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existence of several types of worship; the 'Syllabus' declares that the
Catholic religion must be considered as the only religion of the state and all
others are excluded. Modern France proclaims that the people are
sovereign; the 'Syllabus' condemns universal suffrage. Modern France
professes that all French people are equal before the law; the 'Syllabus'
affirms that ecclesiastics are exempt from ordinary civil and criminal
tribunals."
"These are the doctrines taught by the Jesuits in their colleges. They are at
the front of the army of counter-revolution... Their mission consists of
bringing up the youth put in their care with a hatred for the principles on
which French society rests, principles laid down by former generations at a
great cost. By their teaching, they try to divide France into two and call into
question all that has been done since 1789. We want harmony, they want
strife; we want peace, they want war; we want France to be free, they want her
enslaved; they are a combatant society receiving its orders from
outside; they are fighting us, let us defend ourselves; they threaten us, let us
disarm them".(48)
(47) H. Boehmer, op.cit., p.290.
(48) Adolphe Michel: "Les Jesuites" (Sandoz et Fischbacher, Paris 1879, pp.77 ss)
84 THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE JESUITS
The Holy See's everlasting pretension to dominate civil society was then
reaffirmed, as Renan had already said in 1848, in an article entiled "Clerical
liberalism": "It demonstrated that the people's sovereignty, the liberty of
conscience and all modern liberties were condemned by the Church. It
presented the Inquisition as "the logical consequence of the whole
orthodox system", as "the summary of the Church's spirit". It added:
"When she will be able to, the Church will bring back the Inquisition; if she
doesn't do it, it is because she cannot do it".(49)
The power of the Jesuits over the Vatican was shown even more strongly, a
few years after the 'Syllabus', when the dogma of Pontifical Infallibility was
promulgated; the Abbe Brugerette wrote that this dogma was to "throw
over the tragic years of 1870-1871, which put France into mourning,
the brightness of a great Christian hope".
The same author added: "One can say that, during the first half of the
year 1870, the Church of France was not in France anymore; she was in
Rome, passionately busy with the General Council which Pius IX had just
called at the Vatican..." "According to Monseigneur Pie, this French clergy
had completely "thrown off its own liveries, maxims and French or Gallic
liberties". This bishop of Poitiers added that it was done as a sacrifice to the
principle of authority, sound doctrine and common right; it placed all that
under the feet of the sovereign pontiff, made a throne of it for him and
sounded the trumpet, saying: "The pope is our king; not only is his will our
command, but his wishes are our rules".(49a)
The resignation of the whole of a "national" clergy into the hands of the
Roman Curia is clear enough and, because of it, the subjection of the French
Catholics to the will of a foreign despot who, under the cover of dogma or
morals, was going to impose on them his political directions without any
opposition. The liberal Catholics protested in vain against the exorbitant
pretention of the Holy See to dictate its laws in the name of the Holy Spirit.
The Abbe Brugerette informs us, their head, M. de Montalembert,
published in the Gazette de France an article in which he vehemently
protested against those who "sacrifice justice and truth, reason and history, to
the idol they set up at the Vatican".(50)
Several notorious bishops such as Fathers Hyacinthe Loyson and Gratry
took the same line; the latter not without spirit; Father Gratry said: "He
published successively his four Letters to Monseigneur Deschamps. In them,
he did not merely discuss historical events, such as the condemnation of Pope
Honorius, who, according to him, opposed the proclamation of pontifical
infallibility; but, in a sharp and bitter manner, he denounced also the contempt
of authoritative catholics for the truth, and scientific integrity. One of
them, an ecclesiastical candidate for the Doctorate of
(49), (49a) and (50) Abbe J. Brugerette, op.cit., pp.221, 223.
THE JESUITS IN ROME THE SYLLABUS 85
Theology, even dared to justify false decretals before the Faculty of Paris,
declaring that "it was not an odious fraud". And Gratry added: "Even today it
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