The ecclesiastical ground is thus cleared through the interposition of
the Pope. The three groups of authorities thereon which contend with
each other for the possession of consciences[29] - the refugee bishops
in England, the apostolic vicars, and the constitutional clergy -
disappear, and now the cleared ground can be built on. "The Catholic
religion being declared[30] that of the majority of the French people,
its services must now be regulated. The First Consul nominates fifty
bishops whom the Pope consecrates. These appoint the cur?s, and the
state pays their salaries. The latter may be sworn, while the priests
who do not submit are sent out of the country. Those who preach
against the government are handed over to their superiors for
punishment. The Pope confirms the sale of clerical possessions; he
consecrates the Republic." The faithful no longer regard it askance.
They feel that they are not only tolerated, but protected by it, and
they are grateful.[31] The people recover their churches, their
cur?s, the forms of worship to which they are almost instinctively
accustomed, the ceremonial which, to their imagination, belongs to
every important act of their lives, the solemn rites of marriage,
baptism, burial, and other sacramental offices.
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