Restoration of the Catholic Hierarchy in England and Wales on this day 1850

UNIVERSALIS ECCLESIAE

The power of ruling the ' universal Church, committed by our Lord Jesus Christ to the Roman Pontiff, in the person of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, hath preserved, through every age, in the Apostolic See, that remarkable solicitude by which it consulteth for the advantage of the Catholic religion in all parts of the world, and studiously provideth for its extension. And this correspondeth with the design of its Divine Founder, who, when he ordained a head to the Church, provided for its safety, by his excelling wisdom, to the end of time. Amongst other nations the famous realm of England hath experienced the effects of this solicitude on the part of the Supreme Pontiff. Its historians testify, that in the very earliest ages of the Church the Christian religion was introduced into Britain, and subsequently flourished greatly there; but about the middle of the fifth century, after the Angles and Saxons had been invited into the island, not only the affairs of the nation, but religion itself, suffered most grievous injury. But it is well known that our most holy predecessor, Gregory the Great, sent first Augustine the Monk, with his companions, who subsequently, with several others, were raised to the dignity of bishops ; and a great company of Benedictine Priests having been sent to join them, the Anglo-Saxons were brought to embrace the Christian religion ; and by his influence it was brought to pass, that in Britain, which had now come to be called England, the Catholic religion was every where again restored and extended. But to recount more recent events, the history of the Anglican schism in the sixteenth century presents no feature so remarkable as the care unremittedly exercised by the Roman Pontiffs our predecessors to give succour, in its hour of extremest peril, to the Catholic religion in that realm, and by all means in their power to afford it assistance. Amongst other instances of this care are the enactments and provisions made by the chief Pontiffs, or under their direction and approval, for the unfailing supply of persons to take charge of Catholic interests in that country ; and also for the education of Catholic youths of good abilities on the Continent, and their careful instruction in all branches of theological learning; so that, when subsequently promoted to holy orders, they might return to their native land and labour diligently to benefit their countrymen, by the ministry of the Word and of the sacraments, and by the defence and propagation of the true faith. Perhaps even more conspicuous have been the exertions made by our predecessors for the purpose of enabling the English Catholics to have superiors invested with the episcopal character, as the fierce and cruel storms of persecution had deprived them of the presence and pastoral care of their own bishops.  The Letters Apostolical of Pope Gregory XV commencing with the words " Ecclesia Romana," and dated March 23. 1623, set forth that the chief Pontiff, as soon as he was able, had deputed William Bishop, consecrated Bishop of Chalcedon, with an ample supply of faculties, and the authority of ordinary, to govern the Catholics of England and of Scotland. Subsequently, on the death of the said William Bishop, Pope Urban VIII., by Letters Apostolical, dated Feb. 4. 1625, to the like effect, and directed to Richard Smith, renewed the mission, and conferred on him, as Bishop of Chalcedon, the same faculties and powers as had been granted to William Bishop.  When King James II. ascended the English throne, there seemed to be a prospect of happier times for the Catholic religion. Innocent XL immediately availed himself of this opportunity to ordain, in the year 1685, John Leyburn, Bishop of Adrumetum, Vicar Apostolic of all England. Subsequently, by other Letters Apostolical, issued January 30 1688, and commencing with the words "Super Cathedram," he associated with Leyburn, as Vicars Apostolic, three other bishops with titles taken from churches in partbusx infidelium; and accordingly, with the assistance of Ferdinand, Archbishop of Amaria, Apostolic Nuncio in England, the same Pontiff divided England into four districts, namely, the London, the Western, the Midland, and the Northern ; each of which a Vicar Apostolic began to govern, furnished with all suitable faculties, and with the powers proper to a local Ordinary. Benedict XIV. by his Constitution, dated May 30. 1753, beginning " Apostolicum Ministerium," and the other Pontiffs, our predecessors, and our Congregation of Propaganda, both by their authority and by their wise answers, supplied them with a rule of conduct, and with aid towards the right discharge of their important functions. This partition of all England into four Apostolic Vicariates lasted till the time of Gregory XVI., who, by Letters Apostolic, dated July 3. 1840, beginning " Muneris Apostolici," having taken into consideration the increase which the Catholic religion had already received in that kingdom, made a new ecclesiastical arrangement of the districts, doubling the number of the Apostolic Vicariates, and committing the government of the whole of England in spirituals to the Vicars Apostolic of London, the West, the East, the Centre, Wales, Lancaster, York, and the North. These facts that we have here cursorily touched upon, to omit all mention of others, are a clear proof that our predecessors have earnestly laboured, that as far as their influence could effect it, the Church in England might be refreshed and re-erected from the midst of the great calamity that had befallen her. Having, therefore, before our eyes the illustrious example of our predecessors, and wishing to emulate it, in accordance with the duty of the Supreme Apostolate, and also giving way to the inclination of our own heart towards that beloved part of our Lord's vineyard, we have purposed, from the very first commencement of our pontificate, to prosecute a work so well commenced, and to devote our closer attention to the promotion of the Church's advantage in that kingdom. Wherefore, having taken into earnest consideration the general state of Catholic affairs at present in England, and reflecting on the very large and every where increasing number of Catholics there; considering also that the impediments which stood so much in the way of the propagation of Catholicism are daily being removed, we have thought that the time had arrived, when the form of ecclesiastical government in England might be restored to that shape in which it exists freely amongst other nations, where there is no special cause for their being ruled by the extraordinary ministry of Vicars Apostolic. We felt that the adjuncts of times and circumstances had brought it to pass, that it was not necessary for the English Catholics to be any longer governed by Vicars Apostolic ; nay more, that such a change of circumstances had taken place as to demand the form of Ordinary Episcopal government. In addition to this, the Vicars Apostolic of England themselves, had, with united voice, besought this of us ; many also, both of the clergy and laity, highly esteemed for their virtue and rank, had made the same petition ; and this was also the earnest wish of by far the majority of other Catholics of England. Whilst we pondered on these things, we did not omit to implore the aid of Almighty God, that in deliberating on a matter of such weight, we might be enabled both to discern, and rightly to fulfil that which might be most conducive to promote the good of the Church. We also invoked the assistance of the most blessed Marythe Virgin, Mother of God, and of those Saints, who have rendered England illustrious by their virtues, that they would vouchsafe to aid us by their advocacy with God towards the happy accomplishment of this affair. In addition, we committed the whole matter to our venerable brethren the Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, our Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, to be carefully and gravely considered. Their opinion was entirely in accordance with our own desires, and we freely approved of it ; and judged that it be carried into execution. The whole matter, therefore, having been carefully and deliberately weighed, We, of our own proper motion, on certain knowledge, and in the plenitude of our Apostolical power, constitute and decree, that in the kingdom of England, according to the common rules of the Church, the Hierarchy of Ordinary Bishops shall reflourish, who shall be named from Sees, which we constitute by these very Letters of ours, in the several districts of the Apostolic Vicariates. To begin with the London District, there shall be in it two Sees ; that of Westminster, which we elevate to the degree of the Metropolitan or Archiepiscopal dignity, and that of Southwark, which, as also the others (to be named presently), we assign as suffragan to Westminster. The diocese of Westminster shall embrace that part of the above-named district which extends to the north of the river Thames, and includes the counties of Middlesex, Essex, and Hertford; that of Southwark shall contain the remaining part to the south of the river, viz., the counties of Berks, Southampton, Surrey, Sussex, and Kent, with the Islands of Wight, Jersey, Guernsey, and the others adjacent to them. In the Northern District there shall be only one Episcopal See, to be named from the city of Hexham, the diocese of which shall be bounded by the same limits as the district itself. The York District shall also form one diocese ; and the bishop shall have his see in the city of Beverley. In the Lancaster District there shall be two bishops ; of whom the one shall receive his title from the See of Liverpool, and shall have for his diocese the Isle of Man, the hundreds of Lonsdale, Amounderness, and West Derby. The other shall take the name of his See from the city of Salford ; and shall have for his diocese the hundreds of Salford, Blackburn, and Leyland : as to the county of Chester, although it has hitherto belonged to that district, we shall now annex it to another diocese. In the District of Wales there shall be two bishoprics, viz. that of Shrewsbury, and that of St. David's (B) and Newport united with each other. The diocese of Shrewsbury shall contain, northwards, the counties of Anglesey, Carnarvon, Denbigh, Flint, Merioneth, and Montgomery ; to which we annex the county of Chester, out of the Lancaster District, and the county of Salop, from the Central District. We assign to the Bishop of St. David's and Newport, as his diocese, northwards, the counties of Carmarthen, Cardigan, Glamorgan, Pembroke, and Radnor, also the English counties of Monmouth and Hereford. In the Western District we establish two Episcopal Sees, that of Clifton and that of Plymouth. To the former of these we assign as a diocese the counties of Gloucester, Somerset, and Wilts ; to the latter those of Devon, Dorset, and Cornwall. The Central District, from which we have already detached the county of Salop, shall have two Episcopal Sees ; that of Nottingham and that of Birmingham. To the former of these we assign, as a diocese, the counties of Nottingham, Derby, and Leicester, together with those of Lincoln and Rutland, which we hereby separate from the Eastern District. To the latter we assign the counties of Stafford, Warwick, Worcester, and Oxford. Lastly : in the Eastern District, there shall be but one bishop's see, which shall take its name from the city of Northampton, and shall have its diocese comprised within the same limits as have hitherto bounded the district, with the exception of the counties of Lincoln and Rutland, which we have already assigned to the aforesaid diocese of Nottingham. Thus, then, in the most flourishing kingdom of England, there shall be a single Ecclesiastical Province, constituted of One Archbishop, or Metropolitan Prelate, and Twelve Bishops his suffragans; by whose zeal and pastoral care we trust, under God's favour, that the Catholic estate in that country shall have a fruitful and daily increasing extension. Wherefore, we now reserve to ourselves and our successors, the Pontiffs of Rome, the power of again dividing the said province into more than one, and of increasing the number of dioceses, as occasion shall require ; and in general, of freely decreeing, as it shall seem meet before the Lord, new boundaries to them. In the meanwhile we command the aforesaid archbishop and bishops, that they transmit, at due times, to our Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith reports of the state of their Churches, and that they never omit to keep the said Congregation fully informed respecting all matters which they know will conduce to the spiritual welfare of their flocks. For we shall continue to avail ourselves of the services of the said Congregation in administering all matters appertaining to the Anglican Churches. But in the sacred government of the clergy and the people, and in all other things appertaining unto the pastoral office, the archbishop and bishops of England shall henceforward enjoy all the rights and faculties which other Catholic archbishops and bishops of other nations, according to the Common Ordinances of the Sacred Canons and Apostolic Constitutions, use, and may use : and shall be equally bound by those obligations which bind other archbishops and bishops ac- cording to the same common discipline of the Catholic Church. Further, whatever regulations, either in the ancient system of the Anglican Churches, or in the subsequent state of the missions, may have been in. force, either by special constitutions or privileges or peculiar customs, shall henceforth, circumstances having been changed, carry no right nor obligation with them ; and in order that no doubt may remain on this point, We, by the plenitude of our Apostolic authority, take away and abrogate all power whatsoever of imposing obligation or conferring right from those peculiar constitutions and privileges of whatever kind they may be, and from all customs, at whatever period, even the most ancient or immemorial, they may have been introduced. Hence it shall for the future be open for the archbishop and bishops of England to decree such things as belong to the execution of the Common Law, and such as, according" to the common discipline of the Church, are left to the authority of bishops. "We, certainly, shall not omit to assist them with our Apostolic authority, and most readily will we second all their applications in those things which shall seem to conduce to the greater glory of God's name and the salvation of souls. Our principal object^ indeed, in decreeing by these our Letters Apostolic, the restoration of the Ordinary Hierarchy of Bishops, and the observation of the Common Law of the Church, has been to consult the well-being and extension of the Catholic religion throughout the realm of England ; but, at the same time, it has been our purpose to gratify the wishes both of our venerable brethren who rule over sacred matters in that kingdom by the delegated authority of the Apostolic See, and also of very many of our well-beloved children of the Catholic clergy and people, from whom we had received the most urgent prayers to that effect. The same application had repeatedly been made by their ancestors to our predecessors, who, indeed, had first commenced to depute Vicars Apostolic in England at a time when it was impossible for any Catholic prelate to remain there in possession of his own Church by right as Ordinary; and hence their design in successively augmenting the number of Vicars and Vicarial districts, was not certainly that the Catholic estate in England should be perpetually under an extraordinary form of government, but rather that, looking forward to its extension in process of time, they might prepare the way for the ultimate restoration of the Ordinary Hierarchy there. And therefore we, to whom by God's great goodness it hath been granted to complete this great work, do now hereby declare, that it is very far from our intention or design that the prelates of England, now possessing the title and rights of Bishops in Ordinary, should, in any other respect, be deprived of any advantages which they have enjoyed heretofore under the character of Vicars Apostolic. For it would not be reasonable, that the enactments we now make at the in- stance of the English Catholics, for the benefit of religion amongst them, should turn to the detriment of the Vicars Apostolic. Moreover, we rely most firmly on the hope that the same, our beloved children in Christ, who have never ceased to contribute by their alms and liberality, under such various circumstances to the support of the Catholic estate, and of the Vicars Apostolic, will henceforward manifest even greater liberality towards the bishops themselves who are now bound by a stronger tie to the Anglican Churches, so that they may never be in want of the temporal supplies requisite for the splendour of the temples, and of divine service, and for the support of the clergy and the poor, and other ecclesiastical uses. In conclusion, lifting up our eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh our help, to God Almighty and All-merciful, with all prayer and supplication and thanksgiving, we humbly beseech Him, that He would confirm by the power of His Divine assistance all that we have now decreed for the good of the Church ; and that Hewould bestow the strength of His grace on those to whomthe execution of our decrees chiefly belongs, that they may feed the Lord's flock which is amongst them, and that they may alway apply themselves more diligently to advance the greater glory of His Name. And in order to obtain the more abundant succours of heavenly grace for this purpose, We again invoke, as deprecators before God, the most Holy Mother of God, the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, with the other heavenly patrons of England; and especially St. Gregory the Great, that since it is now granted to such our insufficient deserts to renew Episcopal Sees in England) precisely as he in his age accomplished it, to the very great advantage of the Church, this restoration also which we make of Episcopal Dioceses in that kingdom may redound to the benefit of the Catholic religion. Decreeing that these our Letters Apostolical may never at any time be objected against or impugned, through fault of mis-suggestion and mis-suppression, or any defect either of our intention, or otherwise ; but shall always be valid and in force, and ought to take effect in all particulars, and be inviolably observed. All general or special enactments notwithstanding, whether Apostolic, or issued in Synodal, Provincial, or Universal Councils ; notwithstanding also all rights and privileges of the ancient Sees of England, and of the Missions, and of the Apostolic Vicariates subsequently there established, and of all Churches whatsoever, and pious places, whether established by oath, by Apostolic confirmation, or by any other security whatsoever ; notwithstanding, lastly, all other things to the contrary whatsoever. For all these, in as far as they contravene the foregoing enactments, although it should be requisite that a special mention of them should be made for their repeal, or some other form, however particular, be observed, we expressly repeal. Moreover, we decree, that if, in any other manner, any attempt shall be made by any person, or by any authority, knowingly or ignorantly, to set aside these enactments, such attempt shall be null and void. And it is our will and pleasure that printed copies of these our Letters, when subscribed by the hand of a notary public, and sealed with the seal of a constituted ecclesiastical dignitary, shall have the same credit as would be given to the expression of our will upon the production of this diploma. Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, under the Fisherman's ring, this 29th day of September, 1850, in the fifth year of our Pontificate, A. CARD. LAMBRUSCHINI.

 

(A) Preslyterorum Monachorum. Regular Priests ; i. e. Priests who are members of a Monastic Order, in opposition to Secular Priests, who have merely the status of Parish Priests. Selden, in a note to Eadmer's History, p. 213., observes that the word Monachus, standing alone (nullius familias nota adjecta), always means, in ancient writers, a Benedictine Monk. The monks who accompanied Augustine are supposed to have been Benedictines, like himself. (B) Menevia, or St. David's. Menevia is reckoned by the early English annalists, as one of the twenty-eight original British Sees which existedin this island antecedently to the arrival of the Monk Augustine. In the sixth century, it was the seat of a Metropolitan Bishop, from whom the city derived its modern name of St. David's. Pope Pius has not merely made free with the title of an existing  British Bishopric, but he has an-nulled in words all the rights of the ancient See. (c) De subreptionis, et obreptimus vitio. Through fault of mis-suggestion and mis-suppression. This formula, which frequently occurs in Papal instruments, is explained by Calvinus in his Lexicon Juridicum. " Obrepimus, cum tacendo aliquid impetramus, quod exprimere necesse erat, expressumque Principem a concessione abalienasset : surrepimus vero,cum a Principe per falsam rei narrationem aliquid extorquemus." Inaccordance with this possibility of the Pope being deceived, against which contingency his theoretical infallibility seems to be guarded by this phrase, Van Espen, in his Tractatus de Romanis Congregationibus, ch. 4. 4, writes : " Et sane quandoquidem, ut in paragraphs prascedenti notatum fuit, summus Pontifex nonnunquam per sub- vel obreptionem aliove modo circumveniri aut induci possit, ut quidpiam decernat aut edicat, quod populo aut reipublicae minus conveuiat, aut interdum legem generalem promulgare, quae particularia jura aut consuetudines Patrice, quas ipse Pontifex ignorare potest, violaret non sine gravi incommodo, sui officii esse autu- mant Reges et Principes, ut per se aut suos ministros, salva omni erga Sedem Apostolicam et Romanuni Pontificem reverentia et submissione, cognoscere possint, an ea quae e Romana Curia emanant Diplomata, nihil adversus regni statum, privilegia, inveteratas consuetudines, aut quietem publicam contineant ; et si quid ejusmodi in- venerint, publicationein eo usque suspendant, quoadusque Romanus Pontifex de tota re melius fuerit informatus. Hoc usu, sive jure, solide stabilito, prcesumendum est quod Ecclesia nolit obligare Jilios suos ad legum suarum observantiam, nisi juxta usum et recepta Patrice jura fuerint promulgate Ut enim recte advertit saepe citatus auctor anonymus, Ecclesia ad imitationem sui magistri, non solum fortiter sed etiam suaviter volens regere filios suos in legibus promulgandis, honoris Principibus debiti meminit, illorumjura illcesa servat, ordinem et dignitatem Episcoporum veneratur, populorum studia et usus attendit."

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