594 



PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 



Apostolic Letter of Pope Pius 7JT., prescribing 

 the General Order to "be followed in the De- 

 liberations of the First (Ecumenical Council 

 of the Vatican. 



Pius IX., POPE. 



Adfuturam rei memoriam. 

 In the midst of the numerous anguishes to which 



all our tribulations ; " * for it is that mercy which, 

 after inspiringus with the thought of convoking this 

 general and (Ecumenical Holy Council, , will permit 

 us to inaugurate it happily. We rejoice in the Lord, 

 with good cause, for commencing the salutary re- 

 unions of this Council on the solemn day of the Im- 

 maculate Conception of the Virgin Mary ? and under 

 her powerful and motherly auspices, and in our Vati- 

 can oasilica, and "before the ashes of the blessed 

 Peter, who, "persevering in the solidity of the rock, 

 preserves, with the government of the Church which 

 was handed him, the solicitude of all the pastors and 

 the keeping of all the sheep which were intrusted to 

 him."t 



As we do not lose sight of the fact that this Council 

 was convoked by us in order that the cares of the 

 holy pontiffs of the Church should be joined to ours, 

 for the purpose of extirpating the errors which have 

 sprung from the impiety of the present age, to remove 

 the evils which afflict the Church, to correct morals 

 and to restore the discipline of the two clergies ; as 

 we know with how much zeal, how much attention 

 and solicitude we must provide for the regulating, in 

 conformity with holy discipline and the maxims of 

 the ancestors, of all that concerns the management, 

 government, and execution of this important affair, 

 for these motives, in the name of our apostolic au- 

 thority, we decree what follows^ and we order that it 

 shall be executed by every one in this Council of the 

 Vatican. 



I. 



OF THE CONDUCT TO BE HELD DURING THE COUNCIL. 



The thought that "every best gift and every per- 

 fect gift is from above, coming down from the Father 

 of lights," J that nothing agrees better with the good- 

 ness of the heavenly Father than giving "the good 

 Spirit to them that ask for it," this thought has 

 held us, when we opened to the faithful of Christ, on 

 the occasion of the Council, the treasures of the 

 Church, by our apostolic letters dated the llth of 

 April of this year, not only to exhort these same 

 faithful to purify " their consciences from dead works 

 to serve the living God," I by multiplying their 

 prayers, their supplications, their fasting, and other 

 pious exercises, but also to order that the holy sacri- 

 fice of the Mass should be celebrated every day in 

 the Catholic world to beseech the light and assist- 

 ance of the Spirit of God, with the object of obtain- 

 ing from the Lord the happy conclusion of this 

 Council and fruits of salvation for the Church. 



We now renew and confirm these exhortations and 

 prescriptions, ordering moreover that in the churches 

 of this noble city of Kome, during the whole duration 

 of the Council, the litanies and other prayers will be 

 recited for this object, on every Sunday, at the hours 

 the most convenient to the faithful people. 



But the bishops and other persons of the priestly 

 order who will celebrate the Council must do some- 

 thing better and more excellent. Ministers of Christ, 

 dispensers of the mysteries of God, they must "give 

 in every thing the example of good works, in doc- 

 trine, in integrity, in gravity, uttering only whole- 

 some and irreprehensible words, in such manner that 

 pur adversaries shall fear to speak ill of us." ^ Best- 

 ing upon the ancient Councils, and particularly upon 



* 2 Corinth., i. 4. 



t 8. Leo ; 6 Sermo 2 in anniv. Assumpt. euae. 

 % James i. 17. Luke xi. 13. 



II Ep. ad Hebrje. ix. 14. 1 Ep. ad Tit. ii. 7. 



that of Trent, we exhort them all in the Lord to apply 

 themselves with care, each according to his piety : to 

 prayer, to. the reading of holy books, to meditation 

 upon heavenly things, in order to celebrate as often 

 as possible, with a pure and chaste heart, the holy 

 sacrifice of the Mass, to guard their souls from all 

 human care, to preserve modesty in morals, temper- 

 ance at meals, the religious spirit in all their acts. 

 Far from us discord, jealousy, and culpable inten- 

 tions ; let the first of virtues, charity, reign every- 

 where, so that it may be said of this holy assembly 

 of the bishops of the Church : " How good, how 

 sweet it is for brothers to dwell together ! " * Fi- 

 nally, let the Fathers watch over the people of their 

 households, let them prescribe for them a Christian 

 discipline, a holy life, for they are not ignorant of 

 the grave words of the Apostle Paul to the bishops 

 when he prescribes to them to rule well their own 

 house.f 



II. 



OF THE EIGHT AND MODE OF PROPOSITIONS. 



Although the right and charge of preparing the 

 matters which shall be treated in the holy (Ecumeni- 

 cal Council, and of asking the advice of the fathers, 

 belong only to us and to this Apostolic See, we do not. 

 however, confine ourselves to wish, but we urge all 

 the Fathers of the Council who may have something 

 to prepare concerning the general interest to do so in 

 liberty. But, as it does not escape us that this fac- 

 ulty, unless exercised at the proper time and in a 

 suitable manner, would prejudice not a little the 

 order which must preside at the acts of the Council, 

 we decree that these propositions shall be made in 

 the following conditions : 1. They shall be put down 

 in writing and submitted separately to a special con- 

 gregation composed of both our venerable brethren, 

 the cardinals of the holy Koman Church, and the 

 Fathers of the Council, and which shall be instituted 

 by us ; 2. They must relate really to the general good 

 of Christendom, and not solely to the particular ad- 

 vantage of such or such diocese : 3. They will be ac- 

 companied with a statement of the motives of utility 

 or opportunity which shall have determined their 

 authors to produce them; 4. They shall contain 

 nothing in opposition to the constant sentiment of 

 the Church and her inviolable traditions. 



The special congregation which shall have received 

 propo 

 shall i 



S1OH Ox ACJ^VilUVJU.. All. VAVJ.01. L'lJUlU TT \S) *AU*>A iiltl.UH.AVy \AV> 



liberation, may decide whether they must be submit- 

 ted to the synod. 



OF THE SECRECY TO BE PRESERVED IN THE COUNCIL. 



Prudence compels us to prescribe for all the acts 

 of the Council the law of secrecy, which has had 

 to be enforced more than once in preceding Councils, 

 on account of the circumstances. This precaution 

 seems more necessary than ever in a time when im- 

 piety, become so powerful, watches every opportu- 

 nity for inciting to animadversion against the Catho- 

 lic Church and her doctrine. In consequence, we 

 forbid all and each of the Fathers, officers of the 

 Council, theologians, canonists, and whosoever will 

 assist in any manner the Fathers and officers in the 

 matters of the Council, to reveal or make known to 

 any one whatsoever, out of the Council, the decrees 

 and all that shall be proposed for examination, as well 

 as the discussions and the advices of the members. 

 We order, moreover, that the officers of the Council 

 who are not clothed with the episcopal dignity, and 

 all others who, having received from us a special 

 mission, will have, in order to fulfil their office, to 

 assist at the deliberations of the Council, shall take 

 an oath to fulfil faithfully their duties, and to pre- 

 serve the faith of secrecy concerning all that has 

 been specified above, and all other matters that may 

 be confided to them. 



* Ps. cxxxii. 1. 



1 1 Timoth. iii. 4. 



