Guide to Documents Relating to French and British North America in ...

APPENDIX A - TRANSLATIONS
Following are English translations of passages in Latin, Italian and French. In some cases a few words
originally in English are included to help the reader locate the passage.
p. 3
"The treaty that is about to be concluded between the warring powers of Europe is surely not that
important, nor does it have relations with the Apostolic See that would require sending an Appendin.
Nevertheless, the nuncio was told "since independence has already been granted by England to the
United Provinces of America, [...] it would appear necessary that Our Lord [the Pope] give some
thought and attention to the practice and preservation of the Catholic religion in those states."
p. 5
"... the necessary search having been made in the archival records, no document was found indicating
that the archpriests of England [...J, nor later the apostolic vicars [...] had ever been assigned the task
of sending missionaries to the islands or to continental America under English rule, or that of
supervising either these or the missions [... and that he had] "never seen any brief or decree regulating
the question in this way."
p. 7
Propaganda made it clear that "this Holy Congregation was not in the habit of opposing the superiors
of the religions orders, since it had discovered that going against their will made negotions increasingly
difficult."
...had been sent to "...the Canada bordering on New France."
p.8
...dissolving the Society "peacefully and tranquilly."
p. 9
"Nor can any authority or action fall under the jurisdiction of that cathedral, nor can the clerics of the
diocese appoint, much less elect, their bishop." [...] therefore it was an invalid act [...] [and] also a very
dangerous precedent."
p.lO
Propaganda, however, added that, "His Holiness will not have difficulty appointing as apostolic vicar
the same cleric elected as bishop of that chapter."s3
p. 11
...upon the establishment of Indian missions "to all those parts of North America that are full of people
who have never heard the news of the Holy Gospel."
Pacifique had no intention of "ending his life by hearing the confessions of forty French Catholics."
That is why he asked to be sent somewhere else in North America where there were "many more
savages to convert to Christianity."66
In 1729 Dosquet asked Propaganda for permission to ordain "the natives of that country" for the
alleged purpose of the mission.
...for the Indian missions, "which the Canadians do not like very much, but what can I do?"
79