The Vatican Council has declared it to be of faith; and as such all Catholics accept it.1 Mr. Stourton says: Every Catholic was educated in the belief that the infallible authority of the Church resides in the bishops and prelates of the Church assembled in Council summoned by the Pope and presided over by him or his legate, and that all decrees passed by them, and sanctioned by Papal authority, are infallible. Such was the Vatican Council, fulfilling every condition requisite that it should be a general Council of the Church. . . . Why not, therefore, accept its decrees as we have accepted those of Nice, Constantinople, and Ephesus?... Who and that they should say that in 1870 the authority of the Church no longer resided in a general Council.2 are Mr. Philipps de Lisle writes thus: I heartily accept the decrees of the Council of the Vatican as the decrees of a legitimate Ecumenical Council of the Universal Church of Christ." The deliverances of the several Ultramontane bishops are entirely in harmony with these declarations. All concur in expressing entire belief in the Papal Infallibility, ' in obedience to the definition and decree of the Ecumenical Vatican Synod.' Whoever refuses to yield submission to the decree of that synod is pronounced to be a heretic, and in precisely the same category as those who reject the definitions of the synods of Nice, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon. This is all no doubt very excellent in its way, but it may be worth while to consider it more closely, and endeavour to draw out the reasoning which appears to pervade the statements of this numerous class of believers. The particular doctrine under discussion is the Papal Infallibility. Why is it necessary to believe this doctrine? They reply, it was not necessary to believe it before A.D. 1870. Up to that date some Roman Catholics denied it; others believed it. They were all equally members of the Catholic Church. There was no general tradition or agreement on the question; nor were the declarations of Scripture so clear as to leave no possibility of doubt. In short it was an open question. But in 1870 all this was changed. A new power was brought to bear. An Ecumenical Council defined and declared that the Pope is infallible. That being so, all hesitation was at an end. A doctrine which was before questionable, instantly became an article of faith, because it had been decided by the supreme and infallible authority of a general synod. The Popes had often declared their own infallibility; but it needed a higher authority, namely, that of the Church universal assembled in synod, in order to remove all uncertainty and establish the dogma. This is the doctrine avowed throughout by the supporters of Papal infallibility at present. I can make few, if any, exceptions. It must be confessed that this mode of reasoning is most natural under the circumstances of the case. Infallibility is a gift which so closely approximates to Divine power, that men will not readily attribute it to their fellow-men without some strong authority for so doing. Again, self-assertion is felt to be insufficient in a case like this. The Pope might assert himself to be infallible as much as he pleased; but it by no means follows that the world at large would believe him. Therefore if he is to be generally believed infallible, there must be something more to prove it than his own statements. It was therefore very natural that an Ecumenical Council should be resorted to for the purpose of defining Papal infallibility; because everyone believed in the infallibility of a General Council; whereas, that of the Pope was only a theological question. This being so, we see at once that the Roman Catholics in these countries assume as their basis the unquestionable infallibility of an Ecumenical Council; and in obedience to its decrees alone accept the infallibility of the Pope. In other words, the infallibility of the Pope rests on a superior authority (without which it would be a mere theological question), namely, that of the Ecumenical Synod. The authority of the Synod is greater than that of the Pope. This line of reasoning shows how completely the Roman Catholics of these countries have retained the doctrinal belief of their forefathers, for the position which they take is simply that which was formerly taught by their priesthood, according to the Gallican article. The decree of the Synod of Constance concerning the superiority of a General Council to the Pope shall remain in force and unshaken. The decree thus referred to, runs as follows: This Synod, legitimately assembled in the Holy Ghost, constituting a General Council, representing the Catholic Church militant, has power immediately from Christ, to which everyone, of whatsoever state or dignity, even if it be the Pope, is bound to obey in those things which relate to faith, and to the extirpation of schism, and the general reformation of the Church of God, in its head and its members.1 This is the dogma which is still held in essence by the Roman Catholic body in the United Kingdom. They do not derive the authority of a general council from the Pope; but they build the authority of the Pope upon the greater and more certain authority of a General Council, as representing the whole Catholic Church, and which they believe to be infallible by the divine promises. It may therefore be said of this body, that if they are Ultramontane, it is because they are first Gallican. Their Gallicanism is the base of their Ultramontanism. If they were not Gallicans, Ultramontanism would have no hold upon them. They are essentially what their fathers were, and only accidentally of a different belief. 1 Synod. Constant. sessio iv., Harduin. Concilia, t. viii. p. 252. § 7. EXAMINATION OF THE FOUR ROMAN THE doctrine of the supremacy of the successor of St. Peter is held alike by Ultramontanes, Gallicans, Minimizers, Gallico-Ultramontanes, and universally in the Roman Communion. It is the doctrine which constitutes its distinctive idea, and which leads its members to reject the Churches of the Reformation, and those of the East, as beyond the pale of salvation. Consequently it is a doctrine of grand and vital importance, one which deeply affects the interests of Christianity, and one which has been at the bottom of half the wars and revolutions of the world. The importance of the doctrine of the Papal supremacy to those who receive it, it would be impossible to exaggerate. If it be true, it is really the cardinal doctrine of Christianity; everything depends on it; for if it be necessary to know that Christ died to obtain salvation for the world, it is not less necessary to know that the salvation thus secured can only be obtained through the medium of Christ's Vicar; that if Christianity has been revealed, its |