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PASTORAL LETTERS 
 
 OF 
 
 ARCHBISHOP CARROLL, 
 
 TO 
 
 THE CONGREGATION OF TRINITY CHURCH, IN 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, 
 
 1797: 
 
 AND OF 
 
 ARCHBISHOP MARECHAL, 
 
 TO THE 
 
 CONGREGATION OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, 
 
 1819. 
 
 WIHDRAWN 
 
 ^ecoitU 
 
 
 
 BALTIMORE : 
 
 FEINTED BY JOSEPH ROBlNbON, CIRCULATING UBRARY, 
 94, Market**!, corner of Belvidere-street, 
 
% 
 
 ✓ 
 
 
• PASTOllAL 
 
 DR. CARROL L, 
 
 / 
 
 TO THE CONGREGATION OF TRINITY CHURCH, 
 
 LY PHILADELPHIA. ' 
 

 NOTE. 
 
 It is generally well known that Archbishop Carroll, 
 in 1797» wrote a Pastoral letter on the schism which had 
 then unfortunately broken out in Philadelphia, and which 
 was nearly similar to the one now existing in JSTorfolk. 
 Copies of that valuable piece are extremely rare, and 
 can be found only in the private libraries of a few indi- 
 viduals. It is presented again to the public, with the 
 full persuasion, that it will prove highly gratifying to 
 the Catholicks of the United States, and particularly to 
 those who had the happiness of being personally ac- 
 quainted ivith its pious and celebrated author. 
 
JOHN, 
 
 BY THE GRACE OF GOD, ASD WITH THE APPIIOBATION’ OF THE HOLY SEF, 
 
 BISHOP OF BALTIMORE, 
 
 TO MY BELOVED BRETHREN, OF THE CONGREGATION 
 OF TRINITY CHURCH, PHILAUELFIIIA. 
 
 May the mercy of God the Father, through his blessed 
 Son, Jesus Christ, and the charity of the Holy Ghost, 
 he always with you. 
 
 1 OUR peace and union, my dear Bre- 
 tliren, has been disturbed for some time past, by a dar- 
 ing invasion of tlie sacred and purely spiritual autho- 
 rity transmitted by Christ to his Apostles, and their 
 Successors in the apostolical ministry. Though the 
 occasion was sufficiently important and alarming, yet I 
 deferred till the present time to address myself 
 diately to you ; still hoping, that the violent breach of 
 the laws of the Church, which originated, as I knew, 
 with a few only, would be soon disavowed by your al- 
 most general voice. It was not difficult to persuade 
 myself of this ; for 1 relied much on the sincerity of 
 
6 
 
 your attaclimeut to your religion, to the faith you re- 
 ceived in haptisai, and which you have cherished ever 
 since in your hearts. But my expectations have prov- 
 ed vain : some of yon have supported the usurpation, 
 and deserted the pastor, who, to use the language of 
 the Saviour of mankind, entered bij the door into the 
 
 s 
 
 sheepfoldf and have delivered tlieniselves up a prey to 
 him, whose intrusion has all the marks attributed by 
 Christ to Si hireling; not entering by the door into the 
 fold, but as a thief and a robber, John li». If these 
 expressions sound harsh in your ears, remember that 
 they are not mine, but those of tlie divine author of our 
 religion, who, though the meekest of men. and lowly of 
 heart, did not think the appellation of thUf and robber 
 too strong to designate the prevarication of an unautho- 
 rised intruder into the pastoral office, or to excite in 
 your breasts too much detestation of the crime, of 
 which he is guilty, who without any com?nission from 
 the chief pastors of the Church, and in defiance of its 
 law s, presumes to exercise the ministerial functions of 
 the priesthood, polluting the Sanctuary, profaning the 
 Sacraments, usurping the chair of truth, and converting 
 it into the seat of falsehood and deception ; and who 
 instead of being the instrument of divine mercy in com- 
 municating to you pardon and inward peace, only 
 abuses the sacred rites of religion, and words of recon- 
 ciliation, to confirm the sinfulness of some of vou more 
 and more, by inducing them to submit to, and place 
 their trust in his sacrilegious ministry. How painful is 
 it to reflect, that perhaps some have departed already 
 out of this world, bearing on their consciences tke guilt 
 

 7 
 
 of having, in their last moments, called on him for that 
 absolution, which he could not bestow, and received 
 from his polluted hands that divine bread, which, 
 tiiough ordained by Christ to be the pledge of eternal 
 lile, becomes the cause of terrible condemnation to 
 those persons, who, persevering in their schismatical 
 disobedience, render themselves the accomplices of his 
 usurpation and revolt ? 
 
 Let those of you, my Brethren, who have hitherto 
 followed his pernicious counsels, consider the abyss of 
 infidelity and separation from Catholic communion, 
 wliich is opening before them, and into which they are 
 falling, and precipitating their children, whom they 
 lead to hear lessons of error and disobedience, from the 
 unhallowed lips of an unworthy priest. How w ide will 
 this evil spread ! — what devastation does it threaten to 
 make in the inheritance of Jesus Christ ! 
 
 To place these things more clearly before your eyes, 
 I will relate shortly the origin and progress of your 
 present unhappy condition ; in order to obviate the 
 misrepresentation, which has served to draw some of 
 you into measures, from w hich they would have recoil- 
 ed wdth horror, if they had been aware of their perni- 
 cious tendency. 
 
 Some months ago, the clergyman, who is the chief 
 author of all this evil, arrived into the United States : 
 according to the regular and established usage of our 
 Church, he exhibited to the Vicar General, at Philadel- 
 phia, the certificates of his ordination, and others res- 
 
8 
 
 pectiiig his conduct, and manners ; and he wrote to me, 
 most liumhly requesting^ to use tlie expressions of his 
 letter of July S8, 1796, to he admitted into this diocess^ 
 and to be allowed to exercise priestly functions, in 
 Trinity Churchy at Philadelphia, solemnly promising 
 — that he would so diligently acquit himself of the sa- 
 cerdotal duties, which might he committed to him, as to 
 render himself worthy of further favours. In compli- 
 ance with this request, and under a dependance on the 
 sincerity of his professions, I licensed and appointed 
 him to be an assistant clergyman to the Rev. Mr. Hel- 
 bron ; and conferred on iiini the spiritual authority, ne- 
 cessary for discharging the duties annexed to his ap- 
 pointment. In tlie instrument convey ing to him this au- 
 thority, the following clause was contained, agreeably 
 to a statute formed in the Diocesan Synod, held at Bal- 
 timore, in Nov. 1791. •jYo priest, secular or regular, 
 7 vho has not been approved by the Bishop or his ^ tear 
 General to administer the ^aermment of Penance, or 
 whose approbation has been revoked, shall presume to 
 intrude himself into that ministry, excepting in a case 
 of necessity, under pain of suspension from every func- 
 tion of the priesthood, to be incurred ipso facto, that is, 
 by the very act itself of disobedience to this ordinance. 
 Under this license, and without making any exception to 
 the terms of it, the Rev. John Nepomucen Groetz, (for 
 you know, that I speak of him) proceeded to officiate in 
 Trinity Church. But a subordinate station therein soon 
 became too humiliating for him ; and being encouraged 
 by some laymen, regardless of their own solemn en- 
 gagements to their Bishop, and of their sacred duty t© 
 
9 
 
 respect and maintain religion and the laws of the 
 C hurch, he was not ashamed of co-operating with them 
 to dismiss their lawfully appointed pastor, without the 
 concurrence or information of his ecclesiastical Supe- 
 rior, and without any charge of negligence or crimi- 
 nality against him. After this, the intruder received 
 from the same Trustees a pretended appointment to 
 the pastoral office, that is, the power of loosening 
 and binding; of administering the holy Euchar- 
 ist to the Faithful of God’s Church; of teach- 
 ing and preaching, and performing all those du- 
 ties, which being in theft’ nature entirely spiritual, can 
 never be within the jurisdiction of, or subject to 
 the dispensation of the laity, but were committed by 
 Christ to the Apostles alone, and to their Successors 
 in the government of their respective Churches. 
 
 How contrary are these proceedings to the faitli, and 
 discipline of the Catholic Church ? When the son of 
 God was on the point of ascending into heaven, and, 
 leaving it under the visible government of St. Peter 
 and the other Apostles, he communicated to them that 
 spiritual and sublime jurisdiction, which the w orld can- 
 not give, and which has for its object, not the bodies 
 or temporal effects, but the souls of men ; a jurisdic- 
 tion derivable from liiai alone, who can destruij both soul 
 and body in hell. Mat. x. ^8. To fill our minds with 
 a due impression of its importance and sublimity, 
 Christ, before he bequeathed it to iiis Apostles as his 
 last legacy, addressed to them these awful and so- 
 lemn words, recorded by 8t. Matthew, ch. 28. Say- 
 
 ingj all jjower is given to me in heaven^ and in earth. 
 
 2 
 
10 
 
 Having thus brought to their recollection, the source 
 of his own divine ministry, that he did not come of 
 himself but that his Father sent him, (John vii. 28, 
 29, &c.) having spoken thus to them; as mij Father 
 hath sent me. 1 also send you, (John xx. 21,) he then 
 proceeded to invest them with their sacred commission, 
 and authority ; saying. Go ye, and teach all nations, 
 hajjtising them in the name of the Father, and of the 
 Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe 
 all things, ichatsoever 1 have commanded you. The 
 Apostles, thus commissioned by their heavenly Teach- 
 er, proceeded to execute the duties of their ministry ; 
 they announced the glad tidings of salvation, and ap- 
 pointed pastors to take charge of the Churches form- 
 ed by their preaching ; which pastors, in their turn, and 
 according to new exigencies, constituted others, who 
 have been thus continued to the present time, deri- 
 ving their power of exercising the holy functions of 
 the pastoral office, not from liuman authority, or insti- 
 tutions of civil government, but from the same di- 
 vine origin, as the j^postles themselves. That the 
 Catholic Church possesses exclusively a spiritual 
 jurisdiction, so transmitted down to her, and by which 
 she is and ever will be enabled to minister to us in all 
 holy things, is her discriminating and exalted prero- 
 gative. She has always steadily and jealously main- 
 tained it ; and you were taught to respect it in your 
 earliest lessons of religion, from your first initiation 
 into your catechism, and ever since in the public creeds, 
 and approved formularies of our faith. When there- 
 fore you now hear it asserted, that clergymen may 
 
11 
 
 be clothed by the laity with spiritual powers to offi- 
 ciate at the altar, administer the Sacraments and per- 
 form all pastoral functions ; when prevaricating 
 priests shelter their base prostitution of the rights of 
 the Church under the protection which is oft'ered to 
 them by Usurpers of ecclesiastical and spiritual author- 
 } ity ; when they lend their sacrilegious ministry to up- 
 
 hold a system of defiance against the universal disci- 
 pline of Catholic diocesses ; be assured, dear Ereth- 
 reu, that though these scandals are not unprecedent- 
 ed in the history of the Church, yet they have been 
 always reprobated as destructive of her divine econo- 
 my, and leading to all the evils of a schismatical se- 
 paration from her. Disorders of this pernicious ten- 
 dency never break out, without calling forth the soli- 
 ^ citude and animadversion of pastors, who feel a re- 
 
 gard for the integrity of faith, and the preservation of 
 their flocks from the contagion of error and immoral- 
 ity. God forbid, that I should aim to irritate our 
 dissenting Brethren, by an acrimonious recapitula- 
 tion of the doctrines on Church authority, advanced by 
 the first pretended reformers ; or by comparing them 
 ; with the principles avowed by such amongst you, as 
 
 have been leaders in the unfortunate dissentions, 
 which I so sincerely deplore ! But surely no offence 
 ought to betaken, when speaking to Roman Catholics, 
 committed to my pastoral care, 1 say to them, that 
 they are exchanging the doctrines of the Catholic 
 Church for those of Luther and (^alviii ; that though 
 they may call themselves her children, yet she will not 
 allow herself to be their mother, as long as they refuse 
 to hear her counsels^ or obey her commands; in a word, 
 
15 
 
 that they can he Catholics no longer, than whilst they 
 continue united in the profession of the same faith, and 
 participation of the same Sacraments, under the visi- 
 ble government of pastors, deriv ing their authority from 
 the same source, and acknowledging for their supreme 
 head under Jesus Christ, and as his Vicar on earth, 
 the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of St. Peter ; and, 
 as a consequence uf this acknowledgement, receiving 
 and recognising those pastors only, who hold commu- 
 nion with, and whose jurisdiction is allowed by him. 
 
 It has been always the uniform endeavour of the 
 open and secret enemies of the Catholic Church to re- 
 present this spiritual supremacy of ChrisPs Vicar in 
 the most odious ligut ; and I was not surprised to hear, 
 that the turbulent men, who foment the present dis- 
 turbances, have declared themselves independent of it, 
 as of a foreign jurisdiction. By using these words, 
 they not only manifest the spirit, by which they are 
 governed, but they hope to render obnoxious to our fel- 
 low -citizens, an essential tenet of our religion, and all 
 of us, who profess it : a tenet, which is the bond of our 
 union ; which cements and keeps together, in the pro- 
 fession of the same faith, in the celebration of the same 
 solemn and public worsiiip, and under one uniform go- 
 vernment, established by Jesus Christ, and perpetu- 
 ated by succeeding pastors, so many different nations, 
 so distant from each other, and unconnected in every 
 other respect. 
 
 I 
 
There would indeed be a foundation for the reproach 
 intended by the words, foreign jurisdiction^ if we ac- 
 knowledged in the Successor of St. Peter, any pow- 
 er or prerogative, which clashed in the least degree 
 with the duty, we owe to our country, or its laws. To 
 our country we owe allegiance, and the tender of our 
 best services and property, when they are necessary 
 for its defence ; to the Yicar of Clirist we owe obe- 
 dience in things purelij spiritual. Happily, there is 
 no competition in tiieir respective claims on us, nor any 
 difficulty in rendering to both the submission, which 
 they have a right to claim. Our country commands 
 and enforces by outward coercion the services, which 
 tend to the preservation and defence of that personal 
 security, and of that property, for the sake of which 
 political societies were formed, and men agreed to live 
 under the protection of, and obedience to civil govern- 
 ment. The Vicar of Christ, as visible head of his 
 Church, watches over the integrity and soundness of 
 doctrine, and makes use of means and weapons, that 
 act only on the souls of men, to enforce the duties of 
 religion, the purity of worship, and ecclesiastical dis- 
 cipline. As members of the church, we form one indi- 
 visible society with our Brethren in faith, spread 
 through the whole world, of which Jesus Christ i^ the 
 invisible, and, as has been said, tlie Successor of St. 
 Peter is the visible head. The power possessed by 
 the latter is of the same kind as that of the former (for 
 it is derived from him,) and consequently is not of this 
 world: it is ordained for, and directed to the preserva- 
 tion of unity in faith and worship, amongst all true 
 
believers. The jurisdictioti attached to his supremacy 
 is not and cannot be foreign to the members of tho 
 Catholic Church. However they may be spread 
 through different and far distant countries, they are 
 sheep of one fold, John x. 16, they are under one 
 shepherd, ever blessed in heaven, but visible to us, 
 through his Vicar here on earth ; they are no more 
 strangers and foreigners : but are felloiv-citizens icitJi 
 the Saints, and ihe domestics of God. Ephes. ii. 
 19. As members of a religious Society thus constitu- 
 ted, you, my dear Brethren, with all other Catholics, 
 have often repeated the solemn and authentic profes- 
 sion of your faith, and at the foot of the altar, in the 
 adorable presence of Jesus Christ, you have acknow- 
 ledged the Holy Catholic Apostolic Homan Church 
 for the Mother and Mistress of all Churches, and 
 promised true obedience to the Bishop of Rome, Suc- 
 cessor of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and Vicar 
 of Jesus Christ: and having made this declaration 
 of your belief and obedience, you concluded by prom- 
 ising most constantly to retain and confess the same, 
 entire and unviolated, with God’s assistance, to the 
 end of your lives. 
 
 These are the words of that creed, by which, 
 throughout the Catholic world, we 'all testify our ad- 
 herence to the doctrines and our inviolable attacliment 
 to the chief pastor of our Church. Consider now, 
 whether this creed can be truly professed by them, 
 who, without any reference to Episcopal authority, 
 have discharged their pastor, and acknowledged ano- 
 ther in his stead, who has no authority to minister in 
 
15 
 
 holy things. Do they achii owl edge in fact and re- 
 reality, the Catholic Apostolic Roman Church for 
 the Alother and jMistress of all Churches^ who de- 
 clare themselves independent of her, as possessing 
 only a foreign jurisdiction? who deny, that her dis- 
 ciplinary regulations and ordinances ought to have any 
 force in the, Clinrch of the Holy Trinity at Philadel- 
 pliia? Is the power of a mother foreign to her chil- 
 dren P Is the power of a mistress foreign to those 
 who are bound to reverence and obey her? Do they 
 yield true obedience to the Bishop of Rome., Successor 
 of St. Peter, and Vicar of Jesus Christ, who after 
 first recognising the Episcopal establishment sanction- 
 ed by his holiness in these United States, for the ge- 
 neral government of Catholic Christians, afterwards, 
 for private purposes, arbitrarily and schismatically re- 
 ject it ? Our present Pontiff, Pius the Vlth, in his brief 
 for constituting a Bishop’s See at Baltimore, thus ex- 
 presses himself : AVe declare, by our Apostolical 
 
 authority, all the faithful of Christ, living in Catholic 
 communion, as well ecclesiastics as seculars, and 
 all the clergy and people dwelling in the United 
 States of America, though hitherto they may have 
 been subject to other Bishops of other diocesses, to be 
 lienceforward subject to the Bishop of Baltimore in all 
 future times: and to this Bishop and his Successors we 
 impart power to curb and check, without appeal, all 
 persons who may contradict or oppose their orders ; 
 to visit personally, or by deputies, all Catholic 
 churches ; to remove abuses ; to correct the manners 
 
 I 
 
16 
 
 the Faithful; and to perform all thinsjs, which 
 other Bishops in their respective diocesses are accus- 
 tomed to do and perform.’’ 
 
 After hearing this language of our First Pastor, and 
 the common Father of the Faithful, let those, who 
 still profess themselves Catholics, consider, if it ^ 
 
 he possible to reconcile the conduct of some amongst 
 you, with the veneration they have vowed so often to 
 the successor of St. Peter. The two clergymen, ^ 
 
 Messrs. Goetz and Filing, who exercise their sacri- 
 legious ministry in Trinity Church, openly and pub- 
 lickly disclaim any subjection to the Episcopal juris- 
 diction, established amongst us by the Holy See. 
 
 They continue to preach, and perform ail the func- 
 tions annexed to the pastoral charge ; to celebrate 
 the most awful act of religion, the solemn sacrifice of 
 the new Testament ; and to deceive the credulous 
 and ignorant, by pretending to dispense to them the 
 ministry of reconciliation and pardon, though all pow- 
 er and authority for these purposes have been with- 
 drawn from them, and this has been publicly notified 
 to you all. How is it possible for any, ho wish to 
 continue in the communion of the Church, to uphold 
 and support the authors of such schismatical pro- 
 ceedings ? Is it not raising up openly the standard of 
 revolt against their lawful pastors, and forswearing 
 their solemn promises of obedience to him, who is the 
 chief amongst them ? 
 
17 
 
 There remain many other subjects for consideration, 
 which ought to alarm the consciences of the authors 
 and accomplices of the actual, or impending schism. 
 The Apostolic institutions ; the traditions and uniform 
 practice of the universal Church, through all its vicis- 
 situdes of persecution and peace ; the decrees of Coun- 
 cils and Pontiffs ; and the doctrine of the Fathers 
 bear witness against the usurpation committed by your 
 Trustees, and supported by the two clergymen above 
 mentioned. As I wished to render this instruction 
 plain and intelligible to all, and only to include in it 
 necessary points for your information on the present oc- 
 casion, I purposely avoided citations from the authori- 
 ties which have been mentioned. But I shall now lay 
 one before you, which is from the highest authority in 
 the Church, and, though of a late date, is only a re- 
 newed condemnation of a renewed heresy. His pre- 
 sent Holiness, by a solemn decree and constitution, 
 dated August S8, 1794, and addressed to all Catholics, 
 passed judgment and condemnation on many erroneous 
 doctrines, amongst Avhich is the following ; which as- 
 serted, that 'power was given by God to the Church, 
 that it 'might be communicated to the pastors, iclio are 
 its ministers for the salvation of souls. This doctrine 
 the Pope declares to be heretical, if it be understood to 
 mean, that the power of ecclesiastical ministry and go- 
 vernment is derived to pastors from the community or 
 congregation of the faithful people. 
 
 3 
 
18 
 
 The trustees of Trinity Church, and the two cler- 
 gymen, Avho act in subjection to them, fall evidently 
 under the censure pronounced by the Vicar of Christ : 
 for it is manifest to you all, that the latter have no jpoiv- 
 er of ecclesiastical ministry and government, but that 
 which is derived from the former, or, at mo^i,from the 
 comrnunity represented by them. Behold, my .Bre- 
 thren, the fatal consequence of their departure from the 
 established discipline of the Church. Their proceed- 
 ings are grounded on principles erroneous in faith, and 
 branded with the qualification of being heretical, and 
 repugnant to divine revelation. What then is wanting 
 to*" make the abettors of them, foreign to the Church, 
 and apostates from her faith ? Nothing is wanting 
 for the consummation of this guilt and misfortune, but to 
 persevere obstinately in the avowal and practice of 
 their error, after this plain admonition, which my pas- 
 toral solicitude commands me to give them. May he^ 
 who is not the God of dissension, hut of peace, 1 Cor. 
 
 ' Ch. 14, inspire better counsels into their hearts ! 
 
 I invite you all, my dear Brethren, to unite toge- 
 ther in offering up this earnest supplication to the 
 throne of mercy, that all may he now converted to the 
 2 )asfor and Bishop of your souls, i. Pet. ii. 25, As 
 this revolt against the lawful autliority of your ecclesi- 
 astical superiors was begun without any pretence of 
 injury, or a single cause of complaint, ever made 
 known to me ; and as I am conscious to myself of 
 feeling every disposition, not only of good-will, but 
 of tender solicitude to promote the welfare and res- 
 
19 
 
 pectability of your congregation, and its increase in 
 all godliness ; so I cherish the hope, that a sense of 
 religion towards God, of due submission to the right- 
 ful authority of his ministers, an attachment to revealed 
 truths, and an awful horror of the guilt of schism and 
 apostacy, will revive in all liearts, and banish out of 
 them discord and disobedience, and bring back again 
 'the pleasing prospects of extencling the reign of Jesus 
 Christ in truth and holiness. — 'May the blessing of 
 God be with us all ! Amen. 
 
 Baltimore^ Feb. §2, 1/97. 
 

 
 
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 ARCHBISHOP MARECHAI 
 
 THE ROMAN CATHOLICKS OF NORFOLK, 
 
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 BY THE GRACE OF GOB AUB WITH THE APFHOBATIOX OF THE IlOET SEF, 
 
 ARCHBISHOP OF BALTIMORE, 
 
 TO ALL MY BELOVED BRETHREN OF THE CATHOLICK 
 CONGREGATION OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA. 
 
 May the mercy ’of God the Father, through his blessed 
 Son, Jesus Christ, and the charity of the Holy Ghost 
 be always with you. 
 
 BELOVED BRETHREN, 
 
 After having enjoyed the consolation oi 
 spending several days with you last year, we thought 
 it our duty, as your first Pastor, before we left your city, 
 to address a few words to you from the Altar, on the 
 danger to which some of you might eventually be 
 exposed, of being seduced from the pale of the Holy 
 Church, in which, through the infinite mercy of Crod, 
 you have been baptized and educated. 
 
2 ^ 
 
 It is true, the few individuals who have brought 
 so many calamities on your Congregation, could 
 not hope, by their affected zeal for the cause of reli- 
 gion, to make any considerable impression on the minds 
 of the great majority of you, and much less to induce 
 you to join them in the execution of their desperate 
 scheme. ^ 
 
 To protect you against the baneful influence of 
 their insidious discourses, it was sufficient for you to 
 reflect a moment on the manner in which they violated 
 the sacred trust which you had unfortunately, some 
 years ago, committed to them. And, indeed, who is 
 the pious and sensible Catholick among you, who is 
 not seized with horror, when he considers that, abus- 
 ing the equal liberty which the wisdom of our happy v 
 
 government grants to every Christian sect, they have 
 deprived you of the use of that very Church which you 
 have raised by your own contributions, and those of 
 many of your Brethren scattered over the United 
 States ; and have not blushed to declare publickly their 
 fixed determination of never restoring this sacred edifice 
 to the worship of Almighty God and your spiritual com- 
 forts, unless on terms perfectly incompatible with the te- 
 nets and government of the Holy Church, of which they 
 profess themselves to be members? We still recollect. 
 
 Beloved Brethren, with feelings of admiration and grati- 
 tude, the virtuous grief which you manifested, when you 
 were informed, that relying on the impossibility of your 
 ever recovering by legal process, the sacred property 
 
they have wrested from your hands, they rejected 
 with stern pride, every offer of peace which was ten- 
 dered to them ; and particularly your consternation and 
 tears, at hearing the impious language they employed 
 against the Episcopal Dignity, which their religion com- 
 mands them to respect, and which the laws of common 
 decency protect from insult in every country of the ci- 
 vilized world. Our Protestent Brethren themselves, 
 whom we had the pleasure of visiting in Norfolk, 
 piompted by tlie spirit of benevolence and the delicacy 
 of manners which distinguish them, were justly shock- 
 ed at such excesses. 
 
 But although these pretended Catholicks, by their 
 scandalous conduct and virulent language, must natu- 
 rally have deterred you from adopting their principles 
 and joining their party, yet we could not help appre- 
 hending, lest, b^ the concurrence of many unfortunate 
 causes, some of you might be insensibly drawn over to 
 the schismatical plan w hich they were then meditating, 
 and which they have since put into execution. For ha- 
 ving now neither a convenient place of worship nor a bu- 
 rial ground of your own, it is natural you should feel a 
 strong and laudable desire of assembling again in the 
 same temple, which you were wont to frequent from 
 your earliest years, and, when God summons you out 
 of this world, of reposing in the grave by the side of 
 your relations and friends. The guilty authors of all 
 your misfortunes, are well acquainted with this your 
 
26 
 
 Christian desire, and we foresaw from the beginning 
 that they would take advantage of it, to induce you to 
 accept the criminal conditions on which alone they are 
 willing to do you justice. They know too well your 
 inviolable attachment to your Religion, ever to propose 
 to you in plain terms, to barter your Faith for the sake 
 of a Material Building. They have the certain convic- 
 tion that you would reject such a proposition with hor- 
 ror. But, as we expected it, they now strive by every 
 means in their power, to prove to you that their con- 
 duct is perfectly consonant with the principles of the 
 Catholick Faith — that in this country you can lawfully, 
 after the example of other religious sects, assume the 
 right of choosing and rejecting your Pastors — that the 
 power which the Catholick Bishops of the United States 
 claim, of exclusively appointing the secondary Pas- 
 tors, is an unauthorised usurpation, founded on super- 
 stition and injustice ; and as they have already reduced 
 to practice these erroneous opinions, no wonder, we see 
 them making use of all possible means to persuade you 
 that the Hireling, who has engaged to exercise among 
 them his sacrilegious Ministry, stands in no need of 
 ^^ny Mission ; and that after all, if some weak minds 
 still deem it absolutely necessary, for constituting a 
 Priest lawful Pastor, he has received ample secret pow- 
 ers from the Sovereign Pontiff, and has been by him 
 appointed Catholick Pastor of Norfolk. 
 
 i 
 
 Such are the principal arguments by which they en- 
 deavour to defend their Anti- Catholick principles, and 
 
7 ^ 
 
 37 
 
 to vindicate their schismatical departure from the 
 Church of Christ. But in order to guard you, my Be- 
 loved Brethren, against their seducing language, it will - 
 be sufficient for us to recall to your minds, some of the 
 fundamental principles of your Religion ; and with these 
 before you, to fix your attention to undeniable facts 
 which invincibly prove the absolute vanity of their rea- 
 sonings and pretensions. 
 
 Our adorable Saviour wishing to extend to all ge- 
 nerations those means of salvation, which he personal- 
 ly offered to the Jews, resolved in his infinite mercy to 
 establish on earth a Church, which should be the guar- 
 dian and dispenser of them. As the object which J. 
 C. had in view, when he organized that grand and 
 immortal institution, was to lead mankind to heaven 
 by supernatural means, so its origin w as supernatural 
 and proceeded from the very bosom of Grod himself. 
 The Lord and Author of our Faith did not receive his 
 legislative powers from the consent of the multitude ; 
 nor did he consult their wisdom in the execution of 
 the merciful plan of Redemption, which he had con- 
 ceived for their benefit. No! My dear Brethren, He 
 acted with the supreme independence of a Man-Gtod; 
 Avith the benevolence of a Father, and with the aAvful 
 authority of a Master and a supreme Judge. Far from 
 acting in conformity with human ideas, he chose for 
 his apOvStles twelve poor, ignorant fishermen, first un- 
 known to the world, and when known, the object of its 
 
! 
 
 28 
 
 contempt.^ To these obscure men, He entrusted bis 
 sacred authority, when he addressed them in these re- 
 markable words, my Father sent me, so do 1 send 
 you.’^ (John xx. 21.) The Mission of the master then 
 and of his ministers, was derived from the same hea- 
 venly source, and merited the same respect and obedi- 
 ence ; otherwise he could never have said. He that 
 hears you, hears me, and he that despises you, despis- 
 es me, and he that despises ine, despises Him that sent 
 me, (Luke x. 16.) 
 
 Nor w as this Divine Mission and the spiritual pow’- 
 ers annexed to it, limited to the persons of the Apos- 
 tles or to the age in which they lived. Kor the salvation 
 of the world being the important end, for which they 
 were originally granted, and the mercy of God embrac- 
 ing all mankind, our Saviour determined that they 
 should be transmitted full and entire from the Apostles 
 to their successors in the holy ministry, to the end of 
 time. This he announced in the most positive lan- 
 guage, both during his mortal life, and more particular- 
 ly before his ascension into Heaven. Ml power, 
 said he to his Apostles, is given to me in Heaven 
 and on earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, 
 
 * But the foolish things of this world has God chosen, that he 
 may confound the wise, and the weak things of the world hath God 
 chosen, that he may confound the strong, and the mean things of the 
 world, and the things that are contemptible hath God chosen, and 
 the things that are not, that he might bring to nought the things that 
 are. (St, Paul. 1. Cor. I. 17.) 
 
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the 
 Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe 
 all things whatsoever 1 have commanded you, and be- 
 hold 1 am with you all days, even to the consummation 
 of the world. (St. Math, xxviii. 18. 19. 20.) He 
 that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he 
 that believeth not^ shall be condemned. (St. Mark 
 xvi. 16.) 
 
 In conformity with the injunction of their Divine 
 Master, the Apostles soon after they had received 
 the Holy Ghost, departed from Jerusalem to preach 
 the Gospel to all nations. You know, Dearest 
 Brethren, how stupendous were the effects, and how 
 abundant the fruits of their ministry. An immense 
 multitude of all ages, sexes and conditions, flocked 
 round the standard of the cross, which these spiri- 
 tual conquerors had unfurled. Then according to 
 the instructions which they had received from Jesus 
 Christ, they began to organize that holy, immense and 
 immortal society, called the Catholick Church. M^hen 
 they had converted a suflicient number of Jews and 
 Pagans, they gave them Pastors, whom they previous- 
 ly ordained, and invested with the heavenly powers 
 necessary to exercise their sacred ministry. Thus St. 
 Paul consecrated and appointed his beloved Timothy 
 Bishop of Ephesus, and his other disciple, Titus, Bisli* 
 op of Crete. This great Apostle surely did not soli- 
 cit the consent either of the ruling Princes, or of the 
 people of those countries ; much less did he think this 
 

 
 30 
 
 consent necessary to render the choice which he had 
 made of these illustrious personages, pleasing to God, 
 and their ordination valid and venerable in the eves of 
 the first Christians. As most part of the world was 
 Pagan, it is evident, that he could not have consulted 
 Avith them on so holy and important a subject, without 
 a palpable absurdity. Hence those holy Prelates might 
 justly have addressed their flocks, in words similar to 
 those which St. Paul employed, when he wrote to the 
 Galatians : Timothy and Titus bishops^ not from 
 , me?2, neither by man ; but by J. C. and God the Fa- 
 
 ther, who raised him from the deadJ^^ (Chap, i. i.) 
 Hence the same Apostle of the Gentiles, in his first 
 epistle to his beloved Disciple, among the many quali- 
 fications which he requires in those, who are to be rais- 
 ed to the Episcopal oflice, enumerates indeed sobriety, 
 prudence, chastity, science, charity, and unblemished 
 reputation, even among infidels ; but observes the most 
 profound silence, on the necessity of obtaining the pre- 
 vious consent of the masters of the earth, or of their 
 subjects. 
 
 Such was tlie conduct, dearly beloved Brethren, of 
 the Apostles, and their immediate successors : and the 
 astonished world viewed in the result of this conduct 
 a spectacle till then unprecedented under the sun. It 
 saw an immense body of men, venerable by the purity 
 of their morals, the sanctity of their doctrine, and the 
 sublimity of that noble and everlasting happiness, 
 which they constantly had in view, emerging suddenly 
 
31 
 
 from the darkness and corruption of idolatry, and the 
 blind superstitions of the Jews. It may easily be dis- 
 covered that even at its origin, it was divided into two 
 distinct parts. The 1st. composed of Pastors charged 
 with the sacred office of instructing those, whom they 
 had converted, and of administering to them the sacra- 
 ments of, the law of grace and all the other means of 
 sanctification, instituted by J. C'. The 2d. compre- 
 hending the Faithful, who were fed by the word of God 
 and the sacraments : ruled and governed by their Pas- 
 tors. In proportion as the generations of Christians 
 succeeded one another, in the same proportion and 
 without any interruption, Pastors have been appoint- 
 ed and ordained by their predecessors, and invested 
 with the awful charge of governing and sanctifying the 
 flock of J. C. And it is. Dearest Brethren, that un- 
 broken succession, which constitutes the grand charac- 
 ter of iVpostolicity peculiar to the true church of Christ. 
 It is indistructible, and one of the most splendid or- 
 naments that decks the spouse of the Son of God. 
 Therefore it is independent of the mutable will of 
 men. To maintain then, that the ministers of the Re- 
 ligion of J. C. cannot be lawfully ordained, or that 
 they have no valid jurisdiction, unless they be elected 
 and appointed Pastors either by the ruling powers of 
 this world, or by the Christian multitude, is an error 
 totally subversive of the constitution of the Church, 
 and she has frequently condemned it, in the most 
 positive and solemn manner. We learn from eccle- 
 siastical history, that in the course of ages, several 
 
 I i 
 
 T O 
 
 ■ i . ^ 
 
 
32 
 
 \ 
 
 deluded princes liave claimed that eminent prerogative. 
 Imagining that it would add another ray to the splen- 
 dour of their crowns, they assumed the power of ap- 
 pointing the Pastors of the Church, and required that 
 they should receive from them, the jurisdiction neces- 
 sary for the sanctification and spiritual government of 
 their subjects. But what were the final results of these 
 unfounded pretensions? Although they were support- 
 ed by the most formidable means that these powerful 
 iiionarchs could exert, and defended by every argu- 
 ment which human wisdom and learning could invent, 
 the usurpation has been constantly resisted, and the 
 unfortunate usurpers together with their subjects, have 
 at last been cut oft' from the Catholick Church. The 
 lamentable fate of England, under the reigns of Henry 
 VIII. and Queen Elizabeth, and the similar fate of 
 other miglity empires prove evidently, that such a 
 claim is incompatible with the fundamental principles 
 of the religion of J. C. The same pretensions on the 
 part of the Christian multitude, have been resisted with 
 the same inflexible firmness and energy. 
 
 And surely, Beloved Brethren, every enlightened 
 and sensible Catholick, by reflecting a moment on the 
 nature of those spiritual functions which are appropri- 
 ate to a Pastor of the law of grace, will immediately 
 perceive that his appointment and jurisdiction, to- 
 gether with his sublime powers, cannot possibly flow 
 from any human source. For who is the man, how 
 exalted soever be his rank in this world; or where is 
 
 
33 
 
 the collection of men, that can confer on any of their 
 fellow creatures, the power of consecrating the body 
 and blood of Jesus Christ ; of otfering that adorable 
 victim during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to the 
 supreme majesty of God in behalf of his people ; or 
 of absolving repentant sinners in the tribunal of Pe- 
 nance? Who is the man, who can say without impiety, 
 that he has a natural right to assign to whomsoever 
 he pleases, the various posts in the spiritual empire of 
 Jesus Christ, or, Jhat it belongs to him, to institute 
 the sacred relations and reciprocal duties, which ac- 
 cording to the ordinances of the gospel, must necessa- 
 rily subsist between the Faithful and their Pastors ? 
 No one can certainly do so, except those whom J. C. 
 himself either mediately or immediately has commis- 
 sioned to perform that awful office. This supernatural 
 authority and its corresponding functions, must come 
 from above. This is the doctrine, Dearest Brethren, 
 which the Catholick Church has constantly announced 
 to the world, from the age of the Apostles down to our 
 days, and notoriously in the Council of Trent. 
 
 Among the errors which pretended reformers pro- 
 pagated in the l6th century, many of them, with a 
 view of ingratiating themselves with the princes 
 of this world and their people, fl^attered both, by main- 
 taining that they had an inalienable right to nominate, 
 institute and dismiss their Pastors, and that therefore 
 the Bishops and the inferior priests, appointed by the 
 Holy See, without their concurrence, were not lawful 
 
 \ 
 
34 
 
 Pa«!tors. The Church condemned this error in the 
 following words : 
 
 The Holy Council teaches that in the ordination 
 of Bishops, priests, and other ministers, neither the 
 consent, 'iior the election, nor the authority of the peo- 
 pie, or of the magistracy, or of secular power, is 
 - ^‘required, in such a manner that without them, the 
 ordination shall be void. On the contrary, the same 
 Council declares, that those, who are called only 
 hy the people, magistrate, or secular power, to ex- 
 ercise the sacred functions, and those who of their 
 own authority presume to exercise them, are not 
 Pastors of the 'Church, hut must be looked upon as 
 thieves and robbers, who have not entered hy the 
 ^^door,^^^ ^c. ^c. 
 
 And again, after having declared that in the Church 
 of Christ, there is an established hierarchy of divine 
 institution, composed of Bishops, priests and other in- 
 ferior ministers, the Council pronounces the following 
 sentence : 
 
 * Docet Sacrosanta Synodus, in ordinatione Episcoporum, Sacer- 
 dotum et ceterorum ordinum, nec populi, nec cujusvis ssecularis, 
 potestatis et magistratus consensum, sive vocationem, sive auctori- 
 tatem ita requiri, ut sine ea irrita sit ordinatio : quin potius decer- 
 nit, eos, qui lantumrnodo a populo, aut sfecuiari potestati ac magis- 
 tratu vocati et instituii, ad hsec misteria exercenda adscendunt, et qui 
 ea propria temeritate sibi suniunt, omnes non Ecclesiae ministros 
 sed tures et latrones, per ostium non ingressus, habendos esse. 
 ('Concilium Trid. Sess. 23. cap. 4.J 
 
35 
 
 Whoever shall say, that orders conferred by 
 Bishops, without the consent or choice of the civil 
 power or of the people, are null ; and that those, 
 who have not received both ordination and mission 
 from Ecclesiastical and canonical authority, are law- 
 ^^ful ministers of God and of the sacraments, let him 
 f he anathematized. And whoever shall say that 
 
 Bishops appointed by the authority of the Roman 
 Pontiff are not truly lawful Bishops, but a human 
 fiction, let him be anathematized.’’* 
 
 This is the pure and unreformable Doctrine of the 
 Catholick Church, Beloved Brethren; a Doctrine sure- 
 ly very different from that which the turbulent men, 
 who are the cause of all your afflictions, and the unfor- 
 » timate old Priest whom they have hired to offlciate as 
 
 their Pastor, teach you, both in their discourses and in 
 the impious writings which they industriously dissemi- 
 nate in Norfolk and elsewhere. Perverting an expres- 
 sion frequently found in books written on Canon Law, 
 and basely flattering that pride which is unfortunately 
 natural to us all, they repeatedly tell you, That botli 
 , iu Ecclesiastical and in Civil Offices, all power is de- 
 
 * Siquis dixerit ordines ab ipsis (Episcopis) collatos sine popu- 
 li vel potestatis secularis consensu, aut vocatione, irritos esse ; aut 
 eos, qui nec ab ecclesiastica et canonica potestate rite ordinati, nec 
 missi sunt, sed aliunde veniunt, legitimos esse verb! et sacramento- 
 rum ministros anathema sit. (ibid. Canon. viii.J 
 Si quis dixerit, Episcopos, qui auctoritate Romani Pontificis as- 
 sumuntur, non esse legitimos et verosEpiscopos, sed figmentum hu- 
 inanurn: anathema sit. (ibid. Canon, viii.^ 
 
36 
 
 rived from the people ; that as in this country, they 
 possess the unquestionable right of electing, and in 
 some cases of dismissing their civil functionaries, so 
 also do they possess the right of electing and dismiss- 
 ing their pastors ; that those to whose appointment they 
 have not concurred, have no spiritual authority what- 
 ever over them ; and that they may lawfully shake off 
 all religious respect and obedience to tliem, &c. &c. 
 &c.’^ — Were this doctrine preached to you by a Minis- 
 ter of Geneva, we should view it as a natural conse- . 
 quence of his tenets ; but that men who still retain the 
 name of Catholicks should abet it, astonishes and con- 
 founds us. And indeed, if there be no legitimate Pas- 
 tors, except those w ho are chosen by the votes of the 
 Christian Multitude, then has the Catholick Church 
 long ceased to exist. For, from the Sovereign Pontiff 
 to the lowest curate, not one of tliem has been chosen 
 by popular vote, and consequently they are all unlaw- 
 ful Pastors, ^M^ho is the pious and sincere Catholick, 
 Beloved Brethren, who does not recoil with horror 
 
 from such an impious consequence, and execrate the 
 
 •* 
 
 principle from which it is immediately and evidently 
 deduced ? 
 
 AFith the smallest degree of attention to the compa- 
 rison on which they rely with such confidence, you will 
 easily discover the fallacy of their reasoning. 
 
 It is evident, that in a republican government such 
 as is ours, the citizens have a real right to choose their 
 
37 
 
 Magistrates and other civil officers, and that when' 
 these are chosen, they are truly invested with a power 
 which they did not before possess. These publick 
 functioiuiries being elected, either to protect the lives, 
 liberties and property of their fellow citizens, or to 
 enact laws for the general good of the empire, or to 
 enforce their execution, it is unquestionable that the ci- 
 tizens, according to the Constitution of the United 
 States, have a strict right to confide trusts of such mo- 
 mentous importance to those whom they think best cal- 
 culated to fulfil with honour and integrity the duties 
 annexed to them. Likewise there can be no doubt but 
 that they may limit, if they deem.it necessary for their 
 greater security, the power which tliey grant to the Ma- 
 gistrates, and even in certain cases, withdraw it from 
 them altogether. As the end of all political institutions 
 is of a mere temporal nature. Divine Providence leaves 
 to every nation the liberty of adopting that which in its 
 form appears best to them, provided it contains nothing 
 contrary to the laws of nature and of the Grospel. 
 
 But, Dear Brethren, it is far otherwise in the 
 Church of God. the constitution and laws of this 
 spiritual empire, were not framed by men, nor for 
 temporal purposes only — they are the work of the wis- 
 dom and goodness of God, who in his infinite mercy, 
 gave them to man to lead him to sanctity in this world, 
 and to supreme happiness in the next. Hence Jesus 
 Christ alone, and those to whom he has entrusted the 
 awful charge, have power to appoint the officers of this 
 
empire. To pretend that this power exists either in 
 the Sovereigns of the earth or the Christian multitude 
 is an error which strikes at one of the fundamental prin- 
 ciples on which the constitution of the Churcti of Christ 
 reposes ; and we may justly address the deluded men, 
 who claim this right, in the same words which the il- 
 lustrious Bossuet addressed to the sectaries of his own 
 days : 
 
 Christians ! you are indeed a people and a so- 
 ciety. But Jesus* Christ who- is your king, derives 
 •• nothing from you. His authority comes from a high- 
 er source. JV*aturally you have no more right to no- 
 minate his ministers, than you have to appoint him 
 your King. His ministers, who are your Pastors, 
 derive their descent from the same height as that from 
 which the Man-Hod does ; and therefore it is neces- 
 sary that they should come down to you, according 
 to the order which he has determined for their ap- 
 pointment. The kingdom of Jesus Christ is not of 
 this world, nor can a comparison be instituted between 
 it and the kingdoms of the earth. Nature aftbrds us 
 nothing that bears a resemblance with Jesus Christ 
 and his empire ; nor have we any other right than 
 that which is found in the laws and immemorial cus- 
 toms of that empire. Now these immemorial cus- 
 toms are, that the Pastors already instituted should 
 institute others.’"* 
 
 * L’Kglise Catholique'’parle ainsi au Peuple Chretien. Vous etes 
 un Peuple, un Etat, une Societe ; niais Jesus Christ, qui est votre 
 
1 
 
 I 
 
 39 
 
 And after having refuted at some length, the very 
 same disorganizing doctrine which your pretended 
 Doctors attempt to instil into your minds, and pointed 
 out the dreadful consequences that flow from it, the elo- 
 quent Prelate concludes in these energetick words : 
 
 Thus is Christianity destroyed root and branch, and 
 ' the way paved for Antichrist.’^f 
 
 However, Dear Brethren, although the Church of 
 Christ has the exclusive power of choosing and ap- 
 pointing her sacred ministers, yet from motives of mild 
 condescension, during several ages, she permitted the 
 Faithful to elect their first Pastor, and to present them 
 to her, to be ordained and instituted. Whenever a see 
 
 Roi, ne tient rien de vous, et son autorite vient de plus haut : vous 
 n’avez naturellment non plus de droit de lui donner des Ministres, 
 que de Tinstituer lui meme votre Prince ; ainsi ses Ministres, qui 
 sont VOS Pasteurs, viennent de plus haut, comme lui-raeme, et il 
 faut qu’ils vinnent par un orde qu’il ait etabli. Le Rovaume de 
 Jesus-Christ n’est pas de ce Monde, et la comparaison que vous 
 pouvez faire entre ce Uojaume, etceux de la terre, est caduque ; en 
 un mot, la nature ne vous donne rien qui ait rapport avec Jesus- 
 Christ et son Royaume, et vous n’avez aucun droit que celui que 
 vous trouverez dans les Loix, ou dans les coutumes immemoriales 
 de votre Societe. Or, ces coutumes immemoriales, a commencerj 
 paries terns Apostoliques, sont que les Pasteurs deja etablis, eta- 
 blissent les autres. 
 
 fnistoire des Variations, liv. xv. n, cxx.) 
 
 t Voila comme on preche la Reforme ; e’est ainsi qu’on met e» 
 pieces le ChrisUanisrue, et qu’on prepare la vote a I’Antechrist. 
 
 ( loiu, n, exxi.^ 
 
r 
 
 40 
 
 was vacant, she assembled them to2;ether in the Cathe- 
 dral Church and desired them to point out the man, 
 whom they deemed most worthy to till it from his pie- 
 ty, prudence and learning. During the primitive ages, 
 this rule of discipline, was not productive of any se- 
 rious inconvenience. For the mitre could not tlien be 
 an object of ambition and intrigue. The man who , 
 
 w as fixt upon to wear it, knew well that he had nothing 
 to expect in this life, but poverty and persecution ; and 
 that in the eyes of the world, he was only distin- 
 guished from inferior ministers, by his pre-eminence in 
 labour. On the other hand, the Faithful, enlightened 
 by the sanctifying grace which habitually adorned their 
 souls, easily felt the invaluable advantage of having a 
 Pastor full of zeal and piety, who by his superior 
 learning, could defend the sacred cause of Religion ( 
 
 against the attacks of infidels and hereticks, and who 
 by his courage and magnanimity could console and sup- 
 port his flock under the frequent and cruel persecutions 
 which desolated the Christian world. Resides, they * 
 did not claim that, as a right, which the church had 
 gratuitously condescended to yield them. If the Me- 
 tropolitan or the oldest Bishop of the Ecclesiastical j 
 
 province, who presided at these elections, upon ma- 
 ture investigation, thought the choice improper, he ap- 
 pointed another whom he judged better qualified for the 
 high office. T.hese humble Christians did not repine, 
 when the object of their choice, was set aside ; nor did 
 they complain that their just and inalieanable rights 
 were violated. 
 
41 
 
 But when in the succession of ages the Episcopal 
 dignit;^’ became adorned with the appendages of pub- 
 lick honour, ample revenues and earthly advantages, 
 the election of Bishops by t!ie multitude, soon exhibit- 
 ed scenes of frightful tumult and disorders. In vain 
 did the church oppose by wise and providential re- 
 gulations the torrent of scandal. In spite of all her 
 efforts, corruption, intrigue and bribery gained ground 
 everyday; and the Church having innumerable ex- 
 perimental proofs, that popular elections would be 
 perpetual sources of abuse and dissentions, withdiew 
 from the people the privilege of electing their first 
 Pastor, which she had hitherto granted them. The 
 inferior Clergy who found themselves too weak to re- 
 sist the powerful influence of rude noblemen, ambi- 
 tious of seeing some of their families placed at the 
 head of a Diocess, were likewise gradually divested 
 of the privilege which they long had enjoye I of elect- 
 ing their own Bishops ; till at last with tiie consent of 
 the whole Catholick world, the nomimition and ap- 
 pointment of the first Pastors, w ere definitively and ex 
 clusively lodged in the hands of the Sov ereign Pontiff. 
 Nor have we. Dear Brethren, any reason to complain 
 of this change of discipline. On the contrary, if we 
 sincerely love the Church and w ish her peace and pros- 
 perity, we shall rejoice that an efficacious means has 
 been taken, which puts an end to the scenes of scan- 
 dal and confusion which during several ages agitated 
 her children. For the Soverigii Pontiff*, from his 
 
 temporal independence, is less liable to bribery and 
 
 6 
 
seduction than the Christian people, or even the boclj 
 of inferior Clergy : and being in general a Prelate of 
 tried merit and exalted virtue, he is happily exempt 
 from all those tumultuous and lawless passions which 
 often prevail in popular elections. Besides, it is one 
 of his most important duties, to supply the Churcli of 
 God with worthy Pastors, according to these woi’ds 
 whicli Jesus Christ addressed to the Prince of the 
 Apostles and his successors : Feed my Lambs ; Feed 
 my Sheep. 
 
 As to the secondary Pastors, they have in all ages 
 been appointed Iry the Bishops without tlie coucurrence 
 of the Laity. The only appeal which ever was made 
 to them (and the custom is still observed; consists in a 
 simple address, made by the ordaining Bishop to those 
 who are present. Before he commences the awful cere- 
 mony, he requests the spectators, in the name of the 
 Church, to declare if they know of any faults or vices 
 in those who are to be ordained, whicli would render 
 them unworthy of Priesthood. The Bishop, in case 
 no accusation be made, proceeds to their ordination, 
 which being once concluded, he receives into his hands 
 the solemn promise of canonical obedience each one 
 makes to him and his law ful successors ; and sends 
 them to any part of ids Biocess, w here he thinks their 
 Ministry may be most useful or necessary. 
 
 It w^ere surely useless. Beloved Brethren, to ob- 
 serve here, that a few obscure individuals w ould la- 
 
 / 
 
45 
 
 hour in vain to obtain the privilege of electing by votei, 
 their first and secondary Pastors. The slender know- 
 ledge of Ecclesiastical matters which the generality of 
 these men possess ; the very imperfect acquaintance 
 which some of them have of even the first elements of 
 their Religion : and above all, the actual transgression 
 of the most important and imperative laws of tfod and 
 of the Church in which many habitually live, exclude 
 them evidently from that sacred and momentous office. 
 If the subject was of less importance than Religion is, 
 the idea of characters like these, claiming and exercis- 
 ing the right of choosing the Ministers of Jesus Christ, 
 would be an object of the justest ridicule. They must 
 indeed first renounce, the name as they have done the 
 substance of Catholicity, before they can assert they 
 have a natural right to elect their own Pastors Their 
 folly would be less, were they to hope that they can 
 stop the course of the sun, than to hope that the Ca- 
 
 tholick church will ever acknowledge in them such a 
 
 / 
 
 right. The laws of nature may be interrupted ; but 
 we know that an error subversive of the Constitution 
 of Christ's Empire, can never prevail in it. Not only 
 a few Laymen, but even whole nations would strive in 
 vain to wrest by force from His Holiness the power of 
 appointing their own Pastors by popular votes.* Nor 
 
 At the commencement of the French Revolution, the pretend- 
 ed philosophers of that dreadful period, manifested prodigious acti- 
 vity in preaching to the lower orders, that they had the right of 
 choosing their own Bishops. They looked upon these popular elec- 
 tions as the most efficacious means of destroying the Religion of Je- 
 
44 
 
 let these weak men ima«;ine that by menaces they can 
 ev r bring tne iljly Father to co uply with their pre- 
 po'.terous wishes. Let them remember that unfortu- 
 nately great mau, who lately held France, and all the 
 
 8US (’hrist, which was their impious and avowed object. Some in- 
 famous characters, among whom were several apostate Priests, ran- 
 sacked the Scriptures and Ecclesiastical History in support of this 
 seducing doctrine, Jacobins in their clubs, and impious writers in 
 their numerous pamphlets, exorted the people to seize the present 
 favoi ahle opportunity of reassuming the right, which the Sovereign 
 Pontid'had unjustly wrested from them. As soon as the minds of 
 the populace were sufficiently prepared for the frightful change 
 which these philosophers had meditated, the Departments were sura- 
 DiO ed to elect their Bishops. The votes fell on clerical characters 
 perfectly congenial to the Banditti, who met on the occasion ; and 
 as It could not be expected that the body of the nation, which look- 
 ed with horror on these disgusting scenes of impiety, should ever 
 acknowledge these pretended successors of the Apostles; bands of 
 ferocious soldiers armed with cannon and bayonet, received orders 
 to put tliem in possession of their sees. But soon after their bloody 
 patrons considering these constitutional Bishops as no longer useful 
 for the accomplishment of their diabolical project, sent many of 
 them to the Gillotme, and those whom they spared, became in a 
 short time the objects of public contempt and ridicule ; till at length 
 in 1 80 1, a decree of Napoleon brought the whole Constitutional 
 Church to the ground. 
 
 About the same time, some intriguing demagogues in England 
 invited the Catholicks of that country to follow the example of their 
 neighbours. Their first measure was to vilify their truly venerable 
 Prelates, by representing them as so many emissaries of a foreign 
 Potentate. 1 hey maintained that free-born Englishmen, had as 
 good a right to elect their own Bishops as to elect their representa- 
 tives in Parliament. Fortunately for the English Catholick cause, 
 
49 
 
 continental nations of Europe bound down to his 
 tlirone. He exerted every nerve to obtain from the 
 Po:>e, that the Prel .tes of his mighty and extensive 
 Empire, should be appointed, not by popular election, 
 
 many able u en opposed the luminous productions of their pens, to 
 the schismatical doctrine of these impious men. Amon^ others, the 
 Riiiht lievd. Dr. Milner distinguished himself ; he principally di- 
 rected his attacks against a certain Layman, who by perverting Ec- 
 ecclesiastical History, and the expressions of some divines, maintain- 
 ed that the primitive ( hnstiuns elected their Bishops, not by privi- 
 lege, hut by natural tight. These are the words of the celebrated 
 Prelate ; 
 
 “ The absurdity of a proper effective power \n the inferiour Clergy 
 ‘‘ and the people of app<»inting their Bishops, as my adversary con- 
 tends, is evid nt at the first glance; and we clearly see, that 
 whatever voice tliey at any time have had in the election of Pre- 
 lates, it was nothing more than a bare testimony of their own 
 “ wishes, and of the merits of the elect ; because in fact, it could 
 have been nothing more. 
 
 “ However, as the Pastors are made for the benefit of their flocks, 
 *‘^and not the flocks for that of their Pastors; and as the Apostle re- 
 “ quires, that Bishops should have a good testimony from those who 
 are without, hence the Church having in view the spiritual advan- 
 “ tage and edification of the several portions of her general flock, 
 ” has made various regulations suited to different times and places, 
 “ for discovering who w*^re the most edifying, the best qualified, and 
 « upon the whole the most fit persons for her to appoint to this high 
 « charge. In ages uf primitive fervour, when the Clergy hid them- 
 “ selves to avoid a charge which they called, a load too great for the 
 strength of an Jingel to bear^ and when the faithful had no other 
 wish at heart than to find out the Ecclesiastic, who was the most 
 « orthodox in principle, and the most edifying in conduct, to go be- 
 “ fore them in the road to eternal happiness; the Church could with 
 
46 
 
 (he never asked so much) hut in some particular cases, 
 by the Metropolitan according to ancient usage. Yet 
 his unbounded power could never attain that object. 
 In vain did he lead his intrepid legions to the gates of 
 Home ; in vain did he disperse the noble families of 
 that great city which he suspected were opposed to his 
 ambitious designs ; in vain did the thunder of his can- 
 non shake the Pontifical throne to its basis ; the Vi- 
 car of Jesus Christ remained inflexible, for he knew 
 
 “ security and in peace, convene the Clergy and people of the va- 
 “ cant diocese, and be satisfied that the person approved of in such 
 “ an assembly, was the fittest person on whom she could confer this 
 ‘‘ weighty trust. Hence in the happy times I have been speaking of, 
 “ the general rule of the Church was, that the Metropolitan and the 
 “ other Prelates who presided at elections should confirm and con- 
 “ stitute Bishop, the Ecclesiastic so approved of by the clergy and 
 people ; but this was not in consequence of any elective power in 
 “ the clergy and people, as my adversary contends. 
 
 They had only a claim to give their testimony, and to signify 
 “ their wishes ; not to appoint or elect in the strict sense of the word, 
 as the Layman understands it, and as these words sound in the 
 “ ears of an Englishman who is so often called upon to elect his civil 
 “legislators. We may add, in proof of this, that it was in the 
 ' “ breast of the Metropolitan and other Bishops who presided at elec- 
 “ tions, if they judged the people to be carried away by passion, or 
 “ to have erred through ignorance in the choice they had made, to 
 set aside the person so chosen. It was in a special manner order- 
 ‘‘ ed and required, that if the people chose a person under canonical 
 “ irregularity, they should be punished by being deprived on that 
 « occasion of the privilege of giving their votes, and it was the duty 
 “ of the Prelates to appoint a Bishop, without consulting the people 
 “ in any shape whatever. 1 ask how this acknowledged maxim ac- 
 « cords with the idea of the clergy and people having areal efec^ 
 “ live power of choosing Bishops 
 
his duty. The tyrant ordered Pius YII. into exile. 
 But that great and venerable Pontiff, chose rather to 
 be incarcerated in a dungeon than to make a concession 
 which he foresaw, would be chiefly employed to tear 
 asunder the bands of Catholick unity. And shall a 
 few obscure men in Norfolk, with an old prevaricating 
 Priest at their head, entertain the same hope, which the 
 powerful Emperor of France, could never realize? 
 
 But do not Catholick Princes nominate to the Bishop- 
 ricks of their respective dominions ? Have not the prin- 
 cipal benefactors of a church the right of patronage ? 
 and if the privilege has been granted to Princes 
 and noble families ; why should it not be granted to 
 the Catholick congregations of the United States, or to 
 their representatives ? 
 
 We might observe in the first place. Bear Brethren, 
 that these Catholick Princes or distinguished benefactors 
 did not claim as a natural right, the power, which they 
 exercised of nominating their Bishops or inferior clergy. 
 Such a pretension being contrary to the tenets of the 
 Catholick church, it would have been resisted with 
 the same inflexible firmness, as any other error. They 
 acknowledged that they exercised that right of pa- 
 tronage, only as a privilege, granted to them by the 
 Church in gratitude for favours received from them ; and 
 under such conditions that her spiritual independence 
 remained entire. The case is this. 
 
I 
 
 48 , 
 
 In several kingdoms of Europe, there has existed a 
 series of Princes, who not only protected religion, but 
 moreover erected at their own expense, many of those 
 noble Basilicks, which are the ornaments of the cities 
 where they stand, and endowed them with royal mnni- 
 ficeiice. Nor were these, the only edifices which tliey 
 raised : they built hospital's for the benefit of the sick ; 
 colleges for the education of the poor ; erected universi- 
 ties, and annexed to all these institutions large estates 
 for their support and maintenance. And surely such 
 acts deserved the Church’s gratitude — It was an object 
 of great interest to these Princes and their successors, 
 that the Bishops in their dominions, who by the 
 dignity and ample revenues which they held from the 
 crown, had great influence on the minds of the people, 
 should be men well afl'ected to their government and per- 
 sons. To attain that object, they solicited from the Ho- 
 ' ly See, the privilege of nominating to the vacant Bishop- 
 ricks in their dominions. The Pontifi\ by solemn trea- 
 ties, named concordates, and acceded to their requests. 
 Hence the power came from concession and not from 
 right. Besides, the concession was far from being ab- 
 solute and indefinite. It was yielded under several 
 conditions, which secured the spiritual independence 
 of the church. 1st. The clergyman nominated by the 
 Prince, could not exercise any jurisdiction whatever in 
 his designated diocess, before his nomination was con- 
 firmed by the Holy See, and the Bulls of his institu- 
 tion handed to him. 2d. The Sovereign P )ntift‘ re- 
 tained the power of examining the presented clergy- 
 
 \ 
 
49 
 
 iiian, and if he were found unfit for the Episcopal 
 dignity, be could refuse to receive him. 3dly. After the 
 Bishop had been consecrated and had taken possession 
 of bis see, the Prince could not arbitrarily turn him 
 out of it. If he were accused of having transgressed, 
 any of the laws of the Church, his cause could only be 
 tried before the Pope, or, in some countries, before a 
 provincial council. To expel a Bishop from his See, 
 or seize his temporalities, before he was condemned by 
 the competent tribunal, was always deemed an act of 
 irreligiou and tyranny. 
 
 Likewise it frequently happened, particularly in the 
 latter centuries, that opulent catholick individuals un- 
 dertook to build churches, and to attach landed estates 
 to them, as well for the support of the clergyman, as 
 to defray the expenses of divine worship. Some of 
 these, wishing that their posterity should enjoy the be- 
 nefit of their generous zeal, offered to the Diocesan 
 Bishop to consecrate the property for ever to the ser- 
 vice of the Church, on condition, that they and their 
 heirs should be allowed the privilege of nominating 
 the Pastor. The great advantages which resulted to 
 multitudes of poor catholicks, who by these donations, 
 were liberated from the necessity of building churches, 
 and supporting clergymen, frequently induced the 
 Bishops to accept of these oflWs. But in these con- 
 tracts made with private individuals, the Church still 
 retained her spiritual independence. The sacred 
 buildings and the annexed property were alienated from 
 
 V 
 
60 
 
 the donors, for ever.' The Presentees could be ex- 
 amined by the Bishops, and if found unfit, rejected. 
 The ri^ht of the patron was exhausted, as soon as the 
 nomination had taken place. Some trifling distinctions, 
 such as sitting in the first place in the church, having 
 the precedence in certain religious ceremonies, &c. 
 were the only privileges, which he could justly claim. 
 The Beneficiary was protected by law from the effects 
 of his patrou^s whims or caprices, and could not be re- 
 moved by him. If any accusation were brought against 
 him, his case was decided not by his patron himself, 
 but by an ecclesiastical tribunal, over which he had no 
 kind of control. 
 
 From this slight sketch of Canon law, you readily 
 discover. Dearly Beloved Brethren, how vainly those 
 characters, who have involved your Congregation in 
 confusion and misery, pretend to the right of patro- 
 nage, and flatter you with it. This right does not ex- 
 ist, and probably never will exist in the United States 
 of America. Because it is contrary to the spirit at 
 least of the constitution and of the laws of the land. 
 For the government of the United States stretclies in- 
 deed the shield of its protection, over every denomi- 
 nation of Christians ; but without giving the least prefer- 
 ence to any ; and surely it would be ridiculous to 
 suppose, that following the example of Catholick pow- 
 ers on the other side of the Atlantic, the United States 
 will eyer shew a partiality to us, by any considerable 
 donation to our Church. And as this alone is the 
 
31 
 
 groundwork of all the concordates between Catliolick 
 Powers and the Holy See, and of the consequent right 
 of patronage in the nomination of Bishops, it is manifest 
 that such a Politico-religious treaty can never take place 
 in this country. We are grateful for the protection, 
 which we enjoy under the equal laws of the U. States, 
 in common with the rest of our fellow Christians ; but 
 we neither wish nor expect any particular favours. 
 
 And if from the government of the United States, 
 we descend to private individuals, who is the opulent 
 and pious catliolick, who having built a church at his 
 own expense, and endowed it with permanent revenues, 
 has ever made an offer to us or our predecessors, of 
 alienating the whole, on condition that the right of 
 patronage should be granted to him and his heirs for 
 ever ? Could we, even consistently with the laws of 
 the land, accept of such an offer, on such conditions ? 
 Would this species of contract legally bind us and our 
 successors on one side, and the donor and his heirs on 
 the other ? Before what tribunal, in this country, 
 could any future possible dispute be decided between 
 the contracting parties ? In fact we have here no Be- 
 nifices, and therefore no Patrons. Such hereditary 
 distinctions are repugnant to our republican institu- 
 tions. The manner, in which catliolick churches are 
 built, and their ministers maintained in the United 
 States, forbids the idea. 
 
 When it is discovered, that in any city or country 
 place, there is a sufficient number of catholicks to 
 form a congregation, each one of them contributes ' 
 
^2 
 
 a small sum of money to erect a house for divine 
 worship. If the contribution be inadequate to meet 
 the expense, recourse is had to the pious liberality 
 of the Catholick community scattered over the 
 different cities in the United States. When the 
 Church is once completed, each family rents a pew, 
 and the proceeds are paid either into the hands of 
 the clergyman himself, or of the trustees, for his 
 support. Can this constitute a Benefice, or give a title 
 to patronage ? I)o the small contribution, which each 
 Catholick gave at the commencement, and the rent 
 which he pays afterwards for his pew, exceed the ad- 
 vantages which he receives from the Church ? And 
 how is the clergyman provided for ? Is he invested 
 for life, with any real property which places him in a 
 state of permanent comfort and independence ? This 
 you know. Dear Brethren, is very far from being the 
 case. A moderate and frequently a scanty salary, 
 which could not be refused him, without manifest in- 
 justice, is all that is allowed him for his protracted 
 and laborious services. And how many respectable 
 Missionaries are there in our own diocess, who, had 
 they not devoted themselves to the service of the Al- 
 tars, could have obtained by their industry and the ex- 
 ertion of their natural talents, all the temporal comforts 
 and enjoyments of life ! And they are now spending 
 their hard lives in want, almost without the ordinary 
 conveuiencies of life ! Surely in all this, there can be no 
 ground for the eminent prerogative of Patronage, which 
 the Church grants only to special and distinguished 
 
 / 
 
53 
 
 benefactors. Neiflier the whole, nor any member of 
 the congregation can claim it ; and still, with less rea- 
 son, the gentlemen whom the congregation annually 
 chooses to manage their temporal concerns/^ 
 
 * About 22 years ago a great disturbance took place in Trinity 
 Church, Philadelphia. An unworthy clergyman (Uevd. J. Ne- 
 pornecen Goeth) undertook to supplant the lawful Pastor of that 
 congregation. He, unhappily, succeeded by popular intrigue. It 
 was in vain that my venerable Predecessor attempted to bring that 
 sacrilegious clergyman and his deluded followers to a sense of their 
 criminal conduct. They resisted his authority and his mild, but' 
 firm remonstrances, with the most determined obstinacy. They 
 contended, 1st. that as Mr. Goeth had been appointed by the Trus- 
 tees, he had every requisite qualification for a lawful Pastor. 2Dd. 
 That the Bishop of Baltimore had no jurisdiction over a congregation 
 situated out of the limits of Maryland. 3rd. rhatthe Bishop had no 
 power to visit the congregation of Trinity Church, nor to dismiss 
 its pastor; except at the request and on the complaint of the con- 
 gregation. 4th. They represented the Holy See as a foreign govern- 
 ment, to which as free citizens, they owed no obedience in spiritual 
 matters, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 Dr. Carrol in a printed letter addressed to the Catholicks of Phi- 
 ladelphia, and in several others written to individuals, victoriously 
 refuted these antieatholick principles. “ The Revd. J. N. Goeth,” 
 writes the venerable Prelate, “ encouraged by some Laymen regard- 
 “less of their own solemn engagements to their Bishop, and of their 
 “ sacred duty to respect and maintain religion and the laws of the 
 “ Church, was not ashauied of co-operating with them, to dismiss 
 “ their lawfully appointed Pastor, without the concurrence or infor- 
 “ mation of their ecclesiastical superior, and without any charge of 
 ‘‘ negligence or criminality against him. After this, the intruder 
 ‘^'received from the same Trustees a pretended appointment to the 
 
51 
 
 But since we afford the clergymen their salary,’’ 
 say your pretended Doctors, we have certainly, on 
 tiiis account, a right to receive or dismiss them ; if we ' 
 think proper. We cannot be obliged to support a Pastor, 
 
 “Pastoral office; that is, the power of loosening and bimling, of 
 “administering the holy eucharist to the faithful of God’s church, of 
 “teaching and preaching and performing all those duties, which he- 
 wing in their nature entirely spiritual, can never be within the ju- 
 “risdiction of, or subject to the dispensation of the laity ; but were 
 “ committed by Christ to the Apostles alone, and their successors 
 “in the government of their respective churches. 
 
 “ How contrary are these proceedings to the faith and discipline 
 “of the Church! ^^hen the son of God was on the point of ascend- 
 “ing into Heaven, and leaving it under the visible government of 
 “St. Peter, and the other Apostles, he communicated to them that 
 “spiritual and sublime jurisdiction, which tlie world cannot give; 
 “and which has for its object, not the bodies, or temporal effects, 
 
 “but the souls of men. The Apostles commissioned by their hea- 
 
 “venly teacher, proceeded to execute the duties of their ministry, 
 “They announced the glad tidings of salvation, and appointed Pas- 
 “ tors, who in their turn and according to new exigencies, constituted 
 “others, who have been thus continued to the present time ; de- 
 priving the power of exercising the holy functions of the Pastoral 
 “ office, not from human authority or institutions of civil govern- 
 “ ment, but from the same divine authority as the Apostles them- 
 “ selves. I'hat the Catholick church possesses exclusively a spiritual 
 “jurisdiction so transmitted down to her, and by which she is, 
 “and ever will be enabled to minister to us in all holy things, is her 
 “discriminating and exalted prerogative. She has always steadily 
 “and jealously maintained it ; and you were taught to repeat it in 
 “your earliest lessons of religion, from your first initiation into 
 “ your catechism, and ever since in the public creeds and approved 
 
■whom we never chose ; for such an obligation, did it 
 exist, would stand in direct violation of the laws of 
 Virginia. 
 
 formularies of our faith. When therefore you now hear it as* 
 “ sorted, that clergymen may be clothed by the laity, with spiritual 
 “ powers, to officiate at the altar, administer the sacraments, and 
 “ perform all Pastoral functions; when prevaricating Priests shelter 
 “ their base prostitution of the rights of the Church under their pro- 
 “ tection, which is offered to them by usurpers of ecclesiastical and 
 “ spiritual authority ; when they lend their sacrilegious ministry to 
 uphold a system of defence against the universal discipline of Ca- 
 tholick dioceses, be assured. Dear Brethren, that though these 
 “ scandals are not unprecedented in the history of the Church, yet 
 “ they have always been reprobated as destructive of her divine 
 ** economy, and leading to all the evils of a schismatical separatioa 
 ‘‘ from her. — God forbid that I should aim to irritate our dissenting 
 “ Brethren, by an acrimonious recapitulation of the doctrines on 
 “ Church authority, advanced by the reformers. But surely no offence 
 “ ought to be taken, when speaking to Roman Catholicks committed 
 “ to my pastoral care, I say to them, that they are exchanging the 
 doctrine of the Catholick church, for those of Luther and Calvin ; 
 that though they may call themselves her children, yet she wilt 
 not allow herself to be their Mother . 
 
 “ It has always been the uniform endeavour of the open and se- 
 ‘‘ cret enemies of the Catholick church, to represent this spiritual 
 “ supremacy of Christ’s vicar in the most odious light ; and I was 
 “ not surprised to hear that the turbulent men, who foment the pre- 
 “ sent disturbances, have declared themselves independent of it, as 
 “ of a foreign jurisdiction. By using these words, they not onlv 
 ‘‘ manifest the spirit by which they are governed, but they hope to 
 “ render obnoxious to our fellow citizens, an essential tenet of our 
 religion and all of us who profess it ; a tenet which is the bund of our 
 
Some sectarians, Dear Brethren, consider their mi- 
 nisters as clerical characters, not by virtue of any 
 spiritual mission derived from the Redeemer of man- 
 kind through his Church ; but in virtue only of the , 
 
 union, which cements and keeps together in the profession of the 
 “same faith, in the celebration of th*^ same solemn and public wor- 
 “ ship, and under one uniform governmentestablished bv Jesus Christ, 
 
 “ and perpetuated by succeeding Pastors, so many different nations 
 “ so distant from each other, and unconnected in every other respeat.” 
 
 The pious and learned Prelate, after having proved, that the 
 spiritual jurisdiction of the supreme Pontiff extends over the uni- 
 versal world ; and after having demonstrated that our duty in his 
 regard cannot interfere with our civil allegiance to our country or its 
 laws, thus proceeds : “ Do these deluded Catholicks acknowledge 
 “ in fact the Catholick, Apostolick, Roman church for the mother 
 “and mistress of all churches, who declare themselves independent 
 “ of her, as possessing only a forfign jurisdiction ? Who deny that 
 “ her disciplinarian regulations and ordinances ought to have any 
 “force in the church of the Holy Trinity at Philadelphia? Is 
 “ the power of a mother foreign to her children r Is the power of a 
 “mistress foreign to those who are bound to reverence and obey 
 *• her r Sec. See.” (Baltimore, Feb. 22, 1797. J 
 
 In a letter dated Baltnnore, Sept. 5th, 1797, addressed to Mr. 
 Fitzsimmons he states, that he could not receive again these delud- 
 ed Catholicks into the Church, except on the following conditions: 
 
 1. “That they should acknowledge the absolute right of the 
 “ Bishops to approve, institute and confer spiritual jurisdiction to 
 
 the inferior clergy in their diocesses, and that without such appro- 
 “ bation and institution, these cannot lawfully administer the sacra* 
 « ments, or exercise any pastoral functions.** 
 

 ^7 
 
 temporary civil contract entered upon, between them 
 and their respective congregations. Consistently with 
 this principle, it is evident that those who appointed ' 
 them Pastors, justly dismiss them, whenever their ser- 
 
 2. “ That the Bishop has not only a right, but an obligation in 
 virtue of his office, to inform himself of the conduct of all pastors 
 “ in his cliocess, and examine charges against them ; whether they 
 “ be made by the congregation, or by other sufficient and credible 
 “ witnesses ; and to suspend or discharge them from their stations 
 as the case may require. Nay more, it may sometimes be the duty 
 " of the Bishop to dismiss the Pastor even against the will of a large 
 “ majority of the congregation; as when a very scandalous Priest, 
 
 “ of whose immortality he has certain proof, has succeeded by artifice 
 “ and popular talents to obtain the support and favour of the great- 
 est part of his parishioners. Such cases are not uncommon. If 
 “ this power were ever necessary in a Bishop, it is most peculiarly 
 “ so in this country ; and lamentable as the consequence would be, 
 
 “ I would rather see a whole congregation leave the communion of 
 the Church, than yield it ; nor would my baseness in yielding 
 “ it prejudice the divine right of Episcopacy. To maintain them- 
 “ selves in tlieir posts, bad clergymen would only have to secure a 
 “ few leading and influential characters, who govern the minds of 
 others. After seeing a Priest now sappoited by a congregation in 
 transffression of the divine and ecclesiastical laws, 1 should not 
 
 O 
 
 « be surprised at their being countenanced in any excess. 'Phe spi- 
 “ rit of independence of the best established authority is increasing 
 every day, and those excesses are becoming familiar to the minds 
 « of many, who would formerly have revolted from them with 
 “ horror.” 
 
 In writingto the leader of these unfortunate Caffiolicks, Bishop 
 Carroll uses the following language ; (Baltimore, Dec. 4,1801.^ 
 
 « It having been asserted publickly, that the Bishvp of Baltimore 
 
 8 
 
 ✓ 
 
I 
 
 5S 
 
 vices cease to be acceptable. But the case is very 
 different with the clergy of the Catholick church. 
 When a Bishop appoints a Priest, Pastor of a congre- 
 gation, he presents himself to all its members, under a 
 
 “ had no jurisdiction or visitorial power over Trinity Church, or its 
 congregation in Philadelphia ; that they are both independent and 
 unconnected with him, there must be an acknowledgment made in 
 writing by the trustees, and deliverd to ray Vicar General ; in 
 “ which they shall confess, that they as well as other Catholicks of 
 the United States are subject to his spiritual authority ; that he has 
 “ the same right to visit Trinity Church in Philadelphia, and remedy 
 ! abuses in if, if any there be, as to visit all other Catholick church- 
 “ es and chapels in his diocess.*’ 
 
 A gentleman, who wrote in behalf of this deluded congregation 
 to Dr. Carroll, observed that they professed to be free and indepen- 
 dent citizens, subject to nothing but the laws of God and the land in 
 which they lived. The venerable Prelate thus replied : 
 
 ** Are they not subject to the laws of the Catholick church — arc 
 they not bound by their profession of faith, to yield true obedience 
 “ to the Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ ? 1 persuade myself, 
 “ that by subjection to the laws of God, they mean likewise those 
 of the Church and its chief Pastors, who have their authority from 
 “ him ; and consequently of those to whom he communicates a por- 
 “ tion of that authority.” 
 
 During many years Trinity Church exhibited a melancholy 
 scene of confusion and scandal. Divine Providence however at last 
 blest the persevering efforts of the Rev. Dr. Carr, then grand Vi- 
 car of Dr. Carroll in Phiiadelphia. By his persuasive eloquence he 
 brought back into the fold of Christ this erring congregation. Be- 
 sides they were heartily tired of tiiat unhappy state to which an un- 
 
59 
 
 point of view highly respectable. By the act of his 
 institution, the faithful who are committed to his 
 charge become immediately and in reality his flock ; 
 and he is invested with spiritual powers in their re- 
 
 worthy and intriguing churchman had reduced them. They sub- 
 mitted at last to Bishop Carroll, and sent him the following decla- 
 ration : 
 
 “ We the trustees of the German religious society of Roman Ca- 
 “tholicks of the Holy Trinity Church in the city of Philadelphia, do 
 “ hereby acknowledge for ourselves and eur constituents, members 
 worshiping in the same church, that w'e hold ourselves subject to 
 “the Episcopal authority of the Bishop of Baltimore, for the tim® 
 “beiny, and according to the tenor of the brief of his holiness, Pius 
 “VI. for the erection of the Episcopal see of Baltimore; and we 
 “ promise to yield true obedience to the said Bishop, conformably to 
 the powers lawfully vested in him. 
 
 “ In witness whereof, the said trustees of the German religious 
 “ society of Roman Catholicks in the city of Philadelphia, have set 
 “ their hand, and caused the seal of their corporation to be affixed, 
 “this 29th day of January, Anno Domini, 1802. 
 
 «j*# o***, &c. &c. &c.’* 
 
 Sometime before this happy event, the excellent Prelate imagin- 
 ed that by his presence he might perhaps terminate this deplorable 
 schism in Philadelphia. He therefore set out for that city. But he 
 had scarcely arrived there when some of these deluded men, regard- 
 less of his eminent virtues and respectable character, (for he com- 
 manded universal respect,) served a writ on him to appear before 
 court. He himself relates the shameful transaction in a letter to 
 the man who was the principal actor in it. 
 
 r 
 
gard, which all the world can neither give nor 
 take away. It hecomes his duty to govern, and 
 sanctify by his instructions and example, the faith- 
 ful entrusted to his pastoral solicitude ; to administer 
 to them the sacraments ; to ofl'er up in their behalf, 
 the awful sacrifice of the body and blood of Jesus 
 Christ ; in a word, to perform all the functions of the 
 sacred ministry. Enlightened and virtuous Catholicks 
 do not consider this Clergyman as a hireling, whom 
 they may retain or expel at pleasure, but as an am- 
 bassador from Heaven, a minister of the altar, and an 
 Apostle. If the Bishop he bound to impress deeply 
 on his mind, the great obligations and responsibility, 
 which are laid upon him, and the sublime and awful 
 
 funciions he has to perform, surely he is obliged like- 
 
 ^ 
 
 w ise to admonish the Faitful, to respect, love, and 
 obey him. And as he is prevented, by his orders 
 from any lucrative secular employment, and bound to 
 
 *• Once when I went to Philadelphia merely for the purpose of 
 “conciliation, I was scarce arrived when I was attached by a w'rit 
 “ and brought into court, to hear from your law'yers the foulest abuse 
 “ of our Church, its laws, doctrine, Pastors, government. Pope, and 
 “ particularly the holy council of Trent, as if they had ransacked 
 “ all Protestant libraries to defame it. You with others were pre- 
 “sent, without attempting to moderate the rancour of their invec- 
 “ tives on that occasion : your counsel denied in your behalf that I 
 “ was your Bishop ; saying that Trinity Church w’as out of my juris- 
 “ diction. After this your denial of your having any connexion with 
 “ me, surely I could not solicit a conference with you and your par- 
 “ tizans. But burying the past in oblivion, &c.” ^ 
 
 C Baltimore, JS'ov. 19, 1801.J 
 
61 
 
 devote himself exclusively to Gotl^ and to the good of 
 souls, so is it the imperative duty of his flock to pro- 
 vide for his temporal necessities. Is this Apostolic 
 language, Dearly Beloved, a transgression of the laws 
 of Virginia*? 
 
 > 
 
 In 1786, the General xVssembly of that state, in or- 
 der to establish religious freedom on a broad and per- 
 manent basis, enacted, that 710 man shall be compelled 
 to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or 
 ministry, ivhatsoever ; nor shall be enfoiwed, resti^ain- 
 ed, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor 
 shall he suffer on account of his religious opinions or 
 belief. Such is one of the fundamental laws of Vir- 
 ginia. Has any Catholick clergyman ever transgressed 
 it? Who is the man, who can say, that his Pastor 
 has compelled him, or attempted to compel him by le- 
 gal means, to frequent his Church, or support him ? 
 Not one. It is true, there is no obligation whatever, 
 imposed upon the citizens, to support any ministers of 
 religion, not even their own Pastors. But because 
 there is no legal obligation of doing it, is there not a 
 moral and religious one? Has a Christian and a 
 Catholick no other duties to fulfil, besides those im- 
 posed by the law of the land ? And is it in a Pastor, 
 a transgression of this law, to exhort his people to a 
 performance of them ? If this were a violation of the 
 laws of Virginia, then indeed not only Catholick, but 
 all Protestant ministers are guilty of it; for the 
 habitual and principal subjects of their instructions 
 
and labours are to inculcate on the minds of the 
 Christian people, the moral and religious duties, pro- 
 claimed in the Gospel, on which the civil law is per- 
 fectly silent. 
 
 < 
 
 After having proceeded so far, and proved that 
 neither the Catholick congregations nor their represen- 
 tatives, have power to elect, institute or dismiss their 
 Pastors, it may naturally be asked whether the right, 
 at least of election, would not prove advantageous to 
 religion in our days ? 
 
 Relying on the authority of the Catholick Church, 
 Dear Brethren, we may without any fear of error, an- 
 swer negatively to this question. For the Christians of 
 the present age, are certainly no better than their ances- 
 tors who lived a thousand years ago ; and if the Church 
 thought it necessary, on account of the perpetual confu>- 
 sion and scandals which took place at these elections, 
 to withdraw the privilege which she had granted toth« 
 Faithful : can we imagine that the exercise of it would 
 not now be attended with the same bad consequences ? 
 However let us suppose this privilege were conceded 
 to the present generation. Who would be the elec- 
 tors ? W ould every man, who merely bears the name 
 of Catholick, be admitted to give in his vote, whatever 
 may be his impiety and the immorality of his life ? 
 Or would the privilege be restrained to those only 
 whose conduct is pious and edifying ? Shall the drun- 
 kard, the impure, the professed libertine, and he who 
 
/ 
 
 m . 
 
 hardly knows'the elements of his religion, and lives in 
 an open transgression of her laws, be allowed to choose 
 the ministers of Jesus Christ, together with the sober, 
 the chaste, the enlightened and regular Catholick 
 who punctually fulfils all the commandments of God 
 and the Church ? It is evident that in a matter of a 
 nature so sacred, a discrimination ought to be made ; 
 and would not this first and necessary step be obnoxious 
 to insuperable difficulties? Upon whom would the choice 
 most probably fail ? Would it fall on the modest and 
 pious clergyman, who spends his days in instructing 
 the poor and the ignorant ; in carrying the last consola- 
 tions of religion to dying Christians ; in reconciling re- 
 penting sinners to the oftended Majesty of God in the 
 tribunal of Penance, — who every day in his private 
 oratory and at the altar, raises his pure hands to God, 
 to draw down the blessing of Heaven on his flock — who 
 mounts the pulpit, not to please his auditory and glean 
 from the world the pitiful reward of praise ; but to in- 
 struct,' exhort and move — who consecrates his intervals 
 of leisure, not to idle visits and frivolous conversation ; 
 but to meditation and studies suitable to ids state of 
 life ? The merits of such a clergyman being generally 
 unknown or not sufficiently felt, he would very likely 
 not be elected : and yet him has the Lord chosen. 
 The gay and sprightly companion — he who at home 
 spends his time in idleness or frivolous occupations — 
 ' who, in the societies of worldlings which he liabitually 
 frequents, can command their attention by some light 
 accomplishment— who can preach a fashionable dis- 
 
64 
 
 course, or pronounce a vapid declamation wliich he 
 probably had not even the slender merit of composing, 
 this man will unite the votes of the multitude. In vain 
 might a few pious and sensible Catholicks raise their 
 voices against his election ; they would be drowned in 
 the general clamour. Under such a pastor what would 
 become of the unfortunate congregation ? Instead of 
 exhibiting tlie endearing spectacle of sincere religion 
 and piety, it would soon present disgusting scenes of 
 irreligion and immorality. 
 
 II owever, in opposition to the doctrine and positive 
 laws of the Catholick Church — in opposition to the ex- 
 perience of several ages ; the impious author of a pam- 
 phlet printed in Norfolk, and clandestinely circulated 
 in Virginia and elsewhere, maintains, that the catho- 
 licks in the United States, have the natural right of 
 choosing by vote their Bishops and inferior Cleigy. 
 To prove this disorganizing doctrine, he could certain- 
 ly borrow no assistance from Catholick divines. Rad 
 he opened any one of them on that subject, he would 
 have met with his condemnation. He had therefore 
 recourse to heterodox writers, whom he represents to 
 his illiterate readers as Catholick authors. He drew 
 most of his arguments from Febroiiius^ a turbulent Ger- 
 man prelate, solemnly condemned by Pius VI. ; but 
 who on his death bed, dilacerated with remorse at the 
 recollection of his errors, humbly asked pardon from 
 God and the Church ; from Couroyer an apostate 
 
 * His true name was John Nicholas Hontheim, Bishop of My- 
 riophis and SuilVagan of Treves. lie died >Sept. 2, 1790. 
 
65 
 
 monk, WHO became chaplain to the Prince of Wales, 
 and sought popularity by composing a work, in which 
 contrary to the general opinion of Catholick divines, 
 he attempted to prove the validity of the ordinations of 
 the Protestant English clergy ; from the famous Fra 
 Paolo a Venetian friar, who under the habit of a Reli- 
 gious, concealed the principles of Calvin, and who 
 prostituted his eminent talents, in a work which he de- 
 dicated to the British King, to ridicule and bring into 
 contempt the Holy Council of Trent ; from Mosheim, 
 a Lutheran historian. Such, Beloved Brethren, are 
 the corrupted sources, from which this impious man 
 has drawn his principal arguments. Such is the poi- 
 sonous draught which he dared present to the Catlio- 
 licks of the United States. 
 
 The impiety of this author appears still under a 
 more frightful and distinct form, in several fugitive 
 pieces lately published. Who could believe, that a 
 man, who still retains the name of Catholick, could 
 descend to that degree of infamy, as to repeat the wild 
 declamations of the fanatics of the sixteenth century, 
 against that very Church, whose child he acknow- 
 ledges himself to be ? — as to represent her government 
 as foreign to her children living in the United States, 
 and the spiritual jurisdiction of the sovereign Pontiff, as 
 dangerous to our civil government — as to invite the au- 
 thorities of this country, to impede the spiritual pastoral 
 power of the Catholick Bishops of the United States, 
 that is, to proscribe the free exercise of the Catholick 
 
 9 
 
66 
 
 / 
 
 religion ? Fortunately \vc have nothing to fear, Dear 
 Brethren. If these productions should accidentally 
 fall into the hands of our eidightened legislatoi*s ; they 
 ’would undoubtedly meet the contempt which they de- 
 serve. But w ith w hat profound horror ought not Ca- 
 tholicks to view such enormities ! And yet this man, 
 who, in the primitive ages, w ould not have been per- , 
 
 mitted to step over the threshold of a Catholick Church 
 until he had done a publick penance, proportionate to 
 such crimes, w ith two or three associates of his impiety 
 dares claim the right of electing the Bishops and Pas- 
 tors of the Church. Nay, in his incredible arrogance, 
 and in opposition to the positive decrees of tw o Sove- 
 rei2:n Pontiff’s, Pius VI. and Pins YII., he pronoun- 
 ces with a ridiculous solemnitv, that Virsrinia forms 
 no longer a part of the Diocess of Baltimore ! ^ 
 
 From the principles which we have laid down, 
 
 Dearly Beloved Brethren, it is evident, that llev. 
 
 Thomas Carbry has no jurisdiction w hatever among 
 you, in virtue of the choice which the above mentioned 
 writer, and some other laymen have made of him for 
 their Pastor. To cover tliis defect, and to compose 
 the fear of conscientious Catholicks, it has been in- 
 dustriously circulated, that he has received a secret 
 i appointment from the Holy See, to the place w hich he 
 now holds. And as this report is calculated to lead 
 some of you astray, it is important that we should 
 I shew' you, that it is absolutely unfounded and false. 
 
6r 
 
 \ 
 
 You may recollect, that about two years ago a 
 man was sent to Rome, by a few indivitluals of Nor- 
 folk. Although destitute of all publick authority, yet 
 he had the presumption to assume the character of a 
 deputy commissioned by all the Catholicks of Virginia, 
 and to present several petitions to the Holy See in their 
 name. Tim first authentic information that we had on 
 the subject, was communicated to us in a letter from 
 Cardinal Litta himself, dated Rome, Sept. 30, 1817. 
 
 Deputies from Virginia,” says his Eminence, 
 have arrived at Rome, with letters from the Catholick 
 congregation, (of Norfolk) stating that the faithful of 
 that city are not only destitute of a Pastor, but have 
 been for a longtime destitute of Priests, so that they 
 have no clergyman at all to administer the sacraments 
 to them, or the other spiritual consolations of religion ; 
 and as this province (Virginia) being at so great a 
 distance from your Archiepiscopal See, you can hard- 
 ly take care of it in such an immense diocess ; in or- 
 del* to regulate it in a more convenient manner, and 
 to free you from a great burden, they begged of us to 
 erect in Virginia a See sufiragan to the Arch-bishop 
 of Baltimore, to be fixed in Norfolk ; being ready to 
 provide with munificence all that is necessary for di- 
 vine worship, the maintenance of the Bishop, and 
 other ministers of the church, the erection of a semi- 
 nary and schools. Certainly this offer appears to 
 present some utility, and not a small relief to you. 
 But as a division of your diocess is in question, we 
 
68 
 
 would not come to any decision, without having pre- 
 ^^viously received your advice and consent.’^* 
 
 The deputy having stated that there was no Priest 
 at all in Norfolk, then begged his Eminence to appoint 
 the Rev. Thomas Carbry Pastor of that place ; a cler- 
 gyman, he observed, who enjoyed great reputation. 
 
 It would be very agreeable to them,” continues 
 his Eminence, to have for Pastor, Thomas Carbry, 
 an Irish Priest of the order of St. Dominic now re- 
 siding in New York. But as the choice of Pastors 
 <( properly belongs to the Bishop, we refer this matter 
 to your prudence and judgment, trusting that if you 
 think there is nothing objectionable in Carbry, you 
 
 * Nuntii ex Virginia Romam venerunt cum litteris Catholicse il- 
 lius congregationis, quse ferunt, fideles illos, non modo Pastore, sed 
 Omni plane presb>'tero jamdiu ita carere, ut nemo sit qui illis 
 sacramenta et reliqua spiritualia subsidia ministret. Quoniam ita 
 Provincia ilia ab Archiepiscopali sede tua, tarn longe distat, ut Am- 
 plitudo tua in tanta dicecesis vastitate ejusdem provincise curam vix 
 gerere possit, ita ad earn aptius stabiliendam teque a tanto onere 
 sublevandum enixe postularunt ut Virginia in Episcopatum Baltimo- 
 rensis Archiepiscopatus suffraganeum, constituta Norfolkii sedei 
 crigatur ; parati ad ea omnia munifice suppeditanda, quee ad divinum 
 cultum ministrorum ecclesiae sustentationem, ac seminarii schola- 
 Tumque institutionem, sunt necessaria. Hoc sane propositum quam- 
 dam pree se ferre videtur utilitatem, ac non modicunri tibi levamen. 
 Sed cum de tuse dicecesis dismembratiorie agitur, nullum plane con- 
 silium capere volui, absque pravio Amplitudinis tuae judicio et con- 
 seiigione. 
 
 
69 
 
 will freely appoint him Pastor of the said congrega- 
 tion, and thus gratify its wish.’*^ 
 
 On receiving this letter from the Cardinal we made 
 enquiries concerning the liev. T. Carbry, who at 
 that time was entirely unknown to us. We were in- 
 ( formed that he was the only clergyman who resided 
 
 with our Brother in Christ, Dr. Connolly, Bishop 
 of New York, and helped him in attending the large 
 • congregation of St. Patrick’s Church. Delicacy pre- 
 vented us from acceding to a request, which if grant- 
 ed, would have deprived an old Prelate, of a Priest 
 whom we conceived to be absolutely necessary to him. 
 
 . But soon after, a variety of re| oits concerning this 
 clergyman reached us from dilferent quarters, which 
 4 gave us great uneasiness ; particularly the certain 
 
 knowledge which we had, that he was in close inti- 
 macy with the few turbulent men of Norfolk who 
 have been the cause of so much distress to you, and 
 especially with the impious author of the writings above 
 mentioned. After mature reflections made iu the pre- 
 sence of Almighty God, we believe that we could not 
 I conscientiously commit the care of souls to a character 
 
 * Gratissimum quidera illis foret Pastorem habere P. Thomam 
 Carbry, Hibernensem, ordinis PrecUcatorum, Neo-eboraci moran- 
 tem, de quo amplissima nobis praestita sunt testimonia. Cum vero 
 delectus Pastorum ad Episcopos proprie pertineat, Amplitudinis 
 tufe judicio in hac parte me refero, fore ceteroquin conCdens, utquo 
 ties adversus Carbry nihil obstare putet, ilium libenter eidem con- 
 gregationi Pastorem praeliciat, atque illam voti corxipotem faciat. 
 
70 
 
 at least so dubious, and therefore refused to appoint 
 him, lest he should prove a baneful acquisition to our 
 diocess. 
 
 In consequence, we immediately wrote to Cardinal 
 Litta, and stated our motives for not acceding to his 
 wishes. The surprise of that great man was extreme, ^ 
 
 w hen he learnt that Norfolk, far from being at an im- 
 mense distance from our place of residence, as the de- 
 puty had falsely represented, was in almost daily in- 
 tercourse with Baltimore ; that there was and had been 
 constantly a pious Priest in Norfolk, devoted entirely 
 to the duties of the Ministry ; that the men who so im- 
 pudently addressed his Eminence in the name of the 
 Catholicks of Virginia, w ere cither unknow n to, or des- 
 pised b}^ them ; that they had attempted by secret emis- t 
 
 saries, to obtain signatures to certain papers from the 
 vicious or ignorant Catholicks of many cities of the Uni- 
 ted States, to give some appearance of credit to their pe- 
 titions ; that their promises to support a Bishop and his 
 clergy, to build a seminary and schools, and endow 
 these establishments trith inunijicencef were so many 
 ridiculous engagements, made only to deceive his Emi- , 
 
 nence, and draw him over to sanction their plans, &c. 
 
 M hen Cardinal Litta, received from us and from 
 otliers this information, he felt profoundly mortified 
 that there should be men in this country calling them- 
 selves Catholicks, who were capable of making use of 
 
/ 
 
 71 
 
 siidi criminal means to lead him into error. He imme- 
 diately wrote a most friendly letter to us, in which, 
 with an elevation of mind, and dignified humility pecu- 
 liar only to great and illustrious men, he excuses him- 
 self, as it were, for having listened to the propositions 
 of the mock deputy of Virginia ; and requests us to re- 
 main easy in regard to the past or any future applica- 
 tions which might be made to him on such subjects ; as- 
 suring us that the Holy See would never admit any of 
 them without previously consulting us. 
 
 As to the affairs of Virginia,’^ says his Eminence, 
 it is very true that we had a deputy from Norfolk 
 here, who presented us with a project for the erec- 
 tion of a new Bishoprick, promising all the necessary 
 funds. But in these plans which they have devised 
 there are many absurdities contrary to the spirit and, 
 government of the Church. This deputy seemed to 
 submit to the reflections which have been made to him, ‘ 
 and he has set off with a letter, in which we ask your 
 advice, on the erection of this new Bishoprick in Vir- 
 ^^ginia, and on their complaints against a Pastor by 
 whom they say they have been aI)andoned. But God 
 knows, wheth-er instead of having abandoned them, they 
 have not forced him out of his post. They wish to 
 
 have another Pastor, a Dominican Friar ; but upon all 
 these subjects you will freely give us your advice ; 
 
 (( and I beg you, My Lord, to give it with all liberty. 
 
 For I assure you that no determination will be taken, 
 ‘0)ut after liavin^ received your sentiment, and after 
 
mature deliberation ; so be not surprised, My Lord, 
 if we direct to you all these papers and remonstran- 
 ces, whenever we receive any.”* 
 
 Cardinal Dugnany in several letters which he has 
 written to us, in order to obtain some information res' 
 pccting Mr. Thomas Jefferson and his daughters, for 
 whom he has constantly entertained singular respect, 
 ever since he became acquainted with them in Paris, 
 speaks the same language to us. And lastly, Cardi- 
 nal Samaglia, in a letter which we received the very 
 W'eek that Thomas Carbry made his irruption into our 
 diocess, begs us to be without any apprehension in re- 
 gard to Iiis ever being appointed Pastor of Norfolk by 
 the Holy See, assuring us, that there is no need of our 
 
 * Par rapport atix affaires de la Virg'nie, il est bien vrai, que nous 
 avons eu lei un depute de Norfolk, qui a presente ; un projet pour la 
 formation d’un nouvel Kveche, promettant de donner tons les fonds 
 reces«aires. Mais dans les plans, qu’ils avoient imagine, il y avoit 
 blendes absunlitfes, contraires a I’esprit et au gouvernment de I’e- 
 glise. Le depute a paru se soumettre aux reflexions, qu’on lui a 
 fait, et il est parti avec une lettre par la quelle on vous demande 
 votre avis et sur le projet de Perection de ce nouvel eveche de 
 la Virginie et sur leurs plaintes centre un cure dont ils se pre- 
 tendent a'oandonnes. Mais Dieu salt, si au lieu d’etre abandonne 
 du cure, ils ne Pont pas chasse eux memes de sa residence. lis de 
 mandent un autre Pasteur, un Dominicain. Enfin sur tous ces ob- 
 jects, vous nous donnerez votre avis, et je vous prie. Monseig- 
 neur, de le donner avec toute liberte. Je vous assure, qu’on ne 
 prendra aucune resolution ici, qu’apres vos conseils et mure delibe- 
 ration. Aussi ne soyez pas etonne. Monseigneur, si nous vous 
 addressons tous ces papiers et ces remonstrances, toutes les fois, que 
 nous en recevrons. f Lettre du Car. Litta, Rome, .dvril l^r, 1818.^ 
 
73 
 
 making any further mention of this subject in our future 
 letters to Rome.* 
 
 Can it be sujiposeil, dearly Beloved, that after so 
 many positive assurances from these eminent persona- 
 ges, they could have privately given the Rev. T. Car- 
 bry any jurisdiction in our diocess ? To supposed, 
 would be an insult to their candour and piety. This 
 supposition will appear still more improbable to every 
 one who is in the least acquainted with the usages and 
 uniform practice of the Pontifical government. For 
 when it sends any clergyman to a distant mission, it 
 constantly directs him to the Bishop of tlie diocess, ei- 
 ther with a simple letter of recommendation, or at most 
 ^ with a request to tlie Bishop to employ him, if he deem 
 his ministry useful. Such is the respectful and noble 
 deference which the Roman dignitaries pay to the Pre- 
 lates of the Catholick world, that it would be perfectly 
 ridiculous to suppose that they would force on them, 
 subjects who might be disagreeable to them, or prove 
 by their conduct an obstacle to their ecclesiastical ad- 
 ministration. The only case in which the Holy See 
 deviates from this line of conduct, is when a Bishop 
 neglects his duty ; then the Successor of St. Peter, who 
 is charged with the care of the whole flock of Jesus - 
 Christ, sends clergymen into the diocess of the negli- 
 gent Prelate, with an independent jurisdiction. 
 
 Non est ratio cur amplius de P. Carbry sermo fiat. ( Car. Sa- 
 ma^lia Roma, Dec. 5, 1818.J 
 
 10 
 
7 -^ 
 
 But can we be accused of negligence ? Is the Holy 
 See displeased with oar conduct and administration ? 
 Although, dearly beloved Brethren, we be conscious * 
 of our extreme weakness and incapacity, yet, thank 
 God, we have never received any complaints from His 
 Holiness since the day on which we were elevated to 
 that dignity, which is still the daily subject of our af- 
 fliction and tears. We have on the contrary received 
 constantly from the supreme Head of the Catholick 
 Church, the most flattering marks of his paternal good- 
 ness and esteem. And instead of forcing on us a cler- 
 gyman independent of our Archiepiscopal authority and 
 thus limiting our jurisdiction. Cardinal Samaglia, in 
 the letter in which he informs us, that there is no need 
 to make any more mention of Carbrv, assures us that 
 H is Holiness has sent us the Pallium, which is the 
 greatest mark of distinction which can be conferred on 
 a Prelate, and extends thereby our jurisdiction, in cer- 
 tain cases determined by canon law, over all the dio- 
 cesses of the United States, except Louisiana. 
 
 Having in our hands such positive documents that 
 T. Carbry was never appointed Pastor of Norfolk by 
 the Holy See, we might have proceeded against him 
 iiinuediately, and attempted by canonical censures to 
 terminate his sacrilegious ministry. But thinking it 
 more consonant to the dictates of charity, we requested 
 him by letter to inform us if His Holiness had really ap- 
 pointed him Pastor of Norfolk. By a word of reply, 
 the matter might have been settled at once. But in- 
 
 / 
 
75 
 
 stead of answering us as he was conscientiously hound 
 to do, he brought the young Gentleman, who wiih his 
 habitual politeness barely handed him our letter, into 
 court, as if by this act he had rendered himself amenable 
 to the laws of his country. Many of you were probably 
 present at this unaccountable trial. After investigating 
 the case, the judge, observing the malicious and un- 
 manly attack made on an innocent young Gentleman, 
 extended over him the shield of justice, and protected 
 him from the rude violence of an old man, whose irrita- 
 bility ought in this case at least, to have been re[u essed 
 by the sense of respect which he owes his sacred charac- 
 ter, and by the dictates of decency and prudence, the 
 natural result of a virtuous old age. And what is truly 
 incredible in this land of liberty, this same Thomas 
 Carbry and his associates, who have lately disseminated 
 so many foul writings , who dared to advise the civil 
 authorities to be on their guard against the spiritual 
 jurisdiction of His Holiness as of a foreign govern- 
 ment; w ho poured forth such virulent abuse against 
 our venerable predecessor and ourselves, at last ai riv- 
 ed to that degree of extravagance as to summon us by 
 an attorney at law, to receive their disgusting and inso- 
 lent letters.* We have frequently blessed Divine 
 Providence, that we live under a free and just govern- 
 
 *The General Assembly of Virginia held in 1780, positively de- 
 clares, that the civil magistrate ought never to intrude his powers 
 into the field of religious opinions. That it is time enough for the 
 rightful purposes of civil government for its ojficers to inierfere^ 
 
 
7(5 
 
 inent. But we never felt the advantage more strongly 
 than in this conjuncture. For were we under an abso- 
 lute one, and these impious men could induce its min- 
 isters to support their measures, the Catholick 
 Bishops of the United States would soon be thrown 
 into dungeons, and their flocks dispersed, unless they 
 submitted to their abominable, new fangled canon 
 laws. The general features of their writings, and the 
 tenor of their conduct exhibit persecutiou under its most 
 hideous and fearful forms. But let them remember 
 that her shafts in this country are blunted and shivered 
 on the aegis of American Liberty, and fall harmless at 
 the feet of their intended victims. 
 
 It is surely useless, dear Brethren, to notice another 
 report, viz. that T. Cavbry has received powers from 
 the Bight Revd. Dr. Connolly. This pious Bishop 
 knows very well that he has no jurisdiction what- 
 ever in our diocess, and that any appointment made 
 by him within its limits, would be ipso facto null and 
 void. Those who circulate this idle story, ought to 
 
 when principles break out into overt-acts against peace and good 
 order. 
 
 It would be an easy task to prove that Thomas Carbry and his 
 supporters by having summoned us as they did; by the law suits 
 they have lately instituted in Norfolk, and others they repeatedly 
 threaten to institute, are in reality open violators of the fundamen- 
 tal law which secures religious freedom in Virginia, and do all in 
 their power to subvert it. 
 
77 
 
 reflect on the wound which they thoughtlessly inflict on 
 the name of this prelate. For they accuse him really 
 of being the voluntary cause of all the sacrileges which 
 his former Vicar now daily commits. To be acquaint- 
 ed with Dr. Connolly will he sufficient to authorize 
 any one to affirm boldly, that he is incapable of doing 
 so dreadful an action. 
 
 From the numerous facts we have enumerated, and 
 the Catliolick principles which we have unfolded, you 
 may conclude, dearly beloved Brethren, with absolute 
 certainty, that Thomas Carbry is exercising the mi- 
 nistry, without any mission — that having no spiritual 
 jurisdiction whatever, some of the functions which he 
 performs are null and void, and all of them so many 
 profanations ; that those who join with him in the 
 celebration of the holy Mass, or those who receive 
 any sacrament from his hands, render themselves 
 eminently criminal in the sight of Almighty God, by 
 co-operating to his schismatical and sacrilegious mi- 
 nistry. 
 
 We therefore in the name of the adorable Son of 
 God, your Saviour, and in the name of the Church, 
 whose children you are, charge you to avoid with re- 
 ligious fear any communication in spiritual things with 
 that unfortunate Priest. You cannot adhere to him as 
 your Pastor, without leaving the Church, from which 
 lie has separated himself. Many of you have perhaps 
 through curiosity or ignorance frequented his convent!- 
 
78 
 
 cie. Some of you have perhaps unfortunately received 
 sacraments from his unhallowed hands. But after this 
 solemn warning none of you can plead any excuse, be- 
 fore the tribunal of God and of his Church. 
 
 We are sensibly affected at your situation. You 
 are deprived of the use of the church which you had ^ 
 
 erected by your pecuniary sacrifices, nor have you it in 
 your power to erect another. But, Dear Brethren, if 
 your are forced to suffer from the injustice of men, it 
 must be a source of consolation to you, to reflect that 
 you are suffering for Jesus Christ and his Church. For 
 you might like some others, free yourseh es from these 
 difficulties, by following the scliismatical churchman, 
 who now officiates among you. Besides the grateful 
 feeling which you must exjierience in doing your duty 'S' 
 
 with fidelity, and the certain hope of everlasHng re- 
 ward which God holds out to you, remember the mag- 
 nanimous examples which your forefathers have set 
 you. When a tyrannical Prince had annexed to the 
 royal prerogative, the spiritual power which God had 
 never granted him, did the Catholicks of England and 
 particularly those of Ireland yield to his impieties ? \ 
 
 Did they resign their faith to retain the noble and 
 sacred edifices which their ancestors’ piety had raised ? 
 
 They chose rather to lose all those splendid buildings 
 than abandon a single tenet oftheir hoi v religion. Like 
 the primitive Christians, they were obliged for several 
 years to celebrate the holy mysteries in private houses, 
 in open fields, and even in subterraneous caverns. 
 
 Do not you degenerate, Dearest Brethren, from the 
 
79 
 
 lofty character of the sons of God, Some of these your 
 ancestors, like the prophets of old praised by St. Paul, 
 (Heb. 11. 38) had felt the severity of the persecuting 
 lash and the point of ridicule, and chains and prisons 
 besides. Some of them died by the sword. They tra- 
 velled about in want, straitened and afflicted ; for the 
 world was not worthy of them. They wandered in. 
 wildernesses, among the mountains and in frightful 
 forests. Yet all these were approved by the testimo- 
 ny of Faith.’’ Your situation, although painful in ma- 
 ny respects, cannot stand in comparison with theirs. 
 Y'our unfeeling adversaries may indeed attack the laws 
 and government of the Catholick Church ; misrepre- 
 sent her doctrine, calumniate her lawful Pastors, take 
 from you by force your place of worship — but what- 
 ever may be their malice, in this happy land their 
 means of persecution are altogether, extremely limited. 
 
 Almighty God, dearly beloved Brethren, often per- 
 mits schisms to separate bad and scandalous Catho- 
 licks from the pious and sincere ones. In these great 
 calamities which afflicted some portions of the Church 
 in every age, He displays his awful justice by deliver- 
 ing up to a reprobate sense, the wicked who in the bo- 
 som of his true religion, abused the means of salvation 
 he has offered them ; and Ids infinite mercy towards 
 elect by affording them an opportunity of continually 
 multiplying their merits by frequent acts of Christian 
 humility, patience, fortitude and charity. 
 
su 
 
 In the midst of the troubles and persecutions to 
 which you are now", or may hereafter be exposed, be 
 careful after the example of the saints, dearest Breth- 
 ren, daily to intreat with feiw our your heavenly Father, 
 to take under his special protection, yourselves, your 
 families, your friends, your Pastors, and all the Ca- 
 tliolicks of the United States. The Church of Christ 
 in this country is now' in affliction. Dissensions and 
 scandals threaten to destroy her peace and happiness. 
 As for you. Dear Brethren, strive to console her by 
 every possible mark of respect, attachment, obedience 
 and love. For though surrounded with difficulties; 
 though even attacked by some unnatural children, still 
 she is your mother, your protectress, your guide upon 
 earth, and the organ by which Divine Mercy commu- 
 nicates to you the treasure of his grace, and all the 
 means of salvation. Here she is destitute of all human 
 protection. Ah ! Dearest Brethren, let this considera- 
 tion increase your filial piety, and prompt you to cling 
 to her with more devotion and fervour. Frequently 
 
 protest in the presence of God that you will never, no ! 
 
 * 
 
 never abandon her, and say from the bottom of your 
 hearts, 
 
 O Catholick Churcli ! Spouse of Jesus my Saviour ! 
 My good and tender Mother, in whose bosom are 
 centered all my hopes for time and eternity ! May 
 I forget my right hand if 1 ever forget thee. May my 
 tongue cleave to my mouth if I do not remember thee ; 
 if 1 do not make Jerusalem the beginning of my joy 
 and the object of my canticles. 
 
 / 
 
81 
 
 And thou O God ! be mindful o^ thv ancient mer- 
 cies. Look down from thy throne on thy afflicted 
 children. Stretch the hand of thy protection over 
 them and confound the evil designs of their and thy 
 enemies ; or rather convert them, 0 Lord ! And by 
 the power of thy grace,' change the sentiments which 
 now agitate and defile their souls, into sentiments of 
 Christian union, charity and peace ! 
 
 May the blessing of Mmighty God the Father , the 
 Son and the Holy Ghost descend upon - you, Beloved 
 Brethren^ and abide with you for ever ! Amen ! 
 
 Baltimore^ Sept. 28, 1819. 
 
 11 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 We received a letter yesterday from His Eminence Car* 
 
 dinal Fontana, now Prefect of the Propaganda, which explains a 
 
 / 
 
 mystery of iniquity, till then incomprehensible to us. 
 
 The Right Rev. Dr. Burke, Bishop of Halifax in Nova Scotia, 
 wrote the following letter to us last summer. 
 
 Most Rev'd Sir, 
 
 I have received by the London Packet a letter 
 “from the Rev. Mr. Gandolphy, a clergyman distinguished by his 
 “ learning and zeal, of which I hasten to send you the following 
 “ highly interesting paragraph : — 
 
 ■ Some Priests have latehj offered to receive the Rev. Mr. Hayes 
 (Note 1.) as Bishop, if he would go to Utrecht (Note 2.) and get a 
 consecration from the. schismatical Bishop of that city. Hayes im^ 
 mediately denounced the proposal to the Propaganda. 
 
 “ It v^ould be perhaps advantageous to write directly to the Rev. 
 Mr. Hayes, for more information on this diabolical project.” 
 
 We were for a long time at a loss to find out who were the authors 
 of this iu»piety. But the above mentioned letter clears up the whole 
 mystery. These are the words of Carainal Fontana : — 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 83 
 
 “ I presume you are informed that some Catholicks, (if however 
 “ they can be so called.) by the organ of Thomas Carbry, of the or- 
 “ der of St. Dominic, have sent letters to an Irish Priest, to whom 
 “ they have made considerable offers, if he were willing to g(» to 
 “ Utrecht, to have himself consecrated by its schismatical Bishop, 
 “ then to go over to America and consecrate other Prelates in every 
 one of its States. But this Priest being struck with horror at the 
 f “ criminal project, has immediately given information of it to the 
 
 “ Holy See.”* 
 
 (Note 1.) The Rev. Richard Hayes, is a young Irish clergyman who resid- 
 ed some time in Rome as a deputy from a board of Catholicks in Dublin. 
 His conduct, it appears, was such in that city, that he deserved to be ban- 
 ished from the Ecclesiastical territory. The board from which he received 
 his commission, bitterly complained of this act of the Pontifical govern- 
 ment, and of many other matters. To prove the justice of his proceedings, 
 Pius "VII. wrote a brief to the members of the board, dated Rome, Feb. 21, 
 1818. The following paragraph concerns the Rev. Mr. Hayes. 
 
 - i “ Now, to proceed to what relates to Richard Hayes, of the order of the 
 
 “ Friars Minor of St. Francis ; you have complained that we have expelled him 
 “ from our territory, though, as you write, he had given us no cause of com- 
 plaint. — You even seem to think, that we were driven into that measure per- 
 “ haps by foreign influence, lest the statements which he had to make in your 
 “ name should obtain easy access to our ear. When you wrote this you were 
 “ little acquainted, as it seems to us, with that man’s mode of conducting 
 “himself; for, having abused that hospitality which he enjoyed in the city, he 
 “furnished us with many and weighty causes of grief and vexation, as well as 
 j “ his deportment, altogether unbecoming a man professing a religious institute, 
 
 * Exploratum tibi esse arbitror, Catholicos quosdam, (si tamen CatholicI 
 dicendi sunt.) per organum Thomae Carbry ordinis Praedcatorum, mississe 
 litteras ad Hibernensem Presbyterum, quern ejusdem furfuris esse putabant, 
 eumque largis exhibitis prscmiis instigasse ut schismatico Ultrajectensi Epis- 
 copo enungi se faceret, atque inde \mericam petens alios pro singulis provin- 
 ciis Episcopos consecraret. Horruit profecto ille et sanctam sedem de exco- 
 gitate facinore certiorem fecit. 
 
 Romcr, 26 Jiinii, 1819. 
 
 F. Card. FONTANA, Praf. 
 
84 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 “and by incessant aspersions on our government, as by writings disseminated 
 “in every direction, overflowing with calumny and rancour, no less injurious 
 “to us and to this holy see, than to his own government, of which he boasted 
 “every where and publicly that he was the author, until at length he proceed- 
 “ ed to such a degree of arrogance and audacity, that he did not blush to of- 
 fend ourselves by injurious expressions ; so that we could no longer suppress 
 “our sentiments, without the abandonment of our personal dignity. Where- 
 “ fore, though we could have proceeded with severity against him, neverthe- 
 “ less, acting towards him with lenity, the causes of complaint which we had, 
 “having been declared by our orders, some without any difficulty, he did not 
 “ blush to acknowledge, and others, indeed, he could not deny, we caused it 
 “ to be notified to him, that he should, of his own accord, depart from 
 “ the city ; which intimation of ours, when he altogether and obstinately re- 
 “ fused to obey, we ordered at length that he should be removed, even by 
 “ force, beyond the limits of our territority. Wherefore, as we were in- 
 “ducedto act towards him in this manner, by motives quite different from 
 “those which you imagined, and these of weighty moment, you have no 
 “reason to complain, as if by this act we had inflicted an injury on the af- 
 “ fairs of the Catholicks, which are dear to us, for most essential rea- 
 “sons. In the mean time, that same man, of whom we speak, since his re- 
 “ turn to his own country, has not changed his line of conduct ; for, in the 
 “ public journals of the 17th day of last December, printed in Dublin, we 
 “ have seen a report delivered by him to you, of his proceedings in this city; 
 “ like his former writings, it is full of falsehood and calumnies, to which re- 
 “ port, therefore, we most unreservedly declare to you, that no credit 
 “ should be attached.” 
 
 It is manifest that Thomas Carbry mistaking the Rev, Mr. Hayes for an 
 abandoned character, inimical to the Holy See, believed he w’ould cheerfully 
 accept the criminal proposals made to him. But fortunately he was disap- 
 pointed. The Catholicks of the United States have just reasons to congratu- 
 late the Rev. Mr. Hayes for having repelled with indignation the insulting 
 off Ts of Thomas Carbry, and immediately denounced him to the Holy See: 
 and we sincerely wish his meritorious conduct in this circumstance, may ex- 
 piate in the eyes of the Holy Father, the irregularities of which His Holiness 
 complains in the brief above mentioned. 
 
 (Note 2.) Utrecht is a city of Holland, whither many Religionists of 
 France, called Jansenists, took refuge towards the beginning of the last cen- 
 tury. After a few years r. sidence they succeeded by intrigues and other 
 means, to seduce and bring over to their party, seven Priests employed in 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 85 
 
 that city and Us neighbourhood. In 1710 they met to gether and undertook 
 to organize themselves into a Metropolitan Chapter. They soon after nomi- 
 nated Cornelius Stenoven, one of their board, Archbishop of Utrecht ; although 
 that see did no longer exist, having been completely destroyed during the 
 Dutch revolution which had taken place more than one hundred years before. 
 The great difficulty for them, was to find out a Bishop in the Cathollck world 
 willing to ordain their candidate. They applied in vain to many ; when un- 
 fortunately, Dominick Varlet, who had been consecrated coadjutor of Ispahan 
 f in Persia, and was at that time suspended by his own Bishop for the irregu- 
 
 larity of his conduct, consented to perform the ceremony of Consecration, 
 which took place on the 21st Feb. 1727. Benedict XIII. solemnly condemn- 
 ed both the covsecrating and consecrated Bishops. Since that period there 
 has been a continued series of schismatical Prelates in Utrecht. The name 
 of the one who now occupies that see is Willebrord Van Os, who was solemnly 
 excommunicated by Pius VII. on the 7th Sept. 1814. His flock is very small. 
 Napoleon, who looked upon these sectarians as dangerous subjects, whilst 
 he was master of Holland, treated them with severity in several circumstances. 
 He could not bear the mere mention of their name. Although cut off from 
 the Catholick Church, they affect to call themselves Calholicks; and every 
 new Bishop, immediately after his consecration, never fails sending a letter 
 4 of communion to the reigning Pontiff ; who commonly answers him by a fresh 
 
 condemnation, both of his schism and his errors. 
 
 This is the impure source from which Thomas Carbry attempted to pro- 
 cure a Bishop ; who, with all his adherents, would have been as really sepa- 
 rated from the Catholick Church, as any sectarian Bishop in the world. We 
 are informed moreover, that to deceive the ignorant, the plan was carefully 
 to preserve, after the example of the schismatical Prelates of Utrecht all the 
 exterior practices of our divine worship, and to call their sect : The Indepen- 
 dent Catholick Church of the United States ! ! ! 
 
 FINIS. 
 
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