The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-01-30

1
letter in answer to the Rev. Charles w.
Wendte:
January %, 1896.
To the Editor of The C1Il-DEAR SIR: In his
last letter DR.. Wendte attempted 10 prove that
the Jesuit theologians taught that regicide was
lawful. BY regicide DR.. Wendte meant the
killing of an heretical king at sight OF course
the learned exponent of Protestant scholar
ship" was content with secondhand informa-
ZION, and the only answer necessary was TO
describe the true teaching OF the Jesuits, es-
peciallY as found in Suarez.
CONCERNING REFERENCES.
In order to back up his theory that excom-
municaied persons were considered as outlaws
and that the killing of them was no murder,
DR.. Wendte produced that battle-scarred vet
eran OF anti-Catholic controversy, the "Papal
Bull of Urban IL" He says:
Those writer's appealed among others to the
papal bull OF Urban II, which declares that the
murderers % communicated persons are to
be subjected only to penance corresponding
10 the motives which they had when they
committed the deed. Such are, indeed, not
10 be considered as murderers If they happen
in holy zeal for the church TO kill an eXcom-
munica ted person. (See Decret. p. 2, causa
%, q. q, cap. 47.W
MORE SCHOLARSHIP.
OF course, I need not inform those who have
followed the methods of Oakland ''scholar-
ship that there is no papal bull OF Urban II of
such tenor. DR.. Wendte has again been mis-
led by his authorities or he has constructed
this bull on the lines of his pterodactyl. The
document TO which he refers consists of Just
three sentences from a letter addressed TO
bishop of Lucca. The letter itself is not extant
and the occasion on which it written is
matter OF conjecture among scholars. So
therefore, far from being papal bull, DR..
Nendte's excerpt is only the quotation Of
quotation.
Moreover. Dr. Wendte evidently does not
know what is meant by the reference he SO
ostentatously parades ct the end of his para
graph, "Decret. p. 2, cansa %, q. ., cap. At -
What "Decret" stands for the word itself does
not tell. Itmight mean decree or a decretal
/ q Nun fpl- Il
reader to find out whether DR.. Wendte intend
ed the Sext or the Clementines or the Extrava-
John Mi. DR.. Wendte might as well enter
lawyers library with the reference tsee law
book part ., chap. g, sec. "a
However, DR.. Wendte's vagueness worked no
hardship, for the excerpt is we'll known to
those who are compelled to deal with contro-
versy. 1t Is taken from what is known as the
decree OF Gratian." Strangely enough "Gra-
tian's Decree is not decree at ali, but text
book OF law, and it possesses no more authority
than any other textbook of law. DR.. Wendte
evidently lmaglnes that 1t is cross between a
Papal bull ana an act of Parliament. As q
matter OF fact it was nothing more than the
Blackstone's Commentaries OF the middle
ages
URBAN II AND THE E1cOMMUNICATE.
If DR.. Wendte had taken the trouble to ex-
anime Gratian's Decree before accusing Cath
olics OF pothunting for heretics he might
have been spared this exposure. 1t must be
painful 10 the learned gentleman across the
bay TO have his references continually inyali-
dated. l am sure the process must be very
monotonous for your readers Still the claims
which have been made 10 accuracy and to
scholarship have been so large and so loud
that am compelled to show that DR.. Wendte
is dealing with documents about which he
knows as much as astronomy knows of the
other side OF the moon.
Let US now look at Gratian's Decree and try
10 discover DR.. Wendte's quotation. AS usual
the reference IS wrong; but when figures nave
been handed down from author to author this
is not surprising The second part of the text
" ind 70 lon ~, FGaor
aglnary cases. The twenty-third makes the
following superstition: Certain bishops with
their hocks fall into heresy and begin to COM
pei the surrounding Catholics by threats and
torture 10 follow them. On this the Emperor
confers civil authority on the neighboring
bishops and the Holy See commands them to
protect the faithful from the heretics The
bishops accordingly collect an armed force
and begin 10 contend against the heretics and
with success. Some are slain, others stripped
of their private or ecclesiastical goods, some
are thrown into prison and at last the schism
is exunguished."
Having stated this supposed case Gratian
uses it as a peg on which to hang number OF
moral questions: First-Is it sinful to wage
war? Second-What wars were just and how
were just wars carried on by the children of
Israel? and SO on. The solutions to these
questions are given by passages selected from
variety of sources: the writings of the
fathers, general or local councils, rescrlpts of
Popes, imperial statutes of Christian and even
of pagan times. The passages on each cues
ton are divided into little chapters or Cant
tula, each with title setting forth the point
specially illustrated by it. The fifth question
is this: whether it is q sin for the judge or
his officer TO put to death those condemned OF
capital crime?'
In the course of the answer to this question
occurs the passage of Urban II along with such
death ex-oficio'' For instance, it is not muir
der for a Sheriff TO execute q condemned
murderer. "a soldier who kills a man in
obedience to authority is not guilty of
murder" "Hei is not shedder of blood who
Furnishes murderers. and the sacrilegious y
"He does not sin who kills malefactor ex-
officio."
All these answers deal with persons who kill
because the law lays that duty upon them
The killing may take place after judicial con-
Quentin. 1t may take place by command of
authority when soldiers shoot down rioters
1t may take place in the administration of the
law as in the case of Evans and Sonntag
Now in the midst of these replies occurs the
fragment of Urban II. It runs as follows:
"Enloin upon the slayers of excommuni-
Gated persons measure of suitable satisfac-
ton, according TO their intention, as you have
learned IN the practice of the Roman church.
FOR we 90 not look upon those murderers
VINO. burning with zeal for their Catholic
mother against the eXcommunicate, may hap
pen 10 have slain some OF them. But in order
that the discipline OF the said mother church
may not be departed from impose upon them.
In the manner we have said, Il suitable pen.
ance by means OF which they may appease the
eyes OF the divine simplicity ii. e. holiness) in
case they may have incurred any guilt (du-
plicitas, contrasted with the sirnpiicitas of
Cod through the human frailty in the said
deed OF violence (hagitium),"
Now from this we see that Gratiani is dealing.
a. With acts done under public authority
~ That the 'excommunicate'' here mon
toned are not all exeomInu nicate bur certain
bands OF accommodated persons who for
some reason or other were condemned to
death.
~ That the persons who slew them wore
not private persons, but persons oeputed to do
so by the public authority
a. That these persons were not considered
murderers not because their yietims were
excommunicate, but for the same reason that
police officer would not be considered a muir
derer II he shot an assassin resisting arrest
WHO WERE THOSE ExcoNMUNIcATE?
Now what is the historic meaning of this ex.
tract? Who were these bands of excommuni-
Gated persons who were outlawed? AS have
said the whole letter is not in existence and
scholars are reduced to conjecture. However
the opinion is almost unanimous that Urban
II is dealing with violators of what was known
as the Treuga Del or Truce o. God.
THE TRUCE OF GOD.
After the invasions OF the barbarians the
TeutonIc system of private warfare took the
place of the old "Roman peace" During the
ninth, tenth and eleventh centuries Europe