When pope Pius IX intimated his intention to con- voke a council for the definition of the doctrine, a num- ber of bishops, especially in France and Germany, de- clared themselves to be decidedly opposed to the doc- trine, and at least one of them, the French bishop Ma- ret (bishop of Sura in partihnrt ir/Jid., and dean of the theological faculty of Paris), pulilished an elaborate work (On the General Council and the public Peace) to refute it, and to prove that it would subvert the very foundation of the Church. The substance of liis argu- ment against papal infallibility is as follows: Accord- ing to the holy Scriptures the Church is a limited mon- archy, which stands under the common rule of the pope and the bishops. The history of the councils is at least as much in favor of the divine right of the bishops as of the supremacy of the holy chair. Freedom of dis- cussion, vote by majority, a juridical examination of the apostolic decrees, and in certain cases a right to con- demn the doctrines and the person of the pope — these are rights which prove beyond all doubt the participa- tion of the bishops in the sovereign powers of the holy father. But these rights do not extend far enough to give the episcopal body a supremacy over the pope, and the latter therefore exercises, in general, all the privi- kges of supremacy. He summons the council, presides over it, dissolves it, and sanctions its decrees. In a word, he always remains the head of the Church. If, however, the changes desired by a certain scliool are made, the Church will cease to be a limited, and become an absolute monarchy. This woidd be a comiilete rr v- olution ; but what is truly divine is unchangeable, and, consequently, if the constitution of the Church is changed, it ceases to be divine. Pius IX, in his bull Ineffabilis Deus, has himself said of doctrine, Crescat in eodem sensu, in eadem sententia ; but the new dogma woidd lead to a development of doctrine in alio sensu, in alia sententia. It would therefore amount to a denial of the divinity of the Church. '• If it were realized," exclaims the bishop, "what a triumph would it be to the enemies of the Church ! They would call the assev-
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erations of centuries, and historj' itself, as witnesses against Catholicism: she would be crushed by the weight of opposing testimony; the holy Scriptures, the fathers, and ihe councils would rise in judgment against her. They would bury us in our shame, and from the desert atheism would rise more powerfid and threaten- ing than ever" (ii, 378).
AVhcn the comicil met (Dec. 8, 18G9) it was soon found that there were, with regard to this question, three parties among the bishops : one, which regarded the promulgation of this new doctrine as the best and most urgent work the council should attend to ; the sec- ond, which petitioned the pope against this doctrine, wiiich they believed would be at least a great stumbling- block for all non-Catholics, and even for a great many members of the Catholic Chiu-ch ; the third, which was in favor of a compromise, woiUd have some regard for the arguments adduced by the second class, and there- fore, instead of promulgating in unmistakable and bold clearness the doctrine of papal infallibility, would attain the same end in a less offensive way, by inculcating the duty of an absolute submission to every decision of the pope in matters of faith. The majority of the bishops signed a petition for the promulgation of infallibility, whicli had been drawn up by the German bishop of Pa- derboni, and received 410 signatures. The counter ad- dress (or, rather, counter addresses) against the infalli- bility was signed by l(i2 bishops, among whom were 20 Americans, 4G Frenchmen, 37 Germans and Au&trians, 19 Orientals, 2 Portuguese, 14' Hungarians, 3 English- men, and 15 Italians. The address of the middle partj^, which desired to effect a compromise, was drawn up by . the archbishop of Baltimore. The address against the proclamation of the doctrine of infalhbility, drawn up by the cardinal archbishop liauscher, of Vienna, is couched in the most submissive expressions, assures the holy father of the devotedness of all the bishops to the apostolical see, and continr.es: "It would not be right to ignore that many ditlituities, arising from expres- sions or actions of the Church lathers from the docu- ments of history, and even from the Catholic doctrine, remain, which must be thoroughly explained before it woukl be admissible to lay this doctrine before the Christian people as one revealed by God. But our minds revolt a;: linst a controversial discussion of this question, and confidently implore thy kindness not to lay upon us the duty of such a transaction. As we, moreover, exercise the episcopal functions among great Catliolic nations, we know their condition from daily intercourse; hence we are satisfied that the asked-for doctrinal decision will offer weapons to the enemies of rohgion, in order to excite aversion to the Catholic re- ligion, even of men of good character, and we are cer- tain that this decision would offer, at least in Europe, an opportunity or a pretext to the governments of our countries to make encroachments upon the riglits which have remained to the Church. We have concluded to lay this before thy holiness, with the sincerity which we owe to tlie father of the faithful, and we ask thee that the doctrinal opinion, the sanction of which is de- manded by the address, be not submitted to the council for cf)nsidcration." Among the signers are, besides the cardinal archbishop of Vienna, nearly all the archbish ops of (Jermany aud Austria; in particular, the cardinal archbishop of Prague, the archbishops of Cologne, :Mu- nich, Bamberg, and others. The bishops who signed this remonstrance against the promulgation of papal in- fallibility as a doctrine contined themselves to urging the inopportuneness. Only a few plainly expressed themselves against the dogma itself. But what the bishops failed to do, the catholic scholars, especially those of Germany, did so emphatically that their pro- tests against the ultra jiapal theories, and against the whole spirit prevaihng in Komc, made a proibiuid sen- sation throughout the Christian world.