The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 2

IV. The Break With the Catholic Church

In November the Protestants were raised to political equality, with full religious freedom. On the other hand, the Catholic Church was deprived of all of its property, though the clergy was assured of receiving a reasonable remuneration. The higher clergy protested vehemently, and excited the king against the Assembly. Then followed, in July, 1790, the Decree of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, by the National Assembly. Its out standing points are in Title I, Article IV: PFF2 735.1

“No church or parish of France nor any French citizen may acknowledge upon any occasion or upon any pretext whatsoever, the authority of an ordinary bishop or of an archbishop whose see shall be under the supremacy of a foreign power, nor that of their representatives residing in France or elsewhere; without prejudice, however, to the unity of the faith and the intercourse which shall be maintained with the Visible Head of the Universal Church, as hereafter provided.” ⁹ PFF2 735.2

And Title II, Article I reads: PFF2 735.3

“Beginning with the day of publication of the present decree there shall be but one mode of choosing bishops and parish priests, namely that of election.” ¹⁰ PFF2 735.4

That meant a clear break with Rome and its hierarchial and political influence, and a return to the principles of original Christianity. ¹¹ Many bishops and clergymen refused to accept this new relationship. And the pope, after a period of hesitation, condemned the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. From thence forward the bitter struggle between the Revolutionists and the church began, which ended not only in the elimination of the church in France but in the overthrow of the Christian religion and the proclamation of the Goddess of Reason in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, now converted into the Temple of Reason. PFF2 735.5

Picture 1: THE BURSTING STORM OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
Victims Headed for the Guillotine as the Knitting Women Counted the Rolling Heads. The Reign of Terror Was an Explosion of Infidelity, Immorality, and Massacre Without a Previous Parallel. Voltaire (Inset), by His Acrimonious Infidelity, Prepared the Way for the Outburst, Followedby Others Determined to Form an Antichristian League to Consume the Papacy
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