"Yes."
"The intention perseveres to the moment of consecration?"
"Yes!"
"And, the materia being quite right, he intends to consecrate that objective, that just lies inadvertently outside the corporal?"
"Quite so."
"And you say that Benedict XIV., Suarez, and St. Alphonsus maintain the necessity of reconsecration?"
"Yes."
"Then I pity Benedict XIV., Suarez, and St. Alphonsus."
There was consternation. The bishop looked grave. The old men gaped in surprise and horror. The young men held down their heads and smiled.
"I consider that a highly improper remark, as applied to the very leading lights of theological science," said the chairman, with a frown. And when the chairman frowned it was not pleasant. The bishop's face, too, was growing tight and stern.