Congress of Ems
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The Congress of Ems was a meeting set up by the four
Background
In 1763,
In February 1785,
Pius VI erected this nunciature on the request of Charles Theodore, who was loath to have parts of his territory under the spiritual jurisdiction of bishops who, being electors like himself, were his equals than his subordinates. He had previously suggested to the Elector-Archbishops of Mainz, Cologne, and Trier to appoint special vicars-general for their districts in his territory. Upon their refusal he requested Pius VI to erect separate dioceses for his territory, but in deference to the wishes of the three elector-archbishops, the pope also refused. Finally the Elector of Bavaria asked for the above-mentioned nunciature, and despite the protests of the archbishops his wish was granted.[1]
Meanwhile, Cardinal
The Punctation of Ems
Relying on the support which Joseph II had promised, the three elector-archbishops and the
The Punctation maintains that all prerogatives and reservations which were not actually connected with the primacy during the first three centuries owe their origin to the
- direct appeals to Rome must be discontinued
- exempt monasteries must become subjects of the bishops in whose diocese those monasteries are located
- monasteries in the Holy Roman Empire must have generals, provincials, or other superiors who reside in the Holy Roman Empire
- diocesan bishops do not need delegated quinquennial faculties granted by the Holy See, because by virtue of their office they can dispense from abstinence, from matrimonial impediments, including the second degree of consanguinity and the second and first degrees of affinity, from solemn religious vows and the obligations resulting from Holy Orders
- Papal Bulls and ordinances of the Roman Curia are binding in each diocese only after the assent of the respective diocesan bishop
- all Apostolic Nunciatures must be abolished
- the manner of conferring benefices and the procedure in ecclesiastical trials must favor bishops
- the episcopal oath must not appear to be an oath of a vassal
The articles advocated for independence of the archbishops from the pope; the four archbishops ratified the articles and sent them to Joseph II for his support.[2]
Aftermath
Joseph II was pleased with the articles but, on the advice of his council and especially
Still the four archbishops insisted on their demands. When Pacca granted a matrimonial dispensation from the second degree of consanguinity to Prince von Hohenlohe-Bartenstein and Countess Blankenheim, Maximilian Franz forbid Pacca from exercising any jurisdiction in the Archdiocese of Cologne. The archbishops themselves now began to grant dispensations from such degrees of relationship as were not contained in their ordinary quinquennial faculties, just as if the Punctation was in full force.
When Pacca, by order of the pope, informed the pastors that all marriages contracted without Holy See dispensations were invalid, the four archbishops ordered their pastors to return the circular to the nuncio and to obtain all future dispensations directly from their ordinaries, the archbishops. The Church in Germany was now near to a schism. At that time, von Erthal of Mainz needed the services of Rome. He desired
Von Erthal's submission to Rome was only a pretended one. He continued his opposition and on 2 June 1788, requested Joseph II, in the name of himself and the three other archbishops, to bring the affair concerning both nuncios before a Diet. The archbishops discovered that all the imperial estates were opposed to the Punctation and that a diet would rather retard than accelerate the fulfilment of their wishes. For this reason they wrote to the Holy See, in December 1788, asking the pope to withdraw the faculties from both nuncios and send legates to the imperial estates with authorized to negotiate an agreement with the archbishops.
Pius VI replied to the Punctation in 1789.[3] Pius VI refuted all the arguments of the archbishops against papal nunciatures, argued it was wrong for the archbishops to rebel against papal authority, explained that the pope cannot send representatives to states who have no right to pass judgment on ecclesiastical affairs, and admonished the archbishops to give up their untenable position towards the Holy See.
Clemens Wenceslaus, desired an amicable settlement of the affair, publicly withdrew from the Punctation on 20 February 1790, and admonished his colleagues to follow his example. They, however, continued their opposition and on occasion of the imperial capitulation of
Notes
- ^ For the text of the articles see Münch, Ernst H., ed. (1831). Vollständige Sammlung aller älteren und neueren Konkordate. Vol. 1. Leipzig. pp. 404–423.
References
- ^ a b c Ott, Michael. "Congress of Ems." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 23 January 2019
- ^ a b Alzog, Johannes. Manual of universal church history, Vol. 4, M. H. Gill, 1905, p. 53
- OCLC 66698518.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lauchert, Friedrich (1909). "Febronianism". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Ott, Michael (1909). "Congress of Ems". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company.