Thus then the sacred faculty considers it to be certain, that no power in civil or temporal matters, was given by Christ to St. Peter, or his successors, or the church of Rome, or annexed to her power in things spiritual, or relating to eternal salvation; that subjects cannot be absolved from their oath of allegiance to their temporal sovereign, that nothing can excuse them in breaking faith with heretics; that this is the doctrine of the catholic church, and that it is founded on scripture and tradition.

Given at Paris in the General Assembly of the Sorbonne, held on Thursday the 11th day before the Calends of March, 1789.

LE CHEVALIER,

Dean of the sacred Faculty of Paris.

By command of the venerable the dean and the masters of the Sacred Faculty of Paris.

HARDY, Scribe.

ALCALA.

The Judgment of the university of Alcala, concerning three Questions proposed to it by his Catholic Majesty, and their most beloved sovereign Charles the fourth.

Question the first.

HAS the roman pontiff, or the cardinals of the holy roman church, or any council, or any individual of the catholic church, by virtue of their communion with that church, any civil authority, civil power, jurisdiction, or pre-eminence in the kingdom of Great Britain?

Second. Can the roman pontiff, the cardinals of the holy roman church, any council, or individual of the

catholic church, absolve the subjects of His Britannic Majesty from their oath of allegiance, or dispense with its obligations?

Third. Among the articles of the catholic faith, is there any which teaches, that catholics are not bound to keep faith with heretics, or with persons of any other description, who dissent from them in matters of religion?

Answer to the first Question.

It is the opinion of the university, that none of the persons mentioned in the proposed question, either individually or collectively, or in any council assembled, whether laymen or prelates, have any right to civil authority by virtue of their communion with the catholic church and that, therefore, the civil authority, civil power, jurisdiction, and pre-eminence which many catholics possess, is not derived to them from the circumstance of their being catholics, but from the very same sources, as to many others who are not catholics, viz. from inheritance, election, the consent of the people, and other titles of that nature. For the rights of governing kingdoms in civil concerns, as well as of possession, were instituted before the catholic church was founded by Jesus Christ our Lord, the author of that divine law, by which it is governed; and he expressly declared, that he left those rights untouched, saying to Pilate," My kingdom is not of this world; "but now my kingdom is not from hence." (John xviii. 36.) The sense of which words have been aptly explained and illustrated by the great St. Augustin (Trac. 115, in Joan. n. 2.) "Listen (says he), ye Jews and "Gentiles; hear this, ye circumcised and uncircumcised; "hear it, all ye nations of the earth: I interfere not with 66 your dominion in this world. Be not you seized with

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"that groundless fear with which Herod trembled, when "the birth of Christ was announced in Jerusalem." The same are the ideas of the apostle Paul, conveyed in these words, in his Epistle to the Romans, "Let every soul "be subject to the higher powers;" on which St. John Chrysostom has this commentary, "On this subject (says he) Paul has spoken frequently in his other epistles, also inculcating the obedience of subjects to "their princes, as of servants to their masters: shewing "that Christ did not introduce his laws with a view to "the subversion of the laws of civil polity, but to "amend them, and to prevent superfluous and useless wars; by this method he more successfully attracted "infidel princes to religion and piety, and the faithful 66 to proper obedience."

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No other power has been given to the faithful by Christ our Lord, but that which John the Evangelist has described in a few words, that is, the power to be made the sons of God. All other emoluments and comforts of this life, he would have them share in common with others, even with the worshippers of the evil spirits; which, as St. Augustin puts us in mind, has been so ordered by the mercies of our Saviour, lest those who believe in him should desire such things from his hands as their principal good, (l. 5. de Civ. Dei, c. 24.) These words, by their own weight, and by the authority of St. Augustin, who was himself a prelate, demonstrates, that prelates have no right to such things, in consequence of their communion with the catholic church. Certainly, the more exalted is their dignity, the more indecorous it would be in them, to expect from Christ these worthless earthly things as their sovereign good.

Doubtless, prelates are possessed of a high power, jurisdiction, authority, and pre-eminence for the dispensing of divine mysteries, not for the administration of human concerns, as pope Symmachus observes, or as

St. Bernard expresses it, a power over crimes, not over earthly goods, insomuch, that human and terrestrial things are not the objects of their power; but are a harvest belonging to others, the property of the civil magistrates and princes of the earth. (De Cons. ad Eug. c. 6. lib. 1.)

Answer to the second Question.

HAVING considered the state of England, and the situation of its sovereign, the university in like manner is of opinion, that none of the persons mentioned in the proposition has a power to absolve the subjects of his Britannic majesty from the oath of allegiance which they have taken, or are bound to take to his said majesty, or to dispense with its obligations; understanding with St. Augustin and St. John Chrysostom, even the apostle St. Paul, those passages of the sacred scriptures which promise to just men, and believers in Christ, deliverance from subjection, as speaking of a future state after this mortal life.

We see that St. Augustin explains those words of the Psalm, "The Lord will not leave the rod of sinners 66 upon the lot of the just." (Ps. 124. Aug. ibid.) By comparing them with the text of St. Paul to the Ephesians, "Servants, be obedient to them that are your "masters, according to the flesh," (c. vi. v. 5.) in the following manner, "Christ has no intention to nourish

any pride in your heart during your earthly pilgrimage; " it has been your lot to become a christian, while you "have a man for your master; you are not made a chris"tian, that you may disdain to be a servant. While you ❝serve a man, in obedience to the injunctions of Christ,

you serve not man, but Christ, who gave such injunc"tions. Behold he hath not given freedom to slaves, but "of bad slaves he makes them good ones! How much

" are the rich indebted to Christ for preserving order for "their domestic establishments! If there be in them an unbelieving slave, he converts him to his faith, but "does not say to him, leave thy master; it is unjust, "that he who is a righteous man and a believer, should "be a slave to one who is a criminal and an infidel. He

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says not this, but commands him to serve with greater fidelity. And that he might inspirit his follower to "this, he hath said, Serve, because I before you have "served the wicked." St. Augustin confirms this doctrine by the example of the catholics, who shewed a ready obedience to Julian, an infidel, apostate, and idolater; and after having subjoined, “What I have "said of a master and slave, must be understood of potentates and kings, and all the high powers of this 66 world," he concludes that the words of the Psalm must be understood in this sense ;- "The rod of sinners "is felt for a time, but it shall not remain; we shall not "be aggrieved by it for ever:" and he adds, " unjust "" men are sometimes exalted to the honours of this "world. When they attain to them, and are consti"tuted judges and kings, since God permits this for "the correction of his people, it can only be that due “honour may be given to the dignity with which they << are invested."

Thus does St. Augustin expressly declare it to be the sense of the apostle, that not he, but the Lord, commands subjects to be obedient to their princes during the days of this transitory life; and, although they may be just and faithful followers of Jesus, to look out for an entire emancipation from subjection only in the world to come; hence, it also follows, that these other words of the apostle, when writing to the Corinthians, (1 Cor. vii. 20, 21.) he says, "Let every man abide in the "same calling in which he was called. Wast thou called, being a bondsman? Care not for it; but if thou mayest