Constitutional Bishops and the Catholic Press During the Early July Monarchy: Gregoire and Talleyrand

Document Type

Article

Source

Proceedings fo the Annual Meeting of the Western Society for French History

Publication Date

1990

ISSN

0099-0329

Volume

17

First Page

305

Last Page

314

Department

History

Abstract

The Catholic Church's attitude toward the French Revolution remained hostile throughout the nineteenth century. the Revolution had overthrown authority and had unleashed violent anticlericalism by creating the civil Constitution of the Clergy and requiring an oath of allegiance to it (law of 27 November 1790). the Pope had condemned this Constitution and suspended the clerical oath takers (including seven bishops) on 13 April 1791; the resultant schism, disorganization and civil war left a bitter memory among the Catholic leaders who desired unity. The Concordat between Napoleon and the Pope (signed in 1801 and proclaimed in 1802) ended the schism and provided the legal framework for church-state relations for the next century.

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