It was never his opinion that nuns should be under the jurisdiction and
guidance of other Religious, especially of those of their own Order.
For this he alleged several very weighty reasons, which I have been careful
to bear in mind that I may impart them to you at the right time and place.
For the present, however, I will content myself with reading you one of his
letters, and with afterwards making a little comment upon it.
"I observe," he says, "that many influential people are inclined to think
that Religious Houses should be under the authority of the Ordinaries,
according to the old rule revived lately throughout almost the whole of
Italy; whilst others would have them to be under Superiors of their own
Order, conformably to a custom introduced about four or five hundred years
ago, and almost universally observed in France. For my own part, I confess
that I cannot bring myself to adopt the view of those who desire that
convents of women should be placed under the guidance of Religious men,
still less of the Fathers of their own Order. And in this I feel that I am
of the same mind as the Holy See, which always, where it can be reasonably
brought about, opposes itself to the government of nuns by Regulars.
"I do not say that such government is not sometimes advantageous, even at
the present day, but I do say that it would be far better if in general it
were done away with. And this for many reasons.
"It seems to me that it is no more difficult for the Pope to exempt the
nuns of any Order from the jurisdiction of the Fathers of that same Order,
than it is for him to exempt monasteries from the jurisdiction of their
Ordinary, a procedure inspired no doubt by the most excellent motives, and
that has been carried out successfully for so many centuries.
"The Pope has, as a matter of fact, kept our own nuns in France under the
rule of the Bishops, and it appears to me that these same good nuns do
not know what is good for them when they seek to be transferred to the
jurisdiction of a Religious Order, seeing that Regular Superiors are apt
to be a little rigorous in the exercise of their authority, and to deprive
those under them of holy liberty of spirit."
I would call your attention to the fact mentioned by our Blessed Father
that almost everywhere in Italy the nuns are under the guidance and
jurisdiction of the Bishops. Of this I was myself an eye-witness, and I
noticed at Florence, that out of fifty convents, only four are not under
the jurisdiction and direction of the Archbishop.
I would also remind you that the Holy Apostolic See has, as far as
possible, and for many reasons, revived this ancient form of government of
nuns. That these reasons exist it is well to bear in mind, though it may
not always be prudent to urge them in public.
Again, if in former times it was thought advisable to exempt nuns from the
guidance and jurisdiction of their Ordinaries, or Diocesan Pastors, at the
present day there are far more weighty reasons for replacing them under the
authority of the Bishops, and for taking from the Regulars this exceptional
jurisdiction.
This is exactly what our Blessed Father thought about the matter. Remember
then always that to put convents under the Bishops is to bring things back
to their first and purest state, for as regards exemption we can assuredly
say that _from the beginning it was not so_.
It seems, too, to me, that nuns who desire the guidance of Monks,
especially of Fathers of their own Order, are true daughters of Zebedee;
they know not what they ask, nor what they want, nor what they are doing.