to stand ipso facto Excommunicated and therefore the Marquiss de Lavardin and the principal persons of his Retinue on Christmass-Eve following being admitted to midnight-Mass as other French Ambassadors used to be at the Church of St. Lewis about two days after there was found affixed on that Church the following Sentence of Interdict By the Apostolical Authority and the special Command of our holy Lord the Pope the Parish Church of St. Lewis is declared to be under an Ecclesiastical Interdict for that the Rector Officials and Members of the said Church have rashly presumed on the Eve of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ to admit to Divine Service and the Participation of the Sacrament Henry de Beaumonoir Marquis of Lavardin who is notoriously Excommunicated Given at Rome this 26th day of December 1687. Jaspar Cardinal-Vicar Let none dare to take this down upon pain of the greater Excommunication to be incurr'd by a Sentence reserved to our holy Lord. On the morrow after the affixing the aforesaid Interdict the Ambassador published the following Protest Henry Charles Sire de Beaumonoir Marquiss of Lavardin Ambassador Extraordinary from the Most Christian King to Pope Innocent the Eleventh cannot believe that a Printed Placard that is spread abroad vended and affixed in Rome supposing Notorious Excommunication against him by virtue of a certain pretended Bull unknown to him and not published in France can have proceeded from his Holiness himself and there are few Rational People in all Christendom exempt from passion and animosity against France that can imagine that at a time when his Majesty does with so much success employ all his Care and Authority to reduce his Subjects into the Bosom of the Church and to cause God to be served and adored in all places where his Dominion reaches in the purity of the Catholick Apostolical and Roman Religion a Pope whose advancement he desired through the esteem he had of his Virtue should of his own proper Motion refuse all Audience to the Ambassador of so great a King the eldest Son of the Church who hath deserved as much and more of it than his August Ancestors to whom it is indebted for the most considerable part of its Temporal Greatness and who even in this conjuncture of continual Occasions of Discontent given him by the Popes Ministers has recommended nothing more expresly to the said Ambassador than to make manifest to his Holiness the Filial Respect he shall ever have for him and use his utmost care to restore a perfect understanding between the Pope and himself It seems much farther from all probability that his Holiness should without any Form Cause Reason and without having allow'd him a Hearing Interdict the Church of St. Lewis and term him notoriously Excommunicated before that he had done any thing that might incur the least Censure nay and without their being able to know what his Orders are with which he is encharged which coming from the Wisdom and Piety of a most Christian King can never expose him to the penalty of Excommunication from which also his Character representing the Sacred Person of so great a Monarch ought ever to Skreen him God forbid also that the said Sieur de Lavardin should suspect his Holiness of so unmaintainable and so extraordinary a Procedure He plainly perceives that he hath only occasion to complain of the Insolence and Temerity of those that abusing the Confidence which the Infirmities of so great an Age as is that of his Holiness obliges him to put in persons about him and whom he makes use of to be eased of part of his care and make advantage of his relianceon them to make him enter into Engagements directly contrary to the sentiment of Paternal Affection which the most holy Popes have ever had for the Kings of France and giving false Colours to all that passes through their Hands impose upon his Holinesse's Judgment and make it their Business to let him see nothing but what must exasperate him against France This has made them redouble all their Efforts to hinder his Holiness from being undeceived by all that the Marquess de Lavardin is to represent to him in his Majesties Name and it would be easie for him to make it appear to his Holiness that the pretexts they make use of are without any ground for not only the said Ambassador is not come to disturb his Holiness's Temporal Jurisdiction but on the contrary he can with Truth protest on the behalf of the King his Master that if the Pope were attack'd by any one whatsoever his Majesty would employ the Forces and Power that God hath put into his hands to maintain the Holy See after the Example of the Kings his Predecessors in its Prerogatives and Possessions to whose Augmentation they have ever contributed This is also what ought to oblige his Holiness to hinder as a Sovreign Prince that in his Territories there should not be any Diminution made in the Respect which hath ever been observ'd towards the Ambassadors of France And as the Marquis de Lavardin does not pretend to extend it beyond the Immemorial possession which the said Ambassadors have ever had and which the Duke de Crequi de Chaulnes and D'Estrees have retain'd as his Holiness himself hath seen and known not only by Vertue of that ancient Prerogative of the Crown of France in the common Country of all Christendom of which it hath ever been the firmest support but also in Consequence of the Treaty of Pisa for whose performance the Pope is no less bound than he that contracted it There is not a person of good sence that can presume that this pretended Excommunication can regard the said Ambassador and without entring into all the reasons that have been so often said upon the Bull in Coena Domini against which the whole Gallican Church assembled at Tours in 1510. has reclaimed as being unmaintainable in regard of France and publish'd by a Pope who had declared himself its Capital Enemy nor in all that can be said against the other Bulls which serve for a Foundation to that which is pretended to be from his Holiness which can never be publish'd nor receiv'd in the Realm It is sufficient to say that the Marquis de Lavardin is his most Christian Majesties Ambassador and by Consequence exempt from all Ecclesiastical Censures as long as he shall be invested with that Character and shall Execute the Orders of the King his Master Therefore he doth not think it necessary to appeal from his pretended Excommunication of the Pope ill inform'd to his Holiness himself when he shall be undeceived in the Audience he shall grant him of the false Impressions which turbulent Spirits and such as are Enemies of France who make it thelr whole business to break the good understanding that ought to be between the Holy-See and his Majesty have made upon him He also reckons it to be useless to appeal to a future Council lawfully
of Pamiers acquiesced not in this Sentence but appealed to the Pope who was now engaged in the Controversie and the matter lodged in his Hands 1678. Wherefore the Pope writ his Brief to the French King and in soft and yet pressing Terms complained of the Innovations made on the Liberties of the Church and the Authority of the Council of Lions And after several Arguments to perswade him to desist from this Enterprize he concludes He cannot forget those Popes his Predecessors whom upon the like Occasion had endured long and great Afflictions But these Allegations satisfy'd not the King who pretended That the Rights of the Regale were inherent in the Crown and had been enjoyed by his Ancestors and by them derived down to himself The Pope on the other side replyed That the Secular Power had no Right to things Sacred but as it was derived to them by the Authority of the Church and that the Church had not granted any such Right having expresly limited it by the Council of Lyons which hath now been observed 400 years This Controversie seemed to lie dormant from September 1678. unto December 1679. when it was again revived in the See of Pamiers in that point which concerned the Vacant Benefices and the mean Profits for the Kings Officers seized on them so that the good old Bishop had nothing to live on the last twenty Months of his Life but the Oblations and Charity of his People This occasioned the Pope to write to Cardinal D'Estree to interpose in this Affair as being a Person more than ordinarily concerned in the Dignity of the Apostolical See to which the Cardinal answer'd in the Style of a Court-Bishop extolling the Kings Merit his Zeal for the Faith and respect for the Apostolical Chair what he had done for the suppressing of Calvinists and Heresie within his Dominions and how bravely he had defended the Christian Cause against the Turks and in fine he laid down the dangers which would follow if any Dissention should arise between that King and the Church At length Cardinal D'Estree was dispatched to Rome with a Letter of Credence and Orders to treat immediately with the Pope himself but it seems his Negotiation produced little Alteration for the Pope continued steady and constant to his Principles And on the other side the Parliament of Paris became as zealous for the Kings Right and Authority for which the Kings Attorney General pleading made little esteem of the Popes Censures in respect of the Kings Orders The Church said he may indeed have an Authority to punish Men for Heresie and an ill Life but the World was now too well enlightned not to discern that the Thunders of Rome had been for several Ages vainly employed for extending its Authority beyond all due Bounds the Limits whereof were to be found in the Canons of the Church by which the Pope as well as others ought to govern himself And therefore desired that the last Brief sent by the Pope might be suppressed which was accordingly done by a Judgment of the Court of Parliament on the last of March 1681. And to give a farther Authority to this Judgment an extraordinary Assembly was called of all the Bishops then residing at Paris where were present Six Archbishops Twenty Six Bishops and Six that were named to Bishopricks to whom the Agents of the Clergy represented the Invasions made on the Liberties of the Gallican Church by the Popes Briefs both in general concerning the Regale and in particular in the Affair at Pamiers and the Nunneries and concerning a Book of Gerbais a Doctor of the Sorbonne De Gausis Majoribus which were equally contrary both to Church and State to the Canons and the Concordate by which the Pope upon a simple Complaint without any Appeal did by the plenitude of his Power judge at Rome concerning the validity of Elections and the Authority of Arch-Bishops and Primates c. The issue of this Assembly was They asserted the Authority of National Churches for judging all matters both of Faith and Manners and in the conclusion agreed to make an Address to the King praying him to give leave either for a National Counsel or an Assembly General the later of which was consented unto by his Majesty and summoned to meet the first of October following which met accordingly and at the opening thereof the Bishop of Meaux preached a most eloquent Sermon with much Applause after which the point of the Regale was put to the Question and argued learnedly on both sides and in conclusion the greatest part were of opinion that the Rights unto the Regale were inherent in the Crown and that the pretensions thereunto were Usurpations by the Church as appears by this following Declaration The Declaration of the Clergy of the Gallican Church concerning Ecclesiastical Power WE the Archbishops and Bishops Representatives of the Gallican Church being by Command of His Majesty Assembled at Paris together with others of the Clergy in the same manner delegated with us after long Debate and mature Consideration have thought fit to declare and determine these several particulars following I. That a Power is given by God to St. Peter and his Successors who are the Vicars of Christ and to the Church to Order and Regulate all Spiritual Matters but not to intermeddle in Civil or Temporal matters according to that Saying of our Lord My Kingdom is not of this World And again Give unto Caesar the things which are Caesars and unto God the things that are Gods And Agreeable hereunto is that of the Apostle Let every Soul be Subject to the Higher Powers for there is no Power but of God the Powers which are are ordained of God and whosoever resisteth the Power resisteth the Ordinance of God Wherefore Kings and Princes by the Law of God are not liable in temporal matters to the Ecclesiastical Power nor by the Power of the Keys can they be deposed either directly or indirectly or can their Subjects be absolved from their Fealty and Obedience to them or from their Oaths of Allegiance the which We confirm and determine as Principles not only necessary for conservation of the Publick Peace and Tranquility but for the better Government of the Church and as Truths agreeable to the Word of God the Tradition of the Fathers and to the Example and Practice of Saints and Holy Men. II. That the Apostolical See and the Successors of St. Peter who are the Vicars of Christ have a full and plenary Power in all Spiritual matters in such manner as is given to them by the Oecumenical Synod of Constance which is received by the Apostolical See and in such manner as hath been confirmed by the constant use and practice of the Popes of Rome and the whole Church and observed by the Religion of the Gallican Church and Decreed by the Authority of the General Councils in the Fourth and Fifth Sessions And the Gallican Church doth condemn the Opinion of those who esteemed
laboured Peace among Christian Princes yet now he liv'd to see them all engag'd but he had this to solace himself with that there was so much work cut out for France that his Arms were like to be diverted from him so that he might dye in Peace which he did accordingly And he had yet greater satisfaction since he had a fair prospect that as he had been instrumental to free a great part of Christendom from the Slavery of the Grand Seignior so now he saw so many great Princes joyn'd together to rescue their Countries from the Tyranny and Usurpation of France which two had design'd to share Christendom between them and none but himself had before so couragiously and vigorously according to the Methods of the Papal See opposed the Encroachments of France as he had done He was sensible that this was not a Religious War as the Jesuits would insinuate who have laboured the Exaltation of France but that the French King had ravish'd something from most of his Neighbours as well Papists as Protestants and that none of them were able to cope with him singly but upon any Fraction that he made with any particular Prince he would give Laws to them and they were forced to truckle and submit to him who would be Judge as well as Party in all Differences betwixt them and that it had long been his Method that if any Princes were at Variance to side with one of them and force the other to a Peace upon what Terms he pleased wherein on pretence of his Arms assisting he would not fail to be a considerable Gainer by the Bargain He saw also that he never observed any Peace or Truce though ratified by the most solemn Oaths further than it was for his own Interest All these Perfidious and Tyrannical Actions the Pope detested and therefore had he lived would in all Probability as well have assisted the French King's Enemies as he had done the Grand Seigniors I have already given an account of what pass'd as Matter of Fact in the Differences between the French King and the Pope wherein sometimes the French Allegations were more publick than the Popes as by the Marquess of Laverdin's Protestation c. for which reason I shall here insert a short Account of what was alledged on the Pope's side whereby the unreasonableness of the French King's Demands will farther appear especially considering his pretended Zeal for the Roman Catholick Religion and his affecting to be called the Eldest Son of the Church First That the French King was so far from having a true cause to complain of the Pope's unfair Dealings towards him that the Pope hath shewed him on divers Occasions the most effectual Marks of particular Esteem and paternal Affection that he might or could do without giving up the Churches Rights whereas the Pope received from the French King and his Subjects on his account and by his allowance witnessed by his Protection of them divers and several Injuries Contumelies Reproaches as well as Slights and Oppositions both by Words and Writings Secondly In the Matter of the Regale The French King extended his Power over more than half the Churches and Parishes of his Kingdom contrary to the express Dispensation of the second General Council of Lyons and the immemorial Possession and Rights of those Churches confirmed and authorized by the Acts and Ordinances of his Royal Predecessors and the Sentiments and Arrests of the Parliament of Paris the Registers of the Chambers of Accounts and the uniform Judgments and agreeing Opinions of the most famous and celebrated French Lawyers He endeavoured to subject divers Monasteries to his Nomination where they were Elective even to the almost Destruction of some of them and where he did suffer others to elect by his uncontrolable Power and absolute Authority he forced the Electors to choose whom he pleased and disinvested the Bishop of Pamiers of his Revenues because he defended the Canonical Liberty of the Church and persecuted the Canons and other Ecclesiasticks by Imprisoning and Banishing them because they would not obey the Schismatical Vicars which the Arch-bishop of Tholouse named in opposition to those Canonically elected and confirmed by the See of Rome with divers other Obtrusions on Religious Houses and Churches contrary to all Rules of Right and Justice Thirdly He suffered Books Dedicated to him and Licensed to be published both at Paris and by his Ambassador at Rome contrary to the Apostolical See and injurious to the Pope's Person Fourthly By his Edicts he confirmed the Propositions made by his Assembly in Derogation of the Pope's Authority and forced them to be Registred in the Sorbon against the Doctor 's Will. As to the Pope he was always ready for an Accommodation but that the King ever insisted upon having his Demands first accurately satisfied That the Pope never refused his Bull of Confirmation where the King regularly Nominated unless to such Persons of whom he is the sole Judge that were Court-Church-Men and had signed the Propositions which were Diametrically contrary to the Apostolical See or were notoriously Scandalous That the Pope denied not Audience to the French King's Ambassador if he would have communicated his Commission to Cardinal Cibo as the French King hears no Ambassadors c. before they have conferred with his Secretary or chief Minister of State but withall the French King had never returned answer to the Pope's Brief touching the Regalia which had been presented eight Years before the Ambassador was refused the immediate Access to the Pope he required And Lastly As to the business of the Franchises they have been found to be so great an Evil in the Government that the Pope was resolved to Extirpate their pretended Priviledges and that he is the sole Judge of what concerns his Temporal Government and no one ought to intermeddle therein but leave it to himself who is resolved to be Master in Rome as other Princes are in their Dominions And thus the Pope left these Differences undertermined What may further occur therein we must expect in the new Pontificate In the beginning of this year the Turkish Envoys came to Vienna to Treat of Peace The Diet in Poland ordered an Ambassador to be sent thither to Treat on their King's part notwithstanding the French Ambassador in that Court had laboured the contrary The Venetians had one there also and on the twelfth of March 1688 9. the Emperor's Commissioners having before received the Envoys Proposals gave their Answer by way of Demand viz. That the Turks should yield the Emperor to enjoy all the Countries Towns and Fortresses that he had gained during the War That Transilvania and Wallachia which have put themselves under the Emperor's Protection shall be freed from the Annual Tribute they formerly paid the Port. And that Count Teckely be deliver'd up to the Emperor The Envoys declar'd they had no Instructions to intermeddle in the last Demand The Venetians demanded the Island of Negropont and the Dutchy