The Footprints of the Jesuits

by Richard W. Thompson

When this decree was obtained by Pius IX from the Vatican Council, twenty-three years ago, the Jesuits won their proudest triumph since their restoration. It made no difference with them, or with Pius IX, or with their obedient followers, that Clement XIV was decreed to have been also infallible when he suppressed them by a solemn pontifical decree, reciting how they had disturbed the peace of the Church and of the nations by their multitude of iniquities, nor how one act of infallibility could be set aside and abrogated by another. Not even a single thought was incited by so inconsequential a matter as this, because everything was centered in the great object of achieving a triumph over liberalism and modern progress, upon the Jesuit theory that "the end justifies the means." Pius IX was present in the Council, and one of the enthusiastic defenders of the decree afterwards gave full vent to his extraordinary imaginings by declaring that the souls of all present were "overwhelmed by the brilliant effulgence of the sun of righteousness and eternal truth, reflected to-day from one greater than Moses, the very vicar of Christ Jesus himself."[224] It is not surprising that an author like this should have become the historian of such a Council, but it is a little so that his book should have been published in this country about two years after, in a form so cheap as to assure it a large circulation among our Roman Catholic population. The motive of this, however, manifestly was that the volume should become educational in the papal schools, to take the place of the histories which point out the advantages we have derived from Protestantism, and at the same time stamp the impression upon the minds of old and young, that the pope, as the only guardian and dictator of true Christian faith is and must continue to be—no matter whether as a man he possesses good qualities or bad—a "greater man than Moses," because he is infallible and Moses was not. This character of the work is well established by the fact that, among the deplorable evils of the times, it specifies the usurpation of the education of youth "by unbelieving seculars;" that is, by those who, notwithstanding their professions, know nothing of true religion because they are Protestants; and by the further fact that the chief remedy for these evils pointed out by him is the establishment of the "pope's sovereign power over the world;" and by the still additional fact that, when referring to those Roman Catholics who live under the protection of Protestant institutions, he adds: "The Church has ever regarded it as a matter of importance that the laws of those civil powers, to which her spiritual children are subjected, should be formed in perfect accordance with her own laws;"[225] that is, that as the pope has at last, after more than a thousand years of hard struggle, been decreed to be infallible, they shall not be considered by "the faithful" as binding upon their consciences unless approved by him. And then, establishing it as the foundation-stone upon which the superstructure of the papal system rests, that the Church "has ever proved herself the most powerful bulwark of the temporal power of temporal princes," he proceeds to instruct those who had not then learned what was meant by the pope's infallibility, in what sense the Church expected them to accept it. His words should sink deeply into the mind of every citizen of this country who desires to know what principles of government would be instilled into the minds of American youth if Mgr. Satolli and his Jesuit allies should succeed in destroying our common schools, and substituting for them parochial or religious schools. Here is what he says:

"The Church may not wish to interfere in the purely secular concerns of other States, or in the enactment of purely secular laws, for the government of foreign subjects, but she claims a right, and a right divine, to prevent any secular law, or power, being exercised for the injury of religion, the destruction of morals, and the spiritual ruin of her children. She claims a right to supervise such laws, to support, their use, if salutary, to control their abuse. In the domain of morals, it is the province of the Church to reign. Wherever there is moral responsibility, it is her prerogative, by divine commission, to guide and to govern, to sanction, to command, or to condemn, to reward merit, and to punish moral delinquency."[226]

And, in further definition of infallibility, he says:

"The Council will vindicate its authority over the world, and prove its right, founded on a divine commission, to enter most intimately into all the spiritual concerns of the world; to supervise the acts of the king, the diplomatist, the philosopher, and the general; to circumscribe the limits of their speculative inquiries; to hold up the lamp which is to light their only path to knowledge and education; to subjugate human reason to the yoke of faith; to extinguish liberals, rationalists, and deists by one stroke of her infallibility. Infallible dogma is a brilliant light, which every intellect must recognize, whether willingly or reluctantly.... The Church claims its right to enter the world's domain, and recognizes no limits but the circumference of Christendom; to enforce her laws over her subjects; to control their reason and judgment; to guide their morals, their thoughts, words, and actions, and to regard temporal sovereigns, though entitled to exercise power in secular affairs, as auxiliaries and subordinates to the attainment of the end of her institution, the glory of God and the salvation of the immortal souls of men, and to secure for them their everlasting happiness. And this order of things she regards as true liberty—Ubi Spiritus Domini ibi libertas."

He insists that the Church has the right to intrude "into the social relations of the general community of worldings;" and has also the "right to supervise the lectures of the professor, the diplomacy of the statesman, the government of kings, and to scrutinize their morality and punish their faults."

Referring to the union of Church and State, and the manner in which politico-religious opinions are brought within the papal jurisdiction, he says:

"Political theorists nowadays presume so far as to proclaim the right of secular States to be what they call free and independent of the Church's laws; that is, they profess to take their temporal governments out of the Church in which God intended to place and to bless them, and to consecrate them in and through the Church. There are even those who have the temerity to advocate the deordination of a Church dependent on the legislative enactments of a secular State! Statesmen know the objects of your transitory existence: it is to enact secular laws, for secular jurisprudence, and for the secular commonweal, and then to live in the Church; to co-operate with the Church; to be sanctified through the Church; and by this happy union to enjoy the reciprocity of the Church's influence over the consciences of your subjects, which is the solid foundation of their loyalty and your stability; and to assist the Church in promoting what is useful for saving their souls, which should be to you also an object of paramount solicitude. Is the world, then, come to this!—that social diplomatists should sever the State from the Church, or domineer over Christian society? Is nature to separate from grace, and set up a dynasty for itself? No, no; Quis separabit? The holy alliance of Church and State constitutes the union of the soul and body—the life and vigor of Christian society! It is time that a General Council shall teach statesmen this salutary lesson, and that they may not put their foot on the steps of Peter's throne; that it is their duty to co-operate with the Church; and that in all matters appertaining to the order of grace, their position is, to sit down and listen respectfully before the Church's teaching chair."[227]

Nothing short of the importance of the matters involved in the doctrine of the pope's infallibility, and the consequences which are expected to follow it, can justify such lengthy extracts from a single book. But these considerations do, for the reason that as books like this are seen by few, and read by still fewer, a better opportunity for understanding the objects to be accomplished by them is furnished by this method to both Protestants and Roman Catholics. Multitudes of the latter are deceived and misled into the belief that the doctrine of the pope's infallibility is necessary to the Church, whose Christian teachings they revere; whereas, if they, by intelligent instruction and thoughtful reflection, were assured, as the fact really is, that it pertains alone to the power and authority of the popes—that is, to the papacy, and not the Church—it is believed they would neither assent to it themselves, nor allow it to be taught, as a necessary dogma of faith, to their children, either in schools under the auspices of the Church or elsewhere. It would be unfair to them to doubt that they would reject it, if assured, as these extracts would assure them, that infallibility requires the destruction of every form of popular government in order that a grand papal confederation may be constructed for the government of the world, under the sole dominion of the pope. They would, upon proper investigation, see and know that the Council which passed the decree was not a representative body with authority to bind their consciences, but that it was, on the other hand, composed of those who were indebted alone to the pope for all the authority they possessed, and that he could strip them of their robes at his own pleasure in case of disobedience to his commands. And they would learn also that instead of the decree having been passed unanimously by the whole Council—as they have been instructed—there were 157 absentees, who withdrew because of it, leaving those only to vote who were in its favor; that, in point of fact, it was a conflict between the Church, as it had existed under more than 250 popes before Pius IX, and the papacy, and that the victory was won by the latter, to the discomfiture and regret of vast multitudes of their devout Christian brethren in all parts of the world. The Council consisted of 692 members. There were but 535 present when the decree was passed, showing, as stated, 157 absent. Of these, 63 of the diocesan bishops and representatives of what are called "the most illustrious sees in Christendom," signed a written protest against papal infallibility. Of those present, 533 voted for the decree, and 2 against it—one of whom was from the United States—but these were so carried away by the excitement that they gave in their adhesion. Many of the absentees had left Rome in disgust, having signified their opposition before leaving. On the day of the vote, there were 66 in Rome who refused to attend the session. Among these were 4 cardinals, 2 patriarchs, 2 primates, 18 archbishops, and the remainder were bishops. The result, consequently, was a mere triumph of the majority over the minority, as occurs in legislative bodies. The pretense of unanimity is without foundation, except as regards the votes actually cast. To compare a result thus obtained to the direct intervention of Providence, in imitation of the delivery of the law to Moses, indicates the possession of an exceedingly high faculty of invention; it borders closely upon delusion. Therefore, it may well and appropriately be said that the description of the scene by the author, from whose book the foregoing quotations are extracted, has, in calling Pius IX "greater than Moses, the very vicar of Christ Jesus himself," so far transcended the bounds of reason as to make their author appear like one who lives only in an ethereal atmosphere. There is no authority for saying that he is a Jesuit; but if he were found in companionship with one known to be so, it would be puzzling to tell which was "the twin Dromio," because, beyond all doubt, they would be "two Dromios, one in semblance."

What was expected to be accomplished by the decree of the pope's infallibility, by solemnly declaring that God had but one representative upon earth, and that he was so endowed with divine wisdom that he alone could prescribe the universal rule of faith, and was endowed with sufficient authority to enable him to exact and enforce obedience to his commands? Let the thoughtful mind, desirous to obtain a satisfactory answer to this question, ponder well upon the teachings of universal history—the birth, growth, and decay of former nations. Upon innumerable pages he will find it written, more indelibly than if it had been carved upon metal by the engraver's tool, that, from the very beginning of the Christian Church at Rome—whensoever that was—papal infallibility had never been recognized or established as a dogma of religious faith. If the Apostle Peter was the first of the popes—as alleged—then, up till the pontificate of Pius IX, there were two hundred and fifty-eight popes, to say nothing of the numerous anti-popes. There were, besides, numerous General and Provincial Councils, beginning with that at Nice, under Constantine, in 325, and ending with that of the Vatican, in 1870—the period between the two being one thousand five hundred and forty-five years. And yet, during all this long, protracted period, there is not to be found, among the articles of religious faith announced from time to time by the Church, one single sentence or word or syllable which requires it to be believed that the pope is infallible! Is all this history mythical? Has it led "the faithful" into error and sin? Were only those popes obedient to the divine law who believed themselves infallible, and acted accordingly, while those who did not were heretics? Why were General Councils necessary to obtain the universal consent of the Church, if the popes were infallible and could decree the faith of their own accord? When popes disagreed—as did John XXII and Nicholas III and Innocent III and Celestine and Pelagius and Gregory the Great—upon important questions, how were they to be decided?[228] Were the popes who denied their own infallibility destined to be cut off in eternity from the presence of God for their heresy? Edgar enumerates eight of these who directly disaffirmed their belief in it,[229] and there were many others who did not affirm it. Were all these heretics? And were also the great Church historians, such as Launoy, Almain, Marca, Du Pin, Bossuet, and others—and the whole body of French or Cisalpine Christians—all heretics? And what is to be said of the General Councils of Pisa, Constance, and Basel, all three of which denied the pope's infallibility in terms of strong condemnation? It would be easy to multiply these questions; but it is sufficient to say that if the popes who denied infallibility were heretics, then the line of apostolic succession is broken by the removal of several important links in the chain, and the attempt to trace back the present Roman Church to the apostolic times, and to the Apostle Peter, is an entire and humiliating failure. And it is an unavoidable inference from a long line of facts, well proved in history, that but for the unfortunate alliance between the ambitious popes and the Jesuits to build up and strengthen their power at the expense of the Church, the Christian world of the present day would have taken no interest in the prosecution of that inquiry. The Church is of less consequence to the Jesuits than their own society, and as they have invariably condemned it when not upon their side, so there has been no time since the death of Loyola when they did not consider its humiliation by them as promotive of "the greater glory of God," when thereby their own power and authority could be enlarged.

When Pius IX, in 1854, signalized the close of the eighth year of his pontificate by issuing his decree to the effect that thenceforward the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary should be accepted as a dogma of faith, he acted of his own accord and without convening a General Council. It is fair to say, therefore, that he considered this an act of infallibility, then, for the first time, put in practical execution. It was, doubtless, an experiment, practiced with the view to ascertain whether or no it would obtain the approbation of those whose consciences were to be influenced by it. The experiment was successful, and inasmuch as it involved only a question purely of a religious character, no special or injurious consequences followed. Protestants did not regard themselves warranted to complain of it, for the plain reason that the religious faith of Roman Catholics concerned themselves alone. Pius IX, however, intended by this decree something more than merely to add a new dogma to the faith. Undoubtedly, his object was to employ this exercise of infallible power, so that, if accepted with unanimity by the membership of the Church, that might be considered such an indorsement of the doctrine as would justify him in convening a General Council, and having it decree that, not himself alone, but all other popes, both good and bad, were infallible.