Peace clementine

The Peace clementine or “Peace of the Church” indicates the agreement concluded in 1669 between the the Holy See, supported by the king of France Louis XIV, and the Jansenists French, which gives place to the provisional reopening of Port-Royal.

The torn episcopate

Since 1657, the theses Jansenists are officially condemned by the pope. In France, the boarders of the abbey of Port-Royal are dispersed and the clergy forces any ecclesiastic to sign a form repudiating the theses of the Augustinus , the treaty of theology of Jansénius. But the Jansenists and their sympathizers oppose it formally, and in particular four prelates: the bishop of Angers Arnauld, the bishop of Beauvais Buzanval, the bishop of Alet House and the bishop of Pamiers Caulet. In 1661, the pope Alexandre VII request then with nine French bishops to inform their lawsuit.

With died of Alexandre VII, on May 22nd, 1667, this continuous business of envenimer relations between the the Holy See and most of the episcopate French which, supporting on this point the Jansenists, estimates that the field of intervention of the pope should not extend beyond the religious doctrines.

It is necessary to await the election of the new pope, in 1667, so that the the Vatican, anxious to avoid a Schisme, and Louis XIV, occupied by his warlike operations, consider a compromise. In 1669, the new pope Clément IX concedes certain arguments (distinction of the “right” and the “fact”) with the Jansenists, who agree to sign the agreement, known under the name of “peace clementine”.

Lawsuit with peaceful arrangement

Elected official in 1667, Clément IX wants initially to continue the lawsuit against the four refractory bishops with the form. Louis XIV, a time favorable to the positions of the Holy See, becomes less enthusiastic: the Vatican did not follow its opinion concerning the formation of the ecclesiastical court and this business is likely to carry a blow to “freedoms” of the Church gallicane.

On their side, the Jansenists already rejoined several ministers, in particular Hugues de Lionne, Secretary of State for the foreign affairs. They also succeed in gaining with their cause nineteen members of the episcopate, who decide to write to the pope and to the king to explain their position. In their letter with the pope, they reaffirm their whole obedience, but point out that the infallibility of the Church relates to only the religious doctrines (the Révélation) and not the purely human facts or purely personnel. They conclude by affirming that this argument, advanced by the four shown bishops, is that of the Théologien S most devoted to the Holy See like César Baronius, Robert Bellarmin or Pallavicini. Taking up the same ideas, the letter with the king stresses that it is necessary to take guard with theories which are new and “harmful with the interests and the safety of the State”.

In the Vatican, the advisers of the pope fear that a too great severity does not cause disastrous results. New the Nuncio, Bargellini, then persuades the pope to consider a peaceful arrangement. César d' Estrées, bishop of Laon, is selected like mediator, assisted of the archbishop of Sens and the bishop of Châlons. But as two of them signed the letters with the pope and the king, which places them as regards four shown prelate, they must sign the form repudiating the theses of the Augustinus and make it sign by their clergy.

Sincere or “pure and simple” signature?

The negotiation with the defendants succeeds finally, but causes a controversy on its methods: were the prelates to sign the form “sincerely” or “purely and simply”? D' Estrées writes then: “The four bishops have just conformed, by a new and sincere signature, with the attitude of the other bishops”. The Lionne minister thus asks that the business be buried. In a letter with Louis XIV, the pope expresses his joy for this “pure and simple signature” and announces his intention to reconcile himself with the bishops in question, asking the king to make in the same way.

But the rumors continue to run on the lack of sincerity of the signatories. On order of Clement IX, Bargellini leads a new investigation to Paris and transmits to the Vatican a report/ratio affirming that the four bishops “explicitly condemned the five proposals with all the marks of sincerity, without bringing exception there or of restriction, in all the directions where the Church condemned them”. He adds however that some their explanations remain ambiguous.

The pope then names a commission of twelve cardinals to rule. Fearing to start again the polemic, the majority of the commission decides for the official version and decides to follow the opinion of Lioness in favor of the “pure and simple signature”. They stress that it is the condition sine qua non of peace.

Consequences

The reconciliation is officially marked on January 19th 1669. The government releases the Jansenists selected captive with the Bastille. “Antoine Arnauld left the retirement where it had hidden, and was presented to the king, was accommodated of the nuncio, looked by the public like a father of the Church”. More and more of personalities of the political world and arts person start to attend Port-Royal, which can finally reopen its doors. Pasquier Quesnel publishes New Testament in French with Reflections Morals on each verse , which will cause a sharp polemic, and the Pensées of Blaise Pascal appear in 1670.

Louis XIV, exasperated by this agitation, convinces himself whereas jansénisme constitutes a danger to the authority of the State. But it also worries about the claims of the pope, who intends to reinforce his capacity and threatens “freedoms” of the Church gallicane. In 1673 will burst the Affaire of levels which will lead on the Déclaration of the four articles of 1682 by which the clergy of France proclaims the independence of the king vis-a-vis papacy and confirms freedoms of the Catholic church of France.

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