There was only one point in the discussions on the Church of Christ in
which the outside world appeared to take an interest, and it is one which
the council did not at first contemplate taking into consideration. The
Fathers appear to have resolved to limit themselves, in treating of the
Church, and consequently of the Head of the Church on earth, to the
discussion of the primacy of the Supreme Pastor and of his temporalities.
The commission of one hundred and two cardinals, and other learned
theologians, had even set aside the question of infallibility when it came
before them, one of their number pronouncing a decision on it as
inopportune. A great majority of the bishops, however, were strongly of
opinion that in view of the outcry which had been raised on this point,
the opportunity of an Œcumenical Council being held should not be allowed
to pass without defining the belief of the Church in regard to the
unerring nature of the decisions, in matters of doctrine and morals, of
the successor of St. Peter. At their request, accordingly, it was ordered
that the important subject should be introduced in the eleventh chapter of
the _schema_ on the Church, and prepared in the usual way for the
consideration of the council. It could not be laid before the Fathers
sooner than the 18th of July, when the fourth solemn session was held. It
is proper to remark here that the doctrine in question was never
discussed, either in the congregations or committees of the whole council,
as to its Divine origin, or as to the fact of its having been revealed;
not one of the seven hundred members of the council expressed any doubt as
to this. There was no discussion except as to the opportuneness of
defining to be of faith what all believed to be so. The _schema_ having
passed through all the preparatory stages, finally assumed the form of a
“dogmatic constitution,” which will be known in history as the
Constitution, _Pastor æternus_, from the words with which it commences.
This Constitution was brought before the council at a solemn session, the
fourth and last which it held, the 18th July, 1870. The session was opened
with all the usual solemnities. The Pope himself presided in person. The
Mass of the Holy Ghost having been celebrated, the Sacred Scriptures were
placed upon the lectern on the high altar, and, as was customary, the
_Veni Creator_ was sung. The Bishop of Fabriano then read the
Constitution, or decree _de Romano Pontifice_, from the _Ambo_ (pulpit),
and the Fathers of the Council were invited to vote. Each Father,
accordingly, as his name was called, took off his mitre, rose from his
seat and voted. Of the five hundred and thirty-five who were present, five
hundred and thirty-three voted _placet_ (aye), whilst there were only two
nays. The secretary of the council, together with the scrutineers,
advanced to the Pontifical throne and declared the result. The Holy Father
then confirmed the decision in the usual form. He prayed, at the same
time, that they who had considered such a decision inopportune, at a time
of unusual agitation, might, in calmer days, unite with the great majority
of their brethren, and contend with them for the truth. The insertion here
of the allocution which he delivered on the occasion cannot but prove
acceptable to all English readers:
“Great is the authority with which the Supreme Pontiff is
invested. This authority, however, does not destroy. It builds up.
It does not oppress. But, on the contrary, sustains. Very
frequently it behooves it to defend the rights of our brethren,
the bishops. If some have not been of the same mind with us, let
them consider that they have formed their judgment under the
influence of agitation. Let them bear in mind that the Lord is not
in the storm (2 Kings, xix., 11). Let them remember that, a few
years ago, they held the opposite opinion, and abounded in the
same belief with us, and in that of this most august assembly, for
then they judged in the untroubled air. Can two opposite
consciences stand together in the same judgment? By no means.
Therefore, we pray God that He who alone can work great things,
may Himself enlighten their minds and hearts, that all may come to
the bosom of their Father, the unworthy Vicar of Jesus Christ on
earth, who loves them and desires to be one with them, and, united
in the bond of charity, to fight with them the battle of the Lord.
Thus shall our enemies not dare to deride us, but rather be awed,
and at length lay down the arms of their warfare in the presence
of truth; so that all may say, with St. Augustine: ‘Thou hast
called me unto Thy wonderful light, and behold I see.’ ”
_Te Deum_ was now chanted, the Pope intoning the sublime hymn, and with
the Pontifical benediction, ended the fourth solemn public session of the
Vatican Council. With this council also ended all discussion within the
church on those questions in regard to which it pronounced
authoritatively. No doubt the enemies of the Catholic faith would have
been better pleased if there had been absolute unanimity when the final
vote was taken on the widely-discussed question of infallibility. Such a
coincidence would have afforded them a pretext, although, indeed, a
groundless one, for asserting that there was either collusion or
compulsion, whilst in reality there was complete liberty. The two Fathers
who voted, nay, constituting a minority of two, acted according to their
right, and it was not questioned. These Fathers were Monsignor Louis
Riccio, Bishop of Casazzio, in the kingdom of Naples, and the Right Rev,
Edward Fitzgerald, Bishop of Petricola (Little Rock, Arkansas), in the
United States of America. Immediately after the confirmation of the
“Constitution,” these two prelates, advancing to the Papal chair, solemnly
declared their adhesion to the act of the council. The four dissentient
cardinals—Rauscher, Schwarzenberg, Mathieu and Hohenlohe—who had left the
council when the fourth session was held, also, in their turn, expressed
their assent to the decision of the assembled Fathers. The opposing
bishops did in like manner. All of them, not excepting Strossmayer, Bishop
of Sirmium, who was the most eloquent orator of the minority in the
council, and who appeared to hesitate longer than the rest, ended by
promulgating all the decrees of the council in their respective dioceses.
This is more than could be said of Nicea, Chalcedon and Constantinople.
For the first time, no bishop persisted in resisting the decisions of an
Œcumenical Council. It was now acknowledged by the whole episcopate that
those measures were timely, wise and salutary, which the Church, ever
guided by the Spirit of God, had deemed it proper to adopt, but which so
many, awed by the spirit of unbelief which was abroad, had judged were
inopportune.
It may have been merely a coincidence. But there can be no doubt that
grandeur was added to a scene, in itself sufficiently imposing, when, as
on Sinai of old, lightning flashed and thunder pealed, as the Fathers of
the Council solemnly rose to give their final vote. “The _placets_ of the
Fathers,” writes the correspondent of the London _Times_ (Aug. 5, 1870),
“struggled through the storm while the thunder pealed above, and the
lightning flashed in at every window, and down through the dome and every
smaller cupola. ‘_Placet!_’ shouted his Eminence or his Grace, and a loud
clap of thunder followed in response, and then the lightning darted about
the Baldacchino and every part of the church and council-hall, as if
announcing the response. So it continued for nearly one hour and a half,
during which time the roll was being called, and a more effective scene I
never witnessed. Had all the decorators and all the getters-up of
ceremonies in Rome been employed, nothing approaching to the solemn
grandeur of the storm could have been prepared, and never will those who
saw it and felt it forget the promulgation of the first dogma of the
church.” Less friendly critics beheld, in this magnificent thunder-storm,
a distinct voice of Divine anger, condemning the important act of the
assembled Fathers. Had they forgotten Sinai and the Ten Commandments? All
of a sudden, as the last words were uttered, the tempest ceased; and, at
the moment when Pius IX. intoned the _Te Deum_, a sun-ray lighted up his
noble and expressive countenance. The voices of the Sixtine choristers,
who continued chanting the hymn, could not be heard. They were lost in the
united concert of the venerable Fathers and the vast assemblage.