Chapter 1341: Of Course, the Roman Curia Must Take the Blame
"Everyone, please calm down," Archbishop Chartres said, raising a hand to his enraged colleagues. "Things aren't that bad yet. The tithe is an ancient tradition, and the cabinet meeting will likely reject this proposal."
"Who knows if Roland and his people will trade favors in the cabinet to secure support?"
Archbishop Beaumont nodded, saying slowly, "The key still lies with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's attitude."
Archbishop Boulogne immediately rose. "We should go to His Highness right now and state our position!"
Archbishop Beaumont quickly pulled him back. "You absolutely must not do that. You know His Highness's temperament, don't you? The more you appear unyielding, the faster you'll push him to make a decision unfavorable to us."
The archbishops fell silent.
In the past, even during the reign of Louis XV, if the Church had stood united, the King would not have dared to forcefully defy its wishes.
But the current Crown Prince enjoyed not only the fervent adoration of the common people but also the absolute loyalty of the army, as well as control over intelligence, finance, law, public opinion, and industry. The Church genuinely didn't have the guts to show even an ounce of defiance in front of him.
After a long moment, Archbishop Chartres whispered, "So, we're not going to do anything?"
"First, we must appeal to Her Majesty the Queen, but we must never directly mention the tithe. We should only emphasize the Church's contributions as much as possible. Father Dumm should handle this."
Father Dumm was Louis XVI's confessor and had a good personal relationship with Queen Marie.
Archbishop Tours interjected, "We can also approach Archbishop Brienne and ask him to intercede. He's the most influential person in the cabinet."
Beaumont cleared his throat, a little awkwardly. "Ahem, yes, we should try every possible avenue."
Years ago, when Archbishop Brienne faced tax reform difficulties, he asked the Church for financial support for the government, but the Church only gave him a few hundred thousand Livres to send him away. Since then, his relationship with the Church had deteriorated significantly.
"Archbishop Tours, you will be responsible for lobbying Archbishop Brienne. Remember to bring plenty of gifts," Beaumont instructed, then continued, "Besides this, we also need to regain the ground we lost with the orphanages.
"From now on, all churches in every diocese will distribute free bread and help as many orphans as possible to win public support. This way, we might be able to reclaim some of the charitable work from the Public Relief Office."
As long as the Church maintained its charitable spending, it could use this as leverage to demand that the tithe remain in its hands.
"Finally, we must spread the message among the populace that only by personally delivering their taxes to God's representatives can their sins be forgiven." Remember, it must not be too overt. Have the priests below convey this in the most subtle way possible—
"
The high-ranking church officials discussed until nightfall before leaving Notre Dame de Paris with grave expressions.
Frankly, while their "indirect attacks" didn't directly oppose the transfer of the tithe to the Tax Bureau, they could effectively influence the government's decision on the matter.
If successfully implemented, Joseph would certainly have his work cut out for him.
However, what Archbishop Beaumont and the others didn't realize was that before their plan could even be conveyed to the lower dioceses, astonishing news had already spread among all French clergy.
In the corridors of Versailles, Archbishop Boulogne angrily berated his two colleagues, his face grim. "Are those people in the Holy See insane? They want to subject even us to some theological review?"
"I earned my doctorate from the Sorbonne Theological Seminary at 35 and have written countless exegetical works on the Bible. And yet, they doubt my theological proficiency?!"
Thirty-five was the minimum age mandated in France to obtain a doctorate in theology.
Archbishop Tours frowned. "It's likely the Pope, in his power struggle with Archbishop Muzzarelli, used the Ecumenical Council to establish this review committee, simply to assert his authority."
Just yesterday afternoon, news from the Roman Curia announced that the Ecumenical Council had formally decided to establish a Papal Review Committee, ostensibly to "ensure that clergy do not neglect their theological studies due to secular affairs." This committee would specifically test all clergy on their theological knowledge.
The review would occur every two years. Those who failed could retake it once, but a second failure would result in sanctions from the Holy See, prohibition from holding sacred office, and the assignment of tutors to supervise scriptural study, among other penalties.
Any one of these was an unbearable burden for a cleric.
Moreover, the heads of the review committee were directly appointed by the Roman Curia. It was rumored that a committee office had already been established in Avignon, and examiners were being dispatched to various provinces.
Archbishop Montmorency tried to reassure them, "We can all recite the New Testament and Old Testament proficiently, even many deuterocanonical books. The examination will merely take a bit of time."
However, Archbishop Tours, Archbishop Chartres, and the others exchanged evasive glances. Their academic records in school hadn't been stellar, and they had only acquired their theology degrees through family connections. At this moment, they truly felt uncertain.
"It would be best if we didn't have to waste this time."
Archbishop Chartres muttered, then suddenly thought of another problem. "Wait, the Holy See is trying to exert influence over our country."
"Precisely," Archbishop Tours' eyes lit up. "We should jointly oppose this decision!"
Archbishop Montmorency sighed. "Do you truly believe the Holy See could send that committee to Avignon without the King's permission?"
"But why would the Royal Family support the Holy See?"
After centuries, France had finally ended the Holy See's control over the French Church in the 16th century. Were they now inviting the Holy See back?
Archbishop Chartres shook his head. "I don't quite understand either. Perhaps we should directly inquire about this with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
They decided to act immediately. That afternoon, Archbishop Chartres and Archbishop Tours, as representatives, went together to the Crown Prince's reception room.
"What did you say?!" Joseph exclaimed, angrily striking his cane against the marble floor. "The Holy See is utterly outrageous!
"Our Church has its own system of governance, and they actually want to interfere.
"This is absolutely intolerable. I will send someone to lodge the strongest protest with the Pope and demand that he cancel this cursed committee!"
The two archbishops were overjoyed to hear this. It seemed the Royal Family also opposed the Holy See's actions.
After more chatter, the two excused themselves, eager to deliver the good news to the other high-ranking church officials.
Indeed, how could Joseph claim responsibility for an action like a comprehensive review, which would offend all clergy? Of course, the Pope had to be the villain, while Joseph would stand as the steadfast pillar dedicated to "upholding the rights and interests of the French Church."
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