269. The doc

supremacy

and infalli

bility as enunciated by the Vatican Council

of 1870

th

whatsoever their nature, conduce more easily to corrupt morals and minds of the people, and facilitate the propagatio of the pest of indifferentism.

80. The Roman Pontiff can and ought to reconcile himsel to, and agree with, progress, liberalism, and civilization, as latel introduced.

Six years after the publication of the "Syllabus of Errors" the Vatican Council, a great ecclesiastical assembly convoked from Catholic Christendom, solemnly recognized the doctrine of papal infallibility, and confirmed the Pope in the possession of those ancient powers and the superiority over all churches and governments of the world, which had been claimed in the Middle Ages. A portion of this famous enunciation of papal supremacy and infallibility is given here.

Wherefore, resting on plain testimonies of the Sacred Writtrine of papal ings, and adhering to the plain and express decrees both of our predecessors, the Roman Pontiffs, and of the General Councils, we renew the definition of the ecumenical council of Florence, in virtue of which all the faithful of Christ must believe that the holy Apostolic See and the Roman Pontiff possess the primacy over the whole world, and that the Roman Pontiff is the successor of blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and is the true vicar of Christ, and head of the whole Church, and father and teacher of all Christians; and that full power was given to him in the blessed Peter to rule, feed, and govern the universal Church by Jesus Christ our Lord; as is also contained in the acts of the General Councils and in the sacred Canons.

The subordination of

clergy and

laity to the Roman Pontiff

"1

Hence we teach and declare that by the appointment of our Lord the Roman Church possesses the primacy in virtue of the power of an "ordinary over all other churches, and that this power of jurisdiction of the Roman Pontiff, which is truly episcopal, is immediate; to which all, of whatever rite

1 That is, of a bishop's power.

and dignity, both pastors and faithful, both individually and collectively, are bound, by their duty of hierarchical subordination and true obedience, to submit not only in matters which belong to faith and morals, but also in those that appertain to the discipline and government of the Church throughout the world, so that the Church of Christ may be one flock under one supreme pastor through the preservation of unity both of communion and of the profession of the same faith with the Roman Pontiff. This is the teaching of Catholic truth, from which no one can deviate without loss of faith and of salvation. . . .

to communi

Further, from this supreme power possessed by the Roman Freedom of Pontiff of governing the universal Church, it follows that he the Pope has the right of free communication with the pastors of the cate with whole Church, and with their flocks, that these may be taught his flock and ruled by him in the way of salvation. Wherefore we condemn and reject the opinions of those who hold that the communication between this supreme head and the pastors and their flocks can lawfully be impeded; or who make this communication subject to the will of the secular power, so as to maintain that whatever is done by the Apostolic See, or by its authority, for the government of the Church, cannot have force or validity unless it be confirmed by the assent of the secular power.

And since by the divine right of Apostolic primacy the The Pope is Roman Pontiff is placed over the universal Church, we further the supreme judge of the teach and declare that he is the supreme judge of the faith- faithful ful, and that, in all cases, the decision of which belongs to the Church, recourse may be had to his tribunal, and that none may reopen the judgment of the Apostolic See, than whose authority there is no greater; nor can any lawfully review its judgment. Wherefore they err from the right course who assert that it is lawful to appeal from the judgments of the Roman Pontiffs to an ecumenical council, as to an authority higher than that of the Roman Pontiff.

Condemnation of

those who dispute the

Pope's authority

Definition of the doctrine of infallibility

things which belong to faith and morals, but also in those whi relate to the discipline and government of the Church scatter throughout the world; or assert that he possesses merely t principal part, and not all the fullness of this supreme powe or that this power which he enjoys is not ordinary and imm diate, both over each and all the churches, and over each an all the pastors and the faithful, let him be anathema.

Therefore, faithfully adhering to the tradition received from the beginning of the Christian faith, for the glory of God our Savior, the exaltation of the Catholic religion, and the salvation of Christian people, the sacred Council approving, we teach and define that it is a dogma divinely revealed: that the Roman Pontiff, when he speaks ex cathedra, that is, when in discharge of the office of pastor and teacher of all Christians, by virtue of his supreme Apostolic authority, he defines through the divine assistance promised to him in the blessed Peter, a doctrine regarding faith or morals to be held by the universal Church, is possessed of that infallibility with which the divine Redeemer willed that his Church should be endowed for defining doctrines regarding faith or morals; and that therefore such definitions of the Roman Pontiff are unalterable in themselves, and not in virtue of the sanction of the Church.

But if any one - which may God avert - presume to contradict this our definition, let him be anathema.

The dogma of papal infallibility was rejected by some members of the Church in Germany, who formed themselves into a separate sect known as The Old Catholics"; and the assertion of the supremacy of the Church over the secular government aroused the deep displeasure of Bismarck. The great body of Catholic clergy in Germany, however, were loyal to the Pope, and, as they viewed with some apprehension the ascendancy of Protestant Prussia in German imperial affairs, they sought to increase their influence by organizing a political party (the Center). Bismarck met the opposition of

the clergy with decided measures of repression, and not until after he became apprehensive of the growing power of the socialists, was he willing to come to terms with Rome. He thus expressed himself in a speech before the Prussian House of Lords.

The question before us is misrepresented and viewed in a 270. Bisfalse light if it is considered as a denominational or ecclesi- marck on th astical question. It is really a political issue.

Church-Stat conflict

Contrary to the contention of one of our Catholic fellow- (condensed) citizens, this is not a war carried on by a Protestant dynasty against the Catholic Church; there is no question of a conflict between belief and unbelief. It is at bottom the ancient struggle for power which is as old as the human race,-the contest between kingship and priesthood, which is far older than the advent of our Savior in this world; the contest, which under the name of the conflict between the German kings and the popes, filled the history of the Middle Ages until the dissolution of the German Empire; the contest which came to its end as the last representative of the illustrious Swabian imperial line died on the scaffold under the ax of a French conqueror who joined in an alliance with the Pope.

The Papacy has always been a political power which has Supremacy intervened in the affairs of the world with the greatest confi- the goal of the popes dence and the most important results. The goal which continually appears before the papal power, the programme which, in the time of the medieval emperors, was near realization, is the subjection of the temporal to the spiritual power, an eminently political project.

The contest of the priesthood with the kingship, the contest of the Pope with the German emperors as we have seen it in the Middle Ages, is to be judged as any other fight for power. It has its alliances, its treaties of peace, its temporary lulls, its truces. There have been peaceful popes and warlike, conquering popes. It has not always been the case in the struggles

of the Papacy that the Catholic powers have been exclusively.

The contest is

for political

power

The origin of the Center

party

The State

must be protected against Rome

by the side of the popes. We have had cardinals as minist of great powers at times when the powers were carrying out strong anti-papal policy, extending even to acts of violenc We have found bishops in the army of the German emper arrayed against papal interests.

This contest for power, then, is subject to the same cond tions as every other political struggle; and when presented as if it were a question of persecuting the Church, it is mer subterfuge calculated to impress people incapable of forming their own judgments. It is really a question of protecting the State, it is a question of fixing the boundary line between the priesthood and the kingship, and this line of demarcation must be so placed that the State can maintain its existence.* For in the kingdom of this world the State must have both precedence and command.

When we were in Versailles it surprised me somewhat to learn that an appeal was issued to the Catholic members of legislative bodies, asking them to declare whether they were ready to form a sectarian group, such as we recognize to-day in the Center party, and whether they would agree to work for and vote for the propositions which we are considering to-day, in order to secure their embodiment in the Constitution. This programme did not then frighten me,— in general I was peaceably inclined. However, when I returned here I saw for the first time how strong was the organization of the Church party in warfare against the State. What called my attention to the danger was the power which this newly formed group exerted. Representatives who had resided in their districts and had been repeatedly reelected for a long time were set aside by orders from Berlin and the election of new representatives prescribed, whose names were not even known to their constituents before. This happened not only in one election district; it happened in many.

This is really an attempt to establish two States within one nation, - States, moreover, which would have to assume a hostile attitude toward each other, one of whose sovereigns is a foreign ecclesiastical prince with his seat of power at Rome; an ecclesiastical prince who, through the most recent modifications in the constitution of the Catholic Church. has become