gives her up, as hope nitent; self adopted and observed, according to the suggestions of Calvin, to be observed by her subjects also; presuming to eject bishops, rectors of churches, and other Catholic priests, from their churches and benefices, and to dispose of them, and of other church property, to heretical persons, and to determine upon Church causes, she hath forbidden the prelates, clergy, and people, to acknowledge the Church of Rome, or yield submission to her precepts and canonical sanctions; hath compelled the most part to give in to her nefarious laws, and to abjure the authority and obedience of the Roman pontiff, and to acknowledge her alone, upon oath, to be possessed of dominion in things temporal or spiritual; imposed penalties and punishments upon those which obeyed not her commands; and inflicted the like upon such as persevered in the unity of the faith and their obedience aforesaid; casting Catholic prelates and rectors of churches into prisons, where after long languishing and sorrow, their lives have been brought to a miserable end. "All which things being plainly evident and notorious to all nations, and by the gravest testimony of numberlessly impe- less witnesses so substantially proved, that there is no room whatsoever left for excuse, defence, or evasion; WE, seeing that fresh instances of deeds of impiety and crime are continually multiplying, one upon another; and moreover, that the persecution of the faithful, and afflic tion of religion is growing every day more oppressive through the means and instigation of the said ELIZABETH; and understanding also that her mind has become so hardened and obdurate, that she hath not only contemned the godly requests and admonitions of Catholic princes touching her amendment and conversion, but has refused to permit even the messengers of this see, when sent to her on this business, to pass over into England; constrained as we are to have recourse to the weapons of justice against her, are unable to mitigate our sorrow, at being thus obliged to inflict punishment upon one whose ancestors have deserved so well of all Christendom. his anathe "In dependence therefore on His authority who hath pronounces been pleased to appoint us, however unequal to so great ma upon a burden, to occupy this supreme throne of justice, WE her; do, in the plenitude of our apostolical authority, declare the aforesaid ELIZABETH, as a heretic and favourer of heretics, and all who adhere to her in the practices aforesaid, to have incurred sentence of anathema, and to be cut off from the unity of the body of Christ. "Moreover we declare her deprived of her pretended pretends to title to the kingdom aforesaid, and of all dominion, dig- of her kingdeprive her nity, and privilege whatsoever. dom; of their alle "And also the nobility, subjects, and people, of the said "absolves kingdom, and all others who have in any sort whatso- her subjects ever made oath unto her, to be for ever absolved from giance; any such oath, and from all manner of duty of dominion, fealty, and allegiance whatsoever; as we do by authority of these presents absolve them, and do deprive the same ELIZABETH of her pretended title to the kingdom, and similar pen alties, to all the other matters aforesaid. And we do command and forbids and interdict, all and singular, the noblemen, subjects, them, under people, and others aforesaid, that they presume not to obey her, or her monitions, mandates, and laws: any per- obey her sons who shall do the contrary, we involve in a like sen- authority. tence of anathema. Bull. "And because it were a matter of too much difficulty, The mode to convey these presents to all places where there shall of publicabe need of them, our will is, that the copies thereof, tion of this under the hand of a public notary, and stamped with the seal of an ecclesiastical prelate or his court, shall be received with the same credit everywhere, judicially and extrajudicially, as would be commanded by these presents if they were exhibited or shewn. "Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, in the year of our Lord's incarnation 1569, the fifth of the Calends of "Cæ. Glorierius. "H. Cumyn." The date at the close, in our modern way of reckoning, and according to the New Style, would be Feb. 25, 1570. (Vid. Foulis, p. 331.) No. XXVII. BULL OF POPE GREGORY XIII. IN FAVOUR OF THE IRISH INSURREC- The pope expresses his extraor "I. H. S. Copy of the Brief of our Most Holy Lord, GREGORY XIII. Pope, touching the faculty granted to JAMES GERALDINE, lord of Kiericourithi, for waging war against Elizabeth, pretended Queen of England, in favour of the Catholic faith." "Gregory XIII, pope, to all the prelates, princes, earls, barons, and the entire clergy, nobility, and people, of the kingdom of Ireland, health and apostolical benediction. "Of the different provinces of the Christian world, dinary affec- which are separated from us by a wide extent of intertion for the vening climes, the nation of the Irish is one which this apostolic see hath ever embraced with singular love and Irish; peculiar affection, for the constancy of their fervent devotion, and their sincere and inviolable attachment to the Catholic religion, and the Church of Rome, manifested by them on so many occasions: under the influence of which motives we are so much the more sensibly affected at the vexations and afflictions of the said kingdom, and anxious, as much as in us lies, to provide at once for the liberty and peace of the people, as far as their persons are concerned, and at the same time for the salvation of their souls. 66 heard of Accordingly, as we have recently learned, to our says he is exceeding great and heartfelt sorrow, from that excel- very sorry lent and eminent person, JAMES GERALDINE,-Lord of to have Kiericourithy, and governor general of Desmond in the their sad absence of the Earl of Desmond,-what numberless and condition; bitter hardships good men are there suffering, for their love to the orthodox faith, and in defence of the true religion, from ELIZABETH, who, hateful alike to God and man, domineers with proud and impious rule in England and in that island of Ireland; and as the said James, influenced by zeal for the house of God, and his desire for the restoration of our holy religion, and by those principles of patriotism, courage, and magnanimity, with which nature has endowed him, is proposing with the Lord's help, to shake off from your necks a yoke of slavery so cruel and insupportable, and is hoping that he shall find many to aid him in a design and effort of such godly tendency; WE begs them in therefore admonish and exhort you all and singular, by the the name of bowels of the mercy of God, that recognising the season- resist the ableness of this opportunity, you will each according to filthy" his power, give your strenuous aid in support of the piety Elizabeth; and fortitude of such a leader, and not be afraid of a woman, who having been long ago bound with the chains of an anathema, and still increasing in her filthiness, has departed from the Lord; and the Lord has departed from her, and many calamities shall overtake her, according to her deserts. VOL. III. 2 D heaven to promising them as much favor as they could win by slaughtering Turks; and pro "And that you may be enabled to engage in this business with the greater alacrity, to all and singular who being contrite and confessing, or having the intention of confessing, shall follow the said general and his army, and join themselves thereto, for the asserting and defending of the Catholic faith; or who shall aid this expedition and his holy purpose with counsel, countenance, provisions, arms, or in any way or by any means whatsoever, we do grant and bestow by our apostolic authority a plenary indulgence and remission of all their sins, in the same form as is commonly granted to those who set out for the wars against the Turks, and for the recovery of the Holy Land; any of our apostolical constitutions and ordinances, or other laws whatsoever, of a contrary ten. dency, notwithstanding. "And in order that these letters may with more speed vides for the and facility come to the knowledge of all concerned, our publication pleasure is that copies thereof, manuscript or printed, of this Epis- and attested by the hand of a notary public, and by the tle. seal of a church dignitary, shall be received with the same credit and confidence, as would be reposed in these presents, if they were exhibited or shewn. "Given at St. Peter's in Rome, under the seal of the fisherman, the 25th day of February, one thousand, five hundred and seventy-seven. "JOAN BAPTISTA CANNOBIUS. "SEPTIMIUS PACIS, Apostolic Notary The above document is given in Phelan's Remains, vol. ii. page 204, with this reference, "Evidence of his Grace the Abp. of Dublin, Lords Report, 776-" taken on the 13th of May, 1825, published separately by Tims, Grafton-street, Dublin, in the same year. For the original authority in the British Museum, (Lansdowne MSS.) See Art. 47, inf. |