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VATICAN
Vatican Archives. See Vatican.
Vatican Codex. See Codex Vaticanus.
Vatican Council, the twentieth and up to now the t cecumcnical council, opened on 8 Dec, 1869, and journed on 20 Oct., 1.S70. It met three hundred irs after the Council of Trent. I. Introductory History. — A. Previous to the Icial Convocation. — On 6 Dec, 1864, two days before i publication of tlie Syllabus, Pius IX announced, a session of the Congregation of Rites, his intention call a general council. He commissioned the car- lals residing at Rome to express in writing their
- ws as to the opiiortuneness of the scheme, and also
name the subjects which, in their opinion, should
laid before the council for discussion. Of the ?nty-one reports sent in, only one, that of Cardinal ntini, expressed the opinion that there was no occa- n for the holding of an oecumenical council. The lers affirmed t he relat ive necessity of such an assem- , although five did not consider the time suitable, arly all sent lists of questions that seemed to need icihar discussion. Early in March, 1,S65, the pope pointed a commission of five cardinals to discuss ■liminary questions in regard to the council. This 3 the important "Congregazione speziale direttrice ■ gli affari del future concilio generate", generally led the directing preparatory commission, or the tral commission. Four more cardinals were added the number of its members, and besides a secre- y it was given eight consultors. It held numerous etings in the interval between 9 March, 1,S6.5, and c, 1869. Its first motion was that bishops of vari-
- countries should also be called upon for sugges-
is as to matters for discussion, and on 27 March, in, the pope commanded thirty-six bishops of the
- in Rite designated by him to express their views
icr jiledge of silence. Early in 1866 he also desig- ed several bishops of the Oriental Rite under the le conditions. It was now necessary to form com- isions for the more thorough discussion of the sub-
- s to be debated at the council. .Accordingly, theo-
lans and canonists, belonging to the secular and ular clergy, were summoned to Rome from the ious countries to co-operate in the work. LS early as 186.5 the nuncios were asked to suggest nes of suitable people for these prehminary com- sions. The war between Austria and Italy in 6 and the withdrawal of the French troops from me on 11 Dec. of the same year caused an unwel- le interruption of the preparatory labours. They ) made the original plan, which was to open the ncil on the eighteenth centenary festival of the rtjTdom of the two great Apostles, 29 June, 1S67, )ossible. However, the pope made use of the sence at Rome of nearly five hundred bishops, who
- come to attend the centennial celebration, to
<e. the first public announcement of the council at onsistory held on 26 June, 1867. The bishops ressed their agreement with joy in an address dated .ily. After the return of the French army of pro- ion on 30 Oct., 1867, the continuance of the prepa- ons and the holding of the council itself seemed in possible. The preparatory commission now ated exhaustively the question who should be ited to attend the council. Tliat the cardinals and
- esan bishops should be summoned was self-evi-
t. It wa-s also decided that the titular bishops had
right to be called, and that of the heads of the srs an invitation should be given to the abbots 'ius, the abbots general of congregations formed n several mona.sterirs, .■md lastly, to the generals he religious orders. It was considered wiser, on )unt of the state of affairs at the time, not to send ictual invitation to Catholic princes, yet it was in- ied to grant .admission to them or their representa- s on demand. In this sense, therefore, the Bull of
Convocation, "iEtemi Patris", was promulgated,
29 June, 1868; it appointed 8 Dec, 1869, as the date
for the opening of the council. The objects of the
council were to be the correction of modern errors and
a seasonable revision of the legislation of the Church.
A special Brief, "Arcano divinae providentiae", of
8 Sept., 1868, invited non-Uniate Orientals to ap-
pear. A third Brief, "Jam vos omnes", of 13 Sept.,
1868, notified Protestants also of the convoking of the
council, and exliorted them to use the occasion to
reflect on the return to the one household of faith.
B. Reception of the Promulgation. — Although the
Bull convoking the council was received with joy by
the bulk of the Catholic masses, it aroused much dis-
content in many places, especially in Germany,
France, and England. In these coimtries it was
feared that the council would promulgate an exact
determination of the primatial prerogatives of the
papacy and the definition of papal infallibihty. The
dean of the theological faculty of Paris, Bishop Maret,
WTote in opposition to these doctrines the work "Du
concile gencrale et de la paix religieuse" (2 vols.,
Paris, 1869). Bishop Dupanloup of Orleans pub-
fished the work "Observations sur la controver.se
soulevee relativement k la definition de I'infaiUibilite
au prochain concile" (Paris, Nov., 1869). IMaret's
work was answered by several French bishops and by
Archbishop Manning. Archbishop Dechamps of
Mechlin, Belgium, who had vvTitten a work in favour
of the definition entitled "L'infaillibihte et le concile
gencrale" (Paris, 1869), became involved in a contro-
versy with Dupanloup. In England a book entitled
"The Condemnation of Pope Honorius" (London,
1868), WTitten by the convert, Le Page Renouf,
aroused animated discussions in newspapers and peri-
odicals. Renouf's pubfication was refuted by Father
Botalla, S.J., in "Honorius Reconsidered with Refer-
ence to Recent Apologies" (London, 1869). Letters
from French correspondents in the first number for
Feb., 1869, of the "Civiltii Cattohca", which stated
that the majority of French Catholics desired the
declaration of infallibihty, added fresh fuel to the
flames. In particular, it led to the appearance in the
discussion of Ignaz DoUinger, provost of St. Cajetan
and professor of church history at Munich. From
now onwards Ddlhnger was the leading spirit of the
movement in Germany hostile to the council. He dis-
puted most passionately the Syllabus and the doctrine
of papal infaUibifity in five anonj'mous articles that
were published in March, 1869, in the "Allgemeine
Zeitung" of Augsburg. A large number of Catholic
scholars opposed him vigorously, especially after he
pubUshed his articles in book form under the pseu-
donym of "Janus", "Der Papst und das Konzil"
(Leipzig, 1869). Among these w.as Professor Joseph
Hergenrother of \\'iirzburg, who issued in reply
"Anti-Janus" (Freiburg, 1S70). Still the excitement
over the matter grew in such measure that fourteen of
the twenty-two German bishops who met at Fulda
early in Sept., 1869, felt themselves constrained to call
the attention of the Holy Father to it in a special
address, stating that on account of the excitement the
time was not opportune for defining jiapal infallibihty.
The papal notifications addressed to tlie schismatic
Orientals and the Protestants did not produce the de-
sired effect . The European Governments received from
Prince Hohenloh(\ president of the Bavarian minis-
try, a circular letter drawn up by Doflinger, designed
to prejudice the difi'ercnt Courts against the coming
council; but they decided to remain neutral for the
time being. Ru.ssia alone forbade its Cathohc bishops
to attend the council.
C. Pre/parnlory Details. — In the meantime zealous work hatl been done at Rome in preparation for the council. Besides the general flirection th.at it exer- ci.sed, the preparatory commission had to draw up an exhaustive order of procedure for the debates of
