System to which the regular clergy is subject. - Restoration and application of Gallican doctrines. - Gallicanism and submission of the new ecclesiastical staff. - Measures taken to insure the obedience of the existing clergy and that of the clergy in the future. -Seminaries. - Small number of these allowed. - Conditions granted to them. - Proceedings against suspicious teachers and undisciplined pupils.
The secular clergy remains， better protected， it seems， and by a less precarious statute， for this statute is an international and diplomatic act， a solemn and bilateral treaty which binds the French government， not only to itself but to another government， to an independent sovereign and the recognized head of the whole Catholic Church. - Consequently， it is of prime importance to rebuild and raise higher the barriers which， in ancient France， separated the secular clergy from the Pope， the customs and regulations which constituted the Gallican Church a province apart in the Church universal， the ecclesiastic franchises and servitudes which restricted the Pope's jurisdiction in order that the jurisdiction of the king might be extended. All these servitudes to the advantage of the lay sovereign， and all these franchises to the prejudice of the ecclesiastic sovereign， are maintained and increased by the new statute. By virtue of the Concordat and by consent of the Pope， the First Consul acquires the same rights and privileges in relation to the Holy See as the old government，"[72] that is to say the same exclusive right to nominate future French cardinals and to have as many as before in the sacred college， the same right to exclude in the sacred conclave， the same faculty of being the unique dispenser in France of high ecclesiastical places and the prerogative of appointing all the bishops and archbishops on French territory. And better still， by virtue of the Organic Articles and in spite of the Pope's remonstrances， he interposes， as with the former kings， his authority， his Council of State and his tribunals between the Holy See and the faithful. " No bull， brief， rescript， decree . . . of the court of Rome， even when bearing only on individuals， shall be received， published， printed or otherwise executed without permission of the government. No person， bearing the title of apostolic nuncio， legate， vicar or commissioner， . . . shall， without the same authorization， exercise on the French soil or elsewhere any function in relation to the interests of the Gallican Church. . . . All cases of complaint by ecclesiastical superiors and other persons shall be brought before the Council of State."[73] Every minister of a cult[74] who shall have carried on a correspondence with a foreign court on religious matters or questions without having previously informed the Minister of Worship and obtained his sanction shall， for this act alone， be subject to a penalty of from one hundred to five hundred francs and imprisonment during a term of from one month to two years. Every communication from high to low and from low to high between the French Church and its Roman head， cut off at will， intervention by a veto or by approval of all acts of pontifical authority， to be the legal and recognized head of the national clergy，[75] to become for this clergy an assistant， collateral， and lay Pope - such was the pretension of the old government， and such， in effect， is the sense， the juridical bearing， of the Gallican maxims.[76] Napoleon pro-claims them anew， while the edict of 1682， by which Louis XIV. applied them with precision， rigor and minuteness， "is declared the general law of the empire."[77]
There are no opponents to this doctrine， or this use of it， in France.
Napoleon counts on not encountering any， and especially among his prelates. Gallican before 1789， the whole clergy were more or less so through education and tradition， through interest and through pride；now， the survivors of this clergy are those who provide the new ecclesiastical staff， and， of the two distinct groups from which it is recruited， neither is predisposed by its antecedents to become ultramontane. Some among these， who have emigrated， partisans of the ancient régime， find no difficulty in thus returning to old habits and doctrines， the authoritative protectorate of the State over the Church， the interference of the Emperor substituted for that of the King， and Napoleon， in this as in other respects， the legitimate， or legitimated， successor of the Bourbons. The others， who have sworn to the civil constitution of the clergy， the schismatics， the impenitent and， in spite of the Pope， reintegrated by the First Consul in the Church，[78] are ill-disposed towards the Pope， their principal adversary， and well-disposed towards the First Consul， their unique patron. Hence， "the heads[79] of the Catholic clergy， that is to say， the bishops and grand-vicars， . . . are attached to the government；"they are "enlightened" people， and can be made to listen to reason.
"But we have three or four thousand curés or vicars， the progeny of ignorance and dangerous through their fanaticism and their passions."If these and their superiors show any undisciplined tendencies， the curb must be tightly drawn. Fournier， a priest， having reflected on the government from his pulpit in Saint-Roch， is arrested by the police， put in Bicêtre as mad，[80] and the First Consul replies to the Paris clergy who claim his release "in a well-drawn-up petition，"：
"I wanted[81] to prove to you， when I put my cap on the wrong side out， that priests must obey the civil power."Now and then， a rude stroke of this sort sets an example and keeps the intractable on the right path who would otherwise be tempted to leave it. At Bayonne， concerning a clerical epistle in which an ill-sounding phrase occurs， "the grand-vicar who drew it up is sent to Pignerol for ten years， and I think that the bishop is exiled."[82]