Star.
London, England, 1801-09-23 00:00:00

TOLIC CHAIR:

•
&hit and the Apoanneal benediatne!
So many and fo fignal are the fervices which,
both as a general body, and as individuals of the
Catholic Faith, you have performed. that on this
account you have ever merited from us and from
oar predeceffor Pius VI. now happily at reit, the
higheß commendatioht and the higheß ptaife of
your virtue.
But although what you have done for the Church,
and for the advantage of the Faithful, be very
great and highly glorious to you, yet the Rate of
the times forces us to notify to you, that you have
apt yet rulfilled that meritorious career of glory for
which the counfels of Divtus PROVIDFIICE have re-
ferred your courage in there times. Greater facri-
fees, 0 Venerable Fathers, Rill remain to be added
t d thole by which you have di ft inguilhed yourfelves,
and you have Rill to add higher claims to thofe
which you now have to the gratitude of the Church.
The prefervation of the Unity of the Church, the
re-citabliflament of the Catholic Rtligion in France,
demand a new example of virtue atW'ofgreatnefs of
foul in you, which may teach all Nations, that the
holy zeal with which you burn for the Church has
fir Its objet its advantage, and not your own.—
Your EcclenalticalSeats are voluntarily to be re.
Igned, and the fame mull be given up freely into
cur hands. It is requiring much of you, Venerable
Brethren; it is, however, equally neccffary, both
vat we fhould niuke this demand, and that you
tottld comply with it, in order to re-eflablifh or-
dain Prance in the affairs of the Church. We
id, indeed, how much it muff colt your hearts to
abaadort thofe flocks which are lb dear to you, to
tie fafety of which you have given fo much atten-
tor, and which, even in your abfence, have
been the objet of your moll tender folicitude.
—But the more bitter the facrifice, the more
agreeable will it be to GOD; the reward which you
sill have to eve& from it will be proportioned to
IrLr grief and to his benevolence. With the whole
yelp, of our foul, do we call upon your virtue;
vL call upon you by the bleifcd name of Js sus,
u :omplete this facrifice for the prefervation of
tnity.

A. knowledge of the diflinguillied piety, and
e the remarkable virtue which we have uver re-
marked in you in the moll trying circumilances of
the Church, makes us certain that you tx 11l imme-
icely forward to us your voluntary Let ters of b-
dkaion. We cannot entertain a doubt that any of
tl.e wife and virtuous Mot s of the French Church,
can for a moment hefitate to comply with our pa.
terra] advice, and to follow the illußrious example
e GiECORY NAZIANZPNE, when he refigned
the Bifhopric of Conßantinople. And certainly, in
the lituation in which we Rand, what reafon can
ave to fufpea that any of you would refill out
ounfels and our intreaties, if he recolleas what
the Church in general has refolved, and what Sr.
t.Cusrmae has laid—Castro Crricatirm, Lib. 2,
1,1•••-•" We are not Bifhops for our own fakes, but
r the fakes of thofe to whom we adminifler the
crament of the LORD; and, for there, as Inca it Y
11 require, we ire either to be or not to be, as

r Is not for ourfelves, but for them that we govern.
For you know, Venerable Brethren, that many
rf the moll diflinguithed prelates of he Church,
1114 they might conform to this principle of the
Church and preferve unity, have voluntarily abdi-
cated their feats ; and almoll goo Catholic Bilhops
k little before the celebrated collation of Carthage,
oPenly profelled themfelves to be ready, and
IhPught themfelves bound to abdicate their hilltop-
ricks, if it fhould be conceived that their abdication

ton Id cc-Mt° remove she fchifm of the Donatifts(a).
(may of you indeed, Ver-emble Brethren, bad be-
fnre your eyes thefe exam' and adopted (imam
ftntimr-- the let of

Jents_,_ when in conthoence of the letter
.e 3d of May 1791, of the to Pius VI. of harpy
'emnry, our predeceffor, you profeffed yourfe yes
Idling and ready to reign your charges. if the
t,od of religion lhould require it, for which that
2164 wife Pontiff bellowed oo them the greaten
CWife (h). Nor were therewasuingforne of you late-
F who fignified to us in your letters, that you would
thcerfully do the fame, if it fhould teem neceffiry
For die prcfervation of religion in France. Now
irce we have arrived at thole times, in which the
voluntary abdication of your charges is abfolutely

Asguilla lb.& Gel, es ("MIIIL Ada collat. Car-
-01 r. ,12. Cenci*. lAA.
4,i? In Win facultatues eimaisrms at 10 Sapaisabrle t3a.
.atarystrapis Lagdmacaty Parr /Orgami bc.

notary for the goon of the Catholic Reli ion,
we cannot doubt that you wiil yield this obedience
to COD by making this new facrifice, to'offer which
to him you know yourfelvcs bound, and have al-
ready to laudably profeffed you rferiel ready, lhould
the. good of the Church require.
Confidently trolling, therefore,in confequence of
the opinion which we have always entertained of
your religion and virtue, that on perufing our let-
ter, both to increafe your merits to the Church,
and to prefervc the unity cf it in France, you will,
without delay, implicitly comply with our exhor-
tation ; we fira congratulate you on account of
that immortal glory which you will obtain from
this fplendid teaimony of virlkie, religion, and obe-
dience, which you are now about to give to the
whole Church. This glory, indeed, will be fo
great as to he far fuperior to the praifes you have
already obtained, by undergoing fo many dangers
and enduring fo many calamities with lb much
Conflancy, for preferring religion in the churches
entrufted to your fidelity—For, according to what
the fame St. Augullinc writes, in hi; letter to
Caficrius, " It is far more glorious to have laid
down the burthen of Epitcopacy, in order to ward
off the dangers of the Church, than to have un-
dertaken it -for the fake of ruling(c)."—We alto
congratulate you on thofe ample rewards to
which this facrifice will entitle you from GOD,
the rewarder of the good. For as the fame Sr.
GREGORY NA MANZ IN Writes " ThOft Who abdi•
cam thrones will not late Gov, but will acquire
a heavenly throne, much higher and fafer(d)." In
the lag place we congratulate you, confidering
thofe advantages the whole prieflhood will derive
from thefe memorable examples of minds labour-
ing, not for themfelves, but for the things which
belong to Goo and the Church : thefe inflances of
obedience, humility, faith, and of all epifcopal
holinefs; with which you are about to crown the
end of your epifcopacy—this virtue of yours, in-
deed, will Phut the mouths of thofe detraFlors of
the priefihood, who calumniate the minifiers of the
fanftuary by afferting, that they find nothing in
them but pride, haughtinefs, and avarice. This
new glory by which you will render yourfelves
lultrious, will extort an involuntary admiration of
your virtue from men who will be obliged to
confefs, in regard to the Church, what the fame
Sr. AUGUSTINE affirms in the above-mentioned
letter to CASTORIUS '4 That there are tome men
in its bofom who tech not thofe things which are
their own, but the things of JESUS CHRIST."
We are compelled by the exigency of the times,
which even exercifcs its violence on us, to fignify
that it is abfolutely neceffary for you to give a
written anfwer within ten days, and that your an-
Aver be tranfmitted to the perfon by whom the
prefent letter will be delivered to you, which you
ought to teflify by an authentic document, that
you have received : we mull alto lignify to you for
the fame urgent caufes, that the anfwer given
muff be definitive, not dilatory; fo that unlefs a de-
finitive anfwer be given within ten days, (and that
you will do fo, we entreat you again and again,)
if a dilatory anfwer is returned, we (hall be obliged
to confider you as having refuted to comply with
our reqneft.
But, that this you will not do, we have realms to
hope, from your ardent defire both to preferve re-
ligion, and to promote the peace of the whole
Church • and from your obedience to us, which is
the peculiar duty of children,and from that anxiety
which you have always (hewn of affifling by your
virtue,nur infirmity, under that great load of cares
with which we are oppreffed. Nay, we are cer-
tain that, with cheerful and ready minds, you will
obey our commands, with which we are obliged
to try your virtue, in order to eaablifh the good
of the Church; efpccially, fine you poffefs too
much penetration not to know, that if you refute
to comply with our requeft, that no obflacles may
be oppofed by us to preferving the unity of the
Catholic Religion, and reaming the tranquility of
the Church ; (we declare with grief, but we mull
declare, while fo much danger hangs over the Gal-
lican hurch from us) we muff neceffarily have
recourfe to that condo& which will remove all im-
pediments, and by which alone the good of reli-
gion can be promoted.
By the favour and good-will shich we have al-
ways (hewn towards you, venerable Brethren, by
the opinion we have always had of your virtue,
dignity, and merits, we flatter ourfelves that you
arc fo perfuaded that we do not think it necelfary to
expend many words in alluring you, that nothing
has been omitted on our part which could tend to
prevent you from being expoted to this hitternefs.
But it is with great grief we mull confab that all
our anxiety, and all our labour to refill the necef-
fity of the times, has been fruitlets. We are com-
pelled to yield, that the Catholic Religion may be
benefited by this facrifice. After maturely weigh-
ing theft circumflances, we Arnold teem to queflion
the fincerity of your religious profellion,if we thould
conclude that you will prefer your own advantage
to the prefervation and good order of the Church,
forgetting what Sr. Auousrms fad, in name of
the African Bilhops to the Tribune Marcellinus,
when he declared that thole hilltops were ready to
abdicate their chairs : "Why fhould we hefitate
to make that facrifice of humility to oar Ramis:e-
st ? Did he defcend from Heaven in the human
form that we &mid be members of his body, and
(hall we fear to defcend from our chairs to prevent
his limbs from being torn by cruel divifion Per-
tonally we are only faithful and obedientChriffians.
This we always are, but we were ordained Bilhops
for the Chagrin people. As Bilhops, therefore. let
us do what may benefit Chriaian people, by pro-
moting Chriflian peace. If we are ufelul tenants,
why Mould we prefer our temporal grandeur to
eternal gain in the Loan? The Epircopal dignity
will be more fruitful to us. if by laying it down
we collea the flock of CHRIST, than if we Omsld
difperti it by retaining it . for with what face in
future can we hope far the honour prousifed by
CaelsT, if Chriftiaa unity is inspected by oar world-
ly honour (e) !"
As we cannot therefore doubt. when we mile&
on your tried virtue and religion. that you will
(9) Agra. 4 fw. axe Msesis.
(!) Oral p. es.. I. ow eat. lady.
p W Bra ft. mob as. cp. /Ili Admin.

eohfult the advantage niche Church, ind good
ut the Faithful, while we implore the ALMIGHrs
GOD to ttrengthen your virtue, that with more
readlneft, as becomes willing givers, you muy offer
to Him this gift; and while we promife, as far as
in us lies, to take care that you fhall be hereafter
provided for, we confer on you our Apoftolic
frog, as a pledge of nut paternal love
Given at some, at St. Maty the Greater, under
the Fifherman's Seal, Auguft isth, tBor, in the
fecund year of our pontificate. (Signed)

PIUS PP. 1711.
MICHAEL, Patriarch of Jerufalem.
A true copy.

NAUTICAL INTELLIGENCE.

MAILS THIS DAY.—Wind E.

•autsn
z Hamburgb, Sept. Is
I Dublin,
o Waterford, ocpt. z 7,

PORTSMOUTH, SEPTEMBER IL

Arrived the LATON A, of 38 guns, Capt. Sol-HE-
RON, from North Yarmouth ; and SERPENT, of
16 guns, Capt. ROBERTS, from Cork.

SHEERNESS, SEPTEMBER is.

Paired by yeflerday the Leeward Maud fleet, un-
der convoy of the DIAN♦ frigate, with a fine breeze
for the Rivet. Arrived the PROVIDENCE tranfport
from Plymouth, with naval (pores for the Dock
Yard. The MAGICIFNNE frigate has come into,
harbour, to be repaired. This being the Corona-
tion of his prefent MaJFETY, the Royal Standard
were hoilled in the Dock Yard, and on board the
Admiral's fhip : at 12 o'clock, 21 pieces of can-
non were fired from the batteries, and repeated at
one o'clock, by the (hips of war lying at the Nored
Wind at North, blows hard.

FROM LLOYD'S LIST.

DEAL, Sset. oz.—Arrived the Evatrucl fri-
gate, with a large fleet under convoy, from (be-
bee. Wind N. N. W. blows hard.

GRAVESEND, SE►T. 12.--Paffed by, the Louifa
Henrietta, —; Crown, STOREY; Uriana,
Mum' ; Milnes, ALLEN ; Lord Dalevall, —;
and Reliance, SANDLAND, front Surinam ; Royal
Charlotte, —; Ceres, NELSON ; and Bell, PARE,
from Santa Cruz; Ceres, WELL; Ifabella ; DUN-
EAR; Fanny, DUNCAN ; Albion, LINRLATER ;
Queen Charlotte, CLARK ; and Primrofe, BAT-
TERY, from Martinique ; A area, HARRINGTON,
from Montferratt ; Duckingfield Hall, LOR ANC,
from Antigua ; Mariner, STEWARD, from St.
Kitt's ; Hopewell, Wit. crams, from Tobago;
John, ; and Hope, BAYLEY, from Grenada;
Rofalia, SINCLAIR, from Dominica; Rebecca,
CROWDER, from Jamaica t-Enterprire, ; and
Zolewood, —, from Riga.—Sailed the Fame,
—; Concord, WELSH ; and Elizabeth An-
derfon, Vs'ILNINs, for Africa.