ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 



617 



abbot, was appointed to superintend the count- 

 ing of these votes the next day, and to superin- 

 tend the counting hereafter of the votes to be 

 cast in the coming elections. The following 

 canons have appeared as a schema delivered to 

 the Council. They could not have been hon- 

 estly obtained, such is the secrecy observed. 

 They are almost the very questions summed up 

 in the syllabus of December 8, 1864. 



THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. 



CANON I. Whosoever says that the religion of 

 Christ is not existing and expressed in any commu- 

 nity established by Christ Himself, but that it can 

 be rightly held and exercised by each individual 

 for himself, and without regard to any community 

 which constitute the Church of Christ, let him be 

 anathema. 



CANON II. "Whosoever sajs the Church has not re- 

 ceived from Christ any positive and unchangeable or- 

 ganization, but that it is, just like any other human 

 community, mutable and transformable, according to 

 the changes of the times, let him be anathema. 



CANON III. "Whosoever says the Church of Divine 

 Promises is not an external and visible community, 

 but a purely internal and invisible one, let him be 

 anathema. 



CANON IV. "Whosoever says that the true Church 

 is not a body in itself, but consists of different and 

 dispersed denominations, and is diffused throughout 

 them all ; or that the different communities opposed 

 to each other in their professions of faith, and di- 

 vided in their spirit, equally form members or parts 

 of the one common Church of Christ, let him be 

 anathema. 



CANON V. "Whosoever says that the Church of 

 Christ is not an institution absolutely necessary for 

 reaching eternal happiness, or that men can arrive at 

 this blessing througn the exercise of any other kind 

 of religion, let him be anathema. 



CANON VI. Whosoever says that the authority with 

 which the Catholic Church proscribes and condemns 

 all religious sects separated from its communion is 

 not prescribed by Divine right ; or that about religious 

 truths only opinions, not certainties, can exist, and 

 that, therefore, all religious sects are to be tolerated, 

 let him be anathema. 



CANON VII. Whosoever says that this very Church 

 of Christ can fall into darkness or error, and so de- 

 viate from the Holy Truth in faith and morals, and 

 fall away from its original institution into depravity 

 and corruption, let him be anathema. 



CANON y III. Whosoever says the present Church 

 of Christ is not the last and highest institution for 

 reaching eternal happiness, but that there is another 

 to be expected through a new and more complete effu- 

 sion of the Holy Spirit, let him be anathema. 



CANON IX. Whosoever says that the infallibility 

 of the Church is restricted only to things contained 

 in the Divine Eevelation, but is not extended to 

 other truths which ase necessary to the integral 

 maintenance of the Revelation, let him be anathema. 



CANON X. Whosoever says that the Church is not 

 a perfect institution, but merely a corporation, or that 

 it is of such a nature, with regard to civil society or 

 the state, as to be subject to the temporal power, let 

 him be anathema. 



CANON XI. Whosoever say^s that the Church di- 

 vinely instituted is like a society of equals, and that 

 the bishops, having offices and duties, possess no gov- 

 ernmental power bestowed upon them by Divine 

 right, and which they can freely exercise, let him be 

 anathema. 



CANON XII. Whosoever says that Christ, our Sav- 

 iour and Sovereign, has conferred upon the Church 

 the power to direct only by advice and persuasion 

 those who turn aside, not to compel them by orders, 

 by coercion, and by external verdicts and statutory 

 punishments, let him be anathema. 



CANON XIII. Whosoever says that the true Church 

 of Christ, out of which there is no salvation, is any 

 other than the Holy Catholic and Eoman Apostolic 

 Church, let him be anathema. 



CANON XIV. Whosoever says that the Holy Apostle 

 Peter was not appointed by Christ as the first of the 

 Apostles, and as the visible head of the whole Church 

 militant, or that he had only the honorary supremacy, 

 but not the true and real jurisdiction, let him be 

 anathema. 



CANON XV. Whosoever says that it is not according 

 to Christ's own will that St. Peter has permanent 

 successors in his supremacy over the whole Church, 

 or that the Eoman Pope is not the successor of Peter 

 in this primacy by Divine right, let him be anath- 

 ema. 



CANON XVI. Whosoever says that the Eoman Pope 

 has only the office of superintendence and direction, 

 not the highest and fullest power of jurisdiction over 

 the whole Church, or that his power is not direct and 

 legitimate over the whole of the various churches, let 

 him be anathema. 



CANON XVII. Whosoever says that the indepen- 

 dent church authority, as established by the Catholic 

 Church and bestowed upon her by Christ, and the 

 supreme civil power cannot exist together, so as to 

 preserve the due rights of both, let him be anathema. 



CANON XVIII. "Whosoever says that the power 

 necessary for the government of a civil state does not 

 emanate from God, or that one is not bound by Divine 

 law to submit himself to such power, or that such 

 power is repugnant to the natural liberty of men, let 

 him be anathema. 



CANON XIX. Whosoever says that all rights exist- 

 ing between men arise from the political state, and 

 that there is no other authority besides that consti- 

 tuted, let him be anathema. 



CANON XX. Whosoever says that the supreme rule 

 for public and social conduct is in the law of the po- 

 litical state, or in the public opinion of men, or that 

 the judgments of the Church concerning what is 

 lawful and unlawful do not extend to such actions, 

 or that there may be something allowed by civil 

 rights that is not allowed by Church rights, let him 

 be anathema. 



CANON XXI. Whosoever says that the laws of the 

 Church have no binding power, except so far as they 

 are confirmed by the sanction of the civil power, or 

 that the civil power has the right, consequent on its 

 high authority, to _ pronounce judgment or decisions 

 in matters of religion, let him be anathema. 



The concluding prayer was said, and the 

 meeting adjourned. 



On the 14th of December a second general 

 congregation was held. Two documents were 

 distributed to the bishops. The first was a 

 " constitution" on the election of the Roman 

 pontiff, should the Apostolic See become vacant 

 during the (Ecumenical Council, dated Decem- 

 ber 4, as follows : 



Since full power to feed, direct, and govern the 

 Universal Church was given to the Eoman Pontiffs 

 in the person of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, by 

 Our Lord Jesus Christ, the very peace and unity of 

 the Church might easily be imperilled if, the Apostolic 

 See being vacant, any doubt or uncertainty should 

 arise concerning the election of the new Pontiff. 



To avert so untoward an event, Constitutions have 

 been promulgated by the Eoman Pontiffs, Our pre- 

 decessors, and particularly by Alexander III., of 

 blessed memory, in the Third General Council of 

 Lateran (Cap. Licet De Electione) ; by B. Gregory 

 X. in the Second General Council of Lyons (Cap. 

 UU De Electione in 6) ; by Clement V. (Clement, 

 XV. (Constit. Decet 

 (Constit. 

 1625) ; and 

 by Clement XII. (Constit. Apostolatus IV. nonas 



