<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2012-08-10</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Geremy Carnes</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Checklist: x *Add TEMPHEAD, change DATE, validate x *Review over structure: FRONT,BODY, BACK, DIV or rarely GROUP x *Add LANG, add DIV TYPEs, make sure that @types makes sense as a navigational aide, and work in the context of the whole text, validate x *Survey book for troublesome formats of all kinds, including lists, illustrations, tables, music, math, end-notes, quasi-tabular arrangments, and marginalia. x *Proof title page(s), remove decorative HI x *Examine marginalia. Is it all best tagged as NOTE? x *Observe divtop and divbottom material marking beginnings and ends of divisions, check that they are correctly tagged as HEAD, HEADNOTE, CLOSER, OPENER, ARGUMENT, TRAILER, EPIGRAPH, SIGNED, DATELINE, BYLINE, etc. x *Check for GAPs, ABBR x *Check PB placement and completeness, ensure sequence of N="" x *Check ^, oe, abq, italic I / J, _Initals, space between &amp;c., --, LB, # x *Check for illustrations and correct usage of FIGURE. Add FIGDESCs if necessary. x *Check q; startq endq Q x *If appropriate, check for yoghs. x *If appropriate, check for Latin problems, e.g. oe and ae digraphs x *If appropriate, check for abbreviation and brevigraph problems. x *If appropriate, check for units of measure, symbols (alchemical, astronomical, etc.) and the like. x *Correct illegibles from proofsheet x *Check illegible page, para, line, span, word, dollar signs, &punc; x *Final validate Corrected [ ] illegible groups out of [ ]. Converted [ 2 ] illegible groups to GAP DESC="illegible". DONE</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A29408">
<STC T="W">B4516</STC>
<STC T="C">R14707</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">11715196</BIBNO>
<VID>48314</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>A Brief ACCOUNT Of the PROCEEDINGS OF THE French Clergy, In taking away the POPE's U&s;urp'd SUPREMACY, Shewing by what Steps or Degrees the &s;ame was Effected.</P>
<P>By way of Introduction to the Pope's Letter, written to the Clergy of <HI>France</HI> 11th of <HI>Apr.</HI> 1682. and their Prote&s;tarion thereupon, 6th of <HI>May</HI> following; the Letter Condemning, and the Prote&s;tation Ju&s;|tifying and Ratifying the &s;aid Proceedings.</P>
<P>Both which are here Publi&s;hed in Latine, to gratifie the Curio&s;ity of Scholars, and in Engli&s;h for the Satisfaction of other Readers.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>Tho. Simmons,</HI> at the Prince's Amrs in <HI>Ludgate Street.</HI> 1682.</P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="3" REF="2">
<HEAD>A Brief Account of the Proceedings of the French Clergy, in taking away the Pope<HI>'s</HI> Supremacy, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> By way of Introduction to the following Letter, and Prote&s;tation.</HEAD>
<P>FOR the better under&s;tanding of &s;ome Pa&s;&s;ages in the Letter, and Prote&s;tation, it will be nece&s;&s;ary to acquaint you with the Original and Progre&s;s of that conte&s;t, which has &s;o long continued between the Pope, and the French King, and Clergy, of which if you de&s;ire to be in|form'd fully, and at large, I mu&s;t Refer you to a Book, Publi&s;hed la&s;t Year, Entitled. <HI>The verbal Proce&s;s, or Proceedings of the Extraordinary A&s;&s;embly of the Arch-Bi&s;hops and Bi&s;hops held at</HI> Paris <HI>in March</HI> 1680/1, <HI>and May</HI> 1681, <HI>Tran&s;lated out of the Original French Papers.</HI> The &s;ub&s;tance of which take as fol|lows.</P>
<P>The late Pope's having denied the King's Right, called in French <HI>Regale,</HI> and in Latine <HI>Regalia,</HI> (which con&s;i&s;ts in his receiving the Profits of vacant Bi&s;hop|ricks in <HI>France,</HI> and in the Collation of Dignities, and Prehends, during a vocancy) and Claiming the &s;ame as their Right, e&s;pecially in four Provinces of that Kingdom; the pre&s;ent French King in the Year 1673, cau&s;ed a Declaration to be Publi&s;h'd, and a|nother in 1675, in which he a&s;&s;erts his Right of <HI>Regalia,</HI> as well in the four Provinces, as in all other parts of <HI>France,</HI> and Commands his Officers, ap|pointed to Collect the Profits of vacant Benefices,
<PB N="4" REF="3">to execute their Office in all Places, without di|&s;tinction, as Occa&s;ions &s;hould offer, which was done accordingly, and the Declarations were obeyed by all the Prelats, except the Bi&s;hop of <HI>Pomiez,</HI> who continued a Zealous Stickler for the Pope, agai&s;t, the King in this Point, to the time of his Death.</P>
<P>This difference between the Pope, and the King, and Clergy (who oppo&s;ed the Pope, as well upon their own Account, as the King's, as well &s;hall &s;ee anon) &s;till increa&s;ing, at la&s;t the Clergy, by their Agents Ge|neral, begg'd leave of the King in 1680/1. That &s;uch Prelats as were then at <HI>Paris,</HI> about the affairs of their Dioce&s;es, might meet and con&s;ult, for the puting a &s;peedy &s;top to &s;ome &s;ini&s;ter practi&s;es of the Court of <HI>Rome,</HI> repugnant to the tenour of the Canons, the Liberties of the Gallican Church, and the Laws of the Kingdom; which Reque&s;t being granted, an A&s;|&s;embly con&s;i&s;ting of &s;ix Arch-Bi&s;hops, and 35. Bi|&s;hops was held at <HI>Paris</HI> in the months of March 1680/1. and May. 1681.</P>
<P>To this A&s;&s;embly the &s;aid Agents of the Clergy pre&s;ented a Memorial in which they Complain that divers Letters (or Briefs) had been di&s;per&s;'d, in the name of Pope <HI>Innocent</HI> XI. containing many things very Prejudicial to the <HI>Regalia,</HI> and to the Gallican Church, <HI>viz.</HI> The Letter of the 18th of <HI>October</HI> 1680, which comdemns to the flames, the Sentence of the Parliament of <HI>Paris,</HI> pa&s;t the 24th of <HI>September</HI> 1680, wherein are explained the Laws of the Kingdom, in defence of the Authority of the Bi&s;hops.</P>
<P>The Letters to the King, to hinder the Execution of the 2, la&s;t declarations, about the <HI>Regalia.</HI></P>
<PB N="5" REF="3">
<P>Al&s;o &s;everal other Letters, about the bu&s;ine&s;s of <HI>Pomiez,</HI> either to the late Bi&s;hop of <HI>Pomiez,</HI> or to the Arch-Bi&s;hop of <HI>Tholou&s;e,</HI> but e&s;pecially the 2. la&s;t, one of which dated the 23. of <HI>September,</HI> con|firms the Election of the Grand Vicars, cho&s;en by the Chapter, in the vacancy of that See, likewi&s;e an Injunction to acknowledge them, upon pain of in|curring the Severe&s;t penalties of the Church. The other, deliver'd the fir&s;t of <HI>January,</HI> Excommunicates the Arch-Bi&s;hop of <HI>Tholou&s;e,</HI> without u&s;ing any of the forms ob&s;erv'd in <HI>France;</HI> which was Injurious to the Epi&s;copal Dignity, and equally mi&s;chievous both to Church and State.</P>
<P>The letter about the bu&s;ine&s;s of <HI>Charonne,</HI> &amp;c. That the de&s;ign of the&s;e Letters was to beget a mi&s;|under&s;tanding, and to create a difference between the Pope, and the King, to ruine the Canons, receiv'd, and ob&s;erv'd in that Kingdome, to engage the Pope, upon bare Informations, without any Appeal, and <HI>omi&s;&s;o medio,</HI> to Judge, and in his Tribunal at <HI>Rome</HI> (of his own meer motion, and by the &s;ole motive of the plenitude of his power) to confirm &s;everal Elections, which were nul, and void; thereby de|priving the Bi&s;hops of their ordinary Authority, Arch|bi&s;hops, and Primates of their Juri&s;diction, and In|terrupting the Order of Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Proceedings.</P>
<P>This Memorial having been read, the A&s;&s;embly de&s;ired the Arch Bi&s;hop of <HI>Paris,</HI> their Pre&s;ident, to name &s;ix Commi&s;&s;ioners, who, together with him|&s;elf, might con&s;ider what was to be done in the&s;e af|faires, and to make their Report to the A&s;&s;embly which, after Con&s;ultation, was made accordingly
<PB N="6" REF="4">by the Arch-Bi&s;hop of <HI>Reims,</HI> one of the Commi&s;&s;ion|ers, in a long and elegant Speech, the effect of which was as follows, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<P>That the Right of the <HI>Regalia,</HI> which had cau&s;ed the afore&s;aid Letters, had been, a very long time, po&s;&s;e&s;s'd by their Kings; <HI>Alexander the</HI> 3d. <HI>Inno|cent the</HI> 3d. <HI>Clement the</HI> 4th. <HI>Gregory the</HI> 10th. The &s;econd Council of <HI>Lyon,</HI> and <HI>Gregory</HI> the 11th. Yea their own Council of <HI>Bourges,</HI> had acknowledg'd and approv'd it. That no A&s;&s;embly of the French Clergy ever pretended, that bu&s;ine&s;&s;es, relating to the <HI>Regalia,</HI> ought to be brought before an Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Tribunal, but to be Debated, and decided by the Juri&s;diction of the King's Council only. For confirmation of this, he &s;aid that <HI>Philip</HI> of <HI>Valois,</HI> by his Order of <HI>October</HI> 1334. decided all differences of this Nature, which happen'd in his Reign. That <HI>Lewis</HI> 11. by his declaration of the 24th. of <HI>May</HI> 1463, prohibits all his Subjects to have any Proce&s;s, concerning the <HI>Re|galia,</HI> before an Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Judge (no, not in the Court of <HI>Rome it &s;elf</HI>) and yet that it did not Appear that either <HI>John,</HI> 22. or <HI>Pious,</HI> 2. complain'd of it, That the Province of <HI>Britany,</HI> which was not reu|nited to the Crown of <HI>France</HI> till the Year 1532, was Subjected to the <HI>Regalia,</HI> by a Degree of Parliament, in 1598, in the Popedom of <HI>Clement,</HI> 8. who com|plain'd not of it, no, not to the Cardinal of <HI>O&s;&s;at,</HI> who, then attending the Pope, confe&s;&s;eth that the King might Extend the <HI>Regalia</HI> upon all the Bi&s;hop|ricks of his Kingdom, That the Principles of the Pope, and of the King <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="4 letters">cers about the <HI>Regalia,</HI> were very different <HI>(viz.)</HI> The Pope believes that
<PB N="7" REF="4">the <HI>Regalia</HI> is a Right derived from the Church; the King looks on it as a Regal, Temporal, and In&s;e|perable Right of the Crown. The <HI>Pope</HI> relyes on the 2d. Council of <HI>Lyon,</HI> as a &s;acred boundary, beyond which we may not pa&s;s, but the King (who, not without Rea|&s;on, Pretends that he is not Subject to a Council for a Right meerly Temporal) doth not own that Autho|rity of the Council, alleaged again&s;t him, but on the contrary His Magi&s;ty maintains that his Predece&s;|&s;ors could not prejudice his Rights; and that if they had rea&s;on to &s;u&s;pend the Execution of the <HI>Regalia</HI> in the four Provinces, he had much more rea&s;on to revive it there; that the Bi&s;hops had acknowledg|ed him for their Judge, and that having pronounc'd Judgment, he is oblig'd to give an account of it to God only.</P>
<P>Then the Bi&s;hop of <HI>Troyes</HI> (another of the Com|mi&s;&s;ioners.) commended to their Favour, and Pro|tection, a certain Doctor of the <HI>Sorbonne,</HI> for a Book written by him, wherein (&s;aid he) <Q>he ju&s;tifies the Right, which we have to decide matters of Faith, and Di&s;cipline, and to oppo&s;e the Authority, which we have im|mediately received from Je&s;us Chri&s;t, again&s;t the novel|ties, which might ari&s;e in our Dioce&s;es, and Provinces. Se|condly he demon&s;trator that the Gallican Church is not de|parted from the Di&s;cipline of the Council of <HI>Sardica,</HI> the Execution of which the Councils, and Ancient <HI>Popes</HI> have &s;o often recommended, and according to which, the Bi&s;hops ought to be tryed fir&s;t by their Brethren in their Provin|ces. And the&s;e two <HI>Maxims</HI> are Canonical, and conform|able to the Spirit of the Church, and to the Sacred Rules, E&s;tabli&s;h'd by ancient Councils and Authorized by the Holy See.</Q></P>
<PB N="8" REF="5">
<P>When he had ended, the Arch-Bi&s;hop of <HI>Reims</HI> con|tinued his Speech, and &s;aid that the Commi&s;&s;ioners had examin'd the <HI>Pope's</HI> Letters, and fir&s;t, that the occa&s;ion of tho&s;e two, written to the <HI>Nuns</HI> of <HI>Charonne</HI> was thus. Their Mon&s;tery was founded 1643. By the Duche&s;s of <HI>Orleans,</HI> who de&s;ired the <HI>Pope</HI> that the fir&s;t Abbe&s;s might be continued daring life, and it was granted. After her decea&s;e the King nominates one to &s;ucceed her, but &s;he dying before &s;he was confirm'd, he nominates another, who was E&s;ta|bli&s;hed Abbe&s;s by the Arch-Bi&s;hop of <HI>Paris</HI> in 1679. That the fir&s;t Letter of 7th of <HI>Augu&s;t</HI> 1680. forbids the Nuns to obey this Abbe&s;s, and commands them to choo&s;e another, which they did, without ob&s;er|ving the Rules of Elections; which as &s;oon as the Pope was informed of, he wrote another Letter to them, dated 15th <HI>October</HI> following, by which the defect of Formalities is &s;upplyed, and this irregular Election of the new Abbe&s;s confirmed. That the &s;e|veral Letters, which the Pope had written to the Arch-Bi&s;hop of <HI>Tholou&s;e,</HI> to the, &s;ince decea&s;ed, Bi&s;hop of <HI>Pomiez,</HI> and to the Chapter of that Church, &s;ince its vacancy, having been cau&s;ed by the di&s;pute about the <HI>Regalia,</HI> are to be taken as one ahd the &s;ame, and that the Di&s;pute happen'd as follows, <HI>viz.</HI> The &s;aid Bi&s;hop refu&s;ing to &s;ubmit to the Declarations of 1673, and 1675. form'd &s;everal Proce&s;&s;es again&s;t &s;uch Clergymen, who, by vertue of the <HI>Regalia,</HI> po&s;&s;e&s;s'd &s;ome of the Prebends of his Church, which the Arch|bi&s;hop of <HI>Tholou&s;e,</HI> upon the Appeals brought before him, made void. That on 7th <HI>Augu&s;t</HI> la&s;t, the Bi&s;hop dyed, and the old Canons Regular of his Church
<PB N="9" REF="5">Elected, after his decea&s;e, &s;ome Officers to govern it. That the&s;e new Officers continued the Proce&s;s again&s;t the <HI>Regali&s;ts,</HI> which the Bi&s;hop had begun, and the Archbi&s;hop of <HI>Tholou&s;e</HI> made them void; complaint whereof being made to the Pope, he wrote two Let|ters, one to the Archbi&s;hop, and the other to the Chapter of <HI>Pamiez,</HI> which are of no moment. But by a Letter of 2d. <HI>October</HI> following, to the Chapter and Conons Regular of <HI>Pamiez,</HI> the Pope confirms the Officers, nominated by the Chapter, and enga|geth to confirm &s;uch as &s;hall be cho&s;en; he forbids them to own any others; he declares null whatever &s;hall be done by Vicars General, which &s;hall not be cho&s;en by the old Canons, and orders this Letter to be read in the Dioce&s;s of <HI>Pomiez.</HI> That a Letter of <HI>Newyears-day</HI> la&s;t confirms, a &s;econd time the Offi|cers, Elected by the Chapter, and declares that the Pope will confirm &s;uch as this Chapter &s;hall Elect; that it Excommunicates with the greater Excommu|nication (which is immediately incurr'd, without any other Declaration) all &s;uch as &s;hall favour the Grand Vicars, cho&s;en by the Archbi&s;hop, and the Canons, that are <HI>Regali&s;ts,</HI> or &s;hall favour the &s;aid Metropolitan; and in fine, that it Excommunicates the Metropolitan him&s;elf. In the next place he tells them that the fir&s;t Parliament of the King|dome having pa&s;s'd a Decree 24th <HI>Sept.</HI> again&s;t the Pope's Letter of 7 <HI>Aug.</HI> to the Nuns of <HI>Charonne,</HI> the Commi&s;&s;ioners were of opinion, that it was their In|tere&s;t to joyn with the Parliament therein; tho the &s;aid Decree was Condemned by a Letter of 18th <HI>De|cember</HI> following, which forbids the reading of it,
<PB N="10" REF="6">upon pain of Excommunication, and Commands the Bi&s;hops, or Inqui&s;itors to burn all the Copies of it that can be found, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P>Then he mentions the reflections of the Commi&s;|&s;ioners upon the&s;e matters; &s;ome of which are that by the Pope's two Letters to the Nuns of <HI>Charonne,</HI> granted upon their bare Relation, and in their own Cau&s;e, all is vacated that their Archbi&s;hop had done, without hearing, or &s;o much as &s;ummoning him. That by rea&s;on of a Clau&s;e In&s;erted in the &s;e|cond Letter, <HI>viz.</HI> <Q>that the Pope hath power to &s;upply all formes, that may be omitted, even &s;uch as are E&s;&s;en|tial;</Q> it is pretended that he can &s;upply the want of that very knowledg of a matter, which, by the Law of Nature, is ab&s;olutely nece&s;&s;ary, before a judgment can be given of it. That the Proceedings again&s;t the Archbi&s;hop of <HI>Tholou&s;e,</HI> were contrary to Equity, and the Rules of their Profe&s;&s;ion, and al&s;o to the Treaty, call'd the <HI>Concordat,</HI> which was made between <HI>Leo</HI> 10. and the Holy See, on the one part, and <HI>Francis</HI> 1. and his Kingdome, on the other part, and being Authoris'd by both Parties, is become a Law both in Church and State, and con&s;equently cannot in the lea&s;t be debilitated by any pretended Power from the Pope. And having proved the&s;e things excellently, and at large, he proeeeds to acquaint the A&s;&s;embly with the Re&s;olutions which their Commi&s;&s;ioners had judg'd fit to be taken in that conjuncture, <HI>viz.</HI> That a Letter be written to the Pope to repre&s;ent to him that the bu&s;ine&s;s of the <HI>Regalia</HI> de&s;erved not &s;o much heat as is expre&s;&s;ed in his Letters, it being look'd up|on by the King's Officers as a Temporality, and that
<PB N="11" REF="6">it is in it&s;elf, a thing of no great con&s;equence to the Church. That by the Letters to the Nuns of <HI>Cha|ronne,</HI> and Chapter of <HI>Pamiez,</HI> the Order of Juri&s;|dictions had been di&s;turb'd, and the Right of Ordi|naries, and Metrapolitans violated; that he had been exalted above the Canonical Con&s;titutions, and that the&s;e De&s;igns again&s;t Rules the mo&s;t Sacred might weaken that Union, which the Churches of <HI>France</HI> ought inviolably to keep with the holy See. And la&s;tly, that the King be de&s;ired to permit the Prelates of his Kingdome to meet in a National Council, or to call a General A&s;&s;embly of the Clergy, to con&s;i&s;t of two Deputies of the fir&s;t Order, and two of the &s;econd, in every Province, and that their Pre&s;ident, and &s;ix Commi&s;&s;ioners be de&s;ired to attend his Ma|je&s;ty upon this occa&s;ion, which being done accor|dingly, the King was plea&s;ed to Order a General A&s;|&s;embly of the Clergy, who having duely con&s;idered the entolerable encroachments and u&s;urpations of the See of <HI>Rome,</HI> did, 19. <HI>March</HI> 1602. <HI>S.N.</HI> Unanimou&s;|ly Re&s;olve as follows, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<Q><P>That a General Council is above the Pope.</P>
<P>That he has no power, in Temporals, in any Prince's Dominions.</P>
<P>That he has no power to Depo&s;e Princes.</P>
<P>That he has no power to Ab&s;olve Subjects from their Oaths of Fidelity.</P>
<P>That he is not Infallible.</P></Q>
<P>The fir&s;t of the&s;e Re&s;olutions de&s;troys the Pope's Supremacy in Temporals; and the la&s;t de&s;troys his Infallibility.</P>
<PB N="12" REF="7">
<P>The next day the A&s;&s;embly, by their Pre&s;ident, and Com|mi&s;&s;ioners, pre&s;ented to His Maje&s;ty the&s;e Re&s;olutions, &s;igned by the whole A&s;&s;embly, and he, at their reque&s;t, cau&s;ed an Edict to be Publi&s;hed, thereby Ordering that the &s;ame be Regi&s;ter'd in all the Courts of Parliament, in all Courts of Judicature Eccle&s;ia&s;tical, and Civil, and in all Univer&s;ities, and Colliges in his Dominions. That all Profe&s;&s;ors in Divi|nity, and Canon Law, do teach the Doctrin therein contain|ed (being the ancient Doctrine of that Kingdome) and do &s;ub&s;cribe the &s;ame. That no Per&s;on Secular, or Regular &s;hall be received as Doctor, or Licentiate in Divinity, or Canon Law, till he has maintain'd this Doctrine by publick Di&s;putation. And that no per&s;on, either Subject, or Stran|ger, &s;hall pre&s;ume to teach any thing, contrary to this Doctrine, within his Dominions. The &s;aid Re&s;olutions were the 23d of <HI>March</HI> Ratified, and pa&s;s'd in the Parliament of <HI>Paris,</HI> and a Copy of them &s;ent to the Pope, together with a particular Account of all their Proceedings, and their Rea&s;ons for what they had done. But the Pope, in&s;tead of acknowledging his U&s;urpations, which had been the cau&s;e of the&s;e Proceedings of the A&s;&s;embly, vindicates him&s;elf, and by the following Letter, damns and makes utterly null, and void, all that had been done, or &s;hould be done in this A&s;|&s;embly, and they in requital make, and &s;end him the Pro|te&s;tation, which damns his damnatory Letter, and ju&s;tifies their &s;aid Proceedings.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<DIV2 LANG="lat" TYPE="letter">
<PB N="1" REF="7">
<HEAD>Literae Pontificiales ad Clerum <HI>Gallica|num.</HI> Venerabilibus Fratribus Archi Epi&s;copis, Epi&s;copis, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></HEAD>
<P>PAternae Charitati, qua Chari&s;&s;imum in Chri&s;to Filium no|&s;trum <HI>Ludovicum</HI> Regem Chri&s;tiani&s;&s;i mum, Eccle&s;ias ve&s;tras, Vos Ip|&s;os, &amp; univer&s;um i&s;tud Regnum amplectimur, permole&s;tum acci|dit ac plane acerbum cogno&s;cere, ex Ve&s;tris literis die Tertia <HI>Fe|bruarii</HI> ad Nos datis, Epi&s;co|pos, Clerum&abque; Galliae, qui Corona olim &amp; gaudium erant Apo&s;toli|cae &s;edis, ita &s;e erga illum in prae&s;ens gerere, ut cogamur (mul|tis cum lachrimis) u&s;urpare Pro|pheticum illud, <HI>Filii Matris meae pugnaverunt adver&s;us me.</HI> quanquam adver&s;us vos ip&s;os poti|us pugnatis, dum Nobis in ea Cau&s;a re&s;i&s;titis, in qua Ve&s;trarum Eccle|&s;iarum &s;alus ac libertas agitur, &amp; in qua Nos, pro Juribus, &amp; dignitate Epi&s;copali in i&s;to Regno+tuenda,
<PB N="2" REF="8">ab aliquibus Ordinis Ve|&s;tri piis &amp; fortibus Viris appel|lati, ab&s;&abque; mora in&s;urreximus, &amp; jampridem in gradu &s;tamus; nullas privatas no&s;tras rationes &s;ecuti &s;ed debitae Eccle&s;iis omnibus &s;olicitudini, &amp; intimo amori er|ga vos &s;atisfacturi.</P>
<P>Nihil &s;ane laetum, &amp; Ve&s;tris nominibus dignum eas Literas con|tinere, in ip&s;o earum limine intel|leximus; Nam, praeter ea, quae de Norma in Comitiis convocan|dis, peragendi&s;&abque; &s;ervata affere|bantur, animadver&s;imus ea or|diri a metu Ve&s;tro, quo &s;ua&s;ore nunquam &s;acerdotes DEI e&s;&s;e &s;olent, in arduis &amp; excel&s;is pro Religione &amp; Eccle&s;ia&s;tica Liber|tate, vel aggrediendo fortes, vel perficiendo con&s;tantes; quem qui|dem metum fal&s;o judicavi&s;tis, po&s;&s;e Vos in &s;inum No&s;trum ef|fundere. In &s;inu enim no&s;tro ho&s;pitari perpetuo debet charitas Chri&s;ti, quae foras mittit, &amp; lon|ge arcet a &s;e Timorem; qua cha|ritate erga vos, Regnum&abque; <HI>Galliae,</HI> Paternum Cor No&s;trum flagrare, multis jam ac magnis experimen|tis cogno&s;ci potuit, quae huic re|ferre non e&s;t nece&s;&s;e. Si quid e&s;t autem in quo bene merita de vo|bis &s;it Charitas no&s;tra, e&s;&s;e inpri|mis putamus, hoc ip&s;um Regaliae Negocium, ex quo, &s;i &s;erio res perpendatur, omnis Ordinis ve&s;tri
<PB N="3" REF="8">Dignitas, at&abque; Authoritas pendet. Timui&s;tis ergo, ubi non erat ti|mor; Id unum timendum Vobis erat, ne apud Deum, homine&s;&abque; redargui jure po&s;&s;etis loco, at&abque; honori ve&s;tro &amp; Pa&s;torali Officio debito defui&s;&s;e; Memoriae vobis, repetenda erant quae Antiqui illi Sancti&s;&s;imi Prae&s;ules, quos quam|plurimi po&s;tea qualibet aetate &s;unt imitati Epi&s;copalis Con&s;tantiae &amp; Fortitudinis exempla. In huju&s;|modi ca&s;ibus, ad ve&s;tram erudi|tionem ediderunt, intuendae Ima|gines Praedece&s;&s;orum Ve&s;trorum, non &s;olum, qui patrum, &s;ed qui no&s;tra quo&abque; memoria floruerunt. Et qui <HI>Ivonis Carnoten&s;is</HI> dicta laudatis, debui&s;tis facta etiam, cum res po&s;ceret, imitari. No&s;tis quae is fecerit, pa&s;&s;us&abque; &s;it in turbulenta illa &amp; periculo&s;a con|tentione inter <HI>Urbanum</HI> Ponti|ficem, &amp; <HI>Philippum</HI> Regem, mu|neris &s;ui e&s;&s;e arbitratus contra Regiam indignationem &s;tare, Do|nis &s;poliari, carceres &amp; exilia perferre, de&s;erentibus aliis Cau|&s;am meliorem. Officii ve&s;tri erat &s;edis Apo&s;tolicae authoritati &s;tudia ve&s;tra adjungere, &amp; pa&s;torali pectore, humilitate &s;acerdotali, Cau&s;am Eccle&s;iarum ve&s;trarum apud Regem agere; Ejus con&s;ci|entiam de tota re in&s;truendo, e|tiam cum periculo, Regium in vos animum Irritandi, ut po&s;&s;etis in po&s;terum &s;ine Rubore quotidiana
<PB N="4" REF="9">P&s;almodia DEUM alloquentes <HI>Davidica</HI> verba proferre; <HI>Lo|quebar de Te&s;timon is in con|&s;pectu Regum &amp; non con|fundebar.</HI> Quanto magis id vobis faciendum fuit, tam per|&s;pecta at&abque; explorata optimi Prin|cipis Ju&s;titia &amp; Pietate, quem &s;ingulari benignitate, Epi&s;copos audire, Eccle&s;iis favere, &amp; Epi&s;|copalem pote&s;tatem intemeratam velle, Vos ip&s;i &s;cribitis, &amp; Nos magna cum voluptate legimus in literis ve&s;tris. Non dubitamus &s;i &s;teti&s;&s;etis ante Regem, pro cau&s;ae tam ju&s;tae defen&s;ione, ne&abque; de futura vobis verba, quae loque|remini, ne&abque; Regi Cor docile, quo ve&s;tris annueret po&s;tulatis. Nunc cum muneris ve&s;tri &amp; Regiae aequitatis quodammodo obliti' in tanti momenti negotio, &s;ilentium tenueritis, non videmus quo pro|babili fundamento fignificetis vos ad ita agendum aductos; Quod in controver&s;ia victi &s;itis, quod cau&s;a cecideritis; quomodo cecidit qui non stetis? Ecquis Ve&s;trum tam gravem, tam ju&s;tam cau|&s;am, tam &s;acro&s;ancta moravit a|pud Regem? Cum tamen Praedece&s;|&s;ores ve&s;tri cum in &s;imili periculo con&s;tituti, non &s;emel apud &s;u|periores Galliae Reges, imo apud hunc ip&s;um libera voce defende|rint victore&s;&abque; a Regio con&s;pe|ctu'di&s;ce&s;&s;erint, Relatis etiam ab aequi&s;&s;imo Rege praemiis Pa&s;tora|lis
<PB N="5" REF="9">Officii &s;trenue impleti. Quii ve&s;trum in arenam de&s;cendit, ut opponeret murum pro Domo <HI>I&s;|rael?</HI> Quis au&s;us e&s;t invidiae &s;e offerre? Quis vel vocem unam emi&s;it memorem pri&s;tinae libertatis? Clamarunt interim, &s;icuti &s;cribitis, &amp; quidem in mala cau&s;a; pro Regio jure cla|marunt Regis Admini&s;tri, cum vos in optima pro Chri&s;ti honore &s;ileritis; ne&abque; illa &s;olidiora, quod redituri nobis rationem, &s;eu ve|rius Excu&s;ationem allaturi, Re|rum in huju&s;modi Comitiis per Vos actarum, exaggeratis pericu|lum, ne &s;acerdotium &amp; Imperi|um inter &s;e collidantur, &amp; mala quae exinde in Eccle&s;iam &amp; Rempublicam con&s;equi po&s;&s;ent; proinde exi&s;tima&s;&s;e Vos ad of|ficium ve&s;trum pertinere, aliquam inire rationem tollendi de medio Gli&s;centis Di&s;&s;idii, nullam ve|ro apparui&s;&s;e Commodiorem, remedio ab Eccle&s;iae Patri|bus indicato, utili conde&s;centio|ne Canones temperandi, pro tem|porum nece&s;&s;itate; ubi ne&abque; Fidei veritas ne&abque; morum hone&s;tas pe|riclitentur debere, ab ordine ve&s;tro deberi a Gallicana, imo ab uni|ver&s;a Eccle&s;ia, Plurimum Regi tam praeclar de Catholica Reli|gione merito &amp; indies Magis mereri cupienti: Propterea vos jure ve&s;tro decedentes, illud in Regem contuli&s;&s;e. Omittimus
<PB N="6" REF="10">hic commemorare, quoe &s;ignifica|tis de appellato a vobis Seculari Magi&s;tratu, a quo victi di&s;ce&s;|&s;eritis. Cupimus enim hujus facti memoriam aboleri, &amp; vo|lumus ea vos verba e literis ve&s;tris expungere, ne in Actis Cleri Gallicani re&s;ideant ad de|decus ve&s;tri nominis &s;empiter|num. Quae de <HI>Innocentio</HI> ter|tio, <HI>Benedicto</HI> duodecimo, <HI>Boni|facio</HI> octavo in ve&s;tram de|fensionem adducitis, non defu|ere, qui ve&s;tris lucubrationibus o&s;tenderint, quam frivola at&abque; extranea &s;int huic Cau&s;ae. Et magis notum e&s;t quam ut opus &s;it commemorare quo Zelo qua Con&s;tantia, eximii illi Pon|tifices Eccle&s;iae Libertatem de|fenderint adver&s;us Seculares po|te&s;tates, tantum abe&s;t, ut eorum Exempla Po&s;&s;int errori ve&s;tro &s;uf|fragari. Caeterum altro admitti|mus, &amp; Laudamus concilium re|laxandi Canonum di&s;ciplinam pro Temporum nece&s;&s;itate, ubi id fieri Po&s;&s;it, Sine fidei &amp; morum di&s;|pendio; Imo addimus cum <HI>Au|gu&s;tino,</HI> toler andi aliquando pro <HI>Bono Unitatis, qua pro Bono A|quitatis odio habenda &s;unt;</HI> Ne&abque; eradicanda Zizania, ubi periculum &s;it, ni &s;imul etiam Triticum eridi|cetur. Id ita tamen accipi oportet, ut in aliquo tdntum peculiari ca&s;u &amp; ad tempus, &amp; ubi nece&s;&s;itas ur|get licitum &s;it, Siouti Factum e&s;t
<PB N="7" REF="10">ab Eccle&s;ia cum Arrianos, &amp; Do|niti&s;tas Epi&s;copos ejurato errore, &s;uis Eccle&s;iis re&s;tituit, ut populos, qui &s;ecuti eos fuerant, in Officio contineret. Aliud e&s;t, ubi di&s;ci|plina Eccle&s;iae, per univer&s;um Ampli&s;&s;imi Regni ambitum &s;ine Temporis termino, &amp; cum mani|fe&s;to periculo, ne Exemplum la|tius manet labefactetur, imo ever|titur ip&s;ius Di&s;ciplinae &amp; Hierarchae Eccle&s;ia&s;ticae fundamentum, &s;icu|ti evenire nece&s;&s;e e&s;&s;et, &s;i quae a Rege Chri&s;tiani&s;&s;imo in negocio Regaliae nuper acta &s;unt, conni|ventibus, imo con&s;entientibus Vo|bis contra Sacrorum Canonum &amp; prae&s;ertim Generalis Con&s;ilii <HI>Ludg|dunen&s;is</HI> Authoritatem, contra no|tam jampridem Vobis in ea re mentem no&s;tram, &amp; contra ip&s;am Jurisjurandi Religionem, qua vos Deo, Romanae ve&s;tri&s;que Eccle|&s;iis obliga&s;tis, cum Epi&s;copali Ca|ractere imbueremini; Haec &s;ancta &s;edes Executioni mandari &amp; ma|lum invale&s;cere diutius deferendo permitteret, ac non ea nos protra|dita Divinitus humilitati no&s;trae &s;uprema in univer&s;am Eccle&s;iam pote&s;tate, &s;olenni more praedece&s;&s;o|rum no&s;trorum ve&s;tigiis inheren|tes improbaremus? Cum prae&s;er|tim per abu&s;um Regalioe non &s;olum everti di&s;ciplinam Eccle&s;iae res ip&s;a doceat; &s;ed etiam Fidei ip&s;ius integritatem in di&s;crimen vocari, facile intelligatur ex ip&s;is Regi|orum
<PB N="8" REF="11">Decretorum verbis, quae jus conferenda Beneficia Regi vindi|cant; non tanquam pro&s;luens ex ali|qua Eccle&s;iae conce&s;&s;one, &s;ed tan|quam Ingenitum &amp; C<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">aevum Re|giae Coronae. Illam vero par|tem literarum ve&s;trarum non &s;i|ne Animi horrore legere potui|mus, in qua dicitis, vos jure ve&s;tro decedentes illud in Regem contu|li&s;&s;e; qua&s;i Eccle&s;iarum, quae cu|rae ve&s;trae cerditae fuere, e&s;&s;etis ar|bitri non cu&s;todes, &amp; qua&s;i Eccle|&s;iae ip&s;ae &amp; Spiritualia earum ju|ra po&s;&s;ent &s;ub pote&s;tatis &s;ecularis jugum mitti ab Epi&s;copis, qui &s;e pro earum libertate in &s;ervitutem dare deberent. Vos &s;ane ip&s;i hanc veritatem agnovi&s;tis &amp; confe&s;&s;i e&s;tis, dum alibi pronuncia&s;tis Jus Regaliae Servitutem quandam e&s;|&s;e, quae in eo prae&s;ertim quod &s;pe|ctat Beneficiorum Collationem im|poni non pote&s;t; ni&s;i Eccle&s;ia con|cedente vel &s;altem con&s;entiente. Suo jure vos ergo jus illud in Re|gem contuli&s;tis? Cum Sacri Ca|nones di&s;trahi vetent jura Eccle&s;ia|rum quo modo ea vos di&s;trahere, in Animum induxi&s;tis, qua&s;i eorun|dem Canonum Authoritati dero|gare liceat vobis? Revocate in Memoriam, quoe inclitus ille Con|teraneus ve&s;ter <HI>Clarevalen&s;is</HI> Ab|bas non Gallicanae modo, &s;ed eti|am univer&s;alis Eccle&s;iae lumen a vobis merito nuncupatus, <HI>Eugeni|um</HI> Pontificem officii &s;ui admonens
<PB N="9" REF="11">reliquit Scripta praeclare memi|ni&s;&s;et, &s;i e&s;&s;et cui claves creditae cui oves creditae &s;unt. E&s;&s;e quidem et alios coeli Janitores &amp; Gregum Pa&s;tores, &s;ed cum habeant illi A&s;|&s;ignatos Greges, &s;inguli &s;ingulos, ip&s;i univer&s;os creditos, uni unum nec modo ovium &s;ed et Pa&s;torum <HI>Eu|genium</HI> e&s;&s;e pa&s;torem. Ideo&abque; jux|ta Canounum &s;tatuta alies Epi&s;co|pos vocatos fui&s;&s;e in partem &s;olici|tudinis ip&s;um in plenitudinem po|te&s;tatis. Ex quibus verbis quan|tum vos admoneri par e&s;t de ob|&s;equio et obedientia, quam debetis huic Sanctae &s;edi, cui nos Deo Au|thore quamquam immeriti prae&s;i|demus, tantundem pa&s;toralis no&s;tra &s;olicitudo excitatur ad inchoan|dum tandum aliquando in hoc ne|gocio, quam nimia forta&s;&s;e longa|nimitas no&s;tra, dum poenetentia &s;pa|tium damas, hactenus di&s;tulit A|po&s;tolici muneris Executionem. Quamobrem per prae&s;entes literas tradita nobis ab Omnipotenti Deo Autoritate, improbamus, re&s;cindi|mus, &amp; Ca&s;&s;amus quae in ve&s;tris commitiis acta &s;unt in negotio Re|galliae, cum omnibus inde &s;ecutis, &amp; quae in po&s;terum attentari con|tingent, ea&abque; perpetuo inita, &amp; inania declaramus, quam|vis cum &s;int ip&s;a per &s;e manife&s;to nulla Ca&s;&s;atione aut decla|ratione huju&s;modi non egerent. Speramus tamen vos ip&s;a&s;&abque; ip&s;os re melius con&s;iderata caeteri
<PB N="10" REF="12">retractione con&s;ulturos con&s;cientiae ve&s;trae, &amp; Cleri Gallicani exi&s;ti|mationi ex quo Clero, Sicuti huc u&s;que non defuer&egrave;, ita in po&s;terum non defuturos con&s;idimus, qui Boni Pa&s;toris Exemplo libenter animam parati &s;int pro Ovibus, &amp; pro Te&s;temento Patrum &s;uorum. Nos quidem, pro Officii no&s;tri debito, parati &s;umus Dei adjutrice gratia &s;acrificari &s;acrificium ju&s;ticiae, &amp; Eccle&s;ia Dei jura ac libertatem, &amp; hujus &s;edis &s;anctae Authoritatem Dignitatemque de|fendere, nihil de nobis, &s;ed omnia de eo pre&s;umentes; qui nos confor|tat, &amp; operatur in nobis, &amp; qui ju&s;&s;it <HI>Petrum</HI> &s;uper aquas ad &s;e venire. Praeterit enim figura hujus Mundi, &amp; Dies Domini appropinquat. Sic ergo aga|mus, venerabiles Fratres ac dilecti Filii, ut cum &s;ummus Pater fa|milias, &amp; Princeps Pa&s;torum ra|tionem ponere voluerit, cum &s;ervis &s;uis &s;anguinem pe&s;&s;undatae, &amp; Laceratae Eccle&s;iae quam &s;uo ac|qui&s;ivit de no&s;tris manibus non requirat. Vobis interim omnibus Apo&s;tolicam Benedictionem cui Caele&s;tem accedere optamus intimo Paterni amoris affectu imparti|mur. Datum Romae &amp;c.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="letter">
<PB N="1" REF="7">
<HEAD>The Popes Letter to the Clergy of <HI>France,</HI> To the Reverend Brethren, the Arch-Bi&s;hops, Bi&s;hops, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></HEAD>
<P>IT hath been an extream grief and di&s;turbance to that Paternal af|fection, which we have for our dear Son <HI>Lewis,</HI> the Mo&s;t Chri&s;tian King, your Churches, your &s;elves, and the whole Kingdom, to under|&s;tand, by your Letter to us, dated <HI>Feb.</HI> 3. that the Bi&s;hops, and Clergy of <HI>France,</HI> which heretofore were the Crown, and joy of the Apo&s;tolick See, &s;hould now &s;o demean them|&s;elves as to compel us with many tears, to u&s;e the &s;aying of the Prophet, <HI>The Sons of my Mother have fought again&s;t me:</HI> though indeed you ra|ther fight again&s;t your &s;elves, while you oppo&s;e us in that Cau&s;e, in which the Welfares and Liberties of your Church|es are involved, and in which
<PB N="2" REF="8">being called upon, by &s;ome pious and couragious men of your Order, we immediately appeared, for the defence of the Epi&s;copal Rights and Dig|nity, in that Kingdom, and we have already begun to act; not regarding our own private Intere&s;ts, but &s;hall give due &s;atisfaction to all the Churches, and al&s;o to our own care of, and Affection to|ward you.</P>
<P>That your &s;aid Letter con|tains nothing in it, either plea|&s;ing to us, or worthy of your &s;elves, the very beginning of it di&s;covers; for, be&s;ides what it mentions of a Rule, ob&s;erved in calling, and holding A&s;&s;em|blies, we take notice that it proceeds from Fear, which Gods Prie&s;ts were never wont to choo&s;e for their Coun&s;ellor, in matters of Difficulty, and importance, relating to Religi|on, and Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Liber|ty, either in attacking the vali|ant, or compleating the con|&s;tant; which fear you fal&s;ly &s;uppo&s;ed you could have infu|&s;ed into our brea&s;t. For the love of Chri&s;t, which ca&s;ts out, and drives away fear, ought always to dwell there; and with what affection our fatherly bowels have yearn|ed toward you, and the
<PB N="3" REF="8">Kingdom of <HI>France,</HI> hath been manife&s;ted by many Signal in&s;tances, which it will be needle&s;s here to in&s;ert. But if our love merits well of you in any thing, we think it doth particularly in the bu&s;ine&s;s of the <HI>Regalia,</HI> on which if you &s;eriou&s;ly con&s;ider it, the whole Dignity, and Authority of your order depends. So that you have &s;eared where no fear was; whereas you &s;hould only have feared the ju&s;t cen&s;ure both of God, and Men, for having been want|ing to your Duty, Honour, and Pa&s;toral Office: you &s;hould often have called to mind the holy Prelates of old, who&s;e examples of Epi&s;copal con|&s;tancy and courage, were fol|lowed by many in after ages. In &s;uch ca&s;es the lives of your Predece&s;&s;ors are propo&s;ed for your Imitation, not only tho&s;e who flouri&s;hed in your Fathers days, but even within your own Memory. And you, who commend the &s;ayings of <HI>I|von Carnocen&s;is,</HI> &s;hould al&s;o have imitated his acti|ons, where occa&s;ion re|quired it; you know what he did, and &s;uffered in that tur|bulent and dangerous Conten|tion, between <HI>Pope Urban,</HI> and King <HI>Philip,</HI> thinking it his
<PB N="4" REF="9">Duty to incur the Kings di&s;|plea&s;ure, to be deprived of his goods, and indure impri&s;on|ment, and exile, while others de&s;erted that Righteous cau&s;e. It is your Duty to joyn your Endeavours with the Authori|ty of the Apo&s;tolick See, and with a Pa&s;toral heart, and Prie&s;tly humility, to plead the cau&s;e of your Churches before the King, by informing his Con&s;cience of the whole mat|ter, though it be with the danger of Provoking his indig|nation again&s;t you; that &s;o you may, hereafter, be able, without blu&s;hing, to &s;ing daily the words of <HI>David, I have declared thy Te&s;timonies before Kings and was not a&s;hamed.</HI> How much rather then ought you to have done the like, having had large experience of the Ju&s;tice and Piety of the be&s;t of Kings, who (as your &s;elves have written, and we with great delight, have read in your letter of his &s;ingular good|ne&s;s,) hearkens to the Bi&s;hops, favours the Churches, and pre&s;erves the Epi&s;copal Power inviolate; &s;o that had you pleaded with the King in the defence of &s;o ju&s;t a Cau&s;e, we doubt not, either that you would have wanted words to expre&s;s your de&s;ires, or he in|clinations
<PB N="5" REF="9">to grant them: But having, as it were, forgot your own duty, and the Kings e|quity, you have been &s;ilent in a bu&s;ine&s;s of &s;o great mo|ment, and we cannot imagine upon what probable ground you &s;ay you were induced to it, that you were overuled in the controver&s;y; and that you fell in the cau&s;e; for how can he fall who never &s;tood? Did any of you ever plead in &s;o ju&s;t, &s;o weighty, and &s;o &s;acred a Cau&s;e before the King? And yet your Predece&s;&s;ors, when they were in the like danger, have many times, with great freedom, defended this Cau&s;e, in the pre&s;ence of former Kings of <HI>France,</HI> yea, before this very King too, and have returned victorious, bringing with them the reward of a Pa|&s;toral Office from that ju&s;t Prince. Who among you en|ters the Li&s;ts to fight for the Hou&s;e of <HI>I&s;rael?</HI> who dares ex|po&s;e him&s;elf to envy? who hath &s;poken &s;o much as one word in memory of the An|tient Liberty? They have in|deed (as you write) &s;poken loud enough, but it was in a bad Cau&s;e; and when the Kings Mini&s;ters cried aloud for the Kings Right; you in the be&s;t of Cau&s;es (<HI>viz.</HI> for the
<PB N="6" REF="10">Honour of Chri&s;t) were &s;i|lent. Nor is it of any more validity that when you give us an account of (or more truly make your excu&s;e for) what you had done in &s;uch A&s;&s;em|blies, you aggravate the jea|lou&s;ie that the Eccle&s;ia&s;tical, and Secular Powers were like to cla&s;h, and that great mi&s;|cheifs might follow thereup|on, both to Church and State, and therefore you thought it your Duty to con&s;ider, how a &s;top might be put, to the grow|ing differences; and that none &s;eem'd more Proper to you, than that which was pre&s;cri|bed by the Fathers of the Church, <HI>viz.</HI> a whole&s;ome Conde&s;cention for moderating the Canons, according to the nece&s;&s;ity of the time, when neither the verity of the <HI>Faith</HI> or hone&s;ty of manners will be endangered thereby. Then you declare that your Order, the <HI>Gallican</HI> Church, yea, the Univer&s;al Church, owes very much to your renowned King, who, you &s;ay, has already merrited highly of the Catho|lick Religion, and &s;trives dayly to merit more; by which Act you have relinqui&s;hed your right, and have given it to the King. We forbear here to mention what you tell us of
<PB N="7" REF="10">the Secular Magi&s;trate you ap|pealed to, and were overcome by him, for we de&s;ire that the memory of that action may be oblitterated, and would have you expunge tho&s;e words out of your Letter, that they may not remain among the Acts of the <HI>Gallican</HI> Clergy, to the per|petual infamy of your Names. As for what you alledge in your defence, concerning <HI>In|nocent,</HI> 3. <HI>Benedicti,</HI> 12. and <HI>Bo|niface</HI> 8. Some have not been wanting, who have &s;hewed you how frivolous, and fo|reign it is to this Cau&s;e. And it is &s;o well known that it needs not to be mentioned with what Zeal and con&s;tancy, tho&s;e fa|mous Popes defended the Li|berty of the Church again&s;t the Secular Power, &s;o farr are their examples from favouring your errour. But we freely allow, and com|mend the advice of modera|ting the di&s;cipline of the <HI>Ca|nons,</HI> according to the nece&s;&s;ity of the times, when it may be done without any injury to Faith, and Manners; yea, I add with St. <HI>Augu&s;tin, That may &s;ometimes be allowed for the &s;ake of Unity, which for the &s;ake of equity ought to be abhorr'd.</HI> Nor are the tares to be plucked up when there is danger of pluck|ing
<PB N="8" REF="11">up the Corn with them. Yet this ought &s;o to be under|&s;tood as that it is Lawful in &s;ome purticular ca&s;es only, and for a time, and when ne|ce&s;&s;ity requires; as the Church did when &s;he re&s;tored the <HI>Ar|rians</HI> and Donati&s;t Bi&s;hops to their Churches, as &s;oon as they had renounced their errours, that &s;he might keep the peo|ple, which had followed them, in their due obedience to her. But it is otherwi&s;e when the Di&s;cipline of the Church is de|&s;troyed, throughout &s;o great a kingdom, without any limitati|on of time, and when there is manife&s;t danger that the infecti+on will &s;pread farther, yea, the very foundation of Di&s;cipline, and of Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Hierarchy it &s;elf is &s;ubverted; and this mu&s;t needs be, if you connive at, yea con&s;ent to tho&s;e things, which the mo&s;t Chri&s;tian King has lately Ordered in the bu&s;i|ne&s;s of the <HI>Regalia,</HI> contrary to the Authority of the Sacred <HI>Ca|nons,</HI> and particularly tho&s;e of the General Coun&s;el of <HI>Lyons,</HI> contrary to our mind in that affair, long &s;ince &s;ignified to you, and contrary to the very obligation of that Oath with which you bound your &s;elves to God, and to the <HI>Roman,</HI> and your own Churches, when
<PB N="9" REF="11">you received the Epi&s;copal Character. Should the Holy See, &s;uffer this mi&s;chief to be put in execution, and to get ground by farther Delays? or &s;hall we not, according to the &s;upream Power over the Church Univer&s;al, given by God to our humility and treading in the &s;teps of our Predece&s;|&s;ors &s;olemnly damn it? and the rather, &s;ince it plainly appears, that not only the Di&s;cipline of the Church is &s;ubverted, by the abu&s;e of the <HI>Regalia;</HI> but that the &s;oundne&s;s of the <HI>Faith</HI> is al&s;o called in Que&s;tion, may ea&s;ily be di&s;covered by the very words of the King's De|crees, which claim for him that Right of conferring Be|nefices, not as being derived from any conce&s;&s;ion of the Church but as connote, and coeval with the Regal Crown; but I could not, with|out extream horror of mind, read that part of your Letter, which tells us, that you have quitted your Right, and have transferred it to the King, as if you had the ab&s;olute di&s;po&s;al, not the Gaurdian&s;hip of the Churches committed to your charge, and as if the Church|es them&s;elves, and their Spiritu|al Rights might be &s;ubjected, to the yoke of Seeular Power
<PB N="10" REF="12">by the Bi&s;hops, who for the Liberty thereof, ought to un|dergo the greate&s;t Servitude. And indeed you your &s;elves confe&s;s this truth, by &s;aying el&s;ewhere, That the Right of the <HI>Regalia</HI> is a kind of Servi|tude, which (e&s;pecially as it relates to the collation of Be|nefices) cannot be impo&s;ed, but by the Grant; or at lea&s;t by the con&s;ent of the Church. By what Right then have you transferred that Right to the King? And &s;ince the &s;acred <HI>Canons</HI> prohibit the alienation of the Rights of your Church|es, how could you bring your minds to alienate them, as if you could lawfully derogate from the authority of tho&s;e <HI>Canons?</HI> Remember what is what is written by your fa|mous Countrey-man, <HI>Clare|valen&s;is Abbas</HI> (by you de&s;er|vedly called the Light, not on|ly of the <HI>Gallican,</HI> but of the Univer&s;al Church) who admo|ni&s;hing Pope <HI>Eugenius</HI> of his duty, tells him that, <HI>If he was the per&s;on, to whom the Keys and to whom the Sheep were committed, tho' there were other keepers of Heaven Gates, and Pa&s;tors of Flocks, yet, while they had each their particular Flocks de&s;igned them, all of them, and they them&s;elves al&s;o, were com|mitted
<PB N="11" REF="12">to him alone; and that</HI> Eugenius <HI>was the &s;ole Shepheard, not only of the Sheep but of the Shepheards too; and therefore ac|cording to the Decrees of the</HI> Ca|nons, <HI>whereas other Bi&s;hops were called to take part of the care, and charge, he was called to the full power.</HI> By which words, as you are admoni|&s;hed of that duty and obedi|dience, which you owe to the holy See, (of which by the divine Authority we, though unworthy, are Pre&s;ident) &s;o is our Pa&s;toral care excited, to begin at length to execute our Apo&s;tolick duty in this affair, which, perhaps, our too much patience, in giving &s;pace for repentance, has hitherto de|fer'd; wherefore according to the Authority, given unto us by Almighty God, we do, by the&s;e Pre&s;ents, damn, aboli&s;h, and utterly make void, all that has been done by your A&s;&s;em|bly in the bu&s;ine&s;s of the <HI>Regali|a,</HI> and all that has &s;ince en&s;ued thereupon; together with what&s;oever &s;hall hereafter be done: And we do declare the &s;ame to be forever null and void, tho', being manife&s;tly null of it &s;elf, it needed no &s;uch damnation, or declaration. But we hope that, upon bet|ter
<PB N="12" REF="13">con&s;ideration, you your &s;elves will by a voluntary re|cantarion, con&s;ult the quiet of your own Con&s;ciences, and the reputation of the <HI>Gallican</HI> Clergy; among whom, as there never has been, &s;o I tru&s;t, there never will be wanting, &s;ome, who, after the Example of <HI>the good Shepherd,</HI> will readily lay down their lives for the Sheep and for the Te&s;tament of their Fathers. And as for our own part we are ready, according to the duty of our Office, to offer up the Sacrifice of Righ|teou&s;ne&s;s (by the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of the Divine Grace) and to de|fend the Rights and Liberties of God's Church, and the Au|thority, and Dignity of this Holy See; not pre&s;uming on our own &s;trength, but expecting all from <HI>him,</HI> who &s;trengthens us, and works in us, and com|manded <HI>Peter</HI> to come to him upon the water. <HI>For the fa&s;hion of this world pa&s;&s;eth away, and the Day of the Lord is at Hand.</HI> Wherefore, Reverend Brethren, and dear Sons, let us &s;o de|mean our &s;elves that when the great Ma&s;ter of the Hou&s;e|hould, and Prince of Pa&s;tors &s;hall call his Servants to an ac|count, he may not require at at our hands the Blood of his
<PB N="13" REF="13">afflicted and di&s;membred Church, which he hath pur|cha&s;ed with his own. In the mean time with our deare&s;t af|fection, and Paternal Love we &s;end Apo&s;tolick benediction to you all, to which we pray that Gods Ble&s;&s;ing may be ad|ded.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>Dated at <HI>Rome</HI> <DATE>11th. <HI>April</HI> 1682.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="part">
<DIV2 LANG="lat" TYPE="letter">
<PB REF="14">
<PB N="15" REF="14">
<HEAD>Prote&s;tatio Cleri <HI>Gal|licani.</HI></HEAD>
<P>ECcle&s;ia <HI>Gal|licana</HI> &s;uis &s;e regit Le|gibus, pro|pria&s;&abque; con&s;uetudines inviolate cu&s;todit, qui|bus <HI>Gallicani</HI> Pontifi|ces, majores no&s;tri, nulla definitione, nul|la&abque; autoritate dero|gatum e&s;&s;e voluerunt, &amp; quas ip&s;i &s;ummi Pontifices agno&s;cere, &amp; laudare dignati &s;unt: Prope tamen e&s;t, ut perfringantur leges ju&s;tae, quas pri&s;|ca Galliarum Reli|gio, reverenda&abque; ve|tu&s;tas inconca&s;&s;as fe|cerunt
<PB N="16" REF="15">Ecce etenim (quod &s;ine acerbi&s;&s;i|mo animi Sen&s;u dici non pote&s;t) hi&s;ce annis &s;uperioribus, per provincias, &amp; Galliarum civitates Literae Apo&s;tolicae &s;e|minatae &s;unt, quibus antiqua <HI>Gallicanae</HI> Ec|cle&s;iae jura, &amp; pa|triae In&s;tituta aperte violantur; ex iis &s;cilicet intelligimus de Regni Eccle&s;iarum&abque; no&s;tra|rum negotiis, contra mores no&s;tros u&s;urpa|tam e&s;&s;e cognitionem inauditis partibus, pronuntiata Judicia; juri&s;dictionem Epi&s;co porum concultatam, deni&abque; contra Cano|nes Eccle&s;ia&s;ticos, &amp; contra con&s;uetudines illu&s;tri&s;&s;imae <HI>Gallicanae</HI>
<PB N="17" REF="15">Eccle&s;iae Metropoli|tanae gladium excom|municationis intenta|tum E&s;&s;e.</P>
<P>Dolet Clerus <HI>Galli|canus,</HI> queritur&abque; ex his &amp; aliis quae exinde fa|cta &s;unt, oppre&s;&s;as Li|bertates Eccle&s;iarum, pertarbatam Eccle|&s;iae pacem, illatum dedecus Pontificali Ordini, Termino&s;que perruptos, quos patres &s;ui con&s;tituerunt: &amp; ne officium, &amp; cau&s;am &s;uam de&s;erere, aut praevaricari &s;uae Dig|nitati, Eccle&s;iarum&abque; &s;uarum cummodis videantur Publica conte&s;tatione obli|qui contra, &amp; in|ertis &s;ilentii a &s;e movere culpam, de|crevit; ut exemplo
<PB N="18" REF="16">patrum &s;uorum, in po&s;terum provi&s;um &s;it, ne quid nocere po&s;&s;it, juribus, &amp; Li|bertatibus Eccle&s;iae <HI>Gallicanae,</HI> eoque magis inclinat in e|am &s;ententiam quod &s;ummus Pontifex <HI>In|nocentius</HI> xi. morum antiquorum, &amp; Can|nonicae Di&s;ciplinae &s;everus actor, non patietur fieri injuri|am Decretis &s;uorum Praedece&s;&s;orum &amp; Canonibus promul|gatis, qui re&s;cinde|bant quidquid &s;u|breptum contra pri|vata Provinciarum jura, nolebant &s;i quidem Eccle&s;iarum privilegia, quae &s;em|per con&s;ervanda &s;unt, confundi Propterea
<PB N="19" REF="16">Clerus idem <HI>Gallica|nus,</HI> profe&s;&s;us, antea omnem reverentiam, obedientiam&abque; quam &s;emper exhibuit, per|petuo&abque; exhibiturus e&s;t Cathedrae <HI>Petri,</HI> in qua potentiorem ag|no&s;cit principatum coram C. D. <HI>Joanne Bapti&s;ta Lauro,</HI> pro|tonotario Apo&s;to|lico, &amp; nuntiaturae Apo&s;tolicae <HI>Gallia|rum</HI> Auditore, pro|te&s;tari con&s;tituit &s;i|cut de facto pro|te&s;tatur per prae&s;en|tes, ne literis Ponti|ficiis datis ad Epi&s;co|pum Aepamien&s;em, die Secunda <HI>Octobris</HI> 1680. ad Eccle&s;iae Ae|pamien&s;is Capitulim, eadem 2d a die <HI>Octobris</HI> ad Archiepi&s;copum
<PB N="20" REF="17">Tolo&s;anum die Pri|ma <HI>Januarii</HI> 1681. ad Moniales, &s;eu Canonicas Regulares Congregationis, <HI>B. M. &V;.</HI> Mona&s;tterii de Charonna die 7. <HI>Augu&s;ti,</HI> &amp; 15. <HI>Octobris,</HI> vel aliis exin|da, <HI>&amp;</HI> illiarum virtute actis, <HI>&amp;</HI> &s;ecutis quibu&s;cun&abque; dam|num aliquod, &s;eu prae|judicium juribus Ec|cle&s;iae <HI>Gallicanae</HI> fieri po&s;&s;it, neve ejus in aliis locis, <HI>&amp;</HI> Tem|poribus hoc in ex|emplum, <HI>&amp;</HI> Autho|ritatem trahat, ut antiquos Eccle&s;iae Canones avitas Reg|ni con&s;uetudines re|cepto&s;&abque; mores Eccle|&s;iae <HI>Gallicanae</HI> op|pugnare audeat, aut
<PB N="21" REF="17">propterea quidquam &s;ibi licere exi&s;timet; Immo vero nemo ne&s;ciat hoc nihil ob|&s;tare quo minus Ca|nones, con&s;uetudines Jura, &amp; Libertates eju&s;dem Eccle&s;iae pri&s;timam vim, &amp; Authoritatem reti|neant, &amp; cu&s;todiant. Hoc clerus <HI>Gallicanus</HI> &s;ibi, &s;uis&abque; privilegiis cautum, con&s;ultum&abque; volens, &amp; omnibus notum e&s;&s;e, ne quis ignorantiae cau&s;am praetexat. Datum Comitiis Generalibus Cleri <HI>Gallicani</HI> Lute|tiae habitis, Anno Do|mini, 1682. Die vero Sexta men&s;is <HI>Maii.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="letter">
<PB N="15" REF="14">
<HEAD>The Prote&s;tation of the <HI>Gallican</HI> Cler|gy.</HEAD>
<P>THE <HI>Galli|can</HI> Church is Govern'd by her own Laws, and keeps in|violate her own Cu|&s;toms, which the <HI>Gal|lican</HI> Prelates, our Ance&s;tors, would not in the lea&s;t &s;uffer to be infring'd by any De|cree, or Authority what|&s;oever, and which the Popes them&s;elves have vouch&s;afed to ac|knowledge and com|mend: Yet now tho&s;e ju&s;t Laws, which the Old Gallican Religion,
<PB N="16" REF="15">and venerable Anti|quity had made unal|terable, are like to be de&s;troyed; for (which cannot be mention'd without great trouble of mind) the&s;e la&s;t preceding years, A|po&s;tolick Letters have been di&s;per&s;'d through the &s;everal Provinces, and Cities of <HI>France,</HI> by which the Ancient Rights of the <HI>Gallican</HI> Church, and &s;tatutes of our Country are openly violated; for by them we find, that, contrary to our u&s;ages, cogni&s;ance of the af|fairs both of our Kingdom, and Church|es, has been u&s;urped, &s;entence pronounced, without hearing the parties concerned, the
<PB N="17" REF="15">Juri&s;diction of the Bi&s;hops trampled on, and in fine the Sword of Excomunication drawn, contrary to the Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Ca|nons, and Cu&s;toms of the famous <HI>Galican Metropolitan</HI> Church.</P>
<P>Now the <HI>Gallican</HI> Clergy are troubled, and complain that by rea|&s;on of the&s;e, and other things done &s;ince, the Liberties of their Churches are oppre&s;&s;'d the peace of the Church di&s;turb'd the pontifi|cal Order di&s;grac'd, and the bounds fix'd by their Ance&s;tors, Tran&s;|gre&s;'d: And that they may not be thought to abandon their Cau&s;e, and Duty, or betray their Dignity,
<PB N="18" REF="16">and the profits of their Churches, they have determined openly to declare again&s;t the&s;e things by a publick Prote&s;tation, and thereby to remove from them&s;elves the &s;candal of a ba&s;e and cowardly &s;ilence, that &s;o, according to the example of their Fa|thers, they may provide that hereafter nothing may be able to in|jure the Rights, and Liberties of the <HI>Gal|lican</HI> Church; and they do the rather incline to this opi|nion, becau&s;e Pope <HI>Innocent</HI> xi. being a &s;trict executor of antient Cu&s;toms, and Canonical Di&s;cipline will not &s;uffer any
<PB N="19" REF="16">injury to be done to the Decrees of his Prede|ce&s;&s;ors, and tho&s;e pub|lick <HI>Canons</HI> which made void what&s;oever had crept in, contra|ry to the private Rights of the Provin|ces; for they would not permit the privi|ledges of the Churches to be confounded which ought always to be pre&s;erved. Wherefore the &s;aid <HI>Gallican</HI> Clergy having fir&s;t pro|fe&s;&s;ed all due Reverence and Obedience, which they ever have paid, and ever will pay, to St. <HI>Peters</HI> See where they acknowledge a greater Power re|&s;ides) have deter|mined to Declare and prote&s;t and by the&s;e Pre|&s;ents
<PB N="20" REF="17">do Declare and Prote&s;t, in the pre|&s;ence of the mo&s;t Noble Lord <HI>Joannes Bapti&s;ta Laurus,</HI> Apo&s;tolick Protonotary, and Au|ditor of the Apo&s;tolick Legation in <HI>France,</HI> that, neither the Popes Letters to the Bi&s;hop of <HI>Pamiez</HI> Dated <HI>October</HI> the 2d. <HI>1680.</HI> to the Chapter of the Church of <HI>Pa|miez</HI> the &s;ame day, to the Arch Bi&s;hop of <HI>Tholou&s;e, January</HI> the <HI>1. 1681,</HI> to the Nuns, or Female Ca|nonical Regulars, of the Congregation of the Ble&s;&s;ed Virgin <HI>Mary</HI> in the Mona&s;tery of Charonne <HI>Augu&s;t</HI> the 7th, and <HI>15. Octo|ber,</HI> or by any others
<PB N="21" REF="17">&s;ince, or by any things acted, or done by Vertue of the &s;ame, the lea&s;t Damage, or prejudice what&s;oever can accrew to the Rights of the <HI>Gal|lican</HI> Church; nor can he, at other places, and times, draw this into Precedent, and Authority, that he &s;hould thereby pre&s;ume to oppo&s;e the Ancient <HI>Canons</HI> of the Church, Cu&s;toms of the King|dom, and the receiv'd u&s;ages of the <HI>Gallican</HI> Church, or that there|fore he &s;hould think that he may do what he li&s;ts. On the con|trary, let all Men know that this doth not at all hinder the <HI>Canons,</HI> Cu&s;toms, Rights, and
<PB N="22" REF="18">Liberties of the &s;aid Church, from retaining and keeping their An|tient force, and Au|thority, the <HI>Gallican</HI> Clergy having thus provided for, and &s;e|cured them&s;elves, and their Priveledges, do Will, and Require that the&s;e Pre&s;ents be made publick that &s;o no Man may pretend Igno|rance.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE>Dated in the General A&s;&s;embly of the <HI>Gallican</HI> Cler|gy at <HI>Paris,</HI> <DATE><HI>May</HI> the 6th. <HI>1682.</HI></DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV2>
<PB REF="18">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
