On the Disahilily of the Catholics, 
Css 
from them in matters of relip^ion. The 
tenet, that it is lawful to break faith 
with heretics, is so repugnant to common 
honesty and the opinions of Catholics, 
that there is nothing of which those, who 
have defended the Catholic faith against 
Protestants, have complained more hea¬ 
vily, than the malice and calumny of 
their adversaries in imputing this tenet 
to them,&'c. &c. &c. 
University of Dou-ay. 
Jan. 5, 1789. 
At a Meeting of the Faculty of Divinity 
of-the University of Doway, &c. &c. 
To the first and second queries, the 
sacred faculty ans'weis-—That no power 
whatsoever, in civil or temporal concerns, 
was given by the Almighty either to the 
pope, the cardinals, or the church herself, 
and, consequently, that kings and sove¬ 
reigns are not, in temporal concerns, 
subject, by the ordination of God, to any 
ecclesiastical power whatsoever; neither 
can tlieir subjects, by any authority 
granted to the pope or the church, 
iroin above, be freed from their obe¬ 
dience, or absolved from their oath of 
allegiance. 
This is the doctrine which the doctors 
and professors of divinity hold and teach 
in our schools; and this, all the candi¬ 
dates for degrees in divinity maintain in 
their public theses, ike. &c. ike. 
To the third question, the sacred 
faculty answers—That there is no princi¬ 
ple of the Catholic faith, by which Catho¬ 
lics are justified in not keeping faith with 
heretics, who differ from them in reli¬ 
gious opinions. On the contrary, it is 
the unanimous doctrine of Catholics, 
that the respect due to the name of God 
so called to witness, requires that the 
oath be inviolably kept, to whomsoever 
it is pledged, w hether Catholic, Heretic, 
or Infidel, &:c. &c. &c. 
University of Louvain. 
The faculty of divinity at Louvain, 
hay^ing been requested to give her opi¬ 
nion upon the questions above stated, 
does' it with readiness—but struck with 
astonishment that such questions should, 
at the end of this eighteenth century, be 
proposed to any learned body, by inha¬ 
bitants of a kingdom that glories in the 
talents and discernment of its natives* 
The faculty being assembled for the 
above purpose, it is agreed, with the 
Muanimou? assent of all voices, to an¬ 
swer the first and second queries absolute¬ 
ly in the negative. 
The faculty then proceeds to declar^ 
IvIoKTijLy Mas. No- ^2^ 
that tfie sovereign pow/er of the state is 
in nowise (not even indirectly as it is 
termed) subject to, or dependant upon, 
any other power ; though it be a spiritual 
power, nr even though it be instituted 
for eternal salvation, &c. &c. 
That no man, nor any assembly of 
men, however eminent in dignity and 
power, not even the whole body of iha 
Catholic church, though assembled in 
general council, can, upon any ground 
or pretence whatsoever, w'eaken tiia 
bond of union between the sovereign and 
the people ; still less can they absolve or 
free the subjects from their oath of aU 
legiance. 
Proceeding to the third question, tha 
said faculty of diviniry (in perfect won¬ 
der that such a question should be pro¬ 
posed to her) most positively and un® 
equivocally answers—That there is not, 
and that there never has been, among 
the Catholics, or in the doctrines of the 
church of Rome, any law or principle 
which makes it lawful for Catholics to 
break their faith with heretics, or others 
of a different persuasion from themselves 
in matters of religion, either in public or 
private concerns. 
The faculty declares the doctrine of 
the Catholics to be, that the divine and 
natural law, which makes it a duty to 
keep faith and promises, is the same; 
and is neither shaken nor diminished, if 
those, with whom the engagement is 
made, hold erroneous opinions in mat® 
ters of religion, &c. 
University of Alcala, 
To the first question it is answered—® 
That none of the persons mentioned 
in the proposed question, either indivi¬ 
dually, or collectively, in council assern® 
bled, have any right in civil matters ; but 
that all civil power, jurisdiction, and 
pre-eminence, are derived from inheri¬ 
tance, election, the consent of the peo¬ 
ple, and other such titles of that na¬ 
ture. 
To the second it is answered, in lik$ 
manner~That none of the persons above- 
mentioned, have a power to absolve the. 
subjects of his Britannic Majesty from 
their oaths of allegiance. 
To the third question it is answered 
—That the doctrine whicii would exempt 
Catholics from the obligation of keeping 
faith with heretics, or with any other 
persons who dissent from them in matters 
of religion, instead of being an article of 
Catholic faith, is entirely repugnant to 
iu tenets, 
4 S Univenity 
