SPEECH OF DARBOY, ARCHBISHOP OF PARIS, DELIVERED MAY 20, ON THE
_Constitutio Dogmatica de Ecclesiâ_.
There seem to me to be three points to be considered in reference to this
_Schema_: its origin, its contents and scope, and its practical results.
And first as regards its origin and presentation to the Council at this
time, it is enough to mention two facts, from which it may be judged
whether the affair has been conducted regularly and in accordance with the
dignity and rights of this venerable assembly.
It is certain that the fourth chapter, dealing with the infallibility of
the Pope, is the turning-point of the whole _Schema_. For whatever is
brought forward in the former chapters about the power and origin of the
primacy in Peter and its continuance in the Popes, about which there is no
difference among us,—and certainly in the first and second chapters this
seems to exceed the right measure—is unmistakeably connected with the
infallibility in the fourth chapter. So entirely is this infallibility the
grand object of the Vatican Council, that some have indiscreetly asserted
it is in a sense the sole object. And with reason, for the fabrication of
such a dogma must always remain the weightiest act of an Œcumenical
Council; and moreover the other questions to be dealt with are either of
far less importance, or have long since been settled and only require
revision, as, _e.g._, questions about the being and attributes of God, the
reality and need of revelation, the duty of faith, and the relation of
faith to reason. Yet this serious question of infallibility was neither
indicated in the Bull convoking the Council nor in the other public
announcements referring to it, and with good reason, because on the one
hand the Catholic world had no desire for a settlement of this question,
nor was there any other ground producible for meddling with what had
always hitherto been a subject of free inquiry among theologians, and on
the other hand there are many and grave evils, partly endangering the
salvation of souls, which the Pope out of his care and affection has
thought it more needful to deal with.
It is certain that the first stirring of this question came from without,
from religious and secular journalists, and that too in an impertinent
manner, against all ecclesiastical and traditional precedent and all rules
of hierarchical order and usage, by seeking to put a pressure on the
conscience of the Bishops through demagogic agitation, and to intimidate
them with the prospect of intrigues in their dioceses which would make the
government of them impossible. Nay, matters have come to such a pass that
the Fathers of the Council, however piously and courageously they may be
simply following their conscience, are accused of having paid an improper
deference to party opinion, by promoting the introduction of the
infallibility question in consequence of these violent agitations, and all
of us appear to have lost something of dignity and freedom through the
tumult raised before the doors of the Council-chamber. And such a
judgment, which is in the highest degree mischievous and injurious to our
honour, can hardly be endured without damage and disgrace to this
venerable assembly, an assembly which must act independently and not under
pressure from without, which must not only be, but appear to be, free.
It is further certain that the question brought before us to-day has been
introduced against the natural and logical order of the subjects in hand,
and thereby the cause itself is prejudiced. The rest of the _Schema de
Fide_ ought first to have been submitted to our consideration, on which we
have already debated and have the arguments of both sides so fresh in our
memory that the final discussion would have been all the easier. Then
again the _Schema de Ecclesiâ_ begins quite incorrectly with the primacy.
Neither its first compilers nor any theologians before now were of opinion
that the treatise on the Church should begin with that. And furthermore,
our studies have been directed to the questions intended to come on for
consideration according to the order originally announced.
And lastly, it is certain that the precipitate introduction of the
question of infallibility by reversing the original order has contributed
to the injury rather than the honour of the Holy See. For as, according to
the Bull _Multiplices inter_, motions are to be sent in to a special
Congregation, which then reports to the Pope, who either accepts or
rejects its decisions, it follows that the authors of this motion have
compelled the Holy Father to make a decision in his own case and in
reference to a personal prerogative, and have thereby—no doubt
unintentionally—failed to show a fitting regard for his high position, if
they have not rather directly injured it.
If I am right on all these points—and such appears to be the case—it is
impossible to discuss and decide upon the question of infallibility, thus
originating and thus introduced, without paving the way for the insults of
unbelievers and the reproaches which threaten the moral authority of this
Council. And this should the more carefully be avoided, because writings
and reports directed against the power and legitimacy of the Council are
already current and widely circulated, so that it seems more likely to sow
the seeds of contradiction and disunion among Christians than to quiet
men’s minds and lead to peace. If I may venture to add a practical remark
to this portion of my speech, I should say that some have with good reason
declared this question to be inopportune, and that there would be equally
good reason for abstaining from any decision, even if the discussion of it
were opportune.
On the contents and tendency of the _Schema_ I shall make only a few
observations.
The _Schema_ does not deal with the infallibility of the Church, which we
all believe, and which has been proved for twenty centuries, but lays down
as an article of faith that the Pope is, alone and of himself, infallible,
and that he possesses this privilege of inerrancy in all matters to which
the infallibility of the Church herself extends. It must be well
understood that the _Schema_ does not refer to that universally admitted
infallibility, which is the invincible and inviolable strength of dogmatic
decrees and decisions binding alike on all the faithful and all their
pastors, and which reposes wholly and solely on the agreement of the
Bishops in union with the Pope, but that it refers—though this is not
expressly stated—to the personal, absolute and exclusive infallibility of
the Pope. On the former kind of infallibility—that of the Church—complete
harmony prevails among us, and there is therefore no ground for any
discussion, whence it follows that it is the second kind of infallibility
which is in question here. To deny this would be to disguise and distort
the doctrine and spirit of the _Schema_. And moreover, the Pope’s personal
infallibility is not maintained there as a mere opinion or commendable
doctrine, but as a dogma of faith. Hitherto the opportuneness and
admissibility of entertaining this question has been disputed at the
Council; that dispute is now closed by the Pope’s decision that the matter
can no longer be passed over in silence, and we have now to consider
whether it is or is not opportune to declare the personal infallibility of
the Pope a dogma.
To deal rightly with this subject and come to a decision, it is requisite
that the formula or definition of the doctrine should be laid before us,
that it should be proved by sure and unquestionable evidence, and finally,
that it should be accepted with moral unanimity.
There is the greatest difficulty in fixing the form or definition of the
doctrine, as is shown by the example of those who first composed and then
revised the _Schema_, and who seem to have expended much—perhaps
fruitless—labour upon it; for they indulge in ambiguous expressions which
open the door to endless controversies. What is meant by “exercising the
office of the supreme teacher of Christendom”? What are the external
conditions of its exercise? When is it certain that the Pope has exercised
it? The compilers of the _Schema_ think of course that this is as clear
as, _e.g._, the œcumenicity of a Council. But they thereby contradict
themselves, for a Council is only then held œcumenical by the body of the
faithful scattered over the world when the Bishops are morally unanimous,
and therefore infallibility would still depend on the consent of the
episcopate if the same principle is to be applied to papal decrees. The
authors of the _Schema_ either eliminate this consent or they do not. In
the former case they are introducing an innovation, and an innovation
which is unprecedented and intolerable; in the latter case they are only
expressing an old and universally received view and fighting a man of
straw. But in no case can they pass over in silence the necessity or
needlessness of the consent of the episcopate, for that would be to infuse
doubts into the faithful and throw fresh difficulties in their way in a
question of such vast importance and all that at present hinges on it.
The compilers only define the subject-matter of papal infallibility by
saying that it is identical with the infallibility of the Church. But that
explanation is inadequate until the Council has defined the infallibility
of the Church. Hence it is clearly a logical fallacy to prefix the
_Schema_ on the Primacy to that on the Church. Of the infallibility of the
Church we know that it always acts within the proper limits of its
subject-matter, both because the common consent of the Bishops is
necessary and because the Church is holy and cannot sin, while the
compilers of this _Schema_ on papal infallibility on the one hand,
according to their own statement, exclude the consent of the Bishops, and
on the other hand have not undertaken to prove that every Pope is holy and
cannot sin.(156)
But if a form of definition was really discovered, it would have to be
confirmed by solid and certain proofs. It would have to be shown that this
doctrine of personal infallibility is contained in holy Scripture, as it
has been always interpreted, and in the tradition of all centuries, that
it has the moral assent not merely of some but of all Fathers, Doctors,
Bishops and Theologians, and that it is in perfect harmony with all
decisions and acts of the General Councils, and therefore with the decrees
of the fourth and fifth sessions of the Council of Constance—for even
supposing they were not œcumenical, which I do not admit, they would show
the mind and common opinion of the theologians and Bishops.(157) It would
further have to be proved that this doctrine is neither contradicted by
historical facts nor by any acts of the Popes themselves, and lastly that
it belongs to that class of truths which the Council and Pope in union can
decide upon, as having been acknowledged for revealed truth always,
everywhere and by all.
All this our _Schema_ omits. But when the question is of defining a dogma,
the Fathers must have sufficient evidence laid before them and time
allowed them for weighing it. As it is, neither the original nor the
revised draft of the _Schema_ supply such arguments as might illustrate
the matter and clear up all doubts, and as little is sufficient time
allowed—as is generally notorious—for unravelling this complicated
question, solving its difficulties and acquiring the necessary information
about it. In such a matter, where a burden is to be laid on the conscience
of the faithful, a hasty decision pronounced without absolute certainty is
dangerous, while there is no danger in a fuller discussion and in not
deciding till it can be done with complete certainty of conscience.
It would finally be necessary that the doctrine of the personal and
independent infallibility of the Pope, after being clearly expressed and
certainly proved, should be accepted by the Fathers with moral unanimity;
for otherwise we must fear that the definition would be regarded as a
papal constitution and not a decree of a Council.(158) It is a duty to
impose a truth of faith on all Christians, but this difficult and sacred
right can only be exercised by the Bishops with the greatest caution. And
therefore the Fathers of Trent, as you all know, whatever sophistical
objections may be raised, did not pass their decrees on dogmatic questions
by numerical majorities, but with moral unanimity. I content myself now
with referring to the perplexity of conscience among the faithful, which
must arise from passing this dogma over the heads of the minority, and
thus giving a handle for questioning the validity and authority of this
Council.
Two leading remarks may suffice on the practical consequences of the
dogma, for the only object of bringing forward the personal infallibility
as an article of faith is to make the unity of the Church more compact and
the central authority stronger, and thus to supply an efficient remedy for
all abuses.
As regards unity and central authority, I must first make the general
observation that they exist and must be preserved, not however in that
shape which we may fancy or which approves itself to our reason, but as
Jesus Christ our Lord ordained and as our fathers have maintained it. For
it is no business of ours to arrange the Church according to our good
pleasure and to alter the foundation of the work of God. The necessary
unity in faith and that of the common central authority under fatherly
guidance exists and has always existed among Catholics, or else one would
have to say that there had been some essential defect in the Church of the
past, which all will certainly deny.
The unity of doctrine and Church communion and the central authority of
the Pope remain then unshaken, as they always flourished and flourish
still without any dogmatic definition of infallibility.
Let it not be said that this unity will hereafter be closer when the
central authority is stronger, for this inference is fallacious. Mere
unity is not enough, but we must have that unity and that measure of it
which the nature and scope of the thing, as well as the law and the
necessity of life, demand. Else the thing itself might lamentably perish
by being forced into too rigid an unity, from its inward vitality being
cramped, disturbed and broken through the external pressure. Thus even in
civil matters the unity of freemen, who act for themselves under the law,
is indeed looser but more honourable than the unity of slaves tormented
under an arbitrary tyranny. Permit us to retain that unity which belongs
to us by the ordinance of Christ, and that means of unity—viz., the
central authority of the Pope—which our forefathers acknowledged and
honoured, who neither separated the Bishops from the Pope nor the Pope
from the Bishops. Let us loyally hold fast to the ancient rule of faith
and the statutes of the Fathers, and the more so since the proposed
definition is open to many grave objections.
And again we can hardly doubt that this expedient would be powerless for
healing the evils of our time, and it must be feared would rather tend to
the injury of many. The matter must not be regarded only from a
theological standpoint, but also in its bearings on civil society. For we
in this place are not mere head-sacristans or superiors of a monastery,
but men called to share with the Pope his care for the whole Church; allow
us therefore to take the state of the world into our prudent
consideration.
Will personal and independent infallibility serve to rouse from their
grave those perished Churches on the African coast, or to wake the
slumbers of the East, which once bloomed with such flowers of intellect
and virtue? Will it be easier for our brethren, the Vicars-Apostolic, to
bring the heathen, Mahometans, and schismatics to the Catholic faith, if
they preach the doctrine of the Pope’s sole infallibility? Or will the
proposed definition perhaps infuse spirit and strength into Protestants
and other heretics to return to the Roman Church and lay aside all
prejudices and hatred against it? And now, first, for Europe! I say it
with pain,—the Church is everywhere under ban. She is excluded from those
congresses where nations discuss war and peace, and where once the
authority of the Holy See was so powerful, whereas now it is bidden not
even to proclaim its views. The Church is shut out in several European
countries from the Chambers, and if some prelates or clergymen here and
there belong to them, this appears a rare occurrence. The Church is shut
out from the school, where grievous errors advance unchecked; from
legislation, which manifests a secular and therefore irreligious tendency;
and lastly, from the family, where civil marriage corrupts morals. All
those who preside over the public affairs of Europe avoid us or hold us in
check.
And what sort of remedy do you offer the world, which is diseased with so
many uncertainties about the Church? On all those who are seeking to shake
off from their indocile shoulders even the burdens imposed on them from of
old and reverently accepted by their fathers, you would now lay a new, and
therefore difficult and odious, burden. All those who are of weak faith
are to be crushed by a new and inopportune dogma, a doctrine never
hitherto defined, and which, without any amends being made for the
injurious manner of its introduction, is to be defined by a Council of
which many say that its freedom is insufficiently attested. And yet you
hope to remedy everything by this definition of personal and exclusive
infallibility, to strengthen the faith and improve the morals of all. Your
hopes are vain. The world either remains sick or perishes, not from
ignorance of the truth and its teachers, but because it avoids it and will
not accept its guidance. But if it now rejects the truth, when proclaimed
by the whole teaching body of the Church, the 800 Bishops dispersed over
the world and infallible in union with the Pope, how much more will it do
so, when the truth is proclaimed by one single infallible teacher, who has
only just been declared infallible? For an authority to be strong and
effective, it is not enough for it to be claimed; it must also be
accepted. And thus it is not enough to declare that the Pope is
infallible, personally and apart from the Bishops, but he must be
acknowledged as such by all, if his office is to be a reality. What is the
use, _e.g._, of an anathema, if the authority which pronounces it is not
respected? The Syllabus circulated through Europe, but what evils could it
cure even where it was received as an infallible oracle? There were only
two large countries where religion ruled, not in fact but _de
jure_—Austria and Spain. In both of them this Catholic order fell to the
ground though commanded by the infallible authority; perhaps indeed in
Austria on that very account.
Let us take things as they are. Not only will the independent
infallibility of the Pope not destroy these prejudices and objections
which draw away so many from the faith, but it will increase and intensify
them. There are many who in heart are not alienated from the Catholic
Church, but who yet think of what they term a separation of Church and
State. It is certain that several of the leaders of public opinion are on
this side, and will take occasion from the proposed definition to effect
their object. The example of France will soon be copied more or less all
over Europe, and to the greatest injury of the clergy and the Church
herself. The compilers of the _Schema_, whether they desire it or not, are
introducing a new era of mischief, if the subject-matter of papal
infallibility is not accurately defined, or if it can be supposed that
under the head of morals the Pope will give decisions on the civil and
political acts of sovereigns and nations, laws and rights, to which a
public authority will be attributed.(159) Every one of any political
cultivation knows what seeds of discord are contained in our _Schema_, and
to what perils it exposes even the temporal power of the Holy See.
To explain this more minutely in detail would take too long and might be
indiscreet, for were I to say all, I might easily bring forward things it
is more prudent to suppress. However, I have delivered my conscience, so
far as is allowed me, and so let my words be taken in good part. I know
well that everything in the world has its difficulties, and one must not
always shrink from action because greater evil may follow. But I put the
matter before the reverend fathers, not that they may instantly conform to
my opinion, but in order that they may give a full and ripe consideration
to the arguments of all parties. I know too that we must not childishly
quail before public opinion, but neither should we obstinately resist it;
it is wiser and more prudent often to reconcile one’s-self with it, and in
every case to take it into account. I know, lastly, that the Church needs
no arm of flesh, yet she does not reject the approval and aid of civil
society, and did not, I think, look back with regret from the time of
Constantine to the time of Nero. So much for the practical consequences of
the _Schema_.
Finally, my desire is (1.) that the _Schema_ should be deferred for a
later discussion, because it has not been introduced into the Council in a
sufficiently worthy manner; (2.) that it should meanwhile be revised, and
the limits of infallibility more accurately marked out, so as to leave no
handle for future sophistries and attacks; (3.) but, best of all, that the
question of infallibility should be let drop altogether on account of its
manifold inconveniences.