A COURAGEOUS PRIEST.
SOME stir has been made in the town of Plomion, in the diocese of Soissons, by the action of the priest, M. Philippot. He is a man of more than usual thought and education, and he has at length come to the conclusion that many of the dogmas of Rome—such, for example, as the infallibility of the Pope—are utterly untenable.
At first he endeavored to retain his position as cure, and preach to his congregation the simple Gospel as he found it in the Scripture; but the Bishop soon heard of his unorthodox views, and ordered him at once to abandon them under pain of excommunication. Being thus forced to open action, M. Philippot wrote out a formal declaration of his faith, which he read publicly in church to his congregation on the 13th of the month before, at the same time sending a copy to his Bishop and to his brother clergy. It runs as follows:—
“Having been impeached before a sort of tribunal of the Inquisition for having made a statement of the evangelical views that I preach to my flock, I was then ordered by the Bishop to explain myself before a council of bishops at Vervins. But today his lordship refuses me that opportunity; and I am, therefore, obliged to appeal to the tribunal of public opinion.
“When the early martyrs were questioned about their faith, they used to reply, ' I am a Christian.' Like them, I sum up my creed in the same phrase.
“I am a Christian because I am united to Jesus Christ by faith; in Him and through Him I have the pardon of my sins, and also fellowship with my Heavenly Father. I am a Christian because the teaching of Jesus Christ is the law of my mind, as well as my ideal in life; and I cannot conceive of any religion more perfect. I put the Gospel of Jesus Christ above every word of man, and I judge all by the Gospel. In religious matters human teachings and institutions are praiseworthy if they are inspired by the spirit of the Gospel, and bad if they run contrary to it.
“I believe in the divine revelation, which I sum up thus: Jesus Christ foretold and announced in the Old Testament; Jesus Christ, in His earthly life, proclaiming to men the good news of salvation; Jesus Christ, in His glorified life, communicating His Spirit to the souls of men.
“I believe in everlasting salvation, the conditions of which are clearly fixed by the Gospel; so that man's authority can add nothing to it nor take anything from it. These conditions are summed up in one—faith in Jesus Christ. But this faith is not a mere intellectual belief; it is a genuine whole-hearted trust—the yielding up of the whole soul to the government of Jesus Christ. We are conscious of this trust and surrender when Christ is revealed to us; and when we feel that, notwithstanding our sins—which have been washed away by the blood of Christ—God is our Father and we His children, brethren of Jesus Christ and heirs with Him of eternal life. This feeling of union with God by Jesus Christ is the very essence of Christianity.
“I believe also in the Holy Spirit sent by the Father and the Son. It is by the Holy Spirit that God reveals Himself to us; it is by Him that the words of Jesus Christ touch our hearts; it is He who makes us cry Abba, Father! ‘and who bears witness that we are children of God. This inner witness of the Holy Spirit is at the foundation of my faith in Christ and of my calling as His servant.
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“I believe in the Word of God as contained in the Old and New Testaments.
“I believe, notwithstanding my convictions, and even on account of my convictions, that I might be a good minister of the Catholic Church, earnest for bringing souls to Christ in all love and humility and true apostolical liberty. I call myself Catholic because Christ was so, and all the Christians of the first ages; and I am persuaded that this emancipated Catholicism will be that of the twentieth century. We are getting back to the spirit of the first century; the world can never be saved except by the Gospel.
“As for myself, I cannot maintain a hypocritical silence any more than be a liar. In any condition, respectable or despised, in which Providence may put me, I am resolved to preach the truth according to the dictates of my conscience. Woe be to me if I preach not the Gospel! "A. PHILIPPOT,
“Curd of Plomion (Aisne)."M. Philippot sent a copy of this to the Bishop of Soissons, with the following letter:—
“Plomion (Aisne),
“June 16th, 1897.
“My Lord,—I have the honor to send your lordship my profession of faith, which I was going to read before my brethren next Tuesday. Pray do not be surprised to see it in print. You forbade me to speak at Vervins, and I have therefore thought it my duty to speak to the whole diocese. Today, as in the time of St. Paul, the Word of God is not bound.
“Pray do not look on this as the effort of an inferior in rebellion against his superior. My poor personality is nothing, as the matter goes far beyond us. It is a conflict between the Gospel and the teachers of the law of the present day, who, after stealing the key of the sanctuary of knowledge, refuse to go in themselves and hinder others from doing so. (Luke 11:5252Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. (Luke 11:52).)
“If you believe the Gospel, you will bless me; if not, you will condemn me.
“Allow me to offer you, my lord, the expression of my deep respect.
“A. PHILIPPOT.”
On the 18th of June M. Philippot was excommunicated. The Bishop's letter ran: "By reason of your public and printed profession of faith, which I received this morning, and which is clearly heretical, you have incurred the sentence of complete excommunication which the Sovereign Pontiff has the right to pronounce. And I therefore declare you incapable of any ecclesiastical function.”
The Bishop added that it was a deep sorrow to him to be obliged to write in such a way to one of his priests, but that he had no alternative.
M. I’Abbé Philippot declares that he also has only obeyed the voice of his conscience; and he writes to one of his friends: "At this moment, when I am outside the communion of every Church, I feel myself more Catholic than ever, and more than ever in communion with all those who live the life of the Gospel under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.”