No. XI.

PROTESTATION of the POPE against the Pacification of WEST

BY

PHALIA.

(See page 174.)

A TRANSLATION.

POPE INNOCENT X.

In perpetuam rei memoriam.

Y a zeal of the houfe of God, which continually moves our fpirit, we principally apply ourself with care to preferve with all integrity the orthodox faith, and the dignity and authority of the Catholic church, left the ecclefiaftical rights, of which we are appointed the defender by our Lord, fhould fuffer any damage from thofe who feek rather their own interefts than thofe of God, and that we may not be accufed of negligence in the adminiftration of them which hath been committed to us, when we fhall render an account of our government to the fovereign Judge. Wherefore, it was not without the most lively fentiments of grief that we have un, derstood, that by many articles both of the peace respectively made at Ofnaburg the 6th of Auguft, 1648, between our most dear fon in Chrift Ferdinand king of the Romans, elected emperor, his allies and adherents on the one part, and the Swedes, together with their allies and adherents, on the other; and alfo of that which was in like manner concluded at Munfter, in Weftphalia, the 26th day of Auguft the fame year, between the fame Ferdinand, his allies and adherents, on the one hand, and our very dear fon in Jefus Chrift, Lewis, the moft Chriftian king of France, and likewise his allies and adherents, on the other; great prejudice hath been done to the Catholic religion, to the divine worship, to the apostolical Roman See, to inferior churches, and to the ecclefiaftical order, as alfo to their jurifdictions, authorities, immunities, franchifes, liberties, exemptions, privileges, affairs, goods and rights for by divers articles of one of these treaties of peace, they abandon for ever to heretics and their fucceffors, among others, the ecclefiaftical goods of which they were formerly. poffeffed; they permit to the heretics, who are called of the Augfbourg Confeffion, the free exercise of their herefy in various places; they promife to affign them places to build

churches

churches for that purpofe; they admit them with the Catholics to public offices and pofts, and to certain archbishoprics, bishoprics, and other ecclefiaftical dignities and benefices, and to a participation of the firft prayers which the Apoftolic See hath granted to the faid Ferdinand king of the Romans, elect emperor; they abolish annats, the rights of the Pallium, confirmations, the months of the Pope, and the like rights and reserves in the ecclefiaftical goods of the faid Confeffion of Augsbourg: they attribute to the fecular power the confirmation of elections, or the poftulations of the pretended archbishops, bishops or prelates of the faid Confeffion: many archbishoprics, bishoprics, monafteries, provoftfhips, bailliages, commanderies, canonicats, and other benefices and goods of the church are given to heretical princes in perpetual fee, under the title of fecular dignity, with the fuppreffion of the ecclefiaftical denomination; they ordain, that, againft this peace, or any of thefe articles, no laws, canonical or civil, common or special, decrees of councils, rules of religious order, oaths, concordats with the Roman pontiffs, or any other ftatutes ecclefiaftical or political, decrees, difpenfations, absolutions, or other exceptions, ought to be alledged, heard, or admitted the number of feven electors of the empire, formerly fettled by the apoftolical authority, is augmented without our confent, and that of the said See, and the eighth electorate is erected in favour of Charles-Lewis count- palatine of the Rhine, a heretic; and feveral other things are ordained fhameful to report, very prejudicial and hurtful to the orthodox religion, the faid Roman See, to fubordinate churches, and others above named. And although the venerable brother Fabio, bishop of Narde, our nuncio extraordinary, and of faid See along the Rhine, and in Low Germany, hath publicly protested in our name, and in name of faid See in the execution of our orders, that these articles having been rafhly fettled by perfons who had no power to do fo, were void, null and unjuft, and ought to be held for fuch every where; and though it be a law notorious, that every tranfaction or paction made about ecclefiaftical matters, without the authority of the faid See, is null, and of no force or validity; nevertheless, that a remedy may be more effectually provided to the indemnity of the above, and being willing to provide it, according to the duty of the paftoral office committed to us from on high, &c.--We, of our own accord, and from our own certain knowledge and mature deliberation, and from the plenitude of ecclefiaftic power, fay and declare by thefe prefents, that the forefaid articles of one of thefe treaties, or of both of them, and all the other things contained in the faid treaties, which in any respect whatever hurt or bring the leaft prejudice, or which

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which may be faid, underftood, pretended or efteemed to be able to hurt, or to have hurt in any manner the Catholic religion, the divine worship, the falvation of fouls, &c. with all that hath followed or fhall follow thereupon, have been of right, are, and fhall be, perpetually null, void, invalid, wicked, unjuft, condemned, reprobated, frivolous, without force and effect, and that no person is bound to obferve them, or any of them, even though they should be fortified by an oath; and whofoever hath thence acquired, or may or fhall acquire, or ever arrogate to himself any right, or deed, or coloured titlé, or cause of prefeription, even though poffeffion fhould follow thereupon during a very long and immemorial time, without any challenge or interruption;-they alfo are to be reputed for ever as having no exiftence, or as having never been made or established. And yet for greater precaution, and as far as is needful, of the fame free motion, knowledge, deliberation, and plenitude of power, we condemn, reprobate, cafs and annul, and deprive of all force and effect the said articles, and all other things prejudicial to the above, as aforefaid, and proteft againft them, and of their nullity before God: and likewife, fo far as is needful, we reftore, remit, and reintegrate, fully whatever regards the affairs of the Apoftolical and Roman See, &c.-We likewife ordain, that, under no pretence whatever, can thefe prefent letters, or any of their contents, at any time, be debated, invalidated, retracted, called into judgment or controverfy, reduced to the terms of law, charged with vicious fubreption, obreption, nullity or invalidity, or of want of our intention, or of any other fubftantial defect not imagined, however great foever, or on any other head resulting from right or fact, ordinance or custom, under whatever colour, pretext, reafon, or occafion it may be-but that they are and fhall be always valid, firm, and effectual, fhall produce and obtain their full and entire effect, and fhall be, for the time to come, inviolably observed by all thofe to whom they appertain or fhall appertain in ny manner whatever; and that thus, and not otherwife, the ordinary judges, and the auditors delegated from the apoftolical palace, the cardinals, legates a latere, and the nuntios of the holy Roman church, and all others, whatever authority they prefently exercife, or for the time being, ought in this manner, always and every where, to judge and decide in all the things above mentioned, depriving them and every one of them of the power and authority to judge, declare, and interpret otherwife, declaring null and of no effect whatever may be attempted against these presents, of deliberate purpose or in ignorance, by whom, and of what authority foever, notwithstanding

withstanding of all that is above, and all apoftolical conftitutions and ordinances, whether general or special, even thofe which have been published in general councils, and notwithftanding alfo, fo far as needful our rule, and that of the apoftolical chancery, de non tollendo jure quæfito, and the conftitu tion of Pope Pius IV. of happy memory, our predeceffor, touching favours concerning any intereft of the apoftolical chamber, which ought to be prefented and registered in faid chamber in a certain time there expreffed; fo that it is not at all neceffary that thefe prefents fhould be at any time prefented and registered therein,, notwithstanding alfo all laws imperial and municipal, and all ftatutes, ufages, and cuftoms, though immemorial, privileges, indults, conceffions, and apoftolical letters, fortified either by oath, or by apoftolical confirmation, or by any other fecurity, and granted to any places or perfons whatever, clothed with the imperial or royal dignity, or any other dignity whether ecclefiaftical or fecular, and qualified in any other manner whatever, &c.-To all which and every one of which we derogate, and will that it should be derogated specially and exprefsly, and from all other things whatever, contrary hereunto, &c.

Given at Rome at St. Mary Major, under the Fisher's Ring, the 26th day of November, in the year 1648, and the 5th of our pontificate.

M. A. MARALDUS,

No. XII.

Letter of Lewis XIV. to the Prince-Elector Duke of Brandenburgh.

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Brother,

WOULD not have difcourfed the matter you write to me about, on behalf of my fubjects of the pretended reformed religion, with any other prince befides yourself. But, to fhew you that particular esteem I have for you, I fhall begin with telling you, that fome perfons, difaffected to my fervice, have fpread feditious pamphlets among trangers, as if the acts and edicts that were paffed in favour of my faid fubjects by the kings my predeceffors, and confirmed by myfelf, were not kept and executed in my dominions; which would have been contrary to my intentions; for I take care, that they be maintained in all the privileges which have been granted them, and be as kindly ufed as my other subjects. To this I am engaged both by my royal word, and in acknowledgment of the proofs they have given of their unfpotted loyalty during

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the late troubles, in which they took up arms for my fervice, and did vigorously oppofe, and fuccefsfully overthrow those ill defigns which a rebellious party were contriving within my own dominions against my royal authority. I pray God to take you, brother, into his protection.

No. XIII.

LOUIS.

The Preamble and part of the Edict of the fame King, forbidding all public exercife of the Reformed Religion in France.

(See p. 131, 177, 181.)

LEWIS, by the grace of God, king of France and Navarre, to all prefent and to come, Greeting. Whereas King Henry the Great, our grandfather of glorious memory, ha-. ving procured a peace for his fubjects, after those great loffes they had fuftained during the civil and foreign wars, endeavoured that it might not be disturbed upon the account of the pretended reformed religion, as it had fallen out in the reigns of his predeceffors, had therefore by his edict, given at Nantes in the month of April 1588, established such measures as fhould be obferved with reference to thofe of the faid religion, the places in which they might exercife it; and ordained extraordinary judges for the miniftring of juftice to them, and finally had provided alfo by fpecial articles whatfoever he conceived needful to maintain tranquillity in his kingdom, and to diminish that averfion which had arifen between perfons of the one and other religion, that fo he might be the better enabled to carry on his defign of reuniting them unto the church, who had been too eafily eftranged from it. And forafmuch as this intention of the forefaid king could not, by reason of his fudden death, be accomplished, and the execu tion of the faid edict was alfo interrupted during the minority of the late king, our most honoured lord and father, of glorious memory, by reafon of the new enterprizes of thofe of the pretended reformed religion, fo that occafion was taken to deprive them of divers privileges which had been granted them by the faid edict. Nevertheless, the faid king,-ufing his ufual clemency, did yet vouchfafe them a new edict at Nitines in July 1629, by means whereof peace being again reftored, the faid late king, animated with the fame ipirit of zeal for religion as the king our grandfather, had refolved to improve to the utmost this peace, by endeavouring to bring this godly defign into practice: but the foreign wars falling

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