THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
function by Pope Pius IX. There were present six archbishops and twenty-four bishops with a large number of theologians and canonists, who acted as consultors. The decrees of the former councils of Baltimore were confirmed and extended to all parts of the country; certain enactments were made concerning the canonical administration of dioceses, the publication of marriage banns, the establishment of ecclesiastical seminaries, etc. The council suggested to the Roman authorities the erection of a metropolitan see in San Francisco and the establishment of ten new dioceses in various parts of the country. The suggestion was acted upon by Pius IX who confirmed the decrees of the council by a rescript dated Sept. 26, 1852.
The Second Plenary Council of Baltimore was held in Oct., 1866, under the presidency of the Most Rev. M. J. Spalding, archbishop of Baltimore; there were present seven archbishops, thirty-eight bishops, three mitered abbots, and 120 theologians. The motives for calling the council and the topics discussed were in the main the same as those pertaining to the previous assemblies, but in particular it was deemed useful, " at the close of the great national crisis which had acted as a dissolvent upon all sectarian ecclesiastical organizations, to reaffirm solemnly the bond of union existing between the Catholics of all parts of the republic, and to deliberate on the measures to be adopted in order to meet the new phase of national life which the result of the war had just inaugurated." Besides, it was felt to be an urgent duty on the part of the heads of the Church to discuss the future status of the newly emancipated yet very dependent negro. Among the results of the council may be mentioned the erection of ten new dioceses and the drafting of a scheme for the selection of bishops, which, having been approved in Rome, remained in force until amended in the Third Plenary Council.
This last and most important of the Baltimore Councils was held Nov. 9-Dec. 7, 1884, under the presidency of the Most Rev. James Gibbons, who had been appointed to that ofEce by Pope Leo XIII. The number of prelates who took part in the council was fourteen archbishops, sixty bishops, five visiting bishops from Canada and Japan, seven mitered abbots, one prefect apostolic, eleven monsignors, eighteen vicars-general, twenty-three superiors of religious orders, twelve rectors of ecclesiastical seminaries, and ninety theologians. The object of the council was to provide efficient means of organization for the needs of the rapidly growing Church of the United States, and to prepare the way for the gradual introduction of the more useful elements of canon law into the administration of religious affairs in this country. The decrees of the council, which were approved by Pope Leo, Sept. 10, 188.5, comprise eleven tituli or sections, and each one of these is divided into several chapters. This body of legislation touches successively upon the prerogatives and duties of bishops and the inferior members of the clergy, on divine worship, the administration of the sacraments, the training of the clergy, Catholic schools, ecclesiastical courts, church property, etc. Since the promulgation of these decrees in 18S5 they constitute the norm of
ecclesiastical law as applied within the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States.
James F Driscoll.
Bibliography: Concilia provincialia Baltimori habita ab anno 1829 usque ad annum 1840, Baltimore, 1842; Concilium plenarium totius America septentrionalis fcederata habitum anno 1852, ib. 1853; Concilii plenarii Baltimorensis II. acta et decreta, ib. 1868, 2d ed., 1877; Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, 1884, New York, 1885; Memorial Volume of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, Baltimore, 1885; Acta et decreta concilii plenarii Baltimorensis, ib. 1886; J. G. Shea, Hist, of the Catholic Church in the United States, vols, iii-iv, New York, 1892; T. O 'Gorman, American Church History Series, ix, 340 sqq., New York, 1895.
BALTUS, bal"tus', JEAN FRANCOIS: French Jesuit; b. at Metz June 8, 1667; d. at Reims, as librarian of the college, Mar. 19, 1743. He joined the Jesuits in 1682, and taught in several schools in France; became censor of books in Rome, 1717 He distinguished himself by a number of literary and theological works, of which the most important are, Reponse a I'histoire des oracles de M. de Fontenelle (2 vols., Strasburg, 1707; Eng. transl., London, 1708), in which he maintains that the ancient oracles were not mere frauds on the part of the priests, but utterances under demoniacal influence; and Defense des Saints Peres accuses de platonisme (Paris, 1711), in which he vindicates the originality of the Fathers and their complete independence of the ancient philosophy.
BALTZER, JOHANN BAPTISTA. See Hermes, Georg.
BALUZE, ba"luz', ETIENNE: Roman Catholic canonist and historian; b. at Tuile (Tutela Lemovicum, 45 m. s.s.e. of Limoges), in Limousin, France, Nov. 23, 1630; d. at Paris June 28, 1718. He belonged to a family of famous jurists and studied first with the Jesuits at Tulle. In 1646 he was sent to Toulouse, where he remained till 1654, attending the philosophical lectures at St. Martial, the Jesuit college there. While still in school he showed an inclination for old parchments and historical documents. As his father made him study civil law, he could only devote himself in secret to his favorite studies in the library of Charles of Montchal, bishop of Toulouse. Exceptional acumen and persevering application made his critical method a safe one and he soon became known among the scholars of his time. His studies made it necessary for him to become either a monk or a priest, or to enter the service of some ecclesiastical dignitary. He received the tonsure and looked for a patron, whom he found in the successor of Montchal, Peter of Marca, afterward archbishop of Paris, who also showed him how to utilize his extensive historical studies for the canon and civil law. After Marca's death (1652) different bishops and archbishops tried to attach him to themselves. For a short time he remained with the Archbishop of Auch, and Le Tellier, the chancellor, who appointed him canon of Reims. In 1667 the minister J. B. Colbert made him his librarian, and Baluze occupied this position until compelled to resign by advanced age after thirtythree years' service. He collected hundreds of documents from abbeys and monasteries and copied