ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH. 



703 



in I ^29, was appointed Extraordinary Professor 

 in ls:;-_>, uiitl \\vnt to Brrsluu in the following 

 year as the successor of Passow, and Assistant 

 Diivrtor of the Philological Seminary. Hero 

 li r.-ni lin.'il until ls:i!l, \vln-ii he went to Bonn 

 as Professor of Classical Literature and Assist- 

 ant Director of the Philological Seminary. 

 There ho aUo hold the positions of Librarian- 

 in-ohief, Director of the Academic Art Muse- 

 um, and President of the Society of Archaeolo- 

 gists in the Rhine Provinces. In 1865 he came 

 in conflict with the Government, through a dis- 

 pute with Prof. Jahn, and in consequence re- 

 signed his position, receiving in the same year 

 a call to Leipsic, where he remained until his 

 death. He published an edition of Plautus, 

 with numerous prolegomena on the metres of 

 this poet (3 vols., 1848-'54), which is consid- 

 ered his best work. The u Parerga Plautina 

 et Terentiana " (1845) properly forms an in- 

 troduction to the forraar work, and is also 

 regarded as one of his best works. In the 

 " 1'riscre latinitatis Monumenta epigraphica" 

 (1862) he gave over 100 lithographed plates, 

 excellent imitations of the inscriptions dating 

 before the age of Augustus. 



ROMA\ CATHOLIC CHURCH. The gen- 

 eral position of the Roman Church underwent 

 little change during the year 1870. The reign 

 of the aged Pope Pius IX., already prolonged 

 l>3yond precedent, continued during the year, 

 and his attitude toward the Government of 

 Victor Emanuel was unchanged. No encyc- 

 lical letter or decree affecting the Church at 

 large was issued by him. He made one pro- 

 motion of cardinals, April 3d, when Bartholo- 

 mew d'Avanzo, Bishop of Calvi and Teano, 

 and Father Franzelin, of the Society of Jesus, 

 were proclaimed. Bodies of pilgrims con- 

 tinued to visit Rome, to many of whom, and 

 to delegations of Catholic associations in Italy 

 and elsewhere, he addressed allocutions. Of 

 the pilgrimages, the largest and most imposing 

 was that from Spain, which was received in 

 St. Peter's October 1 Gth. He issued a brief on 

 the centenary of St. Vincent do Paul, February 

 llth ; and May 14th a decree in the case of the 

 beatification of the venerable Redemptorist 

 Hofbauer. Cardinal Donnet addressed the 

 Pope June 29th, and the Bishop of Barcelona 

 August 30th, in favor of the canonization of 

 Christopher Columbus. 



A brief to one of the German bishops, No- 

 vember 6, 1876, has a general bearing as an 

 exposition of the Vatican Council : 



VENERABLE BROTHER : Health and Apostolic 

 benediction. We have learned with the greatest 

 mitist'iiction. venerable brother, that you had already 

 disapproved of the design wliich wo have since 

 deemed proper to condemn ourselves; and although 

 we were well aware that the particular circumstances 

 proceeding from tho laws, the limes, and the reli- 

 gious discussions, introduced in political assemblies, 

 have paved the way to error, we, however, con- 

 sider it useful to warn the erring, when a favorable 

 opportunity presents itsi-lf. 



But whut is most painful to us is the rumor that 

 has reached our ears regarding certain German 



priests, who, after having long delayed manifesting 

 their adhesion to the dogmatic definition of tut-. 

 Vatican Council touching the infallible msginU-riuiii 

 of the Koinuii Pontiff, have at lut made their ad- 

 hesion, but on declaring cither that they hud only 

 made up their minds to do BO because they saw 

 those German bishops who had defended tho oppo- 

 site opinion in the Council accept the definition, or 

 else that they admitted indeed the dogma defined 

 without admitting the opportuneness of the defini- 

 tion. 



Now, as the definitions of the General Council are 

 infallible, because they proceed from the inspiration 

 of the Holy Spirit assisting the Church, according 

 to the promise of Jesus Christ, tiiey cannot but 

 teach the truth. But truth does not derive either its 

 force or its character from the assent of men : rather, 

 as it proceeds from God, it requires a full and entire 

 consent, wliich cannot depend upon any condition 

 whatever. And, indeed, no heresy could ever have 

 been proscribed until now, in an efticacious mariner, 

 if the faithful had been permitted to wait, before 

 submitting to the definition of the truth, for the as- 

 sent of those who opposed this definition and found 

 themselves condemned by it. 



This doctrine, which is the same for the definitions 

 of (Ecumenical Councils and for the definitions of 

 the Supreme Pontiffs, was clearly formulated by the 

 Vatican Council when it taught, at the close of its 

 definitions, " that the definitions of the Roman Pon- 

 tiff are irrefonnable of themselves, and not in virtue 

 of the consent of the Cliurch" (session iv., c. iv., in 

 fine). But it is still more absurd to accept the defi- 

 nition and still persist that it is inopportune. In- 

 deed, the vicissitudes of our times, the errors as 

 numerous as those that have ever existed, the new 

 errors that hell belches forth every day for the 

 destruction of the Church, the Vicar of Jesus Christ 

 deprived of his freedom, and the bishops deprived 

 not only of the power of assembling, but even of 

 teaching, all attest with what opportuneness Divine 

 Providence permitted that the definition of the 

 pontifical infallibility should be proclaimed at a 

 time when the ri^ht rule of belief and conduct was 

 about to be deprived, and in the midst of multiplied 

 difficulties, of all other support. But putting all 

 these considerations to one side, if the definitions 

 of the (Ecumenical Council are infallible, precisely 

 because they fiow from the wisdom and counsel of 

 the Holy Spirit, nothing is more absurd than to think 

 that the Holy Spirit teaches indeed things that are 

 true, but may still teach them inopportunely. 



If, then, there be any of the priests in your dio- 

 cese, warn them earnestly that it is not permitted to 

 them so to limit their assent as to make it depend 

 upon an act even a praiseworthy act of this or that 

 bishop, rather than upon the authority of the Church ; 

 and that they must absolutely adopt the definition 

 by a full and entire assent of the intelligence and 

 will, if they do not wish to depart from the true faith. 



In the mean time, while imploring for you those 

 succors of Divine grace which are ever most abun- 

 dant and most efficacious, as an earnest of our spe- 

 cial good-will, we most affectionately bestow upon 

 you, venerabl -\ brother, and upon your entire dio- 

 cese, our Apostolic benediction. 



Given at Rome, near St. Peter's, on the 6th of No- 

 vember, 1876, and in the thirty-first vear of onr pon- 

 tificate. PIUS IX., Pope. 



The Italian Government continued its course 

 of hostility to the Catholic Church. A dooreo 

 was issued to the prefects to prevent the taking 

 of religious vows or entering religious orders. 

 On the 12th of March, Bonghi, MinNu-r of Pub- 

 lic Instruction, issued a decree suppressing the 

 Vatican University, and declaring that "supe- 

 rior instruction can be given only in Govern- 

 ment institutions." Theological students were 



