has any temporal authority. The inquisition in Italy has of late been little more than a sound. Persons of all denominations live here unmolested, provided no gross insult is offered to the established worship. Even the jews are allowed the full exercise of their religion in the heart of Rome.† Many of the professors of the catholic religion openly avow the liberal sentiments of mildness, forbearance, and moderation. The famous pontiff above mentioned observes in his letters, that every impetuous zeal, which would bring down fire from heaven, excites only hatred. A good cause supports itself; so that religion needs only produce its proofs, its traditions, its works, its gentleness, to be respected. Christianity of itself overthrows every sect which may be inclined to schism, or which breathes a spirit of animosity.§ nal of the inquisition in that duchy, and appropriating the estates for the support of an hospital of orphans.|| The late pope was Pius the sixth, elected February 15. 1775. A modern traveller, who had a personal interview with this pontiff, observed that he laid a greater stress on the ceremonious part of religion than his predecessor Ganganelli; and performed all the religious functions of his office in the most solemn manner, not only on public and extraordinary occasions, but also in the most common acts of devotion. Before he was chosen pope, he was considered as a firm believer in all the tenets of the Romish church, and a scrupulous observer of all its injunctions and ceremonials. He is represented to be a friend to the jesuits, and it is supposed that if the house of Bourbon would have consented, he would have restored the order to its former lustre. However, we are informed that a translation of the new testament into Italian was published at Florence in *Guthrie, p. 601. + There are about nine thousand of that unfortunate nation at presen in Rome, the lineal descendants of those brought captive by Titus from Jerusalem. It is said that there has been a reformation in faith, as well as discipline, long, though secretly, gaining ground in the church of Rome: and the enlightened members of that church now reject some of those doctrines which appear to protestants contrary to scripture and reason. See Annual Register for 1786. Ganganelli's Letters. vol. ii. p. 130, Annual Register for 1775. More's Travels through Italy, vol. ii. p. 151. The above was written previously to the subversion of the temporal dominion of the papacy by the power of France. It is presumed that a brief account of the steps which led to this memorable event will be entertaining to the generality of readers. 1781, by Abbot Antonio Mar- the politer part of the inhatini, under the pontificate of bitants of this country.‡ Pius, and is the first which has appeared with the approbation of the pope.* It is said that since the order of jesuits was abolished by Clement the fourteenth, they have appeared in several parts with renewed strength, and are called ex-jesuits. In their first plan, in case of abolition, they had determined to transform themselves into an invisible, secret society, till favorable circumstances should induce them to throw off the mask, and perhaps to appear on the theatre of the world again with greater lustre. Before their abolition, their generals, provincials, &c., were known, though their plan of government and preserving power were kept secret. Now their superiors are invisible, and only a small part of the order known, from whom mandates and permissions originate. The order of jesuits now formally exists in West Russia, and, even where it seems to be abolished, remains secretly, and repairs its losses. The ex-jesuits, under various professions and disguises, insinuate themselves into protestant countries.† Deism prevails greatly among At the accession of Pius the sixth almost all the temporal powers seemed to have formed the plan, if not of utterly denying, at least of considerably abridging the spiritual jurisdiction of the court of Rome. Even several princes of Italy seemed to concur in this design. In 1775 Leopold, the grand duke of Tuscany, ordained that all ecclesiastical possessions, situ ated in his states, should be subject to the same contributions as other property. He entirely suppressed all the remittances of money which had formerly been annually sent from his states to Rome, and commanded that the sums which had been collected for that purpose should be distributed among the poor. He afterwards, without the approbation of the pope, abolished forty useless convents.§ The grand duke proceeded * Erskine's Sketches, pp. 226-250. + Ibid, p. 249. still farther in his reforms, and abolished the inquisition in his states by his own supreme authority. By the same power he declared that all monasteries should be subject to the bishops; that the latter should alone, and without concurrence, nominate to the vacant livings in their dioceses; should confer prebends, and perform of themselves every thing which the see of Rome had assumed the right of doing for them. By an edict of 1788, Leopold entirely suppressed the office of pope's nuucio in his dominions. Soon after he forbid, on pain of banishment, all members of religious or ders in the grand duchy to maintain any relation with foreign superiors; declaring them to be subject to the bishops alone in spiritual concerns, and to the lay tribunals in those of a temporal nature. He commanded that there should in future be no appeals to the holy see; that ecclesiastical cases should, in the first instance, be brought before the bishop, and definitively be decided by the metropolitan." The king of Naples also exerted his influence to diminish the papal authority. In 1777 all the bishops in the kingdom were forbidden to receive bulls from Rome, under any pretence whatever. In 1782 the inquisition was abolished in Sicily by the royal mandate. The papers of the holy office were committed to the flames, all its property confiscated to the benefit of the crown, and the episcopal tribunals commissioned to take exclusive cognizance of those offences which had previously belonged to its jurisdiction.† At the same period the court of Naples inflicted still more painful wounds on the papacy. They declared that every religious order, whose general resided at Rome, should be released from all subjection to him. They forbid the members of those orders to receive from the court of Rome those irregular bulls which arbitrarily conferred on them ecclesiastical titles without the king's concurrence; they granted to the united greeks, who were numerous in Sicily, a bishop of their own sect, and exclusively nominated him. In 1784 the Neapolitan court proceeded in the suppression of monasteries, and the reformation of other sacerdotal abuses. In 1785, *Memoirs of Pins the sixth, vol. ii, p. 21. however, an accommodation took place between the king of Naples and the court of Rome. The Neapolitan court did not surrender its conquests, but forbore to add to their number; and it was agreed that the king of Naples should cease to be called a vassal of the holy soe. The senate of Venice pursued the same reforming plan. They diminished the number of convents, and applied the revenues of some rich monasteries which had been suppressed to the endowment of hospitals that were destitute of resources. As a number of christians of the greek church resided in Dalmatia in 1782, the senate invited to Venice an archbishop of the greek denomination, and gave him a church for the celebration of divine worship according to his own liturgy.* The duke of Modena also proved himself at the same time a troublesome neighbour to the holy see. He made repeated efforts to enforce his claims to the duchy of Ferrara, which is part of the pope's territory. Though he did not succeed in this project, he for ever abolished the inquisition in this little state; and committed to the bishop's the care of watching over the purity of the faith.† The emperor of Germany suppressed the monastic orders in the Milanese, and in the states of Mantua, as well as in his Austrian dominions. Such for sixteen years bad been the relations, more or less hostile, of most of the European powers with the court of Rome. During that interval France seemed disposed to pacific measures; but suddenly her conduct was changed, and she assaulted and overturned that ancient throne, of which philosophy had on every side sapped the foundations. The annual contributions for dispensations, bulls, &c., paid by the court of France to that of Rome, had long been viewed as a grievance which ought to be redressed. It was peculiarly burdensome in the deranged state of the finances, and the payment of the annats was suppressed by the states general in 1789. The same year a more painful wound was inflicted on the papacy, when a decree of the national assembly pronounced all the possessions of the clergy to be national property. This decree threw the pope into consternation, and excited the indignation of the sacred college; but, conscious of their inability to mako effectual reristance, they sup Memoirs of Pius the sixth, vol, ii. pp, 120-122, ↑ Ibid, p. 132, ported these trialswith a degree of moderation.* Hitherto, however, the attacks of France had been wholly confined to the pope's spiritual authority; but the moment was now arrived when a part of what he called his patrimony was invaded. In 1789, a deputation from Avignon petitioned for the re-union of that city with France. The vice-legate, in order to retain at least a shadow of authority, gave his sanction to the new constitution: but the court of Rome were less accommodating. In 1790 a bull arrived in Avignon which annulled all the ordinances extorted from the vice-legate, and prohibited the papal commissioners to publish them. From this time Avignon became a theatre of dissensions, which drenched with blood the beautiful district, of which that city is the capital. At length, in 1791, the Avignonese abrogated the pope's temporal authority over them, and seized his revenues. Soon after a definitive decree of the national assembly annexed the comtat of Avignon to the French monarchy. At length, irritated to the highest degree by the conduct of the French government, the pope laid aside that timid modera tion which directed his first measures. After giving his Memoirs of the Life of Pius the sixth, vol. ii. pp. 218-222. |