, nee non ejusdem Dei et Salvatoris nostri auctoritate jubemus, ut ad hos errores a Sancta Ecclesia arcendos et eliminandos, atque purissimse fidei lucem pandendam studium et operam conferant.

Quoniam vero satis non est, haereticam pravitatem devitare, nisi ii quoque errores diligenter fugiantur, qui ad illam plus minusve accedunt; omnes oiBcii monemus, servandi etiarn Constitutiones et Decreta, quibus pravoa ejuamodi opiniones, quaa isthic diserte non enumerantur, ab hac Sancta Sede proscriptse et prohibitae sunt.

Datum Romanae hi public^ Sessione in Vaticana Basilicfi solemniter celebrata anno Incarnationis Dominicse mille simo octingentesimo septuagesimo, die vigesima quarta Aprilis.

Pontificates Nostri anno vigesimo, quarto.

Ita est.

JOSEPHUS,

Episcopus S. Hippolyti, Secretarius Concilii Vatwani.

TRANSLATION.

DOGMATIC CONSTITUTION ON THE

Footnotes

1. 1. Concilium provinciate Coloniense, anno 1860 celebratum, cui, praeter eminentissimum Cardinaleo et Archiepiscopum Coloniensern, loannem de Geissel, quinqne subscriperunt Episcopi, diserte docet: "Ipse
   ↩

2. Many specimens of this testimony arc collected in the following Ap« pendix to the Postulatum. ↩

3. This Council was not included in the original draught from which the Latin is taken. ↩

4. We have no exact English equivalents for the abstract terms— sacerdozio, impero. " Saccrdozio" means the priestly office, and "impcro" civil authority in the most general sense.— Note of TK.] ↩

5. Isai. lix. 21. ↩

6. Concil. Lateran. IV. cap. i. De fide Cathdlica. t Sap. via. 1. J Cf. Hebr. iv. 13. ↩

7. Rom. L 20. J Hebr. i. 1, 2. ↩

8. 1 Cor. ii. 9. t ConciL Trid. Sess. IV. de Can. Script. ↩

9. Hebr. xi. 1. t Marc. xvi. 20. ↩

10. 8yn. Araus. ii. can. 7. t Isai. xl. 12. ↩

11. Joau. i. 17. ↩

12. 1 Cor. ii. 7, 9. f Matth. xi. 25. J 2 Co*, v. 7. ↩

13. Vincent. Lirin. Common, n. 38. ↩