Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1874-12-23


a NEW book has just been publish>
ed, giving an inside view of the Ita-
ian Council of 1870, which proclaimed
the doctrine of Papal Infallibility.
When the debates in the council on
that question were suddenly silenced
in June, 1870, there remained on the
list of Bishops who desired TO speak,
about forty who had been unheard.
They were forbidden by the rules of
the Church to print their Views, but
Bishop kenrick of -. Louis, since
deceased, who opposed the decree,
was not :" hn fhus uaOped claiming o
divine right to he heard. He seut his
manuscript to Naples, where it vas
printed, aud now appears in the
book above alluded to. The following
is AL extract, a. we find it In the
New York Republic.
Il proceed to show that the opinion Of
the infallibilty of the Pope in the sense of
the schema, whether true or false, is not a
doctrine Of faith, and can not be pro-
pounded as such to the faithful. even by
the definition Of council Definitions of
ialth are not indictments to devotion, much
less are they the triumphial exalation of
the opinions Of schools of theology. ac-
cording as one or another of these gets the
upper hand. They are authoritative ex-
positions Of the doctrines of faith. gener-
ally designed to guard against the subter-
fuges of lnnovators, and they never i'm
pose believers a Lew faith. This being
settled, l say that the infallibility of the
Pope is not a doctrine of faith. First. 1t
Is not contained in the symbols of the
ialth 1t u not presented as an article of
faith in the catechisms; and it is not found
as such in any document of public wor-
ship. Therefore the Church has not hith-
erto taught it as thing to be believed of
faith; as. if il were n doctrine of faith it
ought to be delivered and taught. Second
Not only has the Church not taught it in
any public instr lment, but it has suffered
1t 10 be impugI cd, not everywhere, but,
with the possible exception of Italy, al
most everywhere in the world, and that
Tor long time This is proven by wit
ness above all mpeachment--ths appro-
baton of Innocent NJ, twice conferred
upon Bossuet's Exposition of the Faith
work IN which not only no mention of
this doctrine occurs. but in which the no.
ton is plainly referred to in the remarks
upon matters in dispute among theologians.
on which opinion is free.
Again he says:
" The Papa power has always been cx-
cessiyCly Odiuus 10 the British Govern
ment Now if it were a doctrine of faith
that tho Pope j. inlaliible, it could be
shown that Protestauts had understood the
Papal power better than English and Irish
Catholics themselves. For they knew that
the Popcs Of Rome had claimed supreme
power in temporal things, and had at
tempted 10 dethrone more than one Eng
ltsh monarch 10y dispensing his subject,
from their osihs Of allegiance. Over and
over again the Catholics had denied. under
their solemn oath. that this power belonged
e. the Pope of Rome within the realm of
England. If they had not done this thew
never would have been, and never ought
70 have been, admitted 70 tho privilege of
civil liberty. How it is possible for the
faith thu pledged the British Government
% be rccOnciled with the definition of Pa.
pal inialibility, when it is certain that the
Popes have often, with great solemnity, !
declared that the right belonged 10 them. !
and never renOuuccd it, those Of the Irish |
Bishops may look TO- who, like myself |
have taken the oath in question II +, a |
knot which i can not unite"