Produced by Bryan Ness, Sam W. and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
Transcriber's Note
A cross pattee is indicated with + in this text.
Superscripted text is surrounded with {braces}.
THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD.
JANUARY, 1865.
THE SEE OF CLONMACNOISE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
CARDINAL CONSALVI AND NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.
ST. BRIGID'S ORPHANAGE.
THE MSS. REMAINS OF PROFESSOR O'CURRY IN THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY.
ASSOCIATION OF ST. PETER'S PENCE, DUBLIN.
POLAND.
LITURGICAL QUESTIONS.
DOCUMENTS.
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
THE SEE OF CLONMACNOISE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
In the beginning of the sixteenth century the See of St. Kieran was
reckoned among the dioceses of the ecclesiastical province of Tuam.
Dr. Walter Blake was then its bishop; he was a native of Galway, and
Canon of Enaghdune, and by the provision of Pope Innocent VIII., was
appointed to this See on the 26th of March, 1487. During twenty-one
years he governed the faithful of Clonmacnoise with prudence and zeal,
and died in May, 1508.
Thomas O'Mullally was appointed his successor the same year, and after
administering this diocese for five years, was, in 1513, translated to
the archiepiscopal see of Tuam.
There are still preserved in the Vatican archives two original letters
written by King Henry VIII., on the 18th of June, 1515, soliciting the
appointment of Father Quintinus Ohnygyn, of the Order of St. Francis,
as successor to Dr. Mullally. These letters should, of themselves,
suffice to set at rest for ever the plea which some modern theorists
have advanced, that the course pursued by the English monarch in the
latter years of his reign, in appointing bishops by his own authority
to the episcopal sees, was the traditional right of the crown, ever
exercised by him and his predecessors on the throne of England. The
first letter is addressed to the reigning pontiff, Leo X., as follows:
"Sanctissimo, Clementissimoque Dno nostro Papae.
"Beatissime pater, post humillimam commendationem et
devotissima pedum oscula beatorum. Certiores facti,
Cluanensem Ecclesiam in Dominio nostro Hiberniae per
translationem Revmi Patris Dni Thomae ejus novissimi Episcopi
ad Archi-Episcopatum Tuamensem vacare, venerabilem ac
religiosum virum fratrem Quintinum Ohnygyn ord. min. virum
doctum, gravem, circumspectum et probum, multorum testimonio
maxime idoneum esse cognovimus qui dictae Ecclesiae
praeficiatur. Quapropter Vestrae Sanctitati ipsum
commendamus, eamque rogamus, ut eundem fr. Quintinum
praedictae Cathedrali Ecclesiae Cluanensi per dictam
translationem vacanti praeficere et Episcopum constituere
dignetur, quem ut Deo acceptum, sic perutilem eidem Ecclesiae
pastorem futurum arbitramur. Et felicissime valeat eadem
Vestra Sanctitas, Quam Deus Altissimus longaevam conservet.
"Ex Palatio nostro Grenwici;
"die xviii. Junii 1515.
"Ejusdem Sanctitatis Vestrae
"Devotissimus atque obsequentissimus filius
"Dei gratia Rex Angliae et Franciae ac Dom. Hib{ae}.
"Henricus".
The second letter was addressed to Cardinal Julius de Medicis, and is
dated the same day. It seeks to conciliate for the petition contained
in the letter first cited, the patronage of Cardinal de Medicis, who
was known to exercise unbounded influence in the councils of Pope Leo:
"Henricus Dei Gratia Rex Angliae et Franciae, ac Dominus
Hiberniae, Revmo. in Christo patri D. Julio tituli S. Mariae
in Dominica S. R. Ecclesiae Diacono Cardinali nostroque ac
Regni nostri in Romana curia Protectori et amico nostro
charissimo salutem.
"Commendamus in praesentia Ssm. D. N. venerabilem religiosum
virum fr. Quintinum Ohnygyn, virum doctum, prudentem et vitae
integritate probatum, Suamque Sanctitatem rogamus ut eundem
fratrem Quintinum Ecclesiae Cluanensi, per Reverendi Patris
Thomae ejus postremi Episcopi ad Archi-Episcopatum Tuamensem
translationem vacanti praeficere et praesulem constituere
dignetur. Quare pergratum nobis erit ut Vestra Revma
Dominatio relationem de dicta Ecclesia, ut moris est, facere
et ejusdem fratris Quintini procuratoribus in Bullarum
expeditione favorem suum praestare non gravetur.
"Ex Palatio nostro Grenwici die xviii. Junii, 1515.
"Henricus".
Though the king was thus so eager to have Dr. O'Hnygyn appointed
without delay to the vacant see, it was only in the month of November
the following year (1516) that the consistorial investigation was made
for the appointment of this prelate. The record of this inquiry is
still happily preserved, and though there was only one witness present
who was a native of Ardfert, by name Nicholas Horan, still, from his
scanty evidence we may glean some interesting particulars regarding
the ancient See and Cathedral of St. Kieran.
The town of Clonmacnoise, he says, is situated in the ecclesiastical
province of Tuam, at the distance of a day's journey from the sea
coast. It is small, consisting of only twelve houses, which are built
of rushes and mud, and are thatched with straw. At one side flows the
river Shannon, and the surrounding country is thickly set with trees.
Towards the west stands the cathedral, which is in a ruinous
condition. Its roof has fallen, and there is but one altar, which is
sheltered by a straw roof: it has a crucifix of bronze, and only one
poor vestment: its sacristy, too, is small, but its belfry has two
bells. Enshrined in the church is the body of the Irish saint whose
name it bears: nevertheless the holy sacrifice of the Mass is seldom
offered up, and the whole revenue of the see amounts to only
thirty-three crowns. As to Father Quintin, it was further stated, that
having been himself in Rome, he was already well known to many members
of the Sacred College, and he is described as "in Presbyteratus ordine
constitutus, vir doctus, praedicator, bonis moribus et fama, aliisque
virtutibus praeditus". (ap. Theiner, page 519.)
Pope Leo X. did not hesitate much longer in appointing one so highly
commended to the vacant see, and before the close of 1516 Dr. O'Hnygyn
was consecrated Bishop of Clonmacnoise. During the twenty-two years
which he ruled this diocese he displayed great energy in reanimating
the fervour of the faithful and restoring the ancient splendour of
religion. The cathedral was repaired: stained-glass windows and
paintings set forth once more the triumph of faith, whilst many
precious gems and other decorations were added, as voluntary offerings
from his faithful flock. The following description of the cathedral,
extracted from Ware, will serve to give a more complete idea of this
venerable structure:
"Nine other churches were subject to the cathedral, being, as it were,
in one and the same churchyard, which contained about two Irish acres
in circuit, on the west whereof the bishops of Clonmacnoise afterwards
built their episcopal palace, the ruins of which are yet visible. The
situation of this place is not unpleasant. It stands on a green bank,
high raised above the river, but encompassed to the east and the
north-east with large bogs. The nine churches were most of them built
by the kings and petty princes of those parts for their places of
sepulture; who though at perpetual wars in their lives, were contented
to lie here peaceably in death. One of these churches, called
Temple-Ri, or the King's Church, was built by O'Melaghlin, King of
Meath, and to this day is the burial place of that family. Another,
called Temple-Connor, was built by the O'Connor Don; a third and
fourth by O'Kelly and MacCarthy More of Munster. The largest of all
was erected by MacDermot, and is called after his name. The rest by
others. Before the west door of MacDermot's church stood a large
old-fashioned cross or monument, much injured by time, on which was an
inscription in antique characters, which nobody that I could hear of
could read. The west and north door of this church, although but mean
and low, are guarded about with fine-wrought, small marble pillars,
curiously hewn. Another of the churches hath an arch of a greenish
marble, flat-wrought and neatly hewn and polished, and the joints so
close and even set, that the whole arch seems but one entire stone, as
smooth as either glass or crystal. The memory of St. Kieran is yet
fresh and precious in the minds of the neighbouring inhabitants. In
the great church was heretofore preserved a piece of the bone of one
of St. Kieran's hands as a sacred relique. The 9th of September is
annually observed as the patron-day of this saint, and great numbers
from all parts flock to Clonmacnoise in devotion and pilgrimage. The
cathedral was heretofore endowed with large possessions, and was above
all others famous for the sepulchres of the nobility and bishops, as
also for some monuments and inscriptions, partly in Irish and partly
in Hebrew. Yet it declined by degrees, and was in the end reduced to a
most shameful poverty". (_Harris's Ware_, pag. 166.)
The famous cross of Clonmacnoise, to which Ware refers in the above
passage, was erected about the year 920; and though two centuries ago
its inscription was deemed illegible, the illustrious Petrie has
deciphered it in our own times. The first part of the inscription is:
"A prayer for Flann, son of Maelsechlainn"; and the second part is: "A
prayer for Colman who made this cross over the King Flann". (Petrie,
_Round Towers_, pag. 268.) This ancient cross is, moreover, richly
ornamented with relievos and ornamental net-work: "The sculptures on
its west side", says Petrie, "relate to the history of the original
foundation of Clonmacnoise by St. Kieran; while the sculptures on the
other sides represent the principal events in the life of our Saviour,
as recorded in the Scripture; and hence the cross was subsequently
known by the appellation of _Cros na Screaptra_, _i.e._, the Cross of
the Scriptures, under which name it is noticed in the Annals of
Tighernach at the year 1060". Amongst the sacred subjects thus
sculptured on this venerable cross we may mention, the Crucifixion--the
Blessed Virgin bearing the Divine Infant in her arms--and the adoration
by the Magi.
Dr. O'Hnygyn died in 1538, and had for his successor Richard Hogan,
who, after presiding for fourteen years in the See of Killaloe, was
translated to Clonmacnoise on the 17th July, 1539: he, however, died
the same year, and as Ware informs us, "within a few days after his
translation". Another bishop was appointed without delay, and on the
15th December, 1539, Dr. Florence O'Gerawan or Kirwan was proclaimed
in consistory as successor to St. Kieran. He held this See about
fourteen years, and died soon after the accession of Queen Mary. The
death of the good prelate was probably hastened by the sad ruin which
fell upon his cathedral before the close of 1552. In the spirit of
Vandalism to which the noblest monuments of our ancient faith became a
prey at this period, the English garrison of Athlone plundered and
pillaged the venerable church of Clonmacnoise--an event, the memory of
which is still as vividly preserved in local tradition, as though it
were only an occurrence of yesterday. It is thus recorded in the
Annals of the Four Masters under the year 1552: "Clonmacnoise was
plundered and devastated by the English (Galls) of Athlone, and the
large bells were carried from the round tower. There was not left,
moreover, a bell, small or large, an image or an altar, or a book, or
a gem, or even glass in the window, from the walls of the church out,
which was not carried off. Lamentable was this deed, the plundering of
the city of Kieran, the holy patron".
In the "Patent Rolls", an invaluable work for which we are indebted to
the persevering energy of Mr. Morrin, is registered under date of 15th
September, 1541, "the confirmation of Florence Gerawan in the
Bishoprick of Clonmacnoise, to which he had been promoted by the Pope;
and his presentation to the vicarage of Lymanaghan in the same Diocese
on his surrender of the Pope's Bull". (vol. I. pag. 82.) The editor,
indeed, inadvertently substituted _Cloyne_ for _Clonmacnoise_ in this
passage, the Latin name _Cluanensis_ being common to both Sees.
Cloyne, however, was at this time united with Cork, and Mr. Morrin may
easily be pardoned this error, since it is shared by the learned De
Burgo and by Dr. Maziere Brady in the Third volume of his "_Records of
Cork, Cloyne, and Ross_". (London, 1864, pag. 97.) The surrender of
the Pope's Bull was regarded at this period as a merely civil
ceremony, required by law as a condition to obtain possession of the
temporalities of the See, and we find an instance of it even in
Catholic times on the appointment of Dr. Oliver Cantwell to the See of
Ossory in the year 1488. At all events, the fact just now recorded, of
the plunder of his church sufficiently proves that Dr. O'Kirwan, at
the close of his episcopate, did not enjoy the favour and patronage of
the courtiers of Edward VI.
Dr. Peter Wall, of the Order of St. Dominick, was the next bishop of
this See. He had for a while been led astray by the novelties of the
preceding reigns, but, as the Consistorial register records, returned
repentant to the bosom of Holy Church, and was now absolved from all
the censures which he had incurred. He was appointed Bishop on the
4th of May, 1556, and for twelve years remained in undisturbed
possession of his See. He died in 1568; and though the heretical
government annexed this diocese to Meath, the Sovereign Pontiff never
recognized the union, and Clonmacnoise continued to be governed by
Vicars till, after a widowhood of eighty years, it again received a
chief pastor, in the person of Anthony M'Geoghegan, who was appointed
its bishop on 22nd of January, 1647.
The reader may here expect some remarks on the vicissitudes of this see,
and its successive connection with the provinces of Tuam and Armagh.
When as yet there were only two archiepiscopal sees in our island,
extending to Leath Cuinn and Leath Mogha, all Connacht, and with it
Clonmacnoise, was comprised in the northern district. Gradually,
however, Tuam grew into the proportions of a distinct province, and in
the synod of Rathbreasil, held by St. Celsus of Armagh in 1110, we find
the five sees of Tuam, Clonfert, Cong, Killalla, and Ardchame or Ardagh,
clustered together, though still subject to the Archbishop of Armagh.
When at length, in the synod of Kells, in 1152, Tuam received the
archiepiscopal pallium from the hands of Cardinal Paparo, Ardagh was
assigned to the primatial see, but Clonmacnoise was referred to the new
province of Tuam. This division soon became a subject of controversy.
Tuam claimed the diocese of Ardagh for the western province, whilst
Armagh declared that the Shannon was its boundary, and hence reckoned
Clonmacnoise as a northern see, and at the same time claimed, as subject
to its own metropolitical jurisdiction, the churches of Killmedoin,
Croagh-patrick, Killtulagh, and some others of the diocese of Tuam. At
the Council of Lateran, held in Rome in 1215, Felix O'Ruadhan,
Archbishop of Tuam, and Eugene MacGillividen, Archbishop of Armagh, were
both present, and laid their dispute before the great Pontiff Innocent
III., and a decree soon after emanated, assigning indeed the above named
churches to Tuam, but deferring to a future day the decision of the
other points of controversy. In the meantime Armagh was in possession of
both sees, and for more than a hundred years they continued thus subject
to its metropolitical jurisdiction. As to Ardagh, the question was never
after mooted; but towards the middle of the fourteenth century,
Clonmacnoise seems to have been again numbered amongst the dioceses of
the western province. This change probably took place during the
episcopate of Bishop Symon, of the Order of St. Dominick, who, though
omitted in the lists of Ware and De Burgo, was appointed to this see on
the death of Dr. Henry, in 1349. This prelate, in the bull of his
appointment, is declared to be "Priorem fratrum ordinis Praedicatorum de
Roscommon, Elfinensis dioecesis, in sacerdotio constitutum et cui de
religionis zelo, litterarum scientia, vitae ac morum honestate et aliis
virtutum meritis laudabilia testimonia perhibentur" (_ap. Theiner_, pag.
291). At all events, soon after this period we find a list of Irish
bishoprics which is now preserved in the Barberini archives at Rome, and
in it the see of Clonmacnoise is referred to the province of Tuam. In
the consistorial record of the appointment of Dr. O'Higgins, cited
above, it is in like manner described as subject to the metropolitical
jurisdiction of St. Jarlath's. The episcopate of Dr. O'Hnygyn seems to
have been the period when at last all controversy was hushed, and this
diocese was finally adjudged to the province of Armagh. This prelate
assisted indeed at the Provincial Synod of Tuam, held in 1523, but, in
the preamble to the Synod, he is expressly described as "Dominus Kyntius
(_i.e._, Quintinus) Dei gratia Episcopus Cluanensis Provinciae
Armachanae". (_Irish Arch. Soc. Miscellany_, vol. I., p. 77.) An
official list of all the dioceses was drawn up and published during the
pontificate of Pope Paul III., in 1546, and in it Clonmacnoise is marked
as belonging to the primatial see. The era of persecution during the
reigns of Elizabeth and James I. produced no change in this arrangement;
and when a momentary peace again smiled on the Irish Church, in 1632, we
find the vicar-apostolic of Clonmacnoise, Rev. John Gafney, after
administering this see _for thirty-five years_, taking his place among
the assembled fathers in the provincial synod of Armagh.
P. F. M.
CARDINAL CONSALVI AND NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.
The concordat signed at Paris on the 15th July, 1801, between Pius
VII. and Napoleon, is one of the most important facts of modern
history. The magnitude of its results may best be learned from the
contrast between the present state of religion in France and that
which existed during, and for long after, the Revolution. "There is no
negotiation", says M. Thiers, "which is more deserving of serious
meditation than that of the Concordat"; but up to the present day the
materials for such a study have been wanting. At length the full light
of history has been let in upon the secret conferences in which the
articles of that treaty were prepared; and the hand which has traced
for us their history is the same which signed the Concordat itself.
The memoirs of Cardinal Consalvi, who took part in the negotiations as
the plenipotentiary of the Roman Pontiff, penned by him during the
days of his exile, have at length been given to the world.[1] Since
the Cardinal's death in 1824, these memoirs have been religiously left
in the obscurity to which their author condemned them, and which he
willed should last as long as the life of the principal personages of
whom he has made mention in his pages. But when at length, in 1858,
there appeared no reason for further silence, they were handed over by
Consalvi's executors to M. Cretineau-Joly, who has published, not the
original text, but what he assures us is a faithful version of it. We
propose to give our readers a sketch of the history of the Concordat
as it is recorded in these memoirs, and in doing so, we shall make use
as often as we can of the Cardinal's own words.
The victory of Marengo, gained June 14, 1800, made the First Consul
master of Italy. Five days after the battle, passing through Vercelli
at the head of his army, he charged Cardinal Martiniana, bishop of
that city, to communicate to the Pope his desire of negotiating a
settlement of the religious affairs of France, and for this purpose he
requested that Mgr. Spina, archbishop of Corinth, might be sent to him
to Turin. His request was gladly complied with. But scarcely had that
prelate entered Turin than he was ordered to set out at once for
Paris, where Napoleon awaited his arrival. It needed but a short stay
in that capital to convince Mgr. Spina that the projects of concordat
proposed by the consul were absolutely inadmissible, as being founded
on a basis completely at variance with the laws of the Church. In vain
did the Pope, in his anxiety to promote the good of religion, forward
to Paris an amended plan of concordat, in which he made every
concession permitted by his duty as head of the Church. The only
answer he received was an intimation from M. Cacault, the French agent
at Rome, that unless within five days the proposals made by Napoleon
were accepted without the slightest change, the least restriction or
correction, he, Cacault, should declare a rupture between the Holy See
and France, and immediately leave Rome to join General Murat at
Florence. To all these threats, and to the menace of the loss of his
temporal power, the Pope had but one reply, that same reply which we
have heard from Pius IX. in our own day--that _non possumus_ against
which all the assaults of the masters of legions have ever failed, and
evermore shall fail.
M. Cacault, not daring to disobey the orders he had received, prepared
at once for his departure, but his excellent heart and his affection
for Rome suggested to him a means of preventing the mischief that was
sure to follow from the anger of Napoleon, if once kindled against the
Holy See. He proposed that Cardinal Consalvi, the Pope's secretary of
state, should at once set out for Paris, to lay before the First
Consul the imperious reasons by which the Holy Father was forced to
refuse the proffered concordat. The French agent felt confident that,
whilst it would flatter Napoleon's pride to be able to exhibit to the
Parisians a Cardinal prime minister in waiting upon his will, the
presence of Consalvi would also be a proof of the Pope's anxious
desire to come to a favourable understanding on the affairs of the
French Church. After mature deliberation this plan was adopted. The
Cardinal took care that to the credentials usually given in cases of
treaties, the Pope should add a most precise command that his envoy
was to consider the project of concordat which had been corrected at
Rome, and hitherto rejected at Paris, not only as the basis of the
future treaty, but as the concordat itself. Powers were granted,
however, to make such changes as did not alter the substance of the
document. "I thought it necessary", says the Cardinal, "to have my
hands tied in this way, because I foresaw that, unless I were in a
position to show the French government how limited were my powers,
they would soon force my entrenchments".
Leaving Rome in company with M. Cacault, Cardinal Consalvi arrived at
Paris at night, after a tedious journey of fifteen days, and took up
his abode with Mgr. Spina and his theologian, P. Caselli, afterwards
Cardinal. Early in the morning he sent to acquaint Bonaparte of his
arrival, and to learn at what hour he could have the honour of seeing
the First Consul. He inquired also in what costume he should present
himself, as at that period the ecclesiastical dress had been abandoned
by the French clergy. These communications were made through the Abbe
Bernier, who, from having been one of the leaders in the war of La
Vendee against the Republic, had taken a great part in the
pacification of these provinces upon the terms offered by the consular
government, and had thereby secured for himself the favour of
Bonaparte. He was appointed negotiator on the part of the government,
and brought to his task much theological knowledge, diplomatic skill,
and the advantage of being agreeable to both the contracting parties.
This ecclesiastic soon returned to Consalvi with the intimation that
the First Consul would receive him that same morning at two o'clock,
and that he was to come in the fullest possible cardinalitial costume.
The Cardinal, however, did not gratify him in this latter particular,
believing it to be his duty to present himself in the dress usually
worn out of doors by cardinals when not in function. He was introduced
to Napoleon under circumstances well calculated to embarrass a less
evenly poised mind than his own. "I know", said the First Consul, "why
you have come to France. I wish the conferences to be opened without
delay. I allow you five days time, and I warn you that if on the fifth
day the negotiations are not concluded, you must go back to Rome, as I
have already decided what to do in such a case". Consalvi replied with
calm dignity, and was soon afterwards conducted to his hotel. On the
same day the Abbe Bernier came again to Consalvi, and asked him for a
memorial setting forth the reasons which had constrained the Pope to
accept the project which had been presented at Rome by M. Cacault.
Although wearied by his long journey, the Cardinal spent the watches
of the night in drawing up the memorial, which on the following day
was communicated by the Abbe Bernier to Talleyrand, who, in turn, was
to report upon it and lay it before the First Consul. The design of
the memorial was to justify the refusal of the Concordat in the terms
in which it had been drawn up by the French Government, and to show
how reasonable and just were the modifications insisted on by the
Pope. This design was not attained. Talleyrand wrote on the margin of
the first page of the memorial these words, well calculated to confirm
Napoleon in his idea that the Pope's minister was actuated by personal
enmity towards the French Government: "Cardinal Consalvi's memorial
does more to throw back the negotiations than all that has hitherto
been written on the subject". These words, although they produced an
unfavourable impression on the First Consul, did not however retard
the negotiations. The fatigue of these negotiations was very great.
Twice each day for many days beyond the five granted by Bonaparte, the
Cardinal held conferences with the Abbe Bernier, always in the
presence of Mgr. Spina and P. Caselli. The nights were frequently
spent in drawing up and correcting memorials to be presented to the
government. It was at this period in the negotiations that the limit
which the Pope had placed to the Cardinal's powers was found to be of
the greatest practical advantage. The Abbe Bernier, when any
difficulty occurred, incessantly declared that, however strong his own
convictions, he could decide nothing of himself without referring the
matter to the First Consul. On the contrary, the Cardinal was never
allowed to despatch a courier to consult the Pope and receive his
commands. The pretext for this prohibition was, that the Concordat
should absolutely be finished the next day. Under these circumstances,
his limited powers were the only means left to Consalvi by which he
might resist the pressure brought to bear against him. The orders he
had received from the Pope were, not to break off the negotiations and
refuse the Concordat because he could not make it as favourable as
might be, but, on the other hand, not to sign it by overstepping
those instructions given him before he left Rome, of which we have
spoken above. For twenty-five days the conferences continued. Every
nerve was strained to avert a rupture on the one hand, and undue
concessions on the other. The consequences of a rupture were
frequently laid before the Cardinal during these days, which he calls
"days of anguish", by the Count de Cobenzel, Austrian ambassador at
Paris. He was asked to consider that if the First Consul should break
with Rome, and definitely separate from the head of the Catholic
Church, he would, as he had often threatened, force Germany, Spain,
Italy, Switzerland, and Holland, to become the accomplices of his
apostacy.
Finally, after incredible fatigue, after sufferings and anguish of
every kind, the day came which brought with it the long-looked for
conclusion of their task. The Abbe Bernier, who reported every evening
to Bonaparte the results of the daily conferences, at length announced
that the First Consul accepted all the disputed articles, and that on
the following day they should proceed to sign two authentic copies of
the treaty, one copy to remain in the hands of each of the contracting
parties. The project thus accepted, was substantially the same as the
one which, having been amended at Rome, had been rejected by the
French government before the Cardinal's journey, and which had led to
M. Cacault's withdrawal from Rome within five days. It was arranged
that the signatures should be six; three on each side. The Cardinal,
Mgr. Spina, and P. Caselli, were to sign on behalf of the Holy See;
Joseph Bonaparte, brother of the First Consul, Cretet, councillor of
state, and the Abbe Bernier, on behalf of the French government. It
was further arranged that the Abbe Bernier should call for the three
ecclesiastics at a little before four o'clock on the following day,
14th July, and conduct them to the residence of Joseph Bonaparte,
where the solemn act was to be completed.
"There", said Bernier, "we shall be able to do all in a quarter of an
hour, as we have only to write six names, and this, including the
congratulations, will not take even so long". He also showed them the
_Moniteur_ of the day, in which the government officially announced
the conclusion of the negotiations. He added, that on the next day,
anniversary of the taking of the Bastile, the First Consul intended to
proclaim at a grand dinner of more than three hundred guests, that the
Concordat was signed, and a treaty concluded between the Holy See and
the government, of far more importance than even the Concordat between
Francis I. and Leo X.
Shortly before four o'clock the next day, the Abbe Bernier made his
appearance, having in his hand a roll of paper, which he said was the
copy of the Concordat to be signed. On their arrival at Joseph
Bonaparte's, they took their places at a table, and after a short
discussion as to who should be the first to sign, Joseph yielded that
honour to the claims of the Cardinal. He took the pen in his hand, and
then followed a scene which must be described in his own words: "What
was my surprise when I saw the Abbe Bernier place before me the copy
which he took from his roll, as if to make me sign without reading it,
and when on running my eye over it, I found that it was not the treaty
which had been agreed on by the respective commissioners and accepted
by the First Consul himself, but one altogether different! The
difference I perceived in the first lines led me to examine the rest
with the most scrupulous care, and I satisfied myself that this copy
not only contained the project which the Pope had refused to accept,
but that it moreover included certain points which had been rejected
as inadmissible before the project had been forwarded to Rome at all.
This occurrence, incredible but true, paralysed my hand when about to
sign my name. I gave expression to my surprise, and declared in plain
language that on no account could I accept such a document. The First
Consul's brother appeared equally astonished at hearing me speak so.
He said that he did not know what to think of what he saw. He added
that he had heard from the First Consul himself, that every thing had
been arranged, and that there was nothing for him to do but affix his
signature. As the other official, the state councillor, Cretet, made
the same declaration, protesting his total ignorance, and refusing to
believe my statement about the change of documents, until I had proved
it by confronting the two copies, I could not restrain myself from
turning rather sharply towards the Abbe Bernier. I told him that no
one could confirm the truth of my assertion better than he could; that
I was exceedingly astonished at the studied silence which I observed
him to keep in the matter; and that I expressly called upon him to
communicate to us what he had such good reason to know.
"With a confused air and in an embarrassed tone, he stuttered out that
he could not deny the truth of my words and the difference between the
copies of the Concordat, but that the First Consul had given orders to
that effect, affirming that changes were allowable as long as the
document was not signed. 'And so', added Bernier, 'he insists on these
changes, because upon mature deliberation he is not satisfied with the
stipulations we have agreed upon'.
"I will not here relate what I said in answer to a discourse so
strange.... I spoke warmly of this attempt to succeed by surprise; I
resolutely protested that I would never accept such an act, expressly
contrary to the Pope's will. I therefore declared that if, on their
part, they either could not or would not sign the document we had
agreed upon, the sitting must come to an end".
Joseph Bonaparte then spoke. He depicted the fatal consequences which
would result to religion and to the state from breaking off the
negotiations; he exhorted them to use every means in their power to
come to some understanding between themselves, on that very day,
seeing that the conclusion of the treaty had been announced in the
newspapers, and that the news of its having been signed was to be
proclaimed at to-morrow's grand banquet. It was easy, added he, to
imagine the indignation and fury of one so headstrong as his brother,
when he should have to appear before the public as having published in
his own journals false news on a matter of such importance. But no
arguments could persuade the Cardinal to negotiate on the basis of the
substituted project of Concordat. He consented, however, to discuss
once more the articles of the treaty on which they had agreed before.
The discussion commenced about five o'clock in the evening. "To
understand how serious it was, how exact, what warm debates it gave
rise to on both sides, how laborious, how painful, it will be enough
to say that it lasted without any interruption or repose for nineteen
consecutive hours, that is to say, to noon on the following day. We
spent the entire night at it, without dismissing our servants or
carriages, like men who hope every hour to finish the business on
which they are engaged. At mid-day we had come to an understanding on
all the articles, with one single exception". This one article, of
which we shall speak later, appeared to the Cardinal to be a
substantial question, and to involve a principle which, as has often
been the case, the Holy See might tolerate as a fact, but which it
could never sanction (_canonizzare_) as an express article of a
treaty. The hour when Joseph Bonaparte must leave to appear before the
First Consul was at hand, and "it would be impossible", says the
Cardinal, "to enumerate the assaults made on me at that moment to
induce me to yield on this point, that he might not have to carry to
his brother the fatal news of a rupture". But nothing could shake the
resolution of the Papal minister or lead him to act contrary to his
most sacred duties. He yielded so far, however, as to propose that
they should omit the disputed article, and draw out a copy of the
Concordat in which it should not appear, and that this copy should be
brought to Bonaparte. Meantime the Holy See could be consulted on the
subject of the article under debate, and the difficulty could be
settled before the ratification of the Concordat. This plan was
adopted. In less than an hour, Joseph returned from the Tuileries
with sorrow depicted on his countenance. He announced that the First
Consul, on hearing his report, had given himself up to a fit of
extreme fury; in the violence of his passion he had torn in a hundred
pieces the paper on which the Concordat was written; but finally,
after a world of entreaties and arguments, he had consented with
indescribable repugnance, to admit all the articles that had been
agreed on, but with respect to the one article which had been left
unsettled, he was inflexible. Joseph was commanded to tell the
Cardinal that he, Bonaparte, absolutely insisted on that article just
as it was couched in the Abbe Bernier's paper, and that only two
courses were open to the Pope's minister, either to sign the Concordat
with that article inserted as it stood, or to break off the
negotiation altogether. It was the Consul's unalterable determination
to announce at the banquet that very day either the signing of the
Concordat, or the rupture between the parties.
"It is easy to imagine the consternation into which we were thrown by
this message. It still wanted three hours to five o'clock, the time
fixed for the banquet at which we were all to assist. It is impossible
to repeat all that was said by the brother of the First Consul, and by
the other two, to urge me to yield to his will. The consequences of
the rupture were of the most gloomy kind. They represented to me that
I was about to make myself responsible for these evils, both to France
and Europe, and to my own sovereign and Rome. They told me that at
Rome I should be charged with untimely obstinacy, and that the blame
of having provoked the results of my refusal would be laid at my door.
I began to taste the bitterness of death. All that was terrible in the
future they described to me rose up vividly before my mind. I shared
at that moment (if I may venture so to speak) the anguish of the Man
of Sorrows. But, by the help of Heaven, duty carried the day. I did
not betray it. During the two hours of that struggle I persisted in my
refusal, and the negotiation was broken off.
"This was the end of that gloomy sitting which had lasted full
twenty-four hours, from four o'clock of the preceding evening to four
of that unhappy day, with much bodily suffering, as may be supposed,
but with much more terrible mental anguish, which can be appreciated
only by those who have experienced it.
"I was condemned, and this I felt to be the most cruel inconvenience
of my position, to appear within an hour at the splendid banquet of
the day. It was my fate to bear in public the first shock of the
violent passion which the news of the failure of the negotiations was
sure to rouse in the breast of the First Consul. My two companions and
I returned for a few minutes to our hotel, and after making some
hasty preparations, we proceeded to the Tuileries.
"The First Consul was present in a saloon, which was thronged by a
crowd of magistrates, officers, state dignitaries, ministers,
ambassadors, and strangers of the highest rank, who had been invited
to the banquet. He had already seen his brother, and it is easy to
imagine the reception he gave us as soon as we had entered the
apartment. The moment he perceived me, with a flushed face and in a
loud and disdainful voice, he cried out:
"'Well, M. le Cardinal, it is, then, your wish to quarrel! So be it. I
have no need of Rome. I will manage for myself. If Henry VIII.,
without the twentieth part of my power, succeeded in changing the
religion of his country, much more shall I be able to do the like. By
changing religion in France, I will change it throughout almost the
whole of Europe, wherever my power extends. Rome shall look on at her
losses; she shall weep over them, but there will be no help for it
then. You may be gone; it is the best thing left for you to do. You
have wished to quarrel--well, then, be it so, since you have wished
it. When do you leave, I say?'"
"After dinner, General", calmly replied the Cardinal.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] _Memoires du Cardinal Consalvi, secretaire d'Etat du Pape Pio
VII., avec un introduction et des notes, par J. Cretineau-Joly._
Paris, Henri Plon, Rue Garenciere, 8, 1864. 2 vol. 8vo, pagg. 454-488.
(TO BE CONCLUDED IN OUR NEXT.)
ST. BRIGID'S ORPHANAGE.
_St. Brigid's Orphanage for Five Hundred Children._ Eighth
Annual Report. Powell, 10 Essex Bridge, Dublin.
It would be interesting to trace the various arts and devices which
have been adopted for the propagation of Protestantism in this
country. Its authors certainly never intended to spread it through the
world in the way in which the Gospel was introduced by the disciples
of our Lord. The apostles gained over unbelievers to the truth by
patience, by prayer, by good example, and by the performance of
wonderful works. Their spirit was that of charity, their only object
was the salvation of souls. So far from being supported by an arm of
flesh, all the powers of the earth persecuted them and conspired for
their destruction.
But how was Protestantism propagated in Ireland? By acts of parliament
fraudulently obtained, by the violence and influence of two most
corrupt and unprincipled sovereigns--Henry VIII. and Elizabeth. Under
their sway great numbers of Irish Catholics were put to death because
they would not renounce the ancient faith; convents and monasteries
were suppressed because their inmates were faithful to their vows; the
parochial clergy and bishops were persecuted and spoiled, and many put
to death, because they adhered to the religion of their fathers, and
would not separate themselves from the communion of the Catholic
Church, spread over the whole world.
Moreover, the property of the Catholics was confiscated, and the nobles
of the land were reduced to poverty, because their consciences would
not allow them to bow to the supremacy of the crown in religious
matters. What shall we say of the ingenious system of penal laws,
which, with Draconian cruelty, was enacted against Catholicity? A
father was not allowed to give a Catholic education to his children;
and the child of Catholic parents, if he became a Protestant, could
disinherit his brothers, and reduce his father to beggary. Catholic
education and Catholic schools were proscribed. A Protestant university
was instituted and richly endowed with confiscated property, in order
that it might be an engine for assailing Catholicity, and a bulwark of
Protestantism. Charter schools were established for the purpose of
infecting poor children with heresy. A court of wards was instituted,
in order that the children of the nobility might be seized on, and
brought up in the errors of the new religion. It was in this way that
the Earls of Kildare and other noble families lost their faith.
Catholics were excluded from all offices of trust; they could not be
members of parliament, they had no right of voting at elections, and
they were not even allowed to hold leases of the lands from which their
fathers had been violently and unjustly expelled. Such were the
_evangelical_ arts adopted to spread Protestantism in Ireland. What a
contrast with the means employed by Providence to propagate the Gospel
of Jesus Christ!
Thanks be to God, the faith of the people of Ireland overcame all the
agencies which were employed for its destruction, and is now producing
wonderful works of piety and charity at home, and bringing the
blessings of salvation to foreign lands that heretofore were sitting
in darkness and the shades of death. However, active efforts are still
made to propagate the religion of Henry VIII. and Elizabeth, and it is
hoped that what those corrupt and wicked, but powerful and despotic,
sovereigns could not effect by fire and sword, by cruel penal laws,
and confiscation of property, may be compassed by a degraded and
contemptible system of pecuniary proselytism, which consists in
collecting money in England for the purpose of bribing poor Catholics
to become hypocrites and to deny their faith, or of purchasing
children from miserable or wicked parents, in order to educate them in
the religion, whatever that may be, of the Church Establishment, or
more probably in no religion at all.
The Report of St. Brigid's Orphanage, mentioned at the head of this
notice, gives most interesting details regarding this new method of
propagating the errors of Luther and Calvin. This document, though
brief, is most worthy of the perusal of every Catholic. It describes
the activity and perfidy of the proselytisers, and it shows that they
have immense resources, even hundreds of thousands of pounds per
annum, at their disposal. The zeal of those men and their sacrifices
in a bad cause, must be a reproach to Catholics, if they are not ready
to stand forth and exert themselves in defence of the Holy Catholic
and Apostolical Church, out of which there is no salvation.
The Association of St. Brigid in the few years of its existence has
saved a large number of children from the fangs of proselytism. It has
been able to perform so great a work of charity because its funds,
though small, are managed with great economy. No expense is incurred
for buildings, or for the rent of houses, or for a staff of masters
and mistresses. The ladies who manage the orphanage receive no
remuneration, but give their services for the love of God. The poor
orphans are sent to the country, and placed under the care of honest
and religious families, who, for five or six pounds for each per
annum, bring them up in the humble manner in which the peasants of
Ireland are accustomed to live. In this way the orphans acquire that
love for God, and that spirit of religion, for which this country is
distinguished, and, at the same time, they become strong and vigorous
like the other inhabitants of the country, and are prepared to bear
the hardships to which persons of their class are generally exposed in
life. Were those children educated in large orphanages and in the
smoky air of the city, they would perhaps be weak and delicate,
incapable of bearing hard work, and likely to fail in the day of
trial.
The education of the orphans of St. Brigid is not overlooked by the
managers. They require the nurses not only to teach the children by
word and example, but also to send them to good schools, where they
learn reading, and writing, the catechism, and all that is necessary
for persons in their sphere of life. Some of the ladies of the
association call them together from time to time for examination, and
considerable premiums are awarded to the families in which the
children are found to have made the greatest progress. In this way
great emulation is excited, and a considerable progress in knowledge
is secured.
When the orphans grow up, as they are generally strong and healthy and
able for farm work, they are easily provided for. Many of them are
adopted by those who reared them. In this way great economy is
observed, and this is a consideration which cannot be overlooked in a
poor country like Ireland, where the charity of the faithful has so
many demands upon it. However, everything necessary is attained, as
the orphans are prepared to earn a livelihood in this world, and
trained up in the practice of those Christian virtues and practices by
which they may save their souls.
The report of the Orphanage is followed by the speeches which were
made by several gentlemen at a late meeting of the Association, held
on the 16th November last. They will be read with great interest.
Canon M'Cabe's address thus sums up the results already obtained by
St. Brigid's Association:--
"I thank God", said he, "that I am here to-day to testify to
the glorious fact, that already 525 destitute orphans have
found a home in St. Brigid's bosom; and that 247 of these,
nursed into strength, moral and physical, have been sent
forth into the world to fight the battle of life; and we may
rest perfectly satisfied that if, at the hour of death, they
are not able to exclaim with the apostle, 'I have kept the
faith', the fault most certainly will not rest with the
friends of their infant orphan days".
What a contrast with such happy results does the sterility of all
Protestant religious undertakings present! This is illustrated in the
course of his discourse by the learned Canon. We give the following
extract:--