Monsignor Manning and the First Vatican Council

8/13/2019 Monsignor Manning and the First Vatican Council

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The role of Cardinal Manning inobtaining the definition of

Papal Infallibility at the First VaticanCouncil


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Sous la direction de Monsieur Christopher

SINCLAIR


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Mmoire de Master Langues, Littrature et

Civilisation Etrangres

Mention Mondes Anglophones

Universit Marc Bloch

(Strasbourg II)

UFR des Langues vivantes

Juin 2007


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS ..............................................................INTRODUCTION .......................................................................PART ONE: BACKGROUND OF THE FIRST

VATICAN COUNCIL .............................................................................

I) The political context at the opening of theCouncil: 16

II) The various trends and controversies prevalentwithin the Catholic Church at that time: 19

A) Liberalism: .............................................................................B) Gallicanism: ...........................................................................C) Ultramontanism: ...................................................................D) The chief doctrinal error of the time: ...............................II) The reactions to the question of papal

Infallibility in France, Germany and England: 24A) The reactions in Germany: ....................................................B) The reactions in France: ........................................................C) The reactions in England: .....................................................

1) The Catholics in England from the Reformationto the Eve of the First Vatican Council: ................................................a) The Catholic revival in England after centuries

of Protestantism and persecutions of the Catholicpopulation: ............................................................................................

b) The contributing factors towards the Catholicrevival in England: ................................................................................


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c) The law of emancipation: .......................................................2) The question of papal Infallibility: ........................................IV. The convocation to the Council: 39A) The first announcement and the reasons for its

convocation: ..........................................................................................B. The letter sent to some of the Cardinals: ...............................C) The letter sent to some of the bishops, and the

subsequent answer of Msgr. Manning: ................................................PART TWO: PROCEEDINGS AND ACTORS OF

THE COUNCIL ......................................................................................I. The rules of the Council and its opening: 46A) The proceedings of the Council: ............................................B) The opening of the Council: ..................................................II. The two parties at the First Vatican Council:

50A) Minority and Majority: ..........................................................

B) The main question: the opportunity of thedefinition: ..............................................................................................

III. Msgr. Manning: 55A) Presentation of Msgr. Manning: .....................................B) His writings about the Holy Ghost and

papal Infallibility prior to the Council: .........................................C) The champion of Papal Infallibility: .....................................

IV. Pope Pius IX and the definition of papalInfallibility: 67

PART THREE: DEFINITION OF PAPALINFALLIBILITY ....................................................................................

I. The pressure exercised by governments on theCouncil Fathers: 70


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II. The postulates for and against the definition: 74

A) The project of postulates for the definition: .........................B) The counter project against the definition: ..........................C) The decision of the Congregation of postulates: ...................III. Toward some progress: 80A) Advancing the timing of the discussion: ...............................B) The famous speech of Msgr. Manning at the

Council: .................................................................................................

C) The deliberations on the Constitution of theChurch: ..................................................................................................IV. The solemn definition of papal Infallibility: 90A) The ceremony of the definition and its vote: ........................B) The text of the definition: ......................................................C) The acceptance of the Decrees of the Council:......................CONCLUSION ............................................................................

BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................General studies and various writings: 112Books about Catholicism in England: 113Books about the First Vatican Council: 115Books about Cardinal Manning: 116Works by Cardinal H.E. Manning linked to Papal

Infallibility: 117

Web Sources: 119APPENDIX .................................................................................Appendix I. Minority and Majority at the Council:

the main actors: 120Appendix II. Reasons why the definition is thought

to be opportune and necessary: 123


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Appendix III. Pastor Aeternus, First DogmaticConstitution on the Church of Christ: 128

Appendix IV. Act of Condemnation by the Councilof Certain Pamphlets: 142


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INTRODUCTION

In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti.

Amen1. It is by these words that Pope2Pius IX3openedthe First Vatican Council4on the Feast of the ImmaculateConception5 (December 8) in 1869. Cardinals,6

1In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

Amen2A Pope is the Head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Bishop

of Rome.3 Pius IX (1792-1878), became pope in 1848. He is mainly known

for having defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854,

and having condemned the modern religious errors in the Syllabus, in1864 and having defined the dogma of papal Infallibility in 1870.4 A council is a regular gathering of bishops and theologians who

decide on questions of doctrine or ecclesiastical discipline. The

council can be provincial, national or ecumenical according to where

the bishops convoked to it come from: the province, from the country

or the whole world. The First Vatican Council was an ecumenical

council, the first to be held since the Council of Trent more than 400

years before.5 The date chosen is not anodyne, because, on December 8, 1854,

Pius had defined that the most Blessed Virgin Mary...was preserved

free from all stain of original sin.... That is why, in honor of the

Blessed Virgin, Pius IX decided to open the Council on the feast

celebrating the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.6A cardinal is the second highest ecclesiastical office in the Roman


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theologians and canonists from all the corners ofChristendom were convoked to it.7It became a worldwideevent; the world press and especially the European pressreported and conveyed daily the different opinions aboutthe current or future decisions which were taken by theCouncil Fathers, as well as the controversies which theyaroused.

The bull8Aeterni Patris issued on June 29, 1868to summon the Council,was received with joy by the bulk

of the Catholic masses. It did however provoke muchdiscontent in various places, most notably in Germany,France and England. "In these countries, it was fearedthat the council would promulgate an exactdetermination of the primatial prerogatives of the papacyand the definition of papal Infallibility.9 Soon, voicesrose up against the definition. The debate about it

Catholic Church, just below the Pope. The cardinals are appointed by

him as a member of the Sacred College of Cardinals during a

consistory. They alone can elect a cardinal to become the new Pope

at the death of the previous Pope.7 According the Catholic Encyclopedia, There were in the entire

world approximately one thousand and fifty prelates entitled to take

part in the Council, and of these no less than seven hundred and

seventy-four appeared during the course of the proceedings. Kirch,

K. Vatican Council. New Advent, Catholic Encyclopedia.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15303a.htm. Abbreviation: Kirch,

Vatican Council.8A bull is an apostolic letter with a leaden seal, written by the pope.9Kirch, Vatican Council.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15303a.htmhttp://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15303a.htm


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became turbulent. We wish to analyze this heated andwide-ranging debate by examining the main protagonistsand groups, who indeed influenced some of the prelateswho took part in the First Vatican Council.

Msgr. Manning's role at the First Vatican Councilwill be the subject of this present study. We shallparticularly center our analysis upon the role he played inobtaining a definition of papal Infallibility. "That whichwe call Infallibility is nothing but this: the Church cannot

err from the path of revealed truth."10

The reason why we shall focus only on thatdefinition is that at the time, the debate was almostexclusively concentrated upon the question of papalInfallibility. The press did not closely examine the otherdecisions that were taken by the Council Fathers. Both,the partisans and opponents to the Council focused only

on the definition. The opponents of the definition weremostly non-Catholics, but most surprisingly, Catholicsalso formed part of this opposition. However, it would beincorrect to conclude that everyone was a fierce opponentto the definition of papal Infallibility. The Holy Churchfound many great defenders all around Europe such asBishops Dechamps of Mechlin and Senestry of Ratisbon.

In England, the most famous and the most important

10 Cardinal Henry Edward Manning, The Internal Mission of the

Holy Ghost, (London: Burns & Oates, Ltd., 1875), 301.

Abbreviation: Manning,Internal Mission.


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remains Cardinal Henry Edward Manning, Archbishop ofWestminster.11

Nowadays, this Council is known almost solely forthe definition of the dogma of papal Infallibility. Millionsof people Catholics included still violently attack thisdogma. That is why the subject is still an appropriatetopic at the dawn of the twenty-first century. It is verycommon to find, even among Catholics, people who donot consider the pope as infallible when he speaks in

matters of faith and morals.The attacks against papal Infallibility are not a newphenomenon. On the contrary, they were as violent in the19th century as they are today. The 19th century saw thebeginning of a very strong de-Christianization theme.There was a wave of new ideas, new debates, and manypeople brought into question values, dogmas, and

centuries old beliefs. Society as a whole was changing. Itslowly, but surely, was turning from an exclusivelyreligious society, into a largely de-Christianized society.

Surprisingly, despite de-Christianization, a verystrong Catholic revival occurred in England in the 19thcentury. It was unexpected in a country that had beenProtestant since the Reformation in 1533. The Catholic

revival had a tangible effect on Msgr. Manning. He

11Henry Edward Manning was made a cardinal only in 1875 by Pope

Pius IX, so during the Council he was only Archbishop of

Westminster. However, as it is the name under which he is best

known, I deliberately choose to call him Cardinal Manning or

"Msgr. Manning" instead of Archbishop Manning.


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converted from Protestantism to Catholicism in 1851 andsoon began to become very active and zealous inattempting to revive the Catholic faith in England. Hetook part in the Vatican Council, and the definition of thedogma of papal Infallibility was largely due to his zeal.This is what this present study shall attempt to illustrate:the role of Msgr. Manning in the definition of papalInfallibility at the First Vatican Council.

In order to truly appreciate and assess the role of

an individual in such a huge process (i.e. the defining ofsuch a wide-ranging definition), we must examine theattitudes and roles of his contemporaries and fellowcitizens. By doing this we can draw conclusions about thedifficulty of the task facing those who proposed adefinition, and the attitudes of those both inside of andexternal to the decision-making process. By placing our

examination in context, we can conclude about the extentof the role played by Msgr. Manning, the support that hegarnered, the opposition he faced and in turn the degreeof zealousness, which he espoused.

The study of the role of Msgr. Manning will allowthe reader to familiarize himself with and in turn tounderstand, in perspective, the spirit of the time and the

different debates and concerns. The survey will attemptto be a mirror of the religious and intellectual state in thenineteenth century and more precisely in England,because that is where Msgr. Manning lived.

The reactions to the Vatican Council in Germanyand in France have been largely studied, but this is not


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the case for England, despite the fact that it was one ofthe three countries where one could find the strongestdiscontent. Historians have been usually more interestedin studying the Catholic revival in the 19th century inEngland rather than the reactions toward the Council. Inaddition, almost all the biographers of Msgr. Manninghave focused on his social works or on his conversionrather than on the role he played at the First VaticanCouncil. This study shall lead to a better understanding

about the important role the Council played in the historyof the Holy Catholic Church and among Catholics.We refer to and have used many works written by

contemporaries of the Vatican Council in order to informour study. Such sources were close to the Council andtherefore their information has not been distorted oraltered through the passing of centuries. The original

text, for example, of an opponent to the Council has astronger force and realism than a text explaining decadeslater that there were some opponents. The intention is toexamine the aforementioned issues by virtue of primarysources which refer to the subject.

It is essential to analyze in the first part thebackground of the Council. That is to say successively, the

political context at the opening of the Council, the variousreligious trends and controversies prevalent within theCatholic Church at the time, the reaction to the questionof papal Infallibility in France, Germany and England atthe announcement of the Council; and last, the


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convocation to the Council and the reasons invoked tosummon it.

We shall devote in part two, a first chapter on therules of the Council to help the reader to understand itsfunctioning. The second chapter is central, because itdescribes the two parties present at the Council, who theywere, and what were their motivations. After apresentation of Msgr. Manning, in the third chapter, weshall examine more closely his ideas concerning papal

Infallibility. Finally, it would be impossible to speakabout the Council without mentioning its major actor:Pope Pius IX. We shall refrain from giving his biography,but we shall center our study on his attitude toward thedefinition of papal Infallibility.

In the last part, we shall consider the process ofthe definition of papal Infallibility. It will first be

imperative to briefly examine the agitation outside theCouncil provoked by a possible definition. The pressuresexercised by governments on the Council Fathers will beparticularly revealing. Then, in the second and thirdfourth chapters, we shall examine the different stepsleading to the definition. The fourth chapter will picturethis famous day, July 18, 1870, when the dogma of

Infallibility was solemnly defined.We hope to recreate the incredible journey of an

Anglican ministry, converted to the Catholic faith, who,by a fantastic energy, an unfailing conviction and atremendous love for the Holy Ghost and the papacy


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became the major defender and partisan of the definitionof papal Infallibility.


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PART ONE: BACKGROUND OFTHE FIRST VATICAN COUNCIL

I) The political context at theopening of the Council:

The political context of the Council was one ofviolent upheaval and widespread wars. Various wars weresimultaneously tearing apart different countries andshedding the blood of thousands of human beings.

In 1864, Prussia and Denmark clashed. On May

1865, the American Civil War ended; in 1866, all ofEurope was anxiously awaiting the result of the conflictsbetween Prussia, Austria and Italy; in 1868, a revolutionraged in Spain, which caused Queen Isabella II to flee toFrance. In 1870, the Franco-Prussian war was to burstout. Consequently, the state of affairs was so grave thatthe Commission of Direction and most of the prelates

were wondering if it was going to be possible to hold theHoly Council at all. An English hand described thecondition of Europe at the time on 12 November 1866:

The immediate consequence of the last war(between Prussia and Austria), and of the peace whichfollowed it, was to break the old alliances, and to trouble


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every European State. The invasion of Denmark gave thefirst shock to public morality, and the subsequent quarrelbetween Prussia and Austria annihilated the barriers ofinternational law. From henceforth there no longer existsa principle of general policy in Europe, and ambition hasno limit to the extension of its own power. Every mans

hand is against his brother, and only the necessity ofdefense hinders the desire of attack. All nations are onthe watch, and order is maintained because everybody is

afraid of his neighbour. The Continental press shows usone-half of Europe in array against the other. The wholeof Europe is arming. France does not disarm, but, on thecontrary, increases its armies; Russia is raising threehundred thousand recruits; Prussia is reorganizing fournew army corps; Austria is remodeling and reforming;everywhere the armaments are in training, and new

systems of warfare are being elaborated. The art ofslaying threatens to become the sole industry ofEurope.12

In the United States, the Know-Nothing Partypersecuted Catholics and immigrants during the mid-19thcentury. Their motto was Americans must rule America

and they gained political prominence in many states.

When in 1853, a representative of the pope came tothe United States; he was mobbed by members of thisparty in Cincinnati. There followed a bitter persecution of

12The Times, November 18, 1866, in Cardinal H. E. Manning, The

True Story of the Vatican Council, (Fraser, Michigan: Real View

Books, 1996), 39.


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Catholics all over the country. Churches were destroyed.In Bangor, Maine, a Jesuit priest was tarred andfeathered. There were riots at Louisville and St. Louis inwhich there was bloodshed, and everywhere, in spite ofthe fact that the Constitution of the United Statesguarantees religious liberty, everything possible was doneto prevent Catholics from holding public office or evenvoting.13

It is, therefore, little wonder that Pope Pius IX and

his counselors hesitated to confirm the day for theopening of the Council. Furthermore, the variousgovernments showed themselves to be so anti-Catholicthat it was feared that they would not allow the bishops toattend the Council in any event.

As to the obstacles in the way of holding theCouncil, the first was a doubt as to the disposition of the

civil powers to permit the bishops of their respectivejurisdictions to attend. Fear was especially entertained onthis point in respect to the government of France, Italyand Portugal. It was remembered that in 1862 thegovernment of Italy hindered the Italian bishops fromcoming to Rome for the canonization of the martyrs ofJapan.14

It is thus in this delicate political situation that theCouncil was summoned. The religious context was not

13Fr. George Johnson, Story of the Church, 429.14 Cardinal H. E. Manning, The True Story of the Vatican Council,

(Fraser, Michigan: Real View Books, 1996), 15-16. Abbreviation:

Manning, True Story.


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condemned Liberalism. Leo XIII describes the inherentevil of this philosophy:

Man, by a necessity of his nature, is wholly

subject to the most faithful and ever enduring power ofGod; and that, as a consequence, any liberty except thatwhich consists in submission to God and in submission toHis will is unintelligible. To deny the existence of thisauthority in God, or to refuse to submit to it, means toact, not as a free man, but as one who treasonably abuses

his liberty; and in such a disposition of mind, the chiefand deadly vice of Liberalism consists.16In the meantime, Gallicanism was widespread in

France and in several other countries.

B) Gallicanism:

The ideology of Gallicanism had assailed PapalInfallibility for more than 400 years prior to the VaticanCouncil. Gallicanism tended to restrict the authority of

the Church regarding the State (Political Gallicanism) orthe authority of the pope regarding the council, bishops,and clergy (Ecclesiastico-Theological Gallicanism).17 Inshort, it was a theory of the superiority of a national

general council over the pope. Gallicanism, likeAnglicanism was a form of religious nationalism.

16Leo XIII,Libertas Humana (On the Nature of True Liberty), June

20, 1988, no. 36.17 Pietro Parente, Dictionary of Dogmatic Theology, (Milwaukee:

Bruce Publishing Company, 1951), 108.


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These teachings were widely professed by theclergy of France and later spread to Flanders, Ireland andEngland. Some prelates at the Council followed theGallican ideology and wished to make papal authoritydependent upon the bishops and the approbation ofnational general councils.

C) Ultramontanism:

Many Italians who opposed Gallicanism anddefended the primacy and Infallibility of the RomanPontiff became known as Ultramontanists. It was apejorative term given by the enemies of the CatholicChurch or by those who wanted a certain degree ofadministrative independence from Rome.Ultramontanism [is] a term used to denote integral and

active Catholicism, because it recognizes as its spiritualhead the pope, who, for the greater part of Europe, is adweller beyond the mountains (ultra montes), that is,beyond the Alps.18 Ultramontanism stressed themonarchial role of the pope, his universal jurisdiction, hisprimacy over the Catholic Church and his Infallibility inex cathedr pronouncements.

D) The chief doctrinal error of

the time:

18 Charles Herbermann, Catholic Encyclopedia, (New York: The

Encyclopedia Press, 1908), Vol. 15, 125.


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However, according to Msgr. Manning and manyCatholics, the principal doctrinal error of the time was thedenying of papal Infallibility and the distance, andfreedom many would take with the papal teachings. theMsgr. Manning described thus the conflict between thetwo groups:

Each council was convened to extinguish the chiefevil of the time. And I do not hesitate to affirm that thedenial of the Infallibility of the Roman Pontiff was the

chief intellectual or doctrinal error as to faith, not to callit more than proximate to heresy, of our times.It was so because it struck at the validity of the

pontifical acts of the last 300 years, weakened the effectof papal decisions of this period over the intellect andconscience of the faithful. It kept alive a dangerouscontroversy on the subject of Infallibility altogether, and

exposed even the Infallibility of the Church itself todifficulties not easy to solve. As an apparently open ordisputable point, close to the very root of faith, it exposedeven the faith itself to the reach of doubts.

Next, practically, it was mischievous beyondmeasure. The divisions and contentions of Gallicanism

and Ultramontanism have been a scandal and a shame

to us. Protestants and unbelievers have been kept fromthe truth by our intestine controversies, especially upon apoint so high and so intimately connected with the wholedoctrinal authority of the Church. Again, morally, thedivision and contention on this point, supposed to beopen, has generated more alienation, bitterness and


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animosity between Pastors and people, and what isworse, between Pastors and Pastors, than any other inour day.19

This can very well explain why the reactions to thequestion of papal Infallibility were so strong even beforethe Council was opened.

19 Cardinal Manning, The Vatican Council and its Definitions:

Pastoral Letter to the Clergy, (London: Longmans, Green, And Co.,

1870), 41-42. Abbreviation: Manning, Vatican Council and its

Definitions.


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II) The reactions to the question

of papal Infallibility in France,Germany and England:

It is essential to understand the mentality of thebishops who attended the Vatican Council, in order tounderstand the Council itself. Fr. James MacCaffrey andMsgr. Hughes explain how the conflict over Infallibilityraged, especially in Germany: The convocation of the

Council, while pleasing to the vast body of Catholic clergyand people, roused the bitter enmity of the radical-liberalparty throughout Europe. Even in Catholics circles verysharp controversies broke out, especially in France and in

Germany.20

20 Fr. James MacCaffrey, History of the Church in the Nineteenth

Century (1789-1908), (Dublin: M. H. Gill and Son, Ltd., 1910), 443.

Abbreviation: MacCaffrey,History of the Church.


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A) The reactions in Germany:

Dr. Dllinger:In Germany, the

liberal historian andtheologian Ignaz vonDllinger21 led thecontroversy against papal

Infallibility. In 1869, hewrote in conjunction withJohan Friedrich,22 theLetters of Janus in whichthey attacked theSyllabus23and the doctrineof papal Infallibility, and

21Johan Ignaz von Dllinger (1799-1890), was excommunicated for

his heretical writings. He was one of the most ferocious adversaries

of papal Infallibility.22 Johann Friedrich (1836-1917) was a German theologian who, in

1869, went to the Vatican Council as secretary to Cardinal

Hohenlohe, and took an active part in opposing the dogma of papal

Infallibility, notably by supplying the opposition bishops with

historical and theological material. He left Rome before the Council

closed.23The Syllabus is the name of the series of propositions containing

modern religious errors condemned by Pius IX on December 8,

1864.


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claimed its incompatibility with modern thought. Theyalso criticized Msgr. Manning.

Dllinger wrote in theAllgemeine Zeitungand inthe Neue Freie Presse several polemical and hatefularticles against the Church and its organization.24In oneof these articles, he wrote of Msgr. Manning that he gave

himself to the theory of Infallibility with the fervent zealof a convert.

Dllinger had not been sparing in his criticism of

Rome, of the Papal States, of the Curia. He had beenbitter in his contempt for Scholastic Theology. He haddeveloped something very near hatred towards theJesuits. As early as 1850 he had propounded hisgrandiose dream of a German national church, notschismatic, it is true, but hardly Catholic with itsdomineering self-sufficiency. He was a protagonist, too,

for public opinion. As he became more and moreinfatuated with liberal ideas he simultaneously became

the source of anxiety to many of his former friends. Theworld still admired his immense learning and hisundoubted intellectual powers. However, not evenDllinger himself could have foretold where they wouldlead him. Only by reading history backwards does one get

the full significance of his appeal for deference to publicopinion at the Munich assembly of 1863. His exclusion

from the deliberations preparatory to the Council was thefinal insult. He threw his great weight into a most

24 E. Michael, S. J. Ignaz v. Dllinger Eine Charakteristik.

(Innsbruck: 1892), 37.


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determined opposition.25Dllinger became one of the most ardent

opponents of papal Infallibility, not only to the definitionof it, but also to the dogma itself.

Also there were in Germany, a very small numberof great scholars who defiantly held that the pope was notinfallible, and who grew more and more antipapal witheach year that passed.26

The bishops of Germany were in a peculiarly

difficult position. Whether personally in favor ofInfallibility or opposed to it, they could not fail to bealarmed at the dangerous tendency of the movement.Under the circumstances, it was thought best to hold ameeting of their own body at Fulda in September 1869.Sixteen bishops, one bishop-elect, attended the assemblyProfessor Hefele, who had been appointed to the See of

Rottenburg, and the procurators of three absent bishops.They determined to send a private letter to the Pope, inwhich the arguments against the advisability of thedefinition, especially in so far as it would affect theChurch in Germany, should be set forth. This documentwas signed by about two-thirds of those present. At thesame time, they issued a pastoral letter to the Catholics of

Germany, which was well calculated to allay theexcitement and uneasiness that Dllinger and his friends

25 Raymond Corrigan, The Church and the Nineteenth Century,

(Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Company, 1938), 190-191.26Msgr. Philip Hughes, Church in Crisis: A History of the General

Council, 325-1870, (New York: Hanover House, 1961), 350.


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had so industriously instigated. [] The pastoral letter

was read in all the Catholic churches of Germany, andmade an excellent impression.27

In France, even if the effect was not as extreme asin Germany, it was still very virulent.

B) The reactions in France:

Msgr. DupanloupIn France,

Msgr. Dupanloup,28Bishop of Orleans,directed the debate.At the Council he

was the leader of thatMinority which, for

political reasonsstood, if not againstpapal Infallibilityitself, at least againstthe timing of itsdefinition. Msgr.Dupanloup welcomed

with joy the papalBull of indiction, in which no mention was made ofInfallibility. He transmitted the papal Bull to his flock, in

27MacCaffrey,History of the Church, 446-447.28Felix Dupanloup (1802-1878), was a French prelate who was one

of the leaders of liberal Catholicism.


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a dignified pastoral letter. Nevertheless, when the

Catholic sentiment, voiced by such organs as the CiviltCattolica29 and the Univers30, began to petition for thedefinition, he appended to his pastoral letter certainobservations which, by making known in advance theposition he intended to take, involved him in a pettycontroversy with Louis Veuillot31.32

Seeing these reactions in Catholic countries, it isnot surprising to observe such strong effects in England,

a Protestant country used to hating the papacy and torejecting its authority.

29The newspaper Civilt Cattolicawas founded on April 6, 1850, by

Pius IX himself and confided by him to the conduct of the Fathers of

the Society of Jesus.30

The journal theUniverswas founded by Louis Veuillot. Pius IXdeclared himself in favor of that journal, which several bishops were

attacking vigorously, while many others defended it. Tavernier,

Eugene. Louis Veuillot. New Advent: Catholic Encyclopedia.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15394b.htm. 31Louis Veuillot (1813-1883) was a French Catholic journalist and

writer. He founded the journal the Univers where he ardently

defended the Catholic faith. He was a zealous defender of papal

Infallibility.

For more information, see Tavernier, Eugene. Louis Veuillot. New

Advent: Catholic Encyclopedia.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15394b.htm. 32 Sollier, J.F. Felix-Antoine-Philibert Dupanloup. New Advent:

Catholic Encyclopedia.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05202a.htm.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15394b.htmhttp://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15394b.htmhttp://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05202a.htmhttp://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05202a.htmhttp://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15394b.htmhttp://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15394b.htm


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C) The reactions in England:

1) The Catholics in England from the Reformation

to the Eve of the First Vatican Council:

a) The Catholic revival in England after

centuries of Protestantism and persecutions of

the Catholic population:

The role in and indeed reaction to the universal

debate on papal Infallibility by Msgr. Manning must beanalyzed within the national context at that time. Msgr.Manning had a widely recognized central role in thedebate, but this role is infinitely more awe-inspiring giventhe aforementioned context by which he was surrounded.In the 19th century, a significant Catholic revival inEngland occurred. Despite centuries of Protestantism and

discriminations against the Catholics in Britain,Catholicism blossomed.

It is essential to underline the importance of therehabilitation of Catholic hierarchy in 1850 by Pius IX. Infact, since the Schism of Henry VIII in 1534 and thefounding of the Church of England, the country had beenseparated from the Holy See. England became Protestantfollowing the Latin adage, cujus regio, ejus religio

(whose rule, his religion). It means that a ruler has theright to determine the religion of his territory. Hissubjects have the alternative of moving to a section wheretheir religion is supreme. The principle trampled on allrights of conscience.


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The remaining Catholics endured manypersecutions and discriminations in Britain. For example,in 1571, under the reign of Elizabeth, severe laws wereenacted against Catholics, and in 1585, capitalpunishment was decreed for priests and for new converts.As Owen Chadwick33 underlines, the distrust towardRome became an integral part of patriotism. Whatfollowed were vexations and laws to discourage anyonefrom being Catholic.

In 1606, stricter penal laws were implementedagainst English Catholics. It caused many problemsbecause the citizens were forced to swear allegiance to theKing and repudiate pontifical authority. The Test Act of1673 also excluded Catholics from public jobs. They wereconsidered as enemies of the Crown. The English Bill ofRightsof 1689 stated that Roman Catholics could not be

King or Queen of England since "it hath been found byexperience that it is inconsistent with the safety andwelfare of this Protestant Kingdom to be governed by apapist prince." The Sovereign was required to swear acoronation oath to maintain the Protestant religion.However, in 1778, Parliament voted the Catholic ReliefAct that revoked part of the anti-Catholic legislation. It

allowed Roman Catholics in Great Britain to ownproperty, inherit land, join the army, and build chapelswith no exterior signs. The government knew thatCatholics did not represent a great danger because theywere not numerous or organized and because the

33Chadwick, Owen. The Reformation. London: Penguin, 1964.


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repressive laws had deprived them of any power and byvirtue of this any subsequent means of action.

b) The contributing factors towards theCatholic revival in England:

The French Revolution of 1789 had great influenceupon the revival of Catholicism in Britain. Thousands ofpriests and nuns migrated to England, fleeing the Frencharmies in France, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands,etc. The English Government was very favorable towardsthe refugees. A comittee of support was created (theCommittee for the Relief of the Suffering Clergy ofFrance). John Wilmot presided over it and the committeecounted amongst its members William Wilberforce,William Pitt and Edmund Burke.

At the beginning of 1800, some five and a half

thousand French priests were receiving help from theRelief Committee.34 It was thus evident that if theGovernment was helping the French Catholics it couldnot keep persecuting its own Catholics. Anotherconsequence of the French Revolution was that EnglishCatholic institutions as well as French religiouscongregations sought refuge in England.

The reestablishment of some forty religioushouses, schools and seminaries previously scatteredthroughout Europe would eventually prove to be an

34 Holmes Derek. More Roman than Rome. (London: Burnes &

Oates, 1978), 134.


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important factor in the transformation of the CatholicChurch in England during the nineteenth century.35

Furthermore, the French Catholic clergy started tobecome very active, doing much social good and winningthe gratitude of the popular classes. It was importantbecause it was the first real contact English Catholics hadmade with the ideas of continental Catholicism since theReformation. Their arrival brought with it a more daringCatholicism. Numerous priests were French teachers of

rich young people and thus had a palpable influence. SirRobert Peel, who had the law of emancipation of theCatholic enacted in 1829, had a French-Catholic teacher.

c) The law of emancipation:

It is only in 1829 that Catholics became fullcitizens of the United Kingdom. The agitation in Ireland

was at the origin of the emancipation. OConnell up theCatholic Association in 1823 and campaigned for Catholicemancipation, and for the repeal of all anti-Catholiclegislation enforced in Ireland. The Government had tochoose between civil war and emancipation. That was theprice to pay for security in Ireland and the peace in theBritish and Irish relations.

In March 1829, the Law of Emancipation wasenacted, removing many of the remaining substantialrestrictions on Roman Catholics in the United Kingdom.Catholics obtained the right to vote, the right to sit inParliament, and to occupy almost any public function. As

35Ibid., 156.


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early as 1833, a certain number of laymen promotedCatholicism and the renaissance of ecclesiastical life. In1837, the Apostolic Vicars asked Pope Gregory XVI toestablish a diocesan hierarchy and were at the origin ofthe restoration of the hierarchy, which happened in 1850.

There were many converts to the Catholic Churchafter 1841. Converts were often more zealous for theirnew Church than others and they sometimes pushed theirviews to extremes. The effect of the Oxford converts on

the Catholic Church was that the Church became moreRoman and more Italian in its appearance, a changegreatly encouraged by Msgr. Nicholas Patrick Wiseman,Archbishop of Westminster. The Oxford movement alsocontributed in a sense to the Catholic revival. Many of itsmembers converted to Catholicism: Newman, Faber, andWard were among the most famous converts.

The massive Irish immigration also played a veryimportant part in the Catholic revival. Ireland was hit bya potato blight in 1846 that brought about a terriblefamine. An alternative to death and squalor wasemigration36. That is why hundreds of thousands of Irishpeople migrated to England.

The growth of the Catholic population in the 1845-50s and the quick evolution of the Catholic community

imposed a reorganization of the ecclesiasticadministration of the country. Unlike Ireland thatpreserved its Episcopal hierarchy, England, since the

36Schneider, Delphine. Britain and the Great Irish Famine, License

research paper, 35 pages, (Nancy: 2005), 10.


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Reformation, had been under the regime of the countriesof mission.

Seeing the advances and the development ofCatholicism in England, Pope Pius IX announced onSeptember 29, 1850, that he restored the English RomanCatholic hierarchy under the Primacy of Msgr. Wiseman.One archdiocese and twelve auxiliary bishops replacedthe eight apostolic vicars. At the death of Msgr. Wiseman,the Pope named Msgr. Manning as Archbishop of

Westminster.2) The question of papal Infallibility:

In England, the question of papal Infallibilityprovoked an ongoing and fervent debate. The pressconveyed the different opinions about the subject. Asearly as 1868, a series of pamphlets and newspapersbegan with the appearance of Le Page Renoufs pamphlet

opposing papal Infallibility.37He attacked Pope Honoriusin his bookPope Honorius before the Tribunal of Reasonand History to demonstrate that a pope can err andproffer heresies and thus cannot be declared infallible.

A few extracts from the aforementioned book

highlights how excited and passionate his reaction

37Sir Peter Le Page Renouf (1822-1897), was an Egyptologist who

under the influence of Dr Newman became a Roman Catholic.

However, he opposed the promulgation of the dogma of Papal

Infallibility in his book The Condemnation ofPope Honorius that

was placed upon the index of prohibited books.


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against Infallibility was: The arguments used by the first

apologists of Pope Honorius cannot have been sincerelybelieved in by their authors.38It is a simple untruth, tosay that he was condemned for neglect.39 Nothing canbe more grossly untrue than the assertion that Honoriuswas misled by Sergius.40 This very man the AbbotJohn, secretary to two Popes, to whose great virtue S.Maximus gave testimony, relayed a lying account of the

controversy, being an interested and mendacious

witness41

Stupid bigotry alone can urge a certain pleafor Honorius42. It is a mockery to say, what allUltramontanists say, that Honorius Letter to Sergius wasnot ex cathedr.43 It is impossible to speak withoutcontempt of a certain assertion which has repeatedly

been made by great writers44. Mr. Veuillot is a fiery,ignorant and unscrupulous convert.45

This pamphlet unsurprisingly, aroused animateddiscussions. It is impossible to quote all the newspapersand periodicals which declared themselves in favor oragainst it. Father Botalla, teacher of theology in Saint-

38P. Le Page Renouf. The Condemnation ofPope Honorius, (London

1868), 7.39Ibid., 11.40Ibid.,14.41Ibid. 15-16.42Ibid.,,18.43Ibid., 21.44Ibid., 32.45Ibid., 39.


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Bennos College, directly refuted it in a special book46.Renouf responded in the form of a second book47. Otherrefutations followed48. The emotions provoked amongstthe Catholic congregation were both powerful and indeedsignificant.

Another extract from the Dublin Review gives anidea of just how passionate the debate was: When we say

that the views advocated by Mr. Renouf are most untrueand mischievous, he will accept this as the greatest

compliment we can pay him; but we must further give ouropinion, that his pamphlet is passionate, shallow andpretentious. Every reader will have been struck by itspassion.49 It is surprising to note that people who werenot even theologians pondered upon its theologicalquestions and emphasized their own opinions on thesubject.

A certain number of Catholics, especially convertCatholics, followed the liberal movement and maintainedfriendly relations with the liberal theologians of

46 Botalla, Paul. Pope Honorius before the Tribunal of Reason and

History. (London, 1869).47 P. Le Page Renouf. Honorius Reconsidered with Reference to

Recent Apologies. London 1869.48 Dublin Review vol. XV. (1870, I.II), in Granderath, Thodore:

Histoire du Concile du Vatican. 3 tomes in 6 volumes, (Brussels:

Librairie Albert Dewitt, 1907), T. 3, 342.49 Dublin Review. Vol. XI. 1868 II, in Granderath, Thodore:

Histoire du Concile du Vatican. 3 tomes in 6 volumes. (Brussels:

Librairie Albert Dewitt, 1907). T. 3a, 348.


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Germany, particularly Dllinger. As Granderath50highlights it, a proof of the activity of the Catholic liberalparty and of its relations with Dllinger was theextraordinarily swift appearance of the Englishtranslation of the Letters of Janus. The press publishedcountless articles in favor of and opposing it.

The Dublin Review,51 talking about liberalCatholics, wrote at the opening of the Council:

We have always maintained that there is an

organized, though small, band of professing Catholics inEngland, who are as truly enemies to the Church asavowed Protestants can be and who are immeasurablymore dangerous than avowed Protestants, from the veryfact, that Catholics in general are not duly on their guardagainst them.52

Msgr. Manning was well aware of this and was a

determined adversary of the liberal movement. When thequarrels on the doctrine of Infallibility began to blossom,he believed it to be his duty to devote a pastoral letter on

50Granderath, Thodore:Histoire du Concile du Vatican. 3 tomes in

6 volumes. (Brussels: Librairie Albert Dewitt, 1907), T. 3a, 367.

Abbreviation: Granderath.51TheDublin Reviewwas founded by Michael Joseph Quin in 1836.

It has ever since remained the leading Catholic periodical in the

British Isles. Burton, Edwin. Michel Joseph Quin. New Advent:

Catholic Encyclopedia

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12613a.htm52Dublin Review XV (1870 I) 212, in Granderath, T. 3a, 392.


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that sole question.53 In this letter, Msgr. Manningexamined distinctly the pros and cons of the definition ofInfallibility. He was particularly careful to follow theteachings on Infallibility through ecclesiastical traditionand to uncover Gallicanism.54

IV. The convocation to theCouncil:

A) The first announcement and

the reasons for its convocation:

On December 6, 1864, Pope Pius IX secretlyannounced to a part of the Sacred College his intention toopen a General Council to face the rise of new heresies. Infact, Atheism, Naturalism and Materialism had becomeintensively developed. False doctrines, born in thosetimes, about the connection between the pope and thecouncil reappeared to a large extent in Gallicanism,

53 Cardinal Henry Edward Manning. The Ecumenical Council and

the Infallibility of the Roman Pontiff, (London: 1869), 132.

Abbreviation: Manning,Ecumenical Council.54 This term is used to designate a certain group of religious

opinions which tended chiefly to a restraint of the pope's authority in

the Church in favour of that of the bishops and the temporal ruler.

A. Degert, Gallicanism. New Advent: Catholic Encyclopedia

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06351a.htm


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Febronianism55 and Josephism.5657 It may be said thatthe nineteenth century has no heresy, or rather that it hasall heresies, because it is the century of unbelief."58Furthermore, the spiritual needs of the faithful hadincreased since the end of the Middle Ages. In fact, thelast Ecumenical council59 went back to the 16th century.Never in Church history, had the Holy Church waited so

55This politico-ecclesiastical system was outlined by Johann

Nikolaus von Hontheim, Auxiliary Bishop of Trier, under thepseudonym Justinus Febronius. He develops in this work a theory of

ecclesiastical organization founded on a denial of the monarchical

constitution of the Church. The ostensible purpose was to facilitate

the reconciliation of the Protestant bodies with the Church by

diminishing the power of the Holy See. Friedrich Lauchert,

Febronianism. New Advent: Catholic Encyclopedia.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06023a.htm56 Josephism is the name given to the political religious doctrine of

the Emperor Joseph II. His doctrine tended to submit the internal

affairs of the Church to the control of the temporal power. He wanted

to place religion under his control.57Granderath, T. 1, 20.58Manning, True Story, 25.59 It was the Ecumenical Council of Trent opened on December 13,

1545 and closed on December 4, 1563. Its main object was the

definitive determination of the doctrines of the Church in answer to

the heresies of the Protestants; a further object was the execution of a

thorough reform of the inner life of the Church by removing the

numerous abuses that had developed in it. J. P. Kirsch. The Council

of Trent. New Advent: Catholic Encyclopedia

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15030c.htm
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06023a.htmhttp://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15030c.htmhttp://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15030c.htmhttp://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06023a.htm


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long to convoke a council. The Catholic Church and theCatholic faith were under constant and sustained assault.

The divinity itself of its origin, and even the

existence of God, the spirituality and the immortality ofthe soul, basis of all religions, were denied or cast doubton a little more every day. In the disciplinary field, lots ofprinciples had fallen into disuse and in many points, thechanges that happened since the last council, seemed toneed a transformation.60

In our time, there exists no new or special heresyin matters of faith, but rather a universal perversion andconfusion of first truths and principles which assail thefoundations of truth and the preambles of all belief.61

"The intellect of man for three hundred years hasbroken loose from faith, and the heresy of the day is aheresy against the order of even natural truth; it is the

assertion that reason is sufficient to itself."62"The line of philosophy from Leibnitz, Wolff, Kant,

to Schleiermacher, Hegel, Fichte, Schelling, and Strauss,exhibits the same steady advance to the rejection of allthat is above the level of reason or of nature."63

Another revealing action was the meeting of ananti-council entitled the concile des athes-matrialistes

(council of the materialistic atheists) convened in Naples

60Granderath, T. 1, 15.61Manning, True Story, 124.62Ibid.63Ibid., 127.


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on December 29, 1869 to fight the Council. This councileven had its own journal: Giornale dei Atei.64

Pope Pius IX saw the world which was once all

Catholic tossed and harassed by the revolt of its intellectagainst the revelation of God, and of its will against hislaw; by the revolt of civil society against the sovereigntyof God; and by the anti-Christian spirit which is drivingprinces and governments towards anti-Christianrevolutions. He to whom, in the words of St. John

Chrysostom, the whole world was committed saw in theCouncil of the Vatican the only adequate remedy for theworld-wide evils of the nineteenth century.65

Pope Pius IX believed that the Council was calledto find an extraordinary remedy for the extraordinary

evils of the Christian world.66The majority favored the idea of a general council,

but six out of forty-seven cardinals believed it wasinopportune and a mere two cardinals strongly opposedthe idea.

B. The letter sent to some of the

Cardinals:

After his announcement to the part of the SacredCollege, Pope Pius IX sent a letter to twenty-one cardinals

64 Yriarte, Charles, Autour du Concile, souvenirs et croquis dun

artiste Rome, (Paris: J. Rothschild Editeur, 1887), 147.65Manning, True Story, 37.66Ibid. 31.


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to gauge their opinion on the subject and to ask themwhich issues should be addressed at the Council. In theirresponses, only two cardinals mentioned papalInfallibility. In fact, we cannot deny, wrote CardinalAsquini, that there is Infallibility.67

Cardinal Ugoli was delighted about the attachmentof the people and of the episcopate to the Holy See; hesees in it the firm warranty of the unanimity of theFathers and draw from it the hope that for the good of

the Church, the Infallibility of the pope will eventually bethe object of a definition. That being done, it will bepossible to provide for all the coming difficulties withoutthe need to convoke a new council.68

The fact that only two out of twenty-one cardinalsmentioned papal Infallibility is revealing. The othernineteen cardinals neither were against Infallibility, nor

held it as false, but they found that the time and contextwere not opportune for a full and all encompassingdefinition. It also proves wrong the adversaries of theChurch who claimed that the Council was summoned forthe sole purpose of defining Infallibility.

C) The letter sent to some of the

bishops, and the subsequent answer of

Msgr. Manning:

67Granderath, T. 1, 52.68Ibid.


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Having received the opinion of the main cardinals,Pope Pius IX sent letters on April 10, 1865, to thirty-sixbishops throughout Christendom. The answers, wrote

Msgr. Manning, were all returned to Rome by the month

of August. Although the injunction contained in theletters regarded only the matters to be treated, yet thebishops, in their replies, could not refrain fromexpressing their joy that the Pope had decided to hold anEcumenical Council. The letters exhibit a wonderful

harmony of judgment.69

They exposed the errors (Pantheism, Rationalism,Naturalism, Socialism, Communism, indifference inmatters of religion, Regalism, the license of conscienceand of the press, civil marriage, spiritism, magnetism, thefalse theories on inspiration, on the authority of theScripture and on interpretation, etc.) that were

widespread in their countries and expressed the desirethat the errors therein condemned should be condemnedin the Council, to make the condemnation even moresolemn. They also proposed to address the primacy, andthe jurisdiction of the Roman Pontiff. However, out of

thirty-six bishops, notes Msgr. Manning, a few onlysuggested the Infallibility of the head of the Church,though his primacy could not be treated without it []. Itshows that the one subject for which, we are told, theCouncil was assembled, was hardly so much asmentioned.70

69Manning, True Story, 25.70Ibid. 27.


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Msgr. Manning replied to the Pope that he wishedthe Council to define solemnly the doctrine of thesupernatural government of the Church by the HolyGhost. He even gave the wording of the propositions todefine.71

It is interesting that Msgr. Manning was amongthose thirty-six bishops chosen among hundreds ofbishops to send their opinions on the convocation of theCouncil, as if he had been already mysteriously chosen to

accomplish a major work at the Council.

71Rapporto sulle riposte date da varii Vescoci alla lettera del 20

Aprile 1865 diretta ai medesimi dallemininentissimo Cardinale

Prefetto della S. Congregazione del Concilio intorno alla idea di un

futuro Concilio ecumenico, 21.


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PART TWO: PROCEEDINGSAND ACTORS OF THE COUNCIL

I. The rules of the Council and itsopening:

A) The proceedings of the Council:

On 2 Dec. 1869, the Pope held a preliminarysession in the Sistine Chapel, which was attended byabout five hundred bishops. At this assembly the officials

of the Council were announced and the conciliarprocedure was made known.

The Council received five presidents.72 TheConstitution Multiplices Inter announcing the conciliarprocedure contained ten paragraphs. According to thisthe sessions of the Council were to be of two kinds:private sessions for discussing the drafts and motions,

under the presidency of a cardinal president, and publicsessions, presided over by the pope himself for the

72Cardinals von Reisach, Antonion de Luca, Giuseppe Bizarri, Luigi

Bilio, and Annibale Capalti. Cardinal Filippo de Angelis became first

President on 3 January 1870, after the death of Reisach on December

29.


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promulgation of the decrees of the Council.The first drafts of decrees debated were to be the

dogmatic and disciplinary ones laid before the assemblyby the pope. Proposals offered by members of the Councilwere to be sent to a Congregation of Petitions; thesepetitions or postulates were to be examined by thecommittee and then recommended to the pope foradmission or not. If the draft of a decree was found by theGeneral Congregation to need amendments, it was sent

with the proposed amendments to the respective sub-committee or deputatio, either to the one for dogmas orfor discipline, or religious orders, or for Oriental Rites.Each of these four sub-committees or deputations was toconsist of twenty-four persons selected from themembers of the Council, and a cardinal presidentappointed by the Pope. The deputation examined the

proposed amendments, altered the draft as seemed best,and presented to the general congregation a printedreport on its work that was to be orally explained by amember of the deputation. This procedure was tocontinue until the draft met with the approval of theMajority.

The voting in the congregation was by placet,placet juxta modum (with the correspondingamendments), and non placet. Secrecy was to beobserved in regard to the proceedings of the Council. Inthe public sessions the voting could only be by placetornon placet.73

73Kirch, Vatican Council.


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B) The opening of the Council:

A beautiful passage written by Granderath gives an

idea about how majestic and solemn this Council was. Itillustrates the respect and the pomp that the hierarchy ofthe Holy Church granted to God and to sacred things.

The Opening of the Council on December 8, 1869:Cardinal Constantino Patrizi celebrated Mass at

10:00 a.m.., a full hour after the start of the procession.

Before the Last Gospel a sermon was preached byArchbishop Luigi Puecher Passavalli, OFM Cap, a curialofficial. After the Mass, each of the Fathers made hisobedience to the Pope; cardinals kissing his hand,bishops of all ranks his knee, and abbots and religioussuperiors his foot. A series of prayers and litaniesfollowed and Pope Pius gave a brief exhortation. The

session should have been closed to the public, but thepresence of a number of royal personages andambassadors and the tribunes made this awkward, and sothe hall was not cleared when Antonio Valenziani, Bishopof Fabriano and Matelica in the Papal States, read aformal decree declaring the Council to be opened. Thefathers gave unanimous approval to this by voice vote. A

second decree announced the next public session wouldbe held on January 6. The Te Deum was then sung, andthe meeting adjourned. It was approximately 4:00 p.m.The service had taken seven hours.74

74Granderath, T. 2, p 20-23.


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Rome, December 8, 1869

Solemn opening of the Ecumenical CouncilWe shall refrain from entering into more detailabout the preparation of the Council mainly because ithas been perfectly done by Eugne Cecconi75 and

75Cecconi, the Most Rev. Eugne.Histoire du Concile du Vatican. 8

volumes. (Paris: Librairie Victor Lecoffre, 1887). Detailed story of


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The debate on Infallibility, which had preceded theCouncil, obliged the bishops to deal with it at an earlystage in proceedings. As soon as they were gathered inRome, the Fathers allowed the divergence of theiropinion on the matter to become evident. For some,considering the great controversies that this doctrine hadbeen the object of, the matter of the definition hadbecome urgent.

The great Majority of the Fathers truly desired the

definition, but fear prevented many from speaking of thissensitive issue, Some were worried about the fatalconsequences predicted by the adversaries of thedefinition; others were afraid of the hostility of theirgovernment toward the Catholic religion. Others, on thecontrary, deluded themselves by promises or threats ordid not grasp the importance of the question.78

Within a short period two groups had emerged,those in favor of the definition of papal Infallibility andthose who believed that it was not an opportune time todefine it. Those in favor of the definition were referred toas the Majority or as the Party of the Infallibilists.

Those opposing its definition were in turn labeled as the

Minority. They comprised about one-fifth of the total

number of the Fathers.As we have seen above, many prelates and laymen

were very strongly opposed to the definition of papalInfallibility. France, Germany and England were amongthe fieriest countries. (See Appendix I for a more detailed

78Granderath, T. 2, 172-73.


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analysis by country of the members of the Minority andMajority).

Newman, who did not attend the Council, adopteda position very similar to Dupanloups; he was especially

very critical of the timing of the definition. He illustratesa certain mentality and position among the Church. Hebelieved in papal Infallibility, but did not think it wasexpedient to define it in those troubled times.

I certainly think this agitation of the Popes

Infallibility most unfortunate and ill-advised, he wrote toONeill Daunt, on June 27, 1870. I believe that even if theHoly Ghost protects the Fathers from all inexpedient acts,(which I do not see is anywhere promised) as well asguides them into all the truth, as He certainly does, thereare truths which are inexpedient.79

On the other hand, the Party of Infallibilists

believed that the definition was urgent for many reasons.See Appendix II for a detailed account of the reasons whythe definition was thought opportune and necessary.

The Infallibilists were thus quite active. Ratisbon,

Carcassonne, Malines, Paderborn and I, tells Msgr.Manning, began to hold meetings in order to observe andthwart the French and German bishops who had formedan international comity.80

79Newman to ONeill Daunt 27 June, in Dessain, C.S. and others

(editors) The Letters and Diaries of John Henry Newman, (New

York:Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1961), XXV, 15080 E.S. Purcell, Life of Cardinal Manning, II, 453. Abbreviation:

Purcell,Life.


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truth of this dogma. However, more than one, among theMajority of the members of the Minority, seems to havebecome hesitant in the course of the debates. Their effortsto discover some motives against the opportunity of thedefinition unconsciously brought them, without doubt, togrant to the objections against the doctrine anundeserved importance.82

"In the controversy on papal Infallibility, a fewCouncil Fathers may have, in defending their opinion,

exceeded the just limits, but in itself, neither theformation of parties at the Council, nor the efforts madeby each party to tip the scales in favor of their opinion,were something forbidden or even unusual. The Majorityhad of course the right to propose the definition of adogma, based on the Holy Writ and on the Tradition, andwhich besides, was being attacked and fought with the

utmost ferocity. On the other hand, the Minority couldbelieve that it was better not to discuss the question ofpapal Infallibility because the definition was notnecessary and because in the actual state of affairs, itcould be harmful."83

In order to understand better Cardinal Manning, aquick biography and a brief study of his ideas is

necessary.

82Granderath, T. 2, 334-335.83Ibid.


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III. Msgr. Manning:

A) Presentation of Msgr. Manning:

Cardinal Henry Edward ManningHenry Edward Manning was born at Copped Hall,

Totteridge, Herts, England on July 15, 1807 and died on14 January, 1892. He was ordained in 1832 to theAnglican ministry. In May 1833, he married CarolineSargent. She died in 1837. In 1841, after some years of


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simple parish work, a wider field was opened to him byhis appointment to the office of Archdeacon ofChichester. However, he studied the writings of the earlyFathers. In his case, the Truth that came home to himwith special force, and dominated and molded his wholelife and character, was the abiding presence of the HolyGhost in the Church of God. His faith in Anglicanism hadalready been somewhat shaken by other doctrinal orhistorical difficulties.

On Passion Sunday, 6 April 1851, he joined theCatholic Church. He was ordained a priest, only twomonths later, on June 14, 1851.

He then founded in 1857 the Congregation of theOblates of St. Charles. He was the superior of this newcommunity of secular priests. In the same year, Pius IXappointed him, provost of the Westminster Metropolitan

Chapter. During the eight years of his tenure of thesetwo offices, the provost and superior accomplished agreat amount of work for the diocese and for his owncommunity, and the eloquence which had made him oneof the foremost Anglican preachers of the time nowhelped to spread and strengthen the Catholic Faith inEngland.84

When Cardinal Wiseman, Archbishop ofWestminster died on February 1865, the Pope himselfdecided to appoint Msgr. Manning. The new Archbishop

was consecrated at St. Mary Moorfields, on June 8, 1865,

84 Kent, W. H. Henry Edward Manning. New Advent, Catholic

Encyclopedia. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09604b.htm
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09604b.htmhttp://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09604b.htm


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by Bishop Ullathorne of Birmingham. Later in the year hetraveled to Rome to receive the pallium.

In 1875 he was summoned to Rome to receive thecardinalate and the title of Sts. Andrew and Gregory.

He died on January 14, 1892. A striking proof of

the hold he had on the hearts of the poor and the workingpeople of London was given when thousands thronged toget a last glimpse of him as he lay in state in his house atWestminster, and to follow his funeral to Kensal Green

Cemetery. After some years in that field of the dead,which he had described so well in his words on Wiseman,he was once more brought back to Westminster and givenhis last earthly resting place in the crypt of thecathedral.85

85Ibid.


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B) His writings about the Holy

Ghost and papal Infallibility prior to

the Council:

In parallel to his vast social work, Msgr. Manningwrote numerous books or pastoral letters to defend theCatholic faith or to reply to incorrect statements. Heparticularly explained, in several writings, the mission of

the Holy Ghost in the Church. That detail is essential,because indeed, the role of the Holy Ghost is closelylinked to papal Infallibility as Manning exposes it.

He [The Holy Ghost] is present personally andsubstantially in the body of Christ, and both teaches andsanctifies, without intermission, with a perpetual divinevoice and perpetual sanctifying powerthe living Church

is every age in the sole divine channel of revelation ofGod, and infallible witness and teacher of the truthstherein revealed.86

And this Office of enunciating and proposing theFaith is accomplished through the human lips of thepastors of the Church. The pastoral authority of theEpiscopate, together with the priesthood and the otherorders, constitute an organized body, divinely ordained toguard the deposit of the Faith. The voice of that body, notas many individuals, but as body, is the voice of the Holy

86 Cardinal Henry Edward Manning, The Temporal Mission of the

Holy Ghost, (London, 1865), 59f. Abbreviation: Manning, Temporal

Mission.


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maximum of historical evidence for the revelation ofChristianity. But, historical evidence is only human, andhuman evidence is fallible after all. Then, and not before,I saw that the perpetual presence and office of the HolyGhost, etc., raises the witness of the Church from ahuman to a Divine certainty. And to Him I submitted inthe unity of the one Faith and Fold. Since then the HolyGhost has been the chief thought and devotion of mywhole soul.89

Msgr. Mannings theological views on papalInfallibility were simple and direct. In 1862, he told oneof his correspondents, The Voice of the Church is the

Voice of God, and I submit myself to it as I should havesubmitted to Jesus himself. To him, if the Church is

infallible, Its ruler must be also infallible. If the Head onearth could err, how could he be the Vicar of the Divine

Head, Who is the Truth? Msgr. Manning described papalInfallibility as the only true and perfect form of

Infallibility of the Church, and therefore of all divinefaith, unity, and obedience.90

As early as September 1865, Msgr. Manningreceived a letter from Cardinal Caterini asking him tosend some suggestions for the forthcoming Council.

Msgr. Manning replied to his request on November 15,1865:

[] It may be said that the heresies of our time

89Manning,Ecumenical Council, 795.90Manning to Bradley, 12 December 1862. AAW: see also Manning,

H.E.Religio Viatoris. (London, 1888).


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concern mainly the last paragraph of the creed, that is,the Holy Spirit and His temporal mission. All the heresiesof the Pseudo-Reformation can be included under thisheading: once the Infallibility of the Church thenecessary corollary of the Holy Spirits presence in the

Church has been rejected, then, all those divine thingsthat hung on it perish; once the tree is cut the fruits andthe leaves fall down. This is what has happened inEngland that the notion of the Church as a body

perpetually endowed and supported with supernaturalgifts by the action of the Holy Spirit has almostcompletely disappeared from the minds of the Englishpeople.

Thus taking into consideration the circumstancesof my country, it seems most opportune to me that thesupreme authority [of the Council] should make some

pronouncements about the temporal mission of the HolySpirit and about his perpetual and infallible assistance.[] the present times, the exposition of the faith and theripeness of the matter itself, seems to demand urgentlythe promulgation by the supreme authority of theInfallibility of the Church and of the Supreme Pontiffspeaking ex cathedr Petri91

The Definitions and Decrees of Pontiffs, speakingex cathedr, or as the Head of the Church and to the

91Letterfrom H.E. Manning to Cardinal Caterini, 15th November

1865. Mxlix, cols. 170D-171D, in Pereiro, James. Cardinal

Manning: An Intellectual Biography. (Oxford: Clarendon Press,

1998). Abbreviation: Pereiro.


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whole Church, whether by Bull, or apostolic letters, orEncyclical, or Brief, to many or to one person,undoubtedly emanate from a divine assistance, and areinfallible.92

The Dublin Review quoted Msgr. Manning: Idesire to be in the most perfect conformity to the Dogmaof Faith, to the Theology of the Schools in its approvedand pious opinions, to the traditions, instincts and spiritsof the Holy See. I desire to speak in its accents and to act

upon its precedents. I desire always to derive myguidance and counsel immediately from Rome [] Idesire to hold inviolate the doctrines and laws of theChurch without compromise.93

These profound beliefs partially explain why Msgr.Manning manifested such a zeal in the defense of papalInfallibility and why he tirelessly worked for its

definition.

C) The champion of Papal

Infallibility:

On December 10, 1969, the First GeneralCongregation for business was held and the names of

those Council Fathers appointed by the Pope to theCongregation of Postulates or Propositions were given.Their task, according to the regulations of the Council,

was to consider the bishops proposals on new topics to be

92Manning, Temporal Mission,81f.93Dublin Review, CLXVI (Jan 1920), fifth day, 13-14.


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introduced in the Council, and to report them, with theiropinion, to the Pope, on whom the final decisionrested.94 The Segretaria di Stato had notified Msgr.Manning of his appointment to the Congregation of thePostulates. Manning was also elected by the universalsuffrage of the Council, on December 20, to theCommission of Faith, the most important commission.

Bishop SenestryAmong the Fathers

of the Majority, twodistinguished themselves,amid all, by their tirelesszeal to provoke thedefinition: the Archbishopof Westminster, Msgr.Manning and Msgr.

Senestry, Bishop ofRatisbon. As the result ofthe great resistance

encountered by the project inside and outside theCouncil, a certain discouragement manifested itselfsometimes within the ranks of the Majority. As thesedispositions put into question the success of the work

already accomplished, these two prelates revived theircolleagues and did not allow themselves any rest until theday when their zeal of all started a new life.95

94Pereiro, 273.95Granderath, T. 2, 368.


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Msgrs. Manning and Senestry made a vow toconsecrate all their forces to the definition of Infallibility.On the eve of Saint Peters Day, states the English

Prelate, I and the Bishop of Ratisbon were assisting at

the throne of the Pope at the first Vespers of St. Peter; wethen made the vow drawn up by P. Liberatore, an ItalianJesuit, to do all in our power to obtain the definition ofpapal Infallibility. We undertook to recite everydaycertain prayers in Latin contained in a little book still in

my possession. The formula of the vow with my signatureis bound up in my copy of Petri Privilegium96In Manning, the partisans of the Infallibility had

found an outstanding champion. The art of persuasion

that he got from nature,' said his biographer, 'and that hehad developed by its practice, the diplomatic flexibility,the rapidity of conception were in his hands a wonderful

help to avert the obstacles, defeat the opposition and winthe others over to their party. At the Council and before,as he declared it several times, Mgr Manning had the firmconviction that God was on his side. His strong faith inthe Infallibility of the Pope like a revelation of the DivineWill made the prelate, inside and outside the Council, oneof the most determined fighters for the definition of the

dogma.'"97 The members of the Minority knew what apowerful adversary they found in him and gave him thetitle of devil of the Council, (diabolus concilii)98

96Manning,Ecumenical Council, 420.97Granderath, T. 2, 370.98Purcell,Life, II, 418.


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Granderath gives an insight of Manning as working day

and night with a willingness that nothing could shake andan ardor that nothing could slacken in order to bring ahappy issue.99

Msgr. Manning had always been an enthusiastic

supporter of Infallibility.100 He had preached on it, hehad worked for it; he had predicted, using a tone andterms of absolute certitude, the definition of thedogma.101 He believed it was necessary because of the

moral state of his times and because of the futureconditions in which society could be.Canon Moufang, theologian to the Bishop of

Mainz, relates to us a few passages of a conversationMsgr. Manning had in Rome during the Council aboutthe opportunity:

Msgr. Manning smiled at the opinion common to

most of the German and Austro-Hungarian prelates. Isthe definition opportune? What is most opportune, moreessential, and more necessary than to strengthen theauthority opposite the political and religious revolution,which day and night was working to destroy all politicaland religious authority? Tomorrow, we might have warsand revolutions that will shake the society to her basis.

The social structure being undermined, the order and thegovernment wished by God being attacked, what can wefind more opportune than to concentrate in the pope all

99Granderath, T. 2, 370.100Ibid., 369.101Purcell,Life, II, 414.


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the power of the Church? If the whole of Europe is in astate of war and revolution what would be the use of anEcumenical Council? The triumphant enemies of theChurch and of the civil society would not be foolishenough to allow the meeting of a Council. But they willnot be able to close the mouth of the pope, unless theybehead him. Then, like the first faithful, we would elect inthe catacombs another martyr to defend Christiansociety.102

102Purcell,Life, II, 416.


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IV. Pope Pius IX and the

definition of papal Infallibility:

Pope Pius IX shared without reservation theopinion of the prelates who wanted to see the Councildefine the doctrine of papal Infallibility. However, he didnothing to promote or interfere with this initiative and

allowed the assembly complete freedom to decidewhether or not to define the doctrine.

An anecdote highlights well the line of conductobserved by the Holy Father. Cardinal Schwartzenbergwas attempting, during an audience, to convince the Popethat the definition was inopportune and full of inherentdangers. Pope Pius IX interrupted his interlocutor and issaid to have replied: I, John Mary Masta, I believe in the

Infallibility of the Sovereign Pontiff. As Pope, I havenothing to ask to the Council. The Holy Ghost willenlighten the Fathers103

103 In Emil Friedberg, Sammlung der Aktenstcke zum ersten

vatikanischen Konzil, (Tbingen, 1872), 188.


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Pope Pius IXAs an individual, he believed in papal Infallibility

and shared the opinion of the Majority on the subject ofthe definition. Nevertheless, as Supreme Chief of theChurch, he did not bring pressure to bear on the Counciland left the assembly with the direction of the HolyGhost. It is among the bishops that the initiative to

submit to the Council the question of Infallibility wasfreely born. The Pope did not provide this step with anyopportunity.104

Pope Pius IX and Msgr. Manning had an excellentrelationship. I had access by private passage into the

104Granderath, T. 2, 372.


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Popes apartments, Manning would later recall, On one

occasion, I remember the surprise shown by Cardinalsand Ambassadors-they had not seen me go in- as I passedout into the Antechamber where they were awaiting anaudience of his Holiness.105

A moving account of the last moments of PopePius IX illustrates the affection the Pope had for theCardinal:

Manning arrived at the Vatican on the morning of

7 February 1878 to be told that Pius IX was struggling forbreath. I went in at once. On reaching the AntecameraIfound many of the Cardinals already there. It was at onceevident that the end was near. I went into his bedroomand found him somewhat raised in his bed, breathingwith difficulty. He was motionless, and his face calm andgrand. I bent down and kissed his hand. He said Addio,

carissimo.106107

105Purcell,Life, II, 547.106Ibid., 549.107 Robert Gray, Cardinal Manning, a Biography (New York, St.

Martins Press, 1985), 260. Abbreviation: Gray, Manning a

Biography.


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PART THREE: DEFINITION OFPAPAL INFALLIBILITY

I. The pressure exercised bygovernments on the Council Fathers:

Powerful figures throughout Europe feared theconvocation of a General Council of the Church since itmight condemn Communism, Liberalism, Rationalism,Religious Indifferentism, or other contemporarymovements. Others feared that the Council would

consolidate or increase the power of the pope.Lord Acton

The historian Lord Acton108, whowas Catholic, but very much a liberalCatholic, and who was in Rome duringthe Council, was so agitated when hediscovered what was on the agenda, that

he did all he could to persuade [EnglishPrime Minister] William Gladstone toact in concert with the French

government to cause the Council to be dissolved.The Chancellor of the Austrian Empire, Beust, who

108See picture on the left.


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was Protestant, was strongly in favor of the same action.Gladstone, for a time, was persuaded by Acton, and if theParis government had agreed with London and Vienna itis difficult to see how the Council could have beencontinued, since it depended on the protection of Frenchtroops at Rome. But Napoleon III was persuaded by hisPremier, Emile Ollivier, (who was also Protestant) that itwould be wiser to let the Council run its course and toreserve political action until later, and then only to

intervene in the eventuality that the Council passeddecrees inconsistent with a Frenchmans loyalty to theprinciples of his government. It was thus that Olliviersaved the life of the Vatican Council.109

It is enlightening to study the exchange of lettersor telegraphs between the different political leaders. Afew quotations reveal the ferment of the time: Lord Odo

Russell110informed Clarendon: It is confidently expectedby the French that the Opposition, led by Dupanloup, willtriumphantly carry the fallibility of the Pope!111

The majority of the statecraft directed their effortsagainst the Definition. Russell telegraphed to the Foreign

109 E. Hales, The First Vatican Council, (Houston: University of

Saint Thomas, 1962), 19-20.110 Lord Odo Russell, was a British diplomat and ambassador.

During the Council, he was the real, though unofficial representative

of England at the Vatican.111In Shane Leslie,Henry Edward Manning, His Life And Labours,

(London: Burns Oates & Washbourne Limited, 1921), 217.

Abbreviation: Leslie.


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Office (March 1, 1870): Lord Acton is anxious the French

Government should know that further loss of time will befatal to the Bishops of the Opposition.

Cardinal Manning retold the conversationparticularly revealing.

A leader of this conspiracy [against the Church]said the other day, the net is now drawn so close about

the Church of Rome that if it escape this time I willbelieve it to be divine. If God grant him life, I have hope

of his conversion.112

During the eight months of the Council, Romewas full of rumors as to the intentions of governments. Itwas believed that the French army would be withdrawn,and that the Italian Revolution would be let in. Letterscame from France threatening the withdrawal of theFrench troops. When these tidings reached Pius the

Ninth, he said to an English bisho

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Monsignor Manning and the First Vatican Council

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