"I shall never forget a certain Irish Dominican, the very type of a perfect religious, who aroused in me profound emotions by the account he gave me of the sad condition of his fellow-countrymen, crushed by English rule" (p. 191).
His scientific mission was finished at Munich, whither hereturned from his long journey still a Protestant. But the end was at hand, and we must allow him to describe it in his own words:
"After leaving Munich, I continued for some weeks to suffer great anguish of mind. At length the decisive hour came, and the sun of grace had completed the work of my enlightenment. I decided to become a Catholic on the 14th of October, 1858, the feast of St. Theresa, whose powerful intercession strengthened my weakness. I communicated my resolutions to the minister of worship and to the faculty of theology of Berlin, and I requested my bishop—the Bishop of Ermland—to receive me into the bosom of the Roman Catholic Church, in which, after long and painful struggles, I had at length recognized the depositary of the truth, and the legitimate spouse of the Son of God: thus would my heart be at peace. 'Glory and praise', said my letter, 'to our Lord Jesus Christ, who has enabled me to surmount all obstacles, who has graciously heard my prayers, who has had pity on me, who has broken my chains, who has scattered the darkness that hung over me, who has shown me the path to the fold. Since conscientious investigations have proved to me that the so-called Reformation of the sixteenth century has but disfigured the type of the true Church of Jesus Christ, and that its principles, far from being salutary, are essentially destructive and the necessary cause of the effects which history has registered during three centuries—that the Protestant confessions and their apologists, instead of attacking the Church's genuine teaching, do but distort it to insure an easy victory; since I am convinced that the Reformers had neither the duty nor the right to attempt a reform apart from and against the head of the Church and the episcopate; that the religious divisions of our age are caused by the refusal to submit to the Church and return to the centre whence we departed in the sixteenth century; since the historical development of the Church has been proved to me unbroken down to the present day; since I have learned to justify and love her doctrine, her morality, and her worship; from the day on which the grace of God has permitted me to be convinced of these truths, my return to the Catholic Church has become a matter of necessity, and it is only by a public confession of my faith that I can hope to regain tranquillity of conscience, that peace of the heart which the world cannot give, nor yet, in spite of all its fraud and anger, can ever take away'".
It is needless to add that the Bishop of Ermland acceded to this touching request. On St. Catherine's Day, during the jubilee of 1858, Dr. Laemmer made his profession of Catholic faith, and received the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist. Towards the end of the same year he was admitted to the diocesan seminary of Ermland, where he received confirmation, tonsure, and holy orders. Soon after his ordination he was sent to Rome. Several valuable works on subjects of ecclesiastical history havesince appeared from him, and much is still expected at his hands.17In the bosom of the Catholic Church, his doubts dispelled, his heart at peace, well indeed may he love to repeat with joy and gratitude—Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo!—(Ps. xxxii., 21).
We are happy to be the first to announce to the Irish public the discovery of the exact spot wherein the remains of our great Irish chieftain, Hugh O'Neill, repose, side by side with those of Archbishop Matthews.
This privilege we owe to the great kindness of Rev. Dr. Moran, the distinguished Vice-Rector of the Irish College of St. Agatha, Rome, who has permitted us to anticipate the publication of the second part of the first volume of hisHistory of the Catholic Archbishops of Dublin since the Reformation, in which the event is described. Of the volume itself we shall soon have occasion to speak at some length. For the present it is enough to say, that like each of Dr. Moran's other works, it has the great merit of being a work for the times. HisLife of Archbishop Plunkett, and hisHistory of the Irish Persecutions, were valuable, no doubt, for the light they cast on an important epoch, and for the proof they afforded of our forefathers' constancy in the faith. Far more valuable, however, than these are Dr. Moran'sEssays on the Origin, Doctrines, and Antiquities of the Irish Church, in which, with an extraordinary lucidity of reasoning and a singular amount of erudition, he answers all the arguments and refutes all the theories of modern Protestant writers and lecturers, who have undertaken the hopeless task of proving that the religion of the early church of our fathers was identical withthat which had its origin in the corruption and cruelty of Henry VIII. and his daughter Elizabeth, and which, as far as it has extended, was introduced into Ireland by fire and sword and the most cruel penal laws. Any one who reads Dr. Moran's essays will admit that not only Whiteside and Napier, who have ventured to lecture on the ancient doctrines of the Irish Church, with which they were altogether unacquainted, but also some learned antiquarians who have treated of the same subject, were quite astray in their views, and had no solid arguments on which to ground their opinions.
Our first extract is taken from the life of the venerable Archbishop, Dr. Matthews, who governed the see of Dublin in a most critical and disastrous period, from the 2nd May, 1611, to the 1st of September, 1623, when he died an exile in Rome. This extract is found at page 262, and gives an account of the persecutions to which Catholics were subjected in the reign of James I., who was supposed to be less hostile than his predecessor Elizabeth:
"The greater part of the treatise of Dr. Roothe, entitled Analecta, is taken up with details of the sufferings of our Church at this sad period. The chief facts, however, which he commemorates are: (1) that the fines levied in the county Cavan, in 1615, for the mere crime of not assisting at Protestant service, amounted to more than eight thousand pounds; (2) that when some of the poor Catholics of the county Meath, who were unwilling to pay this tax, fled from the cruel collectors of it into the caverns and mountain recesses, furious bloodhounds were often let loose in pursuit of them, followed by the sheriff and his posse of soldiers, equally furious and unrelenting; (3) that the Protestant authorities had constant recourse to ecclesiastical censures, in consequence of which, great numbers of Catholic merchants and artificers were thrown into prison, and reduced to extreme poverty and distress; (4) that those who happened to die whilst under the ban of these Protestant censures, were denied Christian burial, and thrown into graves dug in the highways, where, to increase the ignominy, stakes were driven through their bodies.18
"More interesting to the reader than all these narratives, will probably be the sketch of the sufferings of Ireland from the pen of the archbishop himself,—a sketch drawn up with special care by Dr.Matthews, in 1623, and presented by him to the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda.19He thus writes:—
"'Although from the very commencement of the schism we have been constantly in the battle-field, and, with the exception of the momentary repose enjoyed during the reign of Catholic Mary, have been unceasingly exposed to the attacks of our persecutors, yet so severe are their late assaults, that, in comparison, all their preceding efforts sink into insignificance. Of this persecution I myself have been a witness and a sharer, and I shall briefly commemorate a few of its chief heads.
"'Some years ago the heretics strained every nerve to introduce into Ireland those laws which the English parliament enacted against the Catholics of England, and to resuscitate the penal code which had been surreptitiously passed at the beginning of Elizabeth's reign. A parliament was summoned to attain these ends. The government again sought by every art and violence to secure the election of English or Scotch heretical soldiers. Lest our Catholics might prevail by their numbers, new English and Scotch colonies were planted, and endowed with the privilege of representation. Moreover, a number of titles were conferred on various heretics, whilst the remonstrances of the Catholics were unheeded. Nevertheless, no counsel can prevail against the Lord. All the heretical efforts were fruitless; and so strenuously did the Catholics defend their sacred cause, that their adversaries did not dare even to propose the penal statutes. The heretics had then recourse to royal prerogative, that thus, without any form of law or justice, they might riot against the Catholics; and so violent is the storm of persecution which they have thus excited, that it almost baffles description.
"'1. All Catholics are removed from the administration of affairs, and even the smallest offices are given to heretics and schismatics, who may with impunity persecute the Catholics according to their fancies.
"'2. No Catholic can hold property throughout the entire kingdom; everything is seized on by heretical colonists, and the ejected Catholic proprietors cannot even live as servants on those lands of which they are the masters by hereditary right. For the heretics have learned by experience that there is no people in the world so attached to the faith of their fathers as are the Irish, in defence of which they often had recourse to arms, and risked their fortunes and lives. Seeing, therefore, that penal laws could not suffice to destroy their devotion to the Catholic religion, they had recourse to new arts, and by a disastrous counsel commenced to fill the country with English and Scotch colonies; whilst at the present time, in consequence of the treaties entered into with the continental states, the Irish can hope for no assistance from other powers. Thus, then,the natives, though unaccused of any crime, are, without colour of justice, without any feeling of humanity, without any fear of Him who will punish the oppressors, expelled from the homes of their fathers and from their hereditary estates. Sometimes they are driven to other parts of the kingdom, where small portions of land are assigned to them for their maintenance; sometimes they are compelled to fly from the island, and seek support by entering the armies of the Continent. Heretics being thus introduced into the Catholic lands, a great part of the kingdom is polluted with their sacrilegious impieties; and unless God may avert the dire calamity, the ancient faith will be banished from the whole island. As this evil is propagated by brute force, and as our people have neither skill nor power to cope with our enemies, we must wholly rely for its remedy on the mercy of God.
"'3. Ministers and preachers were sought out everywhere in Scotland and England, and sent hither to pervert our Catholics.
"'4. All benefices and other ecclesiastical property were, from the beginning, seized on by the heretics. In each diocese there is a pseudo-bishop, and in each parish a pseudo-minister.
"'5. The Catholics are compelled to repair, for heretical worship, the churches and chapels which these iconoclasts themselves had destroyed.
"'6. The pseudo-clergy not only seize on all the revenues, but exact payment for the sacraments of baptism and marriage, even when they are administered by the Catholic priests; the sum thus exacted sometimes amounts to four guineas or more, according to the will of the Protestant ministers, who make no account of the poverty and misery of the people. In addition to these exactions, a salary was lately assigned to a certain heretic, to be levied on the births, marriages, and deaths of the Catholics.
"'7. Four times in the year questors are appointed to explore the Catholics throughout the whole kingdom, and impose fines on all who absent themselves from the heretical sermons and communion. As this fine is not defined by law, the judges and questors display great earnestness and avarice in exacting it, through hatred of our holy religion.
"'8. On each Sunday, each Catholic father of a family is obliged to pay a pecuniary fine for himself and for each Catholic member of his family. This fine is exacted without mercy even from the poorest labourers.
"'9. The pseudo-bishops have introduced a new system of excommunicating, forsooth, the Catholics; from which excommunication the Catholic cannot be freed, except by recognizing the spiritual authority of these bishops, and thus sacrificing their own faith. Those thus excommunicated are liable to arrest; and should they die, are interred in unconsecrated ground.
"'10. Those who assist at Mass, incur a penalty of one hundred marks.
"'11. All our gentry and nobility are obliged to send their heirs to be educated and perverted in England.
"'12. None of the nobility are now allowed to succeed to their paternal inheritance, without first taking the oath of royal supremacy: otherwise they and their posterity are deprived of their revenues, and thus the dreadful alternative is presented to them of perversion or poverty.
"'13. It is interdicted to the Catholics to teach school either in public or in private; on the other hand, heretical masters are hired in every diocese, and paid from the revenue of some benefices, to pervert our youth and imbue them with heresy. In fact, the heretics have obstructed every avenue by which our youth could receive instruction in this kingdom; and by their severe penalties and rigorous searches, they seek to render it impossible for any Catholic teacher to remain in the country. Moreover, having created a university in the city of Dublin, the seat of the viceroy and the capital of the whole kingdom, they employ every artifice to attract our children to its schools. Indeed, they could not possibly devise any scheme more iniquitous than that of thus corrupting our youth.
"'14. The Catholic cities are deprived of their ancient liberties, privileges, and rights, and are reduced to the rank of towns, unless they elect heretics as their mayors and aldermen, or, at least, select such persons as the heretics approve of, as lately happened to the city of Waterford, which holds the second place in the kingdom for its strength and opulence'".
The second extract is the last appendix to the volume. It gives us the epitaphs of Hugh O'Neill and Dr. Matthews, which are now published for the first time.
Epitaph of the Most Rev. Eugene Matthews, Archbishop of Dublin.
"This volume was already in type, when we were fortunate enough to meet with the original epitaph which marked the last resting place of the illustrious Archbishop Matthews.
"Near the summit of the Janiculum, in the city of Rome, stands the well known church of San Pietro-in-Montorio. It contains many treasures of art, and its paintings retail the names of Raffaelle, Michael Angelo, Pinturicchio, Vasari, and other great masters. More dear to the Christian pilgrim is the adjoining shrine, which guards the clay in which was set the cross of the Prince of the Apostles.
"It was in this church that the last princes of Tyrone and Tyrconnel were interred. In the second row of tombs with which the pavement of the church is lined, the Irish traveller will find without difficulty the epitaph of Hugh baron of Dungannon, who died in September, 1609, and of the two O'Donnells, who died in the autumn of 1608.20It is known that Hugh O'Neil, earl of Tyrone, was also interred here; but hitherto his tomb has been sought for in vain. The archives of the adjoining monastery, however, have at length come toour aid. The last great Irish chieftain expired in the Palazzo Salviati, on the 20th of July, 1616, and the register of San Pietro-in-Montorio marks the 24th of July, 1616, as the day on which his remains were, with princely pomp, laid within its vaults. This same register further tells us that his epitaph, now wholly obliterated, heldthe first place in the third rowof tombs which mark the pavement of the church, and that it consisted of the simple record:
D. O. M.HIC QUIESCUNT OSSAHUGONIS PRINCIPIS O'NEILL.
"It was alongside the tomb of Hugh O'Neil that Eugene Matthews, archbishop of Dublin, reposed in death. His epitaph, says the register of the church, holdsthe second place in the third row of tombs. The slab which corresponds with this indication now only retains some faint traces of letters here and there, it being impossible to decipher even one word of its original inscription. Here again the church register comes to our aid; it tells us that the following was the inscription on Dr. Matthews' tomb:
D. O. M.EUGENIO MATTHEI, ARCHIEPISCOPO DUBLINENSI,DOCTRINÆ CLARITATE NATALIUM SPLENDORE,FIDE IN DEUM PIETATE IN PATRIAM SINGULARIQUI POSTQUAM SOLLICITI PASTORIS,DIUTURNO AC DIFFICILI TEMPORE IN HIBERNIA,NUMEROS OMNES ADIMPLESSET,SUB GREGORIO XV., ROMAM VENIT,UBI AB OPTIMO PONTIFICE BENIGNE HABITUS,DUM PATRIÆ SUÆ NEGOTIA PROMOVERET,EXTREMUM DIEM CLAUSIT KAL. SEPT. 1623.
"Thus, as Dr. Matthews was closely allied by blood with the families of Tyrone and Tyrconnel; as he in youth shared with them the perils of the Catholic camp; as, when bishop of Clogher, he enjoyed with them the hospitality of the great pontiff, Paul V., in the Salviati Palace, Rome; so was he destined to be united with them in death, and to repose with them beneath the shadow of St. Peter's dome, amidst the sanctuaries and shrines of the Eternal City. We cannot better conclude than with the words of the Four Masters, when registering the death of Hugh O'Neil: 'Although he died far distant from Armagh, the burial place of his ancestors, it was a manifestation that God was pleased with his life; for the place in which God granted him to be buried was Rome, the capital of the Christians'".
In the last number of theRecordwe laid down some rules for the convenience and guidance of the clergy in determining what mass is to be said on the occasion of marriage. We did not, however, point out the cases in which the nuptial benediction cannot be given, and when the mass pro sponso et sponsa cannot be said. The Roman Ritual has the following words:—"Caveat etiam parochus ne quando conjuges in primis nuptiis benedictionem acceperint, eos in secundis benedicat, sive mulier sive etiam vir ad secundas transeat. Sed ubi ea viget consuetudo ut si mulier nemini unquam nupserit, etiamsi vir aliam uxorem habuerit, nuptiae benedicantur, ea servanda est. Sed viduae nuptias non benedicat, etiamsi ejus vir nunquam uxorem duxerit". It is clear from these words that the nuptial benediction is not to be given, nor is the mass pro sponso et sponsa, to be said, in case a widow is to be married.
This will appear still more evident from two decrees of the Sacred Congregation of Rites bearing on this subject:—
No. 4150.—Quaer. 4º "Si mulier esset vidua debetne omitti missa pro sponso et sponsa et omittendae sunt benedictiones infra eam descriptae post orationem Dominicam et Ite missa est?"
Ad. 4.—"Si mulier est vidua non solum debet omitti benedictio nuptiarum, sed etiam, missa propria pro sponso et sponsa. Die 3 Martii, 1761".
And again on the 31st of August, 1839, the following questions were answered:—
1. Quando nuptiae celebrantur tempore Adventus vel Quadragesimae debetne fieri commemoratio missae pro sponso et sponsa per Collectam Secretam, et Post communionem?
2. Licetne recitare supra sponsos preces seu orationes in missali positas post orationem Dominicam et Ite missa est?
3. Quando praedictae orationes non sunt recitatae in missa nuptiarum, debentne recitari extra missam elapso tempore prohibito?
Quae singula dubia sedulo de more perpendentes Eminentissimi et Reverendissimi patres sacris tuendis Ritibus praepositi in ordinario Coetu ad Quirinale subsignata die coadunati, auditaque fideli relatione ab infrascripto secretario facta respondendum censuerunt: serventur Rubricae Missalis ac generalia memorata Decreta quibus edicitur ut quoniam temporibus ab Ecclesia vetitis, locum haberi nequit solemnis benedictio nuptiarum, ita pariter inhibetur commemoratio pro sponso et sponsa in Missa occurrente neque orationes resumendae extra missam tempore prohibito jam elapso.
Atque ita rescripserunt, declararunt ac servandum omnino mandarunt. Die 31 Augusti, 1839.
We shall now proceed to answer other questions which were some time since sent to us by a much respected and zealous clergyman in connexion with the administration of marriage.
1. In what part of the church are the spouses to take their places? are they to stand or kneel during the ceremony?
2. Is the surname to be repeated in the ceremony?
3. Is the ring to be put from finger to finger or on the ring finger at once, as laid down in Roman Ritual?
4. How much of the Ritus Pontificalis of marriage ought a priest to adopt? for instance can he use a cope?
5. Is a lighted candle, and how many, to be used at the marriage ceremony, or in blessing holy water, etc.?
In answer to the first question, we beg to say that the Roman Ritual simply says: "Matrimonium in Ecclesia maxima celebrari decet". It was quite unnecessary to say more, inasmuch as the Ritual lays down that the spouses are to assist at mass and to approach Holy Communion. When these particulars are observed, the spouses should, of course, occupy a place near the altar, and even in case there should be no mass, it appears to us quite proper that they should contract marriage at the altar, while we cannot point out the precise place, as the Rubrics of the Ritual do not enter into further details. With regard to the kneeling, the Ritual says nothing: we think, however, that the practice of allowing them to stand while expressing their mutual consent, and kneeling down at the wordsEgo conjungo vos, etc., may safely be followed. This practice is indicated in some Rituals: "Ac primo sponsum interreget stantem ad dextram mulieris", and in the Roman Pontifical, "Muliere ad sinistram viri stante". The Roman Ritual does not mention these details.
It is not at all necessary to repeat the surname in the ceremony. Baruffaldi, in his "Commentaria ad Rituale Romanum", has the following words: "Post nomen non utique est necessarium addere cognomen gentilitium quia per verba illahic praesentemsatis indicatur quinam sit illa de quo agitur. Nihilominus ad abundantiam nonnulli solent addere quoque cognomen prosapiae et nomina parentum illorum qui contrahunt ad evitandum omnem errorem circa personam". Baruffaldi,de Matrimonio, tit. xlii. The Roman Ritual certainly appears to state that the ring is to be placed on the ring finger at once, and so does the Pontifical; however, it is to be remembered that other Rituals do not contradict this, but they would appear rather to explain the manner of observing what is prescribed in the Roman Ritual by moving it from finger to finger, and reciting the words at the same time as pointed out in the Ritual. Our respected correspondent, when proposing these questions for the very laudable purpose of securing uniformity of practicein so important a matter, must recollect the words of the Roman Ritual: "Caeterum si quae provinciae aliis, ultra praedictas, laudabilibus consuetudinibus et caeremoniis in celebrando matrimonii sacramento utantur, eas sancta Tridentina synodus optat retineri". On which words Baruffaldi, commenting, says: "Cum Ecclesia Catholica delere introductas et per longa saecula approbatas caeremonias, impossibile iudicaverit, illas quodammodo retineri laudavit, optavitque dummodo sint vere laudabiles et merae consuetudines, non autem ritus sacramentales sacramentum deformantes". Hence, we should not be surprised if in different countries and even in different districts a diversity of practice exist in regard to details, "quae substantiam sacramenti non laedunt nec pietatem offendunt". At the same time, however, it is but right that we should observe the rubrics of the Ritual, as, the more accurate we are in doing so, the greater will be the uniformity of practice, which is most desirable.
The principles which we have laid down will enable us to answer question 4. We should not consider the pastor deserving of censure for using a cope on a very solemn occasion, though undoubtedly there is no mention made of it in the Ritual, whereas it is prescribed in the Pontifical for a Bishop; and, as a direct answer, we should be disposed to state that a priest may adopt as much of the Ritus Pontificalis as is consistent with the due observance of the Ritual. The priest ought to be guided by the Ritual, while he leaves to the bishop the observance of the Ritus Pontificalis as laid down in the Roman Pontifical.
We now proceed to answer the fifth and last question. The Rubrics require lighted candles in the blessing of the ashes, palms, and candles; but in the blessings referred to in the proposed question, the use of candles is not prescribed, though we think it would be very becoming to have lighted candles at a marriage even when there is no mass.
Nothing, however, is better calculated to edify and to impress the faithful with a sense of the dignity and character of the great sacrament, as it is called by St. Paul, in Christ and in the Church, than the holy sacrifice of the Mass; and hence the Holy Catholic Church, anxious to invest it with all possible solemnity, exhorts the married couple to prepare for its reception by confession and communion, and has appointed a special mass for the purpose; and accordingly we find that here in Ireland, even in the times of persecution, the nuptial benediction and mass were prescribed by Dr. Matthews, Archbishop of Dublin, and his suffragans, in a provincial synod at Kilkenny, in the year 1614. "Si quando contigerit, parochum aliquos matrimonialiter conjungere, non habitâ tunc opportunitate impertiendi illis nuptialem benedictionem, quae infra missarum solemnia dari solet, moneatverbis gravibus contrahentes, ne ante hujusmodi a se ipso, et non alio sacerdote, acceptam benedictionem, in eadem domo cohabitent, et multo minús, matrimonium consummare praesumant. Similiter sponsos de futuro moneat, ut a nimia familiarite caveant, et ne se ullatenus carnaliter cognoscant, donec matrimonium de praesenti contraxerint, et benedictionem nuptialem (prout dictum est) obtinuerint"—(VideDr. Moran'sHistory of the Archbishops of Dublin, vol. i. p. 453, which contains all the statutes of that synod). With the same view we thought it well to publish some of the decrees having reference to the nuptial mass, by which it is easily seen how the dignity of this sacrament has been upheld by the Church, while the system introduced by governments in other countries would have the effect of degrading it to the level of a mere civil contract, and depriving it of the blessing and sanction of heaven. If we shall have succeeded in an humble way in showing the dignity of the marriage contract by the wise rules and discipline established by the Catholic Church, we will have performed a work agreeable, we are sure, to the readers of theRecord, and attained at least one of the objects aimed at by its conductors.
[The Editors are not responsible for the statements made by correspondents.]
To the Editors of the Record.
Reverend Gentlemen,
Since you have been kind enough to set aside a portion of theRecordfor the insertion of correspondence upon theological and liturgical subjects, I trust that you will allow me to offer a few remarks upon a letter which has appeared in the number21for the present month, regarding the method of applying for dispensationsin gradu inaequali consanguinitatis. Your correspondent justly considers that the question is of great importance, and hence it may be well to call attention to some inaccuracies which, if uncorrected, would neutralize the good effects of his "hint to fellow-labourers in the vineyard".
1. The question of which Gury treats at page 594, is the necessity of mentioning the graduspropior, and not the gradusremotior, as stated in your correspondent's letter.
2. According to the opinion now almost universally received, this necessity does not exist—so far as thevalidityof the dispensation is concerned—except when the gradus propior is the gradusprimus, which should be always mentioned, whether it concurs with the second, third, or fourth; and your correspondent is quite correct in stating that a misapprehension of the meaning of a constitution of Benedict XIV. has led St. Liguori to adopt an opinion completely at variance with this. But it is manifest that the Saint's mistake has not been "inserted in the very latest editions of the works on moral theology most in use at present—such as those of Gury and Scavini"; for, while St. Liguoriextendsthe necessity to all those cases in which the firstor seconddegree concurs with another more remote (Theol. Mor., lib., n. 1136), Gury falls into the opposite extreme by maintaining that in consanguinitate inaequali, even thefirstdegree need not be mentioned, except when it concurs with thesecond(Gury,Theol. Moralis, 13th ed., p. 594, n. 867,not876.)
3. Scavini certainly copied in the earliest editions of his work the opinion of St. Liguori; but the mistake has been long since corrected. In the Paris Edition of 1855, he says: "Declaravit Benedictus XIV., BreviEtsi, conjugium ... illicitum esse sed non invalidum modo propinquitas non sitprimigradus consanguinitatis vel affinitatis, scilicet mixti cum caeterisusque ad quartumgradum"—t. 4, p. 503. I have examined several editions which were published since the one from which I have quoted, and in all these the same view is laid down.
4. Your correspondent states that the opinion of Gury was adopted by Scavini. I think this statement is hardly correct. Most certainly it is not correct with reference to any of the editions of Scavini's works which are commonly used in Ireland.
5. In a late edition of Gury's work, which, I suppose, has not yet fallen under the notice of your correspondent, the error in n. 867 is corrected by the following note: "Invalidatur in genere, dispensatiosi reticetur primus gradus... pro foro interno, expressio propioris gradus non requiritur nisi sit primus".Editio tertia Germanican. 867, p. 465.
6. Cardinal Gousset undoubtedly followed the view of St. Liguori; but the reference to his work should be t. 2, n. 865,notn. 1136.
7. In conclusion, I may remark that the theory suggested by your correspondent as a possible explanation of St. Liguori's mistake, does not appear to be admissible. The constitutionEtsi Matr.had reference indeed to a case in which two impediments existed; and the Pope declared that the marriage was invalid, because no mention had been made of thedoubleimpediment in the petition for the dispensation. He explained, however, atsome length that the invalidity was caused by this defect alone, and that no difficulty would have arisen in case there had been but one impediment—relationship in the third and fourth degrees, although the dispensation had been granted for the fourth without any mention of the third.
Amongst other reasons for this decision, he speaks of the common consent of theologians, who agree that in the case of a relationship in thethirdandfourthdegrees, it is not necessary to mention thegradus propinquiorwhen seeking the dispensation.
There can be no doubt that it was this passage which induced St. Liguori to conclude that if the gradus propinquior were thefirstorsecond, it should be expressed in the petition.
He could hardly have committed such a mistake as to suppose thatdupleximpedimentum, meant an impediment of consanguinity in thesecond degree. It is evident that he did not fall into this error, for immediately afterwards, when discussing the question regarding aduplex impedimentum(n. 1138), he adopts the opinion of Benedict XIV. on this subject, quoting the same constitution,Etsi, in support of his view.
I remain, Reverend Gentlemen, respectfully yours,
Dublinensis.
May 7th, 1865.
I.
DECRETUM.
S. Congregationis de Propaganda Fide habitae die 12 Aprilis, 1802.
Quum nomine Archiepiscoporum, Episcoporum, et Vicariorum Apostolicorum M. Britanniae S. Congregationi de Propaganda Fide proposita fuerint tria quaesita, nempe:
I. An Episcopi, Archiepiscopi, et Vicarii Apostolici M. Britanniae, qui facultatem habent a S. Sede Apostolica dispensandi cum Catholicis in nonnullis impedimentis matrimonialibus, iis facultatibus valide et licite uti possint in matrimoniis mixtis, nempe dispensandi cum parte Catholica, quae parti acatholicae nubere velit.
II. An Episcopi Hiberniae, qui ex jurejurando in consecratione praestito debent SS. Apostolorum limina singulis decenniis visitare, et status propriae Dioecesis relationem presentare, initium decennii sumere debeant a die propriae consecrationis, an primum decenniumnumerare a data22constitutionis s. Memoriae Sixti V. quae incipit, "Romanus Pontifex" et sic deinceps.
III. An dispensatio a SS. liminum visitatione, a Summo Pontifice Pio VI., die 7 Maji 1798 Episcopis et Archiepiscopis Hiberniae impertita cum clausula "quamdiu praesentes rerum circumstantiae perduraverint", ad praesens cessaverit.
Eminentissimi Patres, referente R. D. P. Dominico Coppola, Archiepiscopo Myrensi secretario respondendum esse censuerunt.
Ad I. Negative; et supplicandum esse Sanctissimo pro sanatione in radice omnium matrimoniorum, quae cum hujusmodi dispensationibus ad haec usque tempora contracta sunt: Iisque dandam esse instructionem anni 1774 ad Episcopum Culmensem transmissam.
Ad II. Incipiendum esse primum decennium a die constitutionis summi Pontificis Sixti V. quae incipit "Romanus Pontifex". Si vero Episcopi circa ultimum decennii annum consecrati visitationem explere ac relationem status suae Dioecesis transmittere nequeant, ab Apostolica S. Sede prorogationem expostulent.
Ad III. Praedictam dispensationem cessasse. Datum Romae ex Ædibus dictae S. Congregationis die 20 Octobris 1802.
S. Cardinalis Borgia, Praefectus.Dominicus, Archiepiscopus Myrensis, Secretarius.
Loco✠Sigilli.(Copia vera, Richardus Armacanus).
II.
We publish those decrees to preserve them from the fate of many other important documents. Being connected with the history of one of the most illustrious prelates of the diocese of Dublin, they possess a peculiar value and interest. The benefices referred to had devolved to the Holy See, because Dr. Ryan, the previous incumbent, had been promoted to the episcopal rank.
DECRETUM
Sacrae Congregationis de Propaganda Fide.
Quum per promotionem R. D. Patritii Ryan ad officium Coadjutoris in Ecclesia Fernensi in Hibernia apud Sedem Apostolicam vacaverit Parochialis Ecclesia de Coolock, Dioecesis Dublinensis cum adnexis, quam dictus Patritius in titulum obtinebat, Sacra Congregatio ex potestate sibi facta a Sanctissimo Domino Nostro Pio Divina Providentia P.P. VII. Lutetiae Parisiorum, ParochialemEcclesiam praefatam cum ei adnexis benignè contulit Reverendo Domino Danieli Murray, Presbytero probitate doctrina, ac zelo a R. P. D. Archiepiscopo Dublinensi commendato.
Datum Romae ex Ædibus dictae Sacrae Congregationis die 26 Januarii 1805.
A. Card. DugnaniPro-Praef.
Dominicus ArchiepiscopusMyren.Secretarius.
DECRETUM
Sacrae Congregationis de Propaganda Fide.
Die 11 Martii 1805.
Quum per promotionem R. D. Patritii Ryan ad officium Coadjutoris Ecclesiae Fernensis in Hibernia vacaverit et adhuc vacet Canonicatus, sive Praebenda de Wicklow, quam dictus Patritius obtinebat in Majori Ecclesia Dublinensi, Sacra Congregatio, utendo facultatibus sibi tributis a Sanctissimo Domino Nostro Pio, Divinâ Providentia P.P. VII. durante ejus absentia ab Urbe, dictum Canonicatum, sive Praebendam de Wicklow cum omnibus juribus, et pertinentiis suis benignè contulit R. D. Danieli Murray Presbytere Saeculari viro doctrina, ac Religionis zelo, caeterisque virtutibus a R. P. D. Archiepiscopo Dublinensi specialiter commendato.
A. Card. DugnaniPro-Praef.
Dominicus ArchiepiscopusMyren. Secretarius.
III.
Dublino 19 Novembre 1801.
I Metropolitani e Vescovi d'Irlanda sotto descritti amministratori del Collegio di S. Patrizio adunati qui, letto il grazioso biglietto di Monsignore Secretario di Propaganda indirizzato al Padre M. Concanen sotto il di 723Agosto prossimo passato, lo pregano d' umiliare loro profondissimo divoto rispetto e venerazione alla Santita di Nostro Signore, a cui professano la piu viva riconoscenza per la paterna sua sollicitudine ed attenzione ai loro interessi e doveri.
Quanto al consaputo piano ideato dal Governo Brittanico in supposto vantaggio della Ecclesiastica Gerarchia in Irlanda, Monsignore Segretario è già informato dei loro Sentimenti dal dettagliato riscontro che ne diede L'Arcivescovo di Dublino all' Emo Signor Cardinale Borgia, Pro-Prefetto allora della S. Congregazione: Dichiarano ora che non adotteranno verun piano che non sia conforme alle massime inalterabili della nostra santa Religione ed ai diritti della S. Sede Apostolica, tenendo per nullo ed invalido qualunque piano Ecclesiastico che non sia dalla medesima autorizzato e confermato. Desiderano ardentemente che il plausibile sistema da loro finora osservato sia seguitato, ed asterranno scrupolosamente d' aver in mira qualunqueloro proprio temporale vantaggio trattando col Governo Brittannico, a cui professano la piu disinteressata ubbedienza e gratitudine.
Presentemente non si parla dell' ideato progetto, nè si parlerà prima della publicazione del nuovo Concordato tra la S. Sede ed il Governo Francese, a norma del quale in alcuni supposti articoli si regolerà come se dice, anche questo Governo.
Intanto bramano vivissimamente i Metropolitani e Vescovi d'Irlanda dalla paterna sollicitudine e saviezza del Santo Padre quei maggiori lumi che stimerà, opportuni per schiarire questo scabroso affare e regolare la loro condotta nel maneggiarlo nelle critiche circostanze in cui si ritrovano per l' infelicitá dei tempi presenti.
L' Arcivescovo di Dublino lo Scrivente nell' eseguire i voleri dei Metropolitani e Vescovi sotto descritti communicando questi loro sentimenti, si rassegna colla piu verace e distinta Stima, etc.
I Vescovo AccennatiSono.
Ricardo, Arc. Armacano.Tommas, Arc. Casseliense.Patrizio Giuseppe, Vescovo Midense.Edmondo, Vescovo Elfinense.F. Gio. Tom., Arcivo. Dubliniense.Odoardo, Archivescovo Tuamense.Giacomo, Vescovo Fernense.Giovanni, Vescovo Ardaghadense.A. Monsignore Segretario di Propaganda.
IV.
In order to preserve the following valuable documents, we insert them in our pages. The first is an address of all the Irish bishops to Pius VII. on his return from captivity in 1814; the second is the Pope's reply.
I.
Spes denique revixit Christianis, et reparata est incolumitas Ecclesiae Catholicae, Salvo TE, qui CHRISTUM non magis auctoritate quam patientia repraesentas, atque divinitus ex iis erepto miseriis, quibus et vestrae Sedis Majestas et tuarum virtutum afflicta indignissime tenebatur, Sancte et Gloriosissime Pontifex Domine PIE SEPTIME Vir Dei. Quod ut evenisse singulis nationibus gratum est, quaecunque ad evertendam dominationem taedio servitutis exarserant; ut bonis jucundum omnibus; Catholicis vero exoptatum atque ingentis desiderii ac voti fuit: ita nobis, Beatissime PATER, qui primi omnium, vastata Re Publica Christianorum, ita doluimus, ut vel Populi illius Romani tui fletibus non minor de TE responderet gemitus noster; quique praenuntiavimus haud diuturnam futuram istam tantam crudelitatem; qui demum solemni obtestatione interdiximus, ne quis, TE oppresso, praerogativam Sacrosanctae Potestatisinterciperet, non solum communis attulit fructum laetitiae, sed et victoriae jam nostrae laudem aliquam conjunctam atque cohaerentem admirabilibus triumphis TUIS. Itaque quorum fides tibi, B. P. in luctuosissimo rerum tempore invicta constitit, jam licebit caritatem et gaudia nostra ambitiosius in publica felicitate profiteri. DEXTERA tua DOMINE magnificata est in virtute: DEXTERA tua DOMINE percussit inimicum. Et in multitudine gloriae tuae deposuisti adversarios tuos: Flavit Spiritus Tuus et operuit eos mare.
Proximum est post tuam venerationem, B. P. ut amplissimum Senatus Tui Ordinem faustis acclamationibus prosequamur. Sed vero an ulla oratio nostra, aut ulla omnino laus par sit tam divinae constantiae declarandae? Qui cum a Tuo sinu avulsi in alios alii carceres et diversae exsilia includerentur, adeo non potentiae, non injuriis, non contumeliis submiserunt animum, ut praeclara jam apud omnes nominetur magnitudo animi illorum, fides, gravitas, pietas, innocentia. Immensa nempe laus, quam de ruina honorum suorum tanquam ex incendio ereptam, firmam sibi comparaverunt ad memoriam saeculorum omnium.
Nunc liceat apud TE, B. P. gratulari venerabilibus collegis nostris Episcopis Italicis, qui et confessionis titulo, et fidei erga TUAM SANCTITATEM splendidissimo crimine aerumnas, squalorem, minas cum vi et exsilio perpessi jam recreantur. Nec praetereundus Clerus ille vester Urbicus et Romanus fortis et sanctus, quos aut in insulam deportatos aut in Rhaetiam abstractos tyranni impotens furor persecutus est. Fruentur hi reduces tua BEATISSIME PATER, reducis eximia elementia. Fama certe illustri suo ipsi merito perfruentur. Scilicet multiplici experimento compertum est virtutem CHRISTI non posse obsolescere in Ecclesia Catholica: eundemque in TE tuisque vigere spiritum etiam nunc contemptorem mortis, qui et olim in sanctis Martyribus triumphaverit: ubi spiritus CHRISTI sit, ibi et libertatem esse consciam immortalitatis.
Attollat jam ipsa Urbs, Sanctorum hospita, religionis arx, depressum a gladiatorio servitio caput, seseque impune meminerit illam esse, quo ara foederis Christiani perpetua constituta sit: ubi Apostoli aeternum sedeant jura dicturi populis. Exsultent Martyrum cineres, et Apostolorum monumenta laetentur; vestraque, socii conditores non interiturae sub CHRISTO civitatis, PETRE ac PAULE, ad istam laetitiam ossa commoveantur, restituto PIO SEPTIMO vestris et suis sedibus.
Gratuletur etiam sibi felix BRITANNIA, quamvis a Fide nostra dissentiens, tropaeis onusta et rea voti tamen, quippe cui id firmum immotumque omni tempore insederit, ut obstaret grassanti impotentiae, debellaret tyrannos, pacem repraesentaret orbi terrarum. Enimvero haec princeps desperanti jam de vita saeculo et imperatrix signum extulit libertatis atque concordiae. Haec eadem Duces maximos aerarii infiniti prodiga et sanguinis suorum, exercitusque invictos, quaquaversum misit; etiam legiones fortissimas Catholicorum nostrorum: quorum in Aegypto, Italia, Lusitania, Hispania, Galliaque ipsa facta commemorabuntur. Huic igitur imperio tantam haberi oportet a Catholicis gratiam quanta ab hominibus ipsisdebeatur liberatoribus humani generis; eamque TE, B. P. gratiam pro omnibus unum optime et nobilissime relaturum confidimus.
Postremum sancta genua cupidissime osculati, tuamque pro nobis et pro gregibus nostris Apostolicam Benedictionem flagitantes optamus, ut IS, TE Petri successorem, qui mirabiliter eripuit de manu Herodis, DEUS at DOMINUS noster JESUS CHRISTUS, diu prosperet, ac firmet solium tuum in pace.
Ex Regio Catholicorum Collegio Manutiano,Ad diem v Kal. Jun. MDCCCXIV.
Subscriptiones Episcoporum.
II.
PIVS P.P. VII.
Venerabiles Fratres Salutem, et Apostolicam Benedictionem. Quantopere Litteris vestris V. Kal. Junias ad Nos datis delectati simus, satis explicare, Venerabiles Fratres, non possumus, eximiis adeo amoris erga Nos, et apostolicam sedem sensibus refertae sunt. Persuasos itaque Vos esse volumus officium, quo pro felici calamitatum nostrarum exitu nuper perfuncti estis, omni ex parte gratissimum Nobis accidisse. Sed et Venerabiles Fratres S. R. E. Cardinales, Italiae Episcopi, Clerusque Urbis universus ingentes perpetuo gratias vobis habituri sunt, quod ipsorum omnium fortitudinem, constantiam, fidem omni laudum genere prosecuti sitis. Etsi vero illius, quae Nos et totam Ecclesiam dirissime affligebat calamitatis cessatio dexteræ Excelsi adscribenda omnino sit: inter naturales tamen tam subitae, tamque admirandae rerum conversionis causas, principem facile locum BRITANNIA obtinet, quae thesauris, exercitibus, classibus suis, junctisque foederatorum Principum armis impia Tyranni Europam latissime vastantis consilia dispersit, viresque contrivit. Utinam DEUS OPTIMUS MAXIMUS ea nationi tam praeclare de orbe universo meritae beneficia retribuat, quibus veram, solidam, absolutamque numeris omnibus felicitatem consequatur. Quamvis autem Catholici vestrae curae commissi suis erga Potestatem, cui subjacent, officiis plane respondeant, nec bene, ut dicitur, currenti stimulos addere necesse sit: Vos tamen, Venerabiles Fratres, hortari eos, ut facitis, indesinenter pergetis, ne quid unquam committant, de quo merito reprehendi ab eadem Potestate possint. Cum omnes pastoralis officii partes tanto cum zelo, et animarum profectu impleatis, huic etiam Vos accurate satisfacturos non dubitamus. Paternae interim, praecipuaeque nostrae ergo vos charitatis pignus, Apostolicam Benedictionem Vobis, gregibusque vestris peramanter impertimur, Datum Romae apud S. Mariam Majorem sub Annulo Piscatoris die XXVII. Julii, MDCCCXIV. Pontificatus Nostri Anno Decimo Quinto.
Dominicus Testa.
Venerabilibus Fratribus Archiepiscopis et Episcopis Hiberniae.