The Sun.
London, England, 1825-05-06 00:00:00

FOR TILE SUN.

OBSERVATIONS upon the ANSWERS of Dili DOYLE

to the COMMITTEE of the HOUSE of LORDS.—By

Dr. J. VILLANEUVA.

MR. EDITOR—These observations I wish to
make as public as possible, in justice to the can-

did Romanists of the present day, who may be
'divided about the answers of their pre-eminent

Doctor, and naturally desire to understand his

drift, especially when they compare them either
with the general sentiments of their church, or
with the sentiments of the same Doctor, publish-

ed by him without his distinguished name.
It is highly necessary, both for the Protestant
and Papist, that the sentiments of one so osten-
sible on the subject should be thorougly sifted,

and the opportunity shonld not be lost by all
who are apxious for the truth. Of .witnessing
the opiniOs of another Learned Doctor, of a
country the most of all Roman Catholic, upon
the meaning and the tendency, and the consis-
tency of their sentiments, especially, too, as the
other prominent character, who stood as high in
political eminence as the Doctor did id eccle-
siastical among the Papists in Ireland, gives
them this-rather inflated panegyric, even allow-
ing for the Hibernian style. Of all the intel-
lects be ever encountered, that of Dr. Doyle
was the most mighty and stupendous 'he had
ever witnessed, while his manly, gentle, bland,
and amiable manners formtd a fine contrast to

the towering strength of his intellect, and 'inns,
trated the idea 'of the thunderbolts of Jove in
the hands of a child by their soft and' soothing!
influence. So high and illustrious a character,
is naturally an object of curiosity at a mo-
ment like this, especially when brought forward
to public notice by another Learned Doctor, and
that a Spaniard.
Dr. Doyle is first of all charged with -a defer-
ence in.his answers to the modern systeth of the
Roman Creed," which may tend to prevent or:re-
tard the concession-of the privileges towards which
the Catholics now aspire ;" the first of_ the an-
swers is," that the Catholic Clergy in these domi-
nions are obliged to obey the orders of the Pope,
provided they refer to spiritual matters ; and
these orders, &c. he has authority to issue without
the consent of the King." This answer, he justly
contends, is " contrary to the royal prerogative
and the internal, tranquillity of nations." Ile
proveS it to be false dejure, from the undoubted
civil right of every government to inquire into
any order which issues:from a foreign' Potentate
to any of its subjects within its own realms', for
the sake of its own peace and preservation ; and
also, de facto, as may he proved from instances
out of number, as from the example of Charles
IV. who, even in Spain, which has -long been
reckoned the very vassal to the 'Papal See, with-
stood the publication of the book asserting 'this
right for nine years, till at last it succeeded
through an intrigue of the Prince of Peace. It
is justly argued,,if this order of the Pope, with
or without the consent of the King, must be
obeyed by his Catholic followers. in this or any.
other country, he must also be obeyed •when •
issues his bull of excommunication, for -this is
purely spiritual, against the reigning Monarch,-
which yet in another of his answers this Same
Doctor directly denies. IT,'lfideed; this dot-
trine is part, ,of the - true • Catholic Faith,
it would be inadneSs in our 'Goveritinet4 to,
submit to any measure which would tend
to fasten ignominious fetters on its own power,
and leave the Alonareh at the ..mercy or. a
Foreign Potentate, who might, at the impulse of
his interest or caprice, seize the first opportunity
of setting his spiritual subjects against their
Prince, to whom they only regard :themselves
bound •as a temporal Prince, and to whom,'as- the
spirit is more highly to be valued thanthe hotly=
the next evil than the. present--slitemity-than
Time—they would consider it a religious daty
to forfeit their just allegiance when. coming into
the least competition with,that which they must
in conscience hold to be supreme.
Aware of this, even houis.l X., King of France,
that Saint in the Rohian Calendar, and so likely
in those days of spiritual tyranny, to submit with
all meekness to the power of the Pope, thus re-
monstrates against Paul 11. when he excommu-
nicated the King of Bavaria .
" It is a great stretch of prerogative," • said
that pious Monarch, " to arrogate to himself the
power of deposing Kings when they become the
partisans of heretics ; and, besides, to command
that these things be published in France, without
notifying them to the King, neither giving him
warning, nor asking his consent." The King of
France,in more modern times, talks the same lan-
guage of remonstrance in favour of his own
right against the Decrees, even of the Coun-
cil of Trent;purely spiritual as that was regarded,
which he calls the decrees of Pius IV. and not
of that Council, which he renounces solemnly,
and orders his Bishops to depart from• Trent,
where all things were done. as if at Rome ; and
ever since the'Kings of France have endeavoured
to repress, as they avow, the insolent usurpation
cos)tffatett
enh,eaatPnalFall instigation
and passed laws against them
of one of the order of the
always, by the unanimous con-
currence of all orders. If at any time the King
for.ormatviyariootuhsegrunatrotteivrse:tionpstraesnetrvreettlownir
appeared willing to relent, under the influence of
°°sne:
ssst:thriPelacetkitrcusietnaagrty, which had been so early published in
ridom av,raitist that usurping power, sacred
as the pa (Indium of their religious liberties.
Hence that country
ofo the
the other
degradingl.3opil
counWhwtoetaslsdarierraeguengsdroefrarenei
groaning,
to
cmi
nndm) much
tt
length established a concordat, or an agreement,
between the spiritual and.
temporal authority,
which, though it was thought by the free spirits
of the. state too great a condescension to any fo-
reign potentate, yet, by his friends and. advo,
cates, it was looked upon as a derogation from
the sense of the
law, and a forfeiture of its
holy rights and privileges-; and there is every
probability, if the concordat had not been esta-
hiihed anti the Pope, had insisted obstinately
tipin their privileges and rights, which by the