Gallican Declaration was never condemned at Rome. Here is what Pope Benedict XIV., 1748, said about it:—
"In the time of our immediate predecessor, Clement XII., it was seriously debated whether this work ought not to be proscribed; but it was finally determined that no censure should be passed upon it. This decision was arrived at, not only out of regard for the author's memory, who in other respects so worthily served the cause of religion, but also out of just apprehension of provoking fresh dissertations and renewing the dispute."[1]
A striking testimony to the powerful effect of Bossuet's treatise when it first appeared is that of his learned opponent, Cardinal Orsi:—
"I have heard, not only at Rome, but also in many other places, a great many persons, distinguished alike for their character, learning, and ability, declare, after careful study of this work of Bossuet, that the Roman theologians had better abandon the defence of so hopeless a cause; that it would be nobler if they would confess it frankly, since they do not see what answer they can make with any prospect of success to the historical evidence which Bossuet has collected."[2]
Bossuet's personal conviction on Infallibility was the doctrine of the fourth Article of the Assembly's Declaration. He held that it requires the consent of the Church to make a papal decision on faith unalterable. He declared that whatever men may assert in theory, when it comes to practice, the final decision will inevitably depend on the consent of the Universal Church. This, says Cardinal Bausset, is exactly what occurs whenever the Ultramontanes are forced within their last entrenchments. Infallibility of the Pope ends by being only that of the Church.[3]
