an Absolute Power to dispose of the Benefices that are under them IT now remains to speak of the Evil which proceeds from that the Bishops do not dispose of the major part of their Cures of their Dioceses to which the Ecclesiastical or Lay-Patrons have a Right of Presentation The Ecclesiasticks began to enjoy the right of Patronage * The Year 441. in the Council of Orange where it was ordain'd That the Bishops who should build Churches in another Diocese should have a Right to put such Priests there as they should think fit provided their Capacity was approv'd of by the Diocesan Bishop * Nouvell 123. Ch. 18. the Year 541. The same Right was also given by Justinian to the Lay-men who should be Founders of Chappels which they obtain'd afterwards even in respect of Monasteries which they should be Founders of * St. Gregory 's Epistle to Secundinus in the Year 598. justifies that Point The Ninth Council of Toledo moreover extended the Right of Laick Patronage to Parochial Churches allowing the Founders to nominate Curates lest the Negligence wherewith Bishops would serve their Foundations should discourage them from making any new ones In the beginning this Right was of no longer continuance than the Founders Life Gregory and Pellagius extended it to their Children and finally under Charlemayne it pass'd to the Heirs whoever they were which has continu'd ever since This Right which is approv'd of by several Fathers of the Church being confirm'd by divers Councils particularly that of Trent must be look'd upon as holy and inviolable by reason of its Ancientness for its Authority founded on the Canons of the Fathers and of the Councils and for the Advantage which accrues to the Church by the same in favour of which many Foundations are made thereby to acquire the Power to nominate those that are to enjoy them But when I consider that Necessity has no Law and that the Use of a Priviledge which was good during the fervour of the Founders is at present so prejudicial by the Corruption of those who are Heirs of their Estate but not of their Zeal and of their Virtue nor even sometimes of their Religion that it is impossible to continue it without exposing many Souls to their Ruine I dare affirm boldly that a Disorder of that Consequence can no longer be conniv'd at without being answerable for the same before God Many are of Opinion That the best Remedy for this Evil is wholly to abolish the Cause of it but when I consider that a Legacy of this nature cannot be possess'd with Justice without performing the Conditions on which it has been given and that the Fathers of the Council of Trent who were sensible of the Abuses of the same durst not alter them I am at a stand and I do not think that a private Man can without Temerity propose such a Remedy It will be better to have recourse to a milder way in some measure propos'd by the Council of Trent * Sess 2. Ch. 18. of Reff though not directly That way is †Idem Sess 24. of the same Chapter That the Synod should Elect Examiners by which all the Pretenders to Benefices which have the Cure of Souls shall be carefully examin'd to the end that their Capacity and Probity being known they may afterwards propose two or three of the most Capable to the Patrons of the Cures which shall be vacant for them to chuse and present to the Bishop the Person which shall be most agreeable to them I am sensible that this Expedient takes off something of the Liberty Patrons enjoy in France at present but since in restraining it it nevertheless leaves it them and hinders incapable Persons from being put into Cures it ought to be receiv'd and that the more willingly in my Opinion since that in redressing the Evil which arises from the Presentations to Cures if the Order of the Council be observ'd it will also redress those that are caus'd by the facility wherewith the Archbishops often receives the Priests whom their Suffragans have refus'd in that as the Council's Orders that the Examiners propos'd by it to be the Judges of the Capacity of those that are to be nam'd for Cures shall be oblig'd to give an account of their Proceedings to the Provincial Councils so it will not allow the Archbishops to pass by their Judgment without so just a Cause that no body may disapprove it SECT VIII Of the Reformation of Monasteries AFter such just Regulations as are above mentioned it will suit with your Majesty's Piety to Authorize the Reformation of Monasteries as much as is possible I am very sensible that many Considerations may give cause to fear that those which have been made in our Days are not so austere in their Progress as in their Beginning but yet it is very necessary to mind and to favour them since Good does not change its Nature in not being lasting but still remains good and that he who does what he can with Prudence for a good End performs his Duty and answers what God expects from his Care It is true that I ever was of Opinion and am so still That it were better to establish moderate Reformations in the Observation of which both Bodies and Minds may subsist with some ease than to undertake such austere ones that the strongest Bodies will hardly be able to bear the Rigour of them Temperate things are commonly constant and lasting but it requires an extraordinary Grace to make that subsist which seems to force Nature It is also observable That the Reformations of Religious Houses in this Kingdom must be different from those of other States which being free of Heresies require rather a profound Humility and an exemplary Simplicity in the Members thereof than Doctrine which is altogether necessary in this Kingdom in which the Ignorance of the most Vertuous Monks in the World may prove as prejudicial to some Souls who stand in need of their Learning as their Zeal and Vertue are useful to others and to themselves I must needs say by the bye on this Subject That as to what relates particularly to the Reformation of the Monasteries of Women to restore the Elections and particularly the Triennial instead of the King's Nomination is not always an infallible Expedient The Brigues and Factions which reign sometimes amidst the Weakness of that Sex often rise to that degree that they are not supportable and I have seen your Majesty oblig'd twice to alter it in places where you had setled it to restore Things to their former state As it behoves your Majesty's Piety to labour about the Regulation of ancient Monasteries so it behoves your Prudence to put a stop to the progress of the over-great number of new Monasteries which are daily establish'd In order whereunto it is necessary to despise the Opinion of certain Persons as Weak as Devout and more Zealous than Prudent who often fansie that the
remov'd by ordering the Sentence of the Judges Delegated by the Pope upon the Appeal of the Primate or Archbishop to be definitive and absolute and to the end this last Judgment may be obtained speedily and that the Zeal of the Church may appear in the good Administration of their Justice it will be fit his Majesty would be pleas'd to joyn with his Clergy to obtain from the Holy See that instead of having recourse to Rome in all the particular Cases that are to be Tried his Holiness would be pleas'd to Delegate in all the Provinces of the Kingdom Persons of Capacity and Probity with a Power to Judge Soveraignly of all Appeals made in his Tribunal without any new Rescripts This Proposition cannot be odious at Rome since the Concordate obliges the Pope to Delegate in partibus for the Decision of the Causes that are depending there this difference will only be found That whereas at present there is a necessity of having recourse to Rome in every Cause for the Delegation of those Judges they will then be all ready Nominated for the Decision of all the Causes of the Kingdom which facilitating the Punishment of the Crimes of the Ecclesiasticks will remove all pretences of the Parliament's Incroaching as they do upon the Justice of the Church and all Subjects of Complaints from the Ecclesiasticks against them And thereby the Mouths of those that are open Enemies of the Church or envious of her Immunities will be shut and her best Children who have been silent hitherto upon that Subject will maintain her Cause and speak boldly and freely to defend her Liberty against those who would oppress it without Reason I am sensible that the Holy See will fear lest those Delegates should become perpetual Dictators in time but the changing of them from time to time which I think to be fit and necessary will remove the fear of that Inconvenience and continuing to sue out the Appeals at Rome in every Cause which may be suffered the Rights of the Holy See will remain entire without any diminution It may be urg'd That it will require no more time to obtain a new Delegation of Judges from Rome for every Crime that shall be committed than to sue out an Appeal to remove the Cause before those that are already Delegated but the thing is very different since it is certain that one of the principal Abuses which hinders the Punishment of the Crimes of the Clerks consists in that the Appellant commonly obtains at Rome his Removal before such a Judge as he thinks fit in France by Collusion with the Benchers who for Money serve their Clients as they please SECT VI. Which represents the Prejudice the Church receives by the Four Exemptions several Churches enjoy to the Prejudice of the Common Right and proposes Means to remedy the same EXemption is a Dispensation or Relaxation of the Obligation we lay under to Obey our Superiours They are of different kinds some are of Right others of Fact The Exemptions of Right are those we enjoy by the Concession of a lawful Superiour who grants them upon mature Deliberation and for certain Reasons The Exemptions of Fact are those we are in possession of without a Title * Quòd enim qua sine Privilegio potest acquiri Consuetudine immemoriali say the Canons but only by the use thereof Time out of Mind The Exemptions of Right are approv'd of by all Casuists as granted by a Lawful Authority Those of Fact though not lawful in themselves are not always condemn'd by them because those that have enjoy'd a Priviledge Time out of Mind had formerly Bulls for the same though they cannot produce them There are Three different Exemptions of Places The First is that of Mendicant Monasteries which the Bishop does not visit though he is receiv'd solemnly there whenever he goes thither may hold his Orders there and perform all the Episcopal Functions whenever he thinks fit The Second is of many other Places in which they are not receiv'd and can perform no Episcopal Function unless they make a Declaration That it is without prejudice to the Rights and Privileges of the said Places The Abbeys of Marmoutier and of Vendosme and many others are of this kind The Third is of certain Territories in the extent of which the Bishop exerts no Jurisdiction not even over the Laity over which those who enjoy such Exemptions have the sole Jurisdiction and the Power commonly call'd Lex Diocoesana The Abbeys of S. Germans des Prez or of the Fields of Corbie of S. Florent le Vieil of Fescamp and many others are of this kind within the whole extent of their Territories the Monks themselves exert all the Episcopal Jurisdiction They give Dispensations of Banes they appoint Monitories they publish Jubilees assign the Stations after the Orders are come from Rome the Visa's are expedited in their Names Moreover they pretend a Right to chuse whatever Bishops they think fit to give Orders without Leave from their Diocesan Bishop Finally they give Demissories to receive Orders from any Bishop The Chapter of Chartres enjoys this Exemption by virtue of which the Bishop cannot make his Entry into the Church without giving an Act by which he promises to preserve the Priviledges of the Church nor make any Visitation either of the Holy Sacrament or of the Holy Oyls Those Persons are so far exempted from the Jurisdiction of the Bishops that when a Canon becomes a Delinquent the Chapter nominates the Judges that are to Try him and if there be an Appeal of Judgment they apply themselves to Rome to have Judges in Partibus because that Church ad Sanitam Romanam Ecclesiam admisso nullo medio pertinet They publish Indulgences they have a hundred and odd Parishes they exert all the Diocesan Jurisdiction and the Appeal of all their Sentences is carried to Rome They ordain all General Processions St. Martin of Tours enjoys the same Priviledges Four sorts of Persons are particularly exempted in the Church the Archbishops of the Primates the Bishops of the Archbishops the Monks and the Religious of the Bishops and the Canons of the Bishops and Archbishops Those Exemptions differ in many Circumstances some only exempt Persons and others also exempt the Place of their Abode and that differently Anciently the Archbishops were subject to the Primates * 'T is but 60 Years ago since the Archbishop of Râ—üen has been freed of the Yoke of the Primate of Lyons and has made himself Primate of Normandy to whom the Pope sent the Pallium to exert Power and Authority over the Metropolitans But since those of France excepting those of Tours of Sens and of Paris have obtain'd either by Bulls or by Prescription leave to have no Dependance on the Primates Some Bishops †The Bishop du Puy is exempted from the Jurisdiction of the Archbishoprick of Bourges and so are many others in Italy yet they are oblig'd to appear in
by the pure Love of God that they generally live with a Splendour and Liberality conformable to that Dignity and better understand the manner of behaving themselves in and conversing with the World Above all things a Bishop must be humble and Charitable have Learning and Piety a steady Courage and a great Zeal for the Church and for the Salvation of Souls Those who aim at Bishopricks out of Ambition and Interest are commonly those who make their Court best to obtain that by Importunity which they cannot pretend to by Merit and therefore such must not be chosen but those whom God calls to that Vocation which is easily known by their different way of living these applying themselves to the Ecclesiastical Functions that are practis'd in Seminaries And it would be very proper for your Majesty to declare That you will chuse none but such as have spent a considerable time after their Studies in applying themselves to the said Functions in Seminaries which are places appointed in order thereunto since it is not reasonable that the most difficult and most important Profession in the World should be undertaken without having first studied it since no Man is allow'd to exert the meanest and the most vile without a Prentiship of many Years After all the best Rule in that Choice is to have no general one but to chuse sometimes Learned Men sometimes Men that have not so much Learnig and are better Born young Men on some occasions old ones on others according as Men of divers Conditions may be thought most fit to Govern I have always had this Consideration but yet whatever Care I have taken to make a good use of it I own I have been sometimes mistaken and indeed it is very difficult not to be mistaken in Judgments which are the less easie in that it is almost impossible to penetrate into the Hearts of Men or to fix their Inconstancy They change their Humour with their Condition or rather they discover what they dissembled till then to obtain their ends While such Men live in Misery they make it their business to be thought much better than they are and when they have obtain'd their ends they no longer constrain themselves to conceal the ill Qualifications they have had all along Nevertheless in using the Precautions I propose in the said Choice you will discharge your Conscience before God And I maintain boldly That your Majesty will have nothing to fear provided that obliging those who shall be chosen with the said Caution to reside in their Dioceses to establish Seminaries there for the Instruction of their Ecclesiasticks to visit their Flock as they are oblig'd to do by the Canons you put them in a way to perform that Duty effectually I say this Sir because it is absolutely impossible for them to do it at present by reason of the daily Encroachments your Majesty's Officers make upon their Jurisdiction Six things are likewise to be wish'd that the Souls which are committed to their Care may receive all the Assistance they can expect from them Three of them depend on your own Authority one on Rome only and the other two on Rome and your Authority together The three first are the Regulations of Appeals that of Priviledg'd Cases and the Suppression of the Regalia pretended by the holy Chappel of Paris over the major part of the Bishopricks of this Kingdom until those who are nominated for the same by your Majesty have taken the Oath of Allegiance The fourth is a Regulation of the Plurality of the Sentences requir'd by the Canons for the Punishment of a Crime committed by an Ecclesiastick to the end that the Guilty may not be able to avoid the Punishment they deserve by the Delays of the Formalities that are practis'd And the other two which relate to the Authority of the Church and yours together are the Exemptions of the Chapters and the Right of Presenting to Cures which belongs to divers Abbots and Seculars We must distinctly examine these Cases one after another SECT II. Of Appeals and the Means to regulate the same I Do not design in this place to explain the Original of Appeals as a thing the Knowledge whereof is absolutely necessary provided it be known how to apply a proper Remedy to the said Evil it matters but little to know when it first began I am sensible that it is so difficult to discover the true Source of that Practice that the Advocate General Servien us'd to say That had he known the Author of so good a Regulation he would have erected his Statue Nevertheless there is great Reason to believe that the first Foundation of it arose from the Confidence which the Ecclesiasticks repos'd in the King 's Regal Authority when being impos'd upon by the Anti-Popes Clement the 7th Benedict the 13th and John the 23d who fled to Avignon for a Refuge they had Recourse to King Charles the 6th then Reigning to be discharg'd of the first Fruits Pensions and extraordinary Subsidies they often impos'd upon them The Complaints of the Clergy of France having induc'd that King to make an Ordinance prohibiting the Execution of the Rescripts Mandates and Bulls which the Popes might give for the future to the Prejudice of the Franchises and Liberties the Gallick Church injoyn'd This Order gave way to the first Enterprises of the King's Officers over the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Nevertheless it was no sooner made but the fear they had of being prejudiced by it instead of receiving the Advantage they desir'd prevail'd with the King to defer the Execution of the same for some Years Afterwards the continuation of the Vexations Benefices were afflicted with made it to be put in execution for some Years after which it was finally suppress'd by King Charles VII at the beginning of his Reign by reason of the divers Abuses that were committed in the practice thereof The Experience of the Abuse of such an Order oblig'd the Clergy for a while patiently to bear the ill Treatments they receiv'd from the Officers of the Court of Rome But finally the redoubling of the Exactions that were laid upon them oblig'd them to assemble at Bourges in 1438. to consult about the means to free themselves of the same That Assembly which was famous for the Number and Merit of the Prelates which compos'd it carefully examin'd the many Grievances the Church was afflicted with and concluded That the best Remedy they could apply to them was to receive the Decrees of the Council of Bale which reducing most things to the Constitution of the Common and Canonical Right disabled the Officers of the Court of Rome from attempting any thing against the Clergy After which they form'd a Pragmatical Sanction of the Decrees of that Council which they resolv'd to put in practice by the King's Leave whom they Petition'd to be Protector of the same The King adhering to the Supplications of his Clergy enjoyn'd his * The Judges Royal had already begun
the Provincial Councils that are held by the Archbishops St. Gregory of Tours exempted an Hospital a Church and a Monastery from the Jurisdiction of the Bishops of Autun at the Request of Queen Brunehalt and of her Grandson King Thierry Crotbert Archbishop of Tours exempted the Monastery of St. Martin from his Jurisdiction have also obtain'd the Exemption of their Subjection to their Archbishops from the Pope The Monks are almost all exempted from the Common Jurisdiction and their Right is grounded on the free Concession of their Bishops or of the Popes their most ancient Exemptions are those that were granted them 7â— or 800 years ago by the Bishops and Archbishops but all those they have obtain'd since have been granted by the Popes to one of these ends either least the Presence and Court of the Bishops should disturb their Solitude or to free them from the Rigour of some by which they were or pretended to be severely us'd The last that have been exempted from the Jurisdiction of their Superiours are the Canons In their first Institution they were so strictly bound and united to their Bishops that they could do nothing without their leave and to endeavour to free themselves of their Obedience to them would have been look'd upon as the greatest Crime they commit in those days Many have been of Opinion that they have obtain'd all their Exemptions from the Anti-Pope or that they are evidently surreptitious or barely grounded on the Possession of a Time out of Mind but it is most certain that some of them are more ancient than the Schisms and more authoriz'd than those which draw their Force and Virtue from the Anti-Popes The most lawful have granted some * A Letter of Alexander the 3d to the Chapter of Paris shews that the Popes have granted Exemptions either in Confirmation of the Concessions of the Bishops or of the Agreements made with them or of their own accord under pretence to secure the Canons against the ill Usages they did receive from them In order to penetrate into the bottom of this matter and clearly to distinguish the good Exemptions from the bad we must consider the Bulls by which they are Authoriz'd differently Those that were granted by the Popes before the Misfortune of the Schisms are different from those which were granted since the Extinction of the same The first sort must be look'd upon as good and valid but yet such Bulls being an Exemption from the common Right which is always odious must be carefully examin'd for fear of being mistaken in the Tenor of them since it is certain that many are produc'd as Bulls of Exemption which are only Bulls of Protection which were obtain'd anciently and Bulls which grant some particular Priviledges but not an Exemption from the usual Jurisdiction or Bulls which only authorize Chapters to erect a Jurisdiction inferiour to that of the Bishops like unto those of the Arch-Deacons who in some Churches have a right to Exeommunicate to Interdict and to injoin publick Penances tho' they are still subordinate to the Bishop's Jurisdiction As for the second sort as they are void in themselves for want of a Lawful Authority in those who did grant them particularly by the Constitution of Pope Martin the 5th * The Exemptions of Sens Paris Bourges Bourdeaux Limoges Meaux Auxerre and the Country of Mans have been obtain'd by the Anti-Popes which annihilates all Bulls obtain'd during the Schisms no body can pretend without Malice or Ignorance to make use of them to the Prejudice of the Common Right The third sort have been granted either to serve for new Exemptions or to confirm preceding ones The first must be reputed void either because they are directly opposite to the Decree mention'd by Martin the 5th or because they have been surreptitiously obtain'd as the Parliament of Paris and Tholouse have adjudg'd it against the Chapters of Anger 's and Cahors The second being only granted to confirm an ancient Right which is never found to be lawfully establish'd must in the Judgment of all Impartial Persons be look'd upon as of no Effect It now remains to see whether the Exemptions * The Exemption of Auxerre Noyoâ—s Orleans Bâ—auyais Chalous Anger 's Poitiers and Lyons are grounded on the Conâ—â—ssions of the Bishops and the Agreement made among them grounded on the bare Concessions made by the Bishops or on the Agreements and Arbitral Sentences interpos'd upon that Subject against them and their Chapters are good and valid If it be never lawful for Bishops to alienate their Temporal without an evident Advantage and Profit much less can they renounce their Spiritual Authority to the great prejudice of the Church which thereby sees her Members divided from the Head and the Rule whereby it subsists chang'd into a Confusion which destroys it The Nullity of Agreements mutual Promises or Arbitral Sentences is very visible by that Principle No Man can compromise or transfer a thing the Disposition whereof is not in his Power and if there be any Authors who are of Opinion that Spiritual things may be transferr'd all in general except some among which the Subjection of this nature is the first And indeed those sort of Titles are so invalid in the Case in question that tho' they were confirm'd by the Popes they would not be sufficient to deprive of their Right the Successors of the Bishops who have parted with their Superiority in one of the three ways above specify'd As Reason shews that none of these ways can be of force against common Right it also shews that Bulls barely confirming the said Concessions Agreements or Arbitral Sentences give no Right to those who would make use of them because they can have no more Force than the Foundation they suppose One Point only remains liable to Examination viz. Whether the Custom and ancient Possession which Chapters claim against the Authority of their Bishops is a Title sufficiently valid to make the Church undergo the Prejudice it suffers by Exemptions * Cyprianus Frustra quidam qui ratione vincuntur consuetudinem nobis opponunt quasi consuetudo major sit veritate aut non fuerit in spiritualibut sequendum si melius fuerit à spiritu sancto revelatum Custom is a very deceitful Rule the ill ones tho' ne-never so ancient are universally condemn'd and all those that are against common right and destroy an Order establish'd by Ecclesiastical Constitutions must be reputed so and can be no just ground of Prescription much less in what relates to Ecclesiastical than to Civil Laws since the Settlements of the Church are grounded on a more certain Principle and the Difficulty propos'd must be decided every where by saying That Custom may serve as a Title in those things which may be possess'd by common Right but never in those in which Possession violates it in which Case it is absolutely void unless it be accompany'd with a Title so Authentick that it may
be liable to no manner of Suspicion Whence it results That Common Right submitting all Canons to their Bishops there is no Custom sufficiently powerful to exempt them from that Subjection It is impossible to imagine the many Evils Exemptions are the Source of They overthrow the Order the Church has establish'd consonant to Reason which requires Inferiours to be subject to their Superiours They ruine the Concord which ought to be between the Head and the Members they authorize all sorts of Violences and leave many Crimes unpunish'd as well in the Person of the Priviledg'd as in that of many Libertines who take the Advantage of them to secure themselves There are two ways to redress that Evil either by annihilating the Exemptions absolutely or by regulating them I am very sensible that the first Expedient as the most absolute is the most difficult But since it is not impossible I will nevertheless propose it to your Majesty who has ever delighted in doing that which your Predecessors durst not attempt However I do not think it proper in relation to the Exemptions which Monks and their Monasteries enjoy As they are dispers'd in divers Dioceses the Uniformity of Mind which ought to reign among them requires that instead of their being govern'd by divers Bishops whose Minds are different they should be under the Government of one Regular Chief upon which Foundation I affirm boldly That it is as necessary to allow them the Possession of the lawful Exemptions they enjoy as it is just to know the Validity of them by the Examination of their Bulls which they extend sometimes farther than Reason requires But I say moreover that the other Exemptions may be abolish'd with so much Advantage for the Church that that Universal Motive is sufficient to make one despise particular Interests on that occasion When a thing is just it is a sufficient Inducement for us to undertake it and we are absolutely oblig'd to do it when it is altogether necessary The Church having subsisted hitherto without the Alteration I propose I do not suppose it has this last Quality but I say that it would be very useful in that it would leave no subject of Excuse to the Bishops in case they were wanting in their Duty To make use of this first Expedient would only require a Revocation made by his Holiness of the Exemptions and Priviledges in question and a Power given to the Bishops to exert their Jurisdiction over their Chapters and all other priviledg'd Persons except those above mention'd Such a Bull accompany'd by a Declaration from your Majesty verify'd in your Parliaments and in your Council would break the Fetters which tie the Hands of the Prelates of your Kingdom and would make them answerable for the Disorders of their Dioceses which it is almost impossible for them to do at present The obtaining of the Pope's Bull would prove the easier in my Opinion in that it is consonant to the overtures of the Council of Trent which declares particularly * Sess 14. Cha. of Ref. 1. Capitula Cathedralium aliarum majerum Ecclesiarum illorum Personâ—â— Exemptionibus Consuetudinibus Sententiis Jaramentis Concordatis fieri â—st possint quo minùs à suis Episcopis aliis majoribus Prelatis per 〈…〉 vel illis quibussing videtur adjunctis juxâ—â— Canonicas sanctâ—â—â—es totiâ—s quoties opus fucrit visitari corrigi emandari etiam authovitatâ— Apostolica possint valeant That the Chapters and Canons cannot by virtue of any Exemption Custom Possession Sentence Oath and Concordat whatever be excus'd of being visited corrected and chastis'd by their Bishops or other Persons deputed by them And tho' this Expedient â—ere not relish'd at Rome where Novelties tho' useful are commonly odious and where the least Opposition generally obstructs great Advantages your Majesty causing the Decree of the Council to be observ'd on this Subject will have no need of any new Expedition I am sensible that this Remedy will be dislik'd by the Parliaments with whom Use and Practice is far more prevailing than whatever Reasons can beurg'd but after having foreseen that good and consider'd all the Obstacles which may be met in it I declare boldy that it would be much better to pass over all of them than to stop at any opposition whatever And your Majesty may undertake the said Alteration the better and with more Reason because that in restoring things upon the foot of common Right you will restore them in their own Nature and that it sometimes becomes Sovereigns to be bold on certain occasions which are not only just but of which the Importance cannot be question'd * Isidorus Sape per Regnum Terrenum Culeste Regnum profecit ut qui infrà EcÌ„clesiam positi contra Fidem Disciplinam Ecclesia agunt vigore Principium conterantur The Canons keep their Titles so conceal'd that it is impossible to come to the knowledge of them unless by the King's Authority Moreover they often suppose them when they have none which Peter de Blois and Peter le Venerable openly complain of Tho' the Advantage of these two Expedients which indeed are but one and the same ought to prevail with the World to approve them yet the Fear I am in that the Difficulties which would be met with to put them in Execution would make them ineffectual makes me pass to the second which consists in the Nomination of Commissioners Bishops Canons and Monks which being joyn'd to Deputies of the Council and of the Parliaments shall take an Account of all the Exemptions and Priviledges of the Church to the end that being represented to your Majesty those that will be found good and valid may be regulated and those that have no lawful Foundation retrench'd and abolish'd And the said Expedient is the more practicable in that the Ordinances of Orleans * Ordinance of Orleant Art 11. All Canons and Chapters whether Seculars or Regulars and of Cathedral or Collegiate Churches shall be equally subject to the Archbishop or Diocesan Bishop without being allow'd to plend any Priviledge or Exemption in relation to the Visitation and Punishment of Crimes all Opposition or Appeals whatever notwithstanding without Prejudice to the same of which we have transferr'd the Cognizance and retain'd the same to our Privy-Council made under Francis the 2d have a particular Article for the Regulations of Exemptions If in the next place the Pope would be pleas'd to impower in every Metropolis the Delegated Judges we have above propos'd to regulate by the Authority of the Holy See what the Bishops will not be able to do of themselves by reason of the Exemptions which will remain in their Force and Vigour and your Majesty to command your Council to take Cognizance of the Differences which will arise upon such a Subject you will absolutely remedy all the Evils the said Priviledges occasion SECT VII Which represents the Inconveniences that arise from the Bishops not having