Series 2 > Origins of the 'Forty-five

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APPENDIX
strength to his father, James II., to sacrifice three kingdoms for the
Holy Faith, likewise gave strength to his son to refuse courageously any
such means of regaining them.
This, one may take for granted, is an undoubted fact, that then, as
now, the Holy See is bound by no Treaty of Peace, in the arranging of
which, by means of her Ministers, she has had no voice, and how much
less does she approve of any act that can, either directly or indirectly,
infringe on her rights and those of Holy Church, the head of whom is
the Supreme Pontiff, the Vicar of Christ: rather should such arise she
would make fitting protests.
Now can it be questioned that any public decree could be more
directly contrary to our Holy Faith, and consequently could infringe
more seriously on the rights of Holy Mother Church, than that of which
we are treating, by means of which the rights of Succession are denied
to any one happy enough to be one of her sons ? Hence it is that the
Supreme Pontiffs, beginning with Innocent xi. of pious memory, did not
deem it necessary to make any explicit protest against such an iniquitous
decree, contenting themselves instead with the continued recognition
which the Holy See has always accorded to the Royal House of Stuart, as
the sole and legitimate successors to the throne, so that the Holy See
came to regard this Decree (to which, had she refused to recognise the
legitimate Catholic successors, she would have been indirectly and
tacitly agreeing,) as null.
And indeed, there is a great comparison to be drawn between the
recognition given by the Holy See to the Royal House of Stuart, to the
exclusion of the House of Hanover, and that which this same Holy See
accords to other heretical princes ; as, for example, the Pope certainly
is in no treaty, and has no correspondence with the Kings of Sweden and
Denmark, but this is solely because they are heretics, not because he
denies in any way their legitimate right to their succession. Thus, in
the papers printed with the approbation of the Court of Rome, no
difficulty is raised as to speaking of them as King of Sweden and King
of Denmark; but in the case in point, the Most High Pontiff treats
directly with this heretical House of Hanover, though he cannot by any
means recognise its head as the legitimate successor to the Kingdom of
England, so that in this manner he is ratifying the aforesaid iniquitous
decree, and directly admitting it as valid and real.
It is plainly seen by the whole world how deeply imbued with these
facts and principles was Clement xi. of blessed memory, who, when His
Majesty King James III. turned to him as his only refuge (on account of
the Treaty of Peace, to which all the Catholic princes, with the exception
of His Holiness, were constrained to consent), carried him away to the
Papal States, and afterwards to Rome : the Holy Father, I say, fully
imbued with and convinced of the aforesaid sentiments and truth, did
not content himself with simply recognising and treating the royal
person of James III. as the sole and legitimate King of England, but,
wishing to recognise also all his royal progeny, he spared no trouble to