destroy, or any ways injure any persons whatsoever, for or under the pretence of being a heretic: And I do declare, solemnly, before God, that I believe, that no act in itself unjust, immoral, or wicked, can ever be justified or excused, by or under pretence or colour that it was done either for the good of the church, or in obedience to any ecclesiastical power whatsoever also declare, that it is not an article of the Catholic Faith, neither am I thereby required to believe or profess, that the Pope is infallible, or that I am bound to obey any order, in its own nature immoral, though the Pope, or any ecclesiastical power, should issue or direct such order, but on the contrary, I hold that it would be sinful in me to pay any respect or obedience thereto; I further declare, that I do not believe, that any sin whatever committed by me, can be forgiven, at the mere will of any Pope, or any Priest, or any person or per ons whatsover; but, that sincere sorrow for past sins, a firm and sincere resolution to avoid future guilt, and to atone to God, are previous and indispensible requisites to establish a well-founded expectation of forgiveness, and that any person who receives absolution without these previous requisites, so far from obtaining thereby any remission of his sins, incurs the addi. tional guilt of violating a sacrament: And I do swear that I will defend, to the utmost of my power, the settlement and arrangement of property in this country, as established by the laws now in being: I do hereby disclaim, disavow, and solemnly abjure, any intention to subvert the present Church Establishment, for the purpose of substituting a Catholic Establishment in its stead: And I do solemnly swear, that I will not exercise any privilege to which I am or may become intitled, to disturb and weaken the Protestant Religion and Protestant Government, in this Kingdom-So help me God."

Such are the principles which His Majesty's Roman Catholic Subjects have publicly and solemn ly declared and professed on Oath. There is not, in any of them, a single principle, which every Roman Catholic Subject of His Ma. jesty does not profess, or which, if his King and Country required it, he would not think it his duty to seal with his blood. III.In the year 1788, A Com. mittee of the English Catholics waited on Mr. Pitt, respec ing their application for a repeal of the Penal Laws. He requested to be furnished with authentic evidence, of the opinions of the Roman Catholic Clergy and the Roman Catholic Universities, abroad, "on the existence and extent of the Pope's dispensable power."-Three questions were accordingly framed, and sent to the Universities of Paris, Louvain, Alcala, Douay, Salamanca, and Valladolid, for their opinions. The questions proposed to them

Power, jurisdiction, or pre-eminence whatsoever, within the realm of England.

2. That the Pope, or Cardinals, or any body of men, or any individual of the Church of Rome, CANNOT absolve or dispense with his Majesty's Subjects from their Oath of allegiance, upon any pretext whatsoever.

3. That there is NO principle in the Tenets of the Catholic Faith, by which Catholics are justified in not keeping Faith with Heretics, or other persons differing from them in Religious opinions, in any transactions either of a public or a private nature.

As soon as the opinions of the foreign Universites were received, they were transmitted to Mr. Pitt: But we earnestly beg of you to observe, that it was for HIS satisfaction, not our's, that these opinions were taken :-Assuredly, His Majesty's Roman Catholic Sub. jects did not want the wisdom of foreign Universities to inform them, that His Majesty is the lawful Sovereign of all his Roman Catholic Subjects, and that, by every divine and human law, his Roman Catholic Subjects owe him true, dutiful, active, and unreserved ak legiance,

is owing that we are still blessed with a King and a Country.

Now then, Fellow Countrymen and Fellow Subjects, be assured, that, among these heroic inestimable defenders and supporters of their King and their Country, there is not one, whose parents and whose priests have not taught him, that loyalty is a religious as much as a civil duty; and that, when he is fighting for his King and his Country, he is performing a duty to his God.

(Signed by all the principal Roman Catholics of England.)

At length Bonaparte has effected a pretended reconciliation with the Pope. He arrived at Fontainbleau with his wife Maria Louisa, where the venerable head of the Roman Church was kept a state prisoner. Affecting a contrition for his past aberrations from Religious duties, the Corsican immediately went to the Holy Fa ther, and besought him to accept his submission. The Empress joined in these solicitations; and the result of the recociliation was the following

CONCORDAT.

His Majesty the Emperor and King and his Holiness being inclined to put an end to the differ

ences which have arisen between them, and to provide against the difficulties that have taken place in several affairs concerning the Church, have agreed upon the following articles, which are to serve as a basis for a definitive arrangement:

Art. 1. His Holiness shall exercise the pontificate in France, and in the kingdom of Italy, in the same manner and with the same forms as his predecessors.

2. The Ambassadors, Ministers, I Charges d'Affairs of Foreign Pow ers to the Holy Father, and the Ambassadors, Ministers, or Charges d'Affaires, whom the Pope may have with foreign powers, shall enjoy such immunities and

privileges, as are enjoyed by the members of the Diplomatic Body. 3. The domains which were possesed by the Holy Father, and that have not been alienated shall be exempted from all kinds of imposts, and shall be administered by his Agents or Charges d'Affairs. Those which were alienated, shall be replaced, as far as to the amount of two millions of francs in revenue.

4. Within the space of six months following the notification of the usage of nomination by the Emperor to the Archbishopricks and Bishopricks of the empire and the kingdom of Italy, the Pope shall give the canonical investiture in conformity with the Concordat, and by virtue of this Indulto. The preliminary information shall be given by the Metropolitan.-The six months being expired without the Pope having accorded the investiture, the Metropolitan, or in default of him, where a Metropolitan is in question, the oldest Bishop of the province, shall proceed to the investiture of the new Bishop, in such manner that a see shall never be vacant longer than one year.

5. The Pope shall nominate to ten Bishopricks, either in France or in Italy, which shall finally be designated by mutual consent.

6. The six suburban Bishopricks shall be re established. They shall be at the nomination of the Pope. The property actually existing shall be restored, and measures shall be taken for recovering what has been sold. At the death of the Bishops of Anagni and of Rieti, their diocesses, shall be united to the six Bishopricks before mentioned, conformably to the agreement which will take place between His Majesty and the Holy

from their dioceses, the Holy Father may exercise his right of giving Bishopricks in partibus in their favour. A pension shall be given to them equal to the revenue before enjoyed by them, and they may be replaced in the vacant sees, either in the Empire or the kingdom of Italy.

8. His Majesty and his Holiness will, at a proper time, concert with each other on the reduction to be made, if it should take place, in the Bishopricks of Tuscany and the country of Genoa, as likewise for the Bishopricks to be established in Holland, and in the Hanseatic Departments.

9. The Propaganda, the Penitentiary, and the Archives, shall be established in the place of the Holy Father's residence.

10. His Majesty restores his good favour to those Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, and Lay-brethren, who have incurred his displeasure in consequence of actual

events.

The Holy Father agrees to the above dispositions, in consideration of the actual state of the Church, and in the confidence with which His Majesty has inspired him, that he will grant his powerful protection to the numerous wants which religion suffers in the times we live in.

(Signed) NAPOLEON. PIUS, P. P. VII. Fontainebleau, Jan. 25, 1813.

It would be impossible to enu] merate all the petitions presented to the House on the Catholic Claims. We can, however, wish pleasure assert that no former period has seen so many, and respectable Petitions, sent to the House from Protestant bodies, asserting the justice of the Catholic Cause, and leaving to the wisdom of the Legislature the decision of the important question.

To the FDITOR of the CATHOLIC MAGAZINE.

SIR,

I THINK you would render a great service to the Catholic cause, by inserting from time to time in your Magazine short extracts from the writings of the principal Fathers of the Primitive Christian Church. These are generally acknowledged to have been the best and most learned of all the interpreters of the sacred Scriptures. What a misfortune it is, therefore, that their works are so seldom read in these times, when so many illiterate persons pretend to explain those Divine Oracles, but in reality wrest them to the destruction of their own, and the souls of many others, for want of following the lights of these excellent guides! It shall be my province to furnish you with such quotations of their own words, as may serve to elucidate every point now in controversy amongst the different denominations of Christians. I shall generally promise a short account of the Saints, whose

VOL. 1.

works I have in my possession ; and which I propose thus to render of service to such as either cannot purchase them, or have not leisure to read them, or in short are not sufficiently versed in the Latin and Greek Languages, in which they are written. If any person should express any doubt concerning the faithfulness of my translations, you will oblige me by giving him my address, and I will shew him the originals.

St. Fulgentius, Bishop of Rus pa, in Africa, A. D. 533.-He was born at Lepta, of a noble family, about the year 468. After he had been cruelly scourged for professing the Catholic Faith, he was twice banished, with ail the African Bishops who adhered to the orthodox faith, by Thrasimond, King of the Vandals, who professed Arianism. On the death of that Monarch they were recalled. St. Fulgentius died in 533. His works were printed at Cologne in one vol. Octavo, anno 1526, from a very ancient manuscript. One of the most famous amongst his writings,

is that entitled, On the Two-fold Predestination, to Monimus, in answer to certain difficulties pro-, posed to him by a friend of that

name.

66

In the first book he shews, that, though God foresees sin, he predestinates no one to evil, but only to good, or to grace and glory. I shall only quote such sentences from this on any other book, as may shew what was the doctrine of the Saint in controverted points. In the first place he shews how necessary Baptism is, when he says, p. 6th. I do not think that any thing else is to be understood by the expression of St. Augustin, that some are predestinated to perdition, than that some are predestinated to perdition of punishment, but not to that of sin; nor to the evil which they unjustly commit, but to the torments which they will very justly suffer: nor to the first death of the soul, in which infants are born; but to the se cond death, which they must ne. cessarily suffer from the most just Judge, either because they depart out of this world, before they receive the grace of Baptism ; or because, after they have received Baptism; they choose to continue to the end of life servants of sin, and will not, during the acceptable time and the day of Salvation, be converted from their evil way, that they may live.

others to punishment. But those whom he predestinates to punishment, he does not predestinate to sin. God therefore gratuitously crowns in his Saints that sanctity which himself gratuitously bestows on them; and he condemns the wicked for that wickedness of which he is not the cause. The faithful, therefore, ought to believe and confess that God, who is good and just, foresees indeed that men will sin, but that he does not predestinate any man to sin: for, if he did, he would not punish him for it. God, therefore, did not predestinate every thing which he foresaw, though he foresaw every thing which he predestinated. The wicked therefore are predestinated not to the first death of the soul; but to the se cond, that is to "the lake of fire and sulphur." Nothing in my opinion, Mr. Editor, can be expressed in clearer terms than this subject of Predestination (concerning which some men have run into so many fatal errors) is explained by our Saint.

In his second book to the same friend Monimus, he treats of the sacrifice of the body, and blood of Christ.-P, 47. You say that you have been asked by some persons about the sacrifice of the body and blood of Christ, who are of opinion that it is offered only to the Father. P. 52. The oblation of the Catholic Church which so sacrifices to the Father, as to sacrifice at the same time to the whole Trinity, agrees entirely with the sacrifice of the friends of God." Where note, that he had been proving that the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, offered sacrifice to