"I have no more to say then. If you refuse, I will write and tell them they must choose another. Have you any one to propose?"
"There is at Rome, among the Dominicans, a missionary, one Father Hynes, an Irishman, who has lately come over from the United States, in the hope of obtaining promotion. He would be very fit for the Ionian Islands."
The next day the Cardinal came again with a letter in his hand. "I am going to send," said he, "your answer to Rome. I have stated that, for certain private reasons, you cannot accept the offer that has been made you. Am I right? Shall I send the letter? or do you think better of it?"
"I request your Eminence will forward the letter at once. And since you have already shown me so much kindness, I am encouraged to open my mind still further to you. I wish to send these two other letters to Rome; one to Cardinal Polidori, Prefect of the Congregation of Discipline, and the other to Monsignor Acton, the secretary, to request from the pope my secularization. I wish to quit the Order to which I belong: it brings me too much before the public. I have no ambitious desires, and would rather lead a quiet life, as a simple priest, without any office whatsoever in the Church. I feel myself called by God to preach according to his Word; and in the performance of that duty I would willingly spend the remainder of my existence. I should also resume the delivery of my scientific lectures. I have another strong reason for relinquishing this Order, in which I can never hope to enjoy any tranquillity, since with my own eyes I have witnessed the irregularities that are practised in the different monasteries I have visited. It has, moreover, the additional dishonour of having provoked the pope to dismiss the Father General Olivieri.[83] At Rome, in that most abominable monastery of the Minerva, all who have any good about them are sure to be persecuted, as was the case with my friend Brocchetti. I can no longer live among such people. I shall request my passport, and leave them."
"And where will you go?"
"I cannot tell: probably I shall remain some time in Naples, if they will leave me alone. I foresee a secret persecution hatching up against me. I shall live entirely to myself, if I am allowed to do so, and shall attend solely to study and preaching."
The Cardinal did all in his power to dissuade me. He averred I was tempted by the devil, that I was relinquishing a very desirable position, that I should give great offence at Rome, and only bring ruin on myself. He added, that he should immediately set about writing letters in opposition to mine, to throw all possible impediments in my way; and said many other things, just as they came into his head. I let him talk on, and pursued my own measures.
In this state of affairs I left Capua, with abundance of courteous expressions on the part of his Eminence, which it is needless to repeat. In a letter that he wrote to Cardinal Caracciolo, Archbishop of Naples, he reiterated all the personal compliments he had paid to me; of which letter the archbishop kindly sent me a copy; and I still preserve it among other papers.[84] Cardinal Serra, moreover, on my taking leave of him, made me some presents, and favoured me with two appointments—one to preach during Lent in 1837, in another of his churches; and the other to confess, in perpetuo, in the whole of his vast diocese, which he told me was a distinguished privilege that he never before had granted to any one.
This authority to pardon sins, which the bishops take upon themselves to grant, is a great abuse in the Church of Rome. It is a gross imposition, a monopoly, a very usurpation. I do not here enter into the question of auricular confession; I confine my remarks, for the present, to the privilege of granting absolution for sins, which the bishops confer on their friends. To myself it was given in its utmost latitude, for an unlimited period, and for every species of crime. In general, the power is not granted for any length of time. In Rome, it is seldom for more than six months, in Naples, for three only. When it is granted for a year, it may be annually renewed, on application to the bishop. It is seldom conceded without the party's being examined on the doctrine of casuistry at least, and never for every description of sin. Every bishop has his own list of reserved cases; that is to say, of some particular sins, not comprised in the general list of pardonable offences; and for these the confessor is obliged to seek the assistance of the bishop. There are some indeed, which the bishops themselves cannot absolve, the pope always reserving to himself, in these graver matters, the power of absolution; and the confessor is obliged on such occasions to apply to his holiness himself, who, in his turn, refers him to the grand penitentiary; since neither the pope nor any of the bishops receive a confession; which office is always confided to their inferiors; being considered one of far less dignity than that of consecrating a church, blessing a cemetery, or baptizing the bells.
It is a sure sign that a priest who is appointed confessor to a diocese, is a particular friend of the bishop, since, on the slightest disagreement between them, or the least feeling of ill will, he is forthwith suspended from his office. I must here observe that I always enjoyed the friendship of those prelates who from time to time granted me this great privilege in their several jurisdictions; since not a single one of them ever suspended me in the execution of my office, even at a time when I began to be suspected of entertaining heretical opinions. It was also an honourable distinction in my favour, that none of the bishops by whom I was appointed ever thought it necessary to subject me to the usual examination. Neither did I ever solicit the office, it having been invariably bestowed on me as a mark of their individual good will. I have a whole bundle of these diplomas, many bearing the signature of cardinals, and one from the Archbishop, the great chaplain of the King of Naples, for all the royal churches in the kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Some were presented to me out of compliment; as, for instance, by the Bishop of Nocera, on the occasion of his returning my visit to him, in the year 1836, when his first act was to present me with the office of confessor. The same also took place with the Archbishop of Sorrento, the first time I was in his company, which was at dinner in his own house. It is astonishing to see the exceeding politeness and courtesy with which these worthies bestow on their subordinates the power to pardon the most grievous offences against the Majesty of Heaven. Would they, with equal grace and condescension, have granted it for offences committed against themselves? A circumstance that took place between one of these dignitaries and myself, will throw a little light on the subject.