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Page 28
Now, what we wish to know is, how in the world can a man be "the most
faithful son of the Church of Rome," so rooted in his loyalty to her
that "his allegiance is known to the whole world," and yet not be a
Roman Catholic? The Bishops then add that "they go down upon their
knees" to beseech the Pope's favour for the Archbishop, and in doing
so declare that they are "the most humble sons of your Holiness and of
the Roman Church".
Then Archbishop Chicheley follows up their letter, by writing one
himself, in which he says: "Most Blessed Father, kissing most
devotedly the ground beneath your feet, with all promptitude of
service and obedience, and whatsoever a most humble creature can do
towards his lord and master" (_i.e._, domino et creatori--literally
"creator," in the sense that the Pope had made or "created" him
archbishop) and so forth. Then he goes on to explain that "Long before
now, were it not for the perils of the journey and the infirmities of
my old age, I would have made my way, Most Blessed Father, to your
feet, and have accepted most obediently whatsoever your Holiness would
have decided" (see Wilkins, vol. iii. pp. 471 and 486). Surely, no
Archbishop or Bishop could use language of such profound reverence
and of such perfect loyalty and obedience, unless he recognised the
Pope as the true representative of Christ upon earth, invested with
His divine authority ("To Thee do I give the keys of the Kingdom of
Heaven"). There is a whole world of difference between such men and
the Anglican Prelates of to-day who take the oath of homage to the
King, and say: "I do hereby declare that your Majesty is the only
supreme governor of this your realm, in spiritual and ecclesiastical
things, as well as temporal".
CHAPTER IV.
KING EDWARD AND THE POPE.
In a previous chapter, we promised to tell of a famous letter written
by one of our greatest kings to the Pope of his day. Let us then
introduce this interesting historical incident without further
preamble or delay.
The King of whom we are about to speak is King Edward III., who
reigned over this land for more than fifty years, that is to say, from
1327 to 1377. The historian Hume tells us that, in general estimation,
his reign was not only one of the longest, but that it was considered
also "one of the most glorious that occurs in the annals of our
nation" (vol. ii., p. 297). It is important to remember, further, that
Edward was no timid weakling, ready to yield to others through
weakness or fear. Quite the contrary. He was strong, war-like, and
courageous. Hume informs us that "he curbed the licentiousness of the
great; that he made his foremost nobles feel his power, and that they
dared not even murmur against it, and that his valour and conduct made
his knights and warriors successful in most of their enterprises"
(_id._, p. 497). Yet, in spite of his strong, independent and man-like
character--or shall we not rather say because of it?--he ever showed
himself to be a most loyal child of the Catholic Church. He considered
it no indication of weakness to acknowledge the spiritual supremacy
and jurisdiction of the Sovereign Pontiff, and to subscribe himself as
a most obedient son of the Vicar of Jesus Christ, as we shall now
proceed to prove, in spite of all the frogs and jackdaws that the
Bishop of London appeals to as witnesses to the contrary.
Now, it so fell out that, in the second decade of his reign, certain
persons, with perhaps more zeal than discretion, began to lodge sundry
complaints against the King. They carried stories to Rome, and sought
to prejudice the Pope, Benedict XII., against King Edward. In the
course of time the King got wind of what was going on, and found that
the suspicions of the Pope had been raised against him. Now, what did
Edward do? If he had been a modern Anglican, he would have snapped his
fingers at the Pope. Forgetful of Our Lord's words, "Unless you become
as little children you shall not enter the Kingdom of heaven," he
would have proudly declared that no Pope or foreign Bishop could claim
any jurisdiction in England, for that he himself was, in his own
realm, the supreme authority in things ecclesiastical as well as in
things temporal. Such would have been the natural and obvious course
for him to have taken. That is to say had he been a modern Anglican.
But since he was not a modern Anglican, but a genuine Roman Catholic
to his very backbone, like all the rest of his kingdom, he did not act
in that imperious, off-hand way, but was very much distressed and
concerned, as a loving son would be, who had incurred the displeasure
of a generous father. Finally, in the thirteenth year of his reign,
that is to say, in 1339, he determined to address a letter to the
Sovereign Pontiff, firstly to protest against these accusations,
secondly to assure the Pope of his innocence, and thirdly to beg him
to take no notice of those who had been calumniating him.
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