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No. LXIII.

The mischievous consequences of Rome's

claim to a

posing

princes

ON THE DEPOSING POWER, AND ITS RESULTS IN ENGLAND.

The penal transactions of the seventeenth century connected with the Oath of Allegiance, or rather with the opposition to it, and assertion of the papal claim to a power of deposing secular power of de- princes, engaged in by the adherents of the communion of Rome in those days, furnish to the student of that portion of our history matter for consideration which cannot but be regarded with a painful interest: an interest not likely to be lessened from studying, in connection with such recitals, the remarkable and instructive comments on them supplied by eminent writers of the same communion. No authors can condemn, the most re- in stronger language than do those to whom we writers of refer, the injustice of that claim which was so prominently put forward, and so earnestly contended for, from the very commencement of the breach between England and Rome. This remark will be sufficiently illustrated in the subjoined extracts from two of those writers, the English Roman Catholic bishop Berrington, and the eminent Irish Dr. O'Conor, as well as from those given from another not less famous author of the same faith in Art. 72 inf. In order to under

exposed by

spectable

her own communion,

stand the circumstances of the transaction alluded to in the extracts given in this article, it will be needful to go back a little, in order to direct our attention to some earlier proceedings in England and elsewhere connected with this subject.

66

Gregory

explanation

against

zabeth.

From a reference to the bull of Pius V. con- Two succestaining the Excommunication &c. of Q. Eliza- sive bulls of beth, as given in Art. 45. sup. it will be seen XIII. are that that document, as addressed to the subjects issued in of Rome, was mandatory in its character, not of that of only freeing them from their allegiance, but Paul V. commanding all and singular, nobles and peo- Queen Eliple, not to presume to obey her or her laws', on pain of being themselves involved in sentence of anathema. Gregory XIII. however, succeeding to the popedom in May, 1572, appears to have considered that the continuance and enforcement of an order so peremptory would endanger his authority; and he therefore issued an explanatory bull,* declaring that this language of the Excommunication should be so understood as that the same should always bind the queen and the the heretics, but that it should by no means bind the Catholics, as matters then stood or were; only thereafter it should bind them, when the public execution of that bull may be had or made." In other words, the effect of the bull of

• Mr. Butler, Historical Memoirs, i. 196. Phelan's Policy, 136.

The Armada gone, the Romish priests in England are

clamation,

to make an ledgement

acknow

of alle

giance.

Pius was to be in a good measure suspended, but only until such time as the Court of Rome should have power to enforce its execution. The Spanish Armada, upon which the Roman government chiefly depended for the effecting of this object, was not yet equipped, and in the mean time domestic treason would have been easily crushed in England. But when the Armada was ready for sea, a fresh bull was issued, restoring that of Pius to its full force once more.

On the failure of the Armada, the queen, as a means of checking the treasonable sentiments propagated among the Romish priesthood in ordered, by England, addressed to them a special proclamaroyal pro- tion, which after acknowledging the distinctions observable between different classes of them in regard to loyalty and good order, proceeded to enjoin, that all should quit the realm "except such as before a member of the privy council, or a bishop, or the president of Wales, should acknowledge allegiance and duty to her:" with these latter she declared that "she would then take such further order as should be thought most fit and convenient." But of the entire number in England at the time, thirteen only thought fit to avail themselves of this occasion for expressing their sentiments of loyalty to her majesty.

Thirteen obey:

By these individuals a paper was presented to the Privy Council, entitled "A Protestation

of Allegiance," in which they profess to hold her majesty as rightful sovereign of the realm, with as full authority as any of her predecessors, or other Christian prince elsewhere was ever lawfully possessed of; and themselves bound to obey her as much as any Protestants; and that this was so plain a duty from the Word of God, that no authority, cause, or pretence, could ever on any occasion justify them in disobeying her in temporal and civil matters. And that even if the pope were to excommunicate all her subjects that would not join in plots and invasions against her, occasioned by excommunications denounced against her, they should still consider themselves bound in conscience to disobey such censures and abide faithful to the queen. At the same time, they express the highest regard for their supreme spiritual pastor, the bishop of Rome, as the successor of St. Peter, &c. "For," say they, "as we are most ready to spend our blood in the defence of her majesty and our country, so we will rather lose our lives than infringe the lawful authority of Christ's Catholic Church."

from the

This Protestation was well received by the which elicits Privy Council, and also approved by the queen. on their proa judgment It likewise occasioned much general discussion ceeding among the members, lay and clerical, of the Ro- University mish Communion in England; in consequence of of Louvain, which an application was made to the University

VOL. III.

2 H

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of Louvain for an opinion upon its merits. And such an opinion was accordingly delivered by that body, although in such a very guarded and cautious form, that of two eminent authors who have undertaken to interpret it, one, Father Redmond Caron, (a learned Irish Franciscan, in the reign of Charles the Second,) calls it a gentle censure, the other, Mr. Butler, styles it an approbation. The former is however its more correct designation. We subjoin one or two of the most striking passages in this opinion, bearing directly on the subject of the deposing power, and indicating the sentiments of the University of Louvain in regard to it; which sentiments have been very widely adopted by members of the same communion in general. Of the difficulty found by the divines of Louvain in the statements of the Protestation, they thus speak:

"They [i.e. the Protesters] appear to suppose that the pope has not at least an indirect power in temporals; and that a prince cannot be deposed, or his subjects absolved of their oaths, by any power of the Church. Now this is doubtless a false doctrine, yet not contrary to the faith.

"That it is not contrary to the faith is manifest from Cardinal Bellarmine, who only calls the doctrine of the deposing power an opinion common to all divines; and from Cardinal Perron, who says that it is not proposed by the Pontiff as of divine faith, seeing he tolerates many of the French who maintain the contrary, &c."

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