The Fabric of the Ordinary
The Council of Trent and the Governance of the Catholic Church in the Empire of Brazil (1840–1889)
Anna Clara Lehmann Martins
Global Perspectives on Legal History 23
Frankfurt am Main: Max-Planck-Institut für Rechtsgeschichte und Rechtstheorie 2024. XXIV, 511 S.
Online-Ausgabe: Open Access (PDF-Download, Lizenz: Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 International)
Druckausgabe: 33,06 € (Print on Demand bei ePubli)
ISSN 2196-9752
ISBN 978-3-944773-44-5
eISBN 978-3-944773-45-2
Quotation link of the online version: http://dx.doi.org/10.12946/gplh23
Much has been written about the political tension between ultramontanists and liberal jurisdictionalists in the Empire of Brazil during the reign of D. Pedro II (1840–1889), in view of the sui generis patronage regime of the country and, in particular, the scandal of the Religious Question in the 1870s. Among the commonplaces of this historiography is the idea that the Council of Trent was a normative set interpreted and implemented solely by the clergy and ultramontanists, if not a top-down imposition from Rome and standard to rally behind against liberal policies. But can we maintain this interpretation if, instead of the eloquent discourses in diplomatic correspondence and the press, we place ordinary administrative practices center stage?
This book focuses on these practices – in the author’s words, this “fabric of the ordinary” – as they appear in two sets of sources: on the one hand, the consultations on ecclesiastical matters that local and central authorities submitted to the Brazilian Council of State; on the other, the cases sent by Brazilian actors to the Holy See and examined by the Congregation of the Council, the body of the Roman Curia in charge of interpreting the Council of Trent for the Catholic world.
By investigating intersections between these sources, the author invites the reader to contemplate the Church as a structure of multilevel governance that involved multiple jurisdictions and a number of ecclesiastical and lay actors, all interacting in a scenario of intense multinormativity. As a consequence, when trying to resolve everyday doubts and problems, these entities resorted to a normative repertoire that certainly contained canon law, but at the same time comprised different ways of interpreting it as well as of combining it with other norms and normativities.
The analysis allows us to see the Council of Trent as a very plastic resource in the hands of clerics, bureaucrats, and jurists. It took on roles not only as weapon, but also as model for other laws, rhetorical support, part of tradition, a negotiable and even dispensable resource. Furthermore, observing these practices yields the rather surprising conclusion that the polarisation between ultramontanists and jurisdictionalists was a precarious element within the governance of the Church in Brazil, often giving way to mechanisms for control of normative novelty and to a re-focusing on common objectives and concrete needs.
Contents
XV Acknowledgements
XXI List of Abbreviated References
XXV List of Charts, Tables and Images
1 Introduction
Chapter 1
19 Exploring the Repertoire of the Culture of Ecclesiastical Law in Brazil During the 19th Century
24 1.1
The rise of Brazilian handbooks on ecclesiastical law
37 1.2
Ecclesiastical law as a mystery. Fluctuations of a concept between canon law and civil law on Church affairs
53 1.3
Independent and in harmony: on what terms? Disputes on the fair relationship between Church and state.
The thorny issue of the placet
92 1.4
The Brazilian padroado: a pontifical concession or a constitutional right?
110 1.5
Between past and present: the Council of Trent as a persistent and multifaced normative reference
Chapter 2
131 Mixed Matters from the Perspective of Governance. Analysis of Petition and Decision Flows
135 2.1
The global level of governance of the Church: the Congregation of the Council
160 2.2
The national level of governance of the Church: the Council of State
184 2.3
Strong mixed matters in the governance system.
A comparison between the petitioning to the Congregation of the Council and to the Council of State
Chapter 3
209 Governance and Multinormativity. Tracking the Roles of the Council of Trent in Practice
215 3.1.
Before, during, and after a clash between the Congregation of the Council and the Council of State.
Uses of the Council of Trent in examinations for ecclesiastical benefices
218 3.1.1
The case of Francisco Vieira das Chagas (1879–1881) as a turning point
224 3.1.2
Before Vieira’s case.
The transition from a normative convention of amalgam to a normative convention of separation
235 3.1.3
After Vieira’s case.
Trent to the Church, Faculdades to the state
239 3.1.4
Exploratory remarks.
The uses of the Council of Trent alongside the transformations of ecclesiastical law as a legal field
243 3.2
A dance of opposites.
The Council of Trent at the centre stage of the elections of vicar capitular
247 3.2.1
How many days does it take to make a vicar capitular? Olinda
257 3.2.2
The most suitable vicar capitular, though titleless. Salvador da Bahia, 1874
269 3.2.3
Could the civil government suggest a vicar capitular?
Normative and practical limits of the changes of convention in the Council of State
274 3.3
The obligation of residence and its inconvenient civil double.
The Council of Trent at the height of its plasticity
276 3.3.1
Consolidation of the obligation of residence also as a civil duty.
The Council of Trent as a resistance weapon for the episcopate and a rhetorical support for the state
293 3.3.2
Not everything is resistance.
The Council of Trent as a flexible resource in the convergence of councillors, bishops,
and cardinals for the governance of cathedral chapters
302 3.4
Precarious belonging, strong duties.
The Council of Trent and the forging of openings and restrictions for foreign priests
in 19th-century Brazil
303 3.4.1
The perspective of the state.
The migrant priest as a foreigner with the obligations of the citizen priest.
The Council of Trent as a bridge between ecclesiastical and civil duties
317 3.4.2
The perspective of the Holy See.
The migrant priest divided between two dioceses, navigating according to the needs of the Church.
Metamorphoses of the Council of Trent to control migration
332 3.5
Reform of seminaries:
a puzzle of tensions on a converging horizon.
The Council of Trent as a normative set evoking episcopal liberty and responsibility
337 3.5.1
The Council of Trent versus the Decree n. 3.073 of 22 April 1863.
Ultramontane bishops resist, and the Council of State unexpectedly decides contra legem
358 3.5.2
Convergence between levels of governance is no guarantee of local success
363 3.6
Bishops discipline priests, and the state protects the Council of Trent.
Suspension ex informata conscientia and appeal to the Crown
371 3.6.1
The Council of State shields the suspension ex informata conscientia.
The Decree of 1857, on the appeal to the Crown, as a victory for the Council of Trent and the bishops
382 3.6.2
Countering and adjusting the discourse of the state on the suspension ex informata conscientia.
Deference to the Council of Trent becomes detached from shielding the acts of bishops
397 3.7
Retrieving the fil rouge
405 Conclusion
419 Sources and Bibliography
419 Archival Sources
423 Printed and Online Sources
434 Bibliography
465 Annexes
465 1.
Table of Brazilian cases presented to the Congregation of the Council, 1840–1889
476 2.
Table of Brazilian cases of strong mixed matter presented to the Congregation of the Council,
1840–1889.
482 3.
Table of cases on ecclesiastical affairs presented to the Council of State, 1840–1889
502 4.
Table of cases of strong mixed matter presented to the Council of State, 1840–1889
515 About the Author