were reluctant to take this final step. Which of the two was the wiser course the future will show."
The author complains still further of pressure exerted from without; of ordinary priests encouraged by Roman influences to make declarations in favour of Infallibility against their Bishops—a sort of novel Presbyterianism in which the Bishop's testimony to the faith is superseded by a section of his clergy. More serious still is the personal intervention of the Pope. A powerful moral pressure is brought to bear upon the Bishops by Pius IX. Bellarmine wrote a courageous letter to Clement VIII., counselling him not to influence the assembled theologians with the weight of his personal opinions, nor to bestow his favours and coveted distinctions exclusively upon those who thought as he did, but to leave all men in these serious discussions to the unimpeded expression of his own belief. Certainly Pius IX. had met with other advisers, and Bellarmine has no equivalent in the Vatican of to-day. Semi-official papers ascribed to the Pope a sentiment of dignified reserve on the question of his Infallibility. But, as a fact, every movement in that direction has received papal blessings and encouragement. An astonishing number of briefs has been issued from the secretariat of latin letters. Each tract in favour of Infallibility is commended. Thus the subject before the Council is prejudged, and the minority bishops themselves indirectly attacked.
The author's conclusion is that the character of the Council is seriously compromised, and its freedom more than questionable.
The general discussion[1] of Infallibility began on the 13th of May, and continued to the 3rd of June. No
- ↑ Acta; Ollivier, ii. p. 279.
