BALTUS
241
BALUE
tatives attended it. This council enacted: (No. 1)
The fathers joyfully receive the dogmatic decision of
the pope defining the Immaculate Conception of the
Blessed Virgin Mary. (No. 2) Priests are warned that
after August, 1857, adults must be baptized according
to the regular formula for that service in the Roman
Ritual and not according to that for infant baptism.
(No. 4) No tax is to be demanded for dispensations
from matrimonial impediments. (No. 6) Bishops are
exhorted to increase the number of their diocesan con-
suitors to ten or twelve. It will not be necessary,
however, to obtain the opinion of all of them, even
on important matters. For this, the counsel of tliree
or four will suffice. On the death of the bishop, how-
ever, all the consultors shall send to the archbishop
their written opinions as to an eligible successor for
the vacant see. (No. 7) The various diocesan synods
should determine on the best mode of providing for
the proper support of the bishop. (No. 8) The
fathers desire to see an American College erected
in Rome. To the Acts of this council is appended
a decree of the Holy See, sanctioning a mode of pro-
cedure in judicial causes of clerics.
IX. The Ninth Council in 1858 was attended by one archbishop and seven bishops. The main work of this synod consisted in drawing up petitions to the Holy See concerning a dispensation from absti- nence on Saturdays; the conceding of certain hon- orary privileges to the Archbishop of Baltimore; the granting to the bishops the permission to allow the Blessed Sacrament to be kept in chapels of re- ligious communities not subject to the law of enclosure. All of these petitions were granted by the Holy See. That concerning the Archbishop of Baltimore granted to him, as ruler of the mother-church of the United States, an honorary pre-eminence, to consist in his taking precedence of any other archbishop in the country, without regard to promotion or consecration, and in his having the place of honour in all councils and conventions. The fathers also sent to Rome an inquiry as to the nature of the vows (solemn or sim- ple) of religious women, especially of Visitation Nuns in the United States, an answer to which was deferred to a later time (1864). The question was also dis- cussed as to whether Archbishop Kenrick's version of the Bible should be approved for general use. It was finally decided to wait for Dr. John Henry New- man's expected version, and then to determine along with the bishops of other English-speaking countries on one common version.
X. In 1869, the Tenth Council enacted decrees that were signed by one archbishop, twelve bishops, and one abbot. Among these decrees we note; (No. 5) Bishops are exhorted to establish missions and schools for the negroes of their dioceses. (No. 7) Priests are to be appointed to aid the bishops in ad- ministering the temporal concerns of the diocese. They are also to supervise the spiritual and material affairs of religious women. At the request of the fathers, the Holy See extended for five years the privilege of using the short formula in the baptism of adults.
It should be remarked that the first seven provincial councils of Baltimore w'ere practically, though not formally, plenary councils of the United States.
The numbers of decrees indicated in the text will be found confurraable to an.v authorized edition of these councils; Acta et Decreta S. Cone'. Recnitiorum. CoUectio Lacensis. Auctoribus Preahi/t., S. J. (Freiburg, 1875), contains in vol. Ill, the full text of the decrees of these ten councils; Concilia Provincialia BahimoH Habita ab Anno, 1SB9 ad 1849 (Baltimore, 1851), gives the acts of only the first seven provincial councils.
WiLLiAJi H. W. Fanning.
Baltus, jE.iN FRANfois, theologian, b. at Metz, 8 June, 1667; d. at Reims, 9 March, 1743. He en- tered the Society of Jesus, 21 November, 1682, taught humanities at Dijon, rhetoric at Pont-^-Mousson, Scripture, Hebrew, and theology at Strasburg, where
- i.— 16
he was also rector of the university. In 1717, he
was general censor of books at Rome, and later
rector of Chalon, Dijon, Metz, Pont-a-Mousson, and
Chalons. He left several works of some value to the-
Christian apologist, notably: (1) "Reponse b, I'his-
toire des oracles de M. de Fontenelle", a critical
treatise on the oracles of paganism, in refutation of
Van Dale's theory and in defence of the Fathers of
the Church (Strasburg, 1707), followed in 1708 by
"Suite de la reponse a I'histoire des oracles". (2)
"Defense des S. Peres accusfe de platonisme" (Paris,
1711); this is a refutation of " Platoni-sme d6voil6",
a work of the Protestant minister Souvsrain of
Poitiers. (3) " Jugement des S3. Peres sur la morale de
la philosophic paienne" (Strasburg, 1719). (4) " La
religion chretienne prouv^e par I'accomplissement
des propheties de I'Ancien et du Nouveau Testament
suivant la methode des SS. Peres" (Paris, 1728).
(5) " Defense des propheties de la religion chretienne"'
(Paris, 1737). To these may be added a funeral
oration on the Most Rev. Peter Creagh, Archbishop-
of Dublin (Strasburg, 1705), the "Acts of St. Balaam,.
Martyr", and the "Life of St. Febronia, Virgin and-
Martyr" (Dijon, 1720 and 1721 respectively).
SoMMERVOGEL in Diet, de ihcol. cath., s. v.; Id., Bibl. de la c. de J., I, 856-860; VIII, 1736.
Mark J. McNeal.
Balue, Jean, a French cardinal, b. probably c. 1421, in Poitou; d. 5 October, 1491, at Ripatransone- (March of Ancona). He has been frequently, but erroneously, called "de la Balue". He was graduated as licentiate in law about 1457, and at an early date- entered the ecclesiastical state. He became so inti- mate with Jacques Juvenal des Ursins, Bishop of Poi- tiers (1449-57), that the latter named him executor of his will. The charge that in this capacity he mis- appropriated funds destined for the poor must be received with reserve. After the death of Des Ursins, Balue entered the service of John de Beauvau, Bishop of Angers (1451-67), who made him vicar- general (1461). In 1462, he accompanied his bishop to Rome, and thenceforth his career was marked by clever and un.scrupulous intrigue. On his return, he was introduced by Charles de Melun to King Louis XI (1461-83), and, owing to the royal favour, his rise both in ecclesia.stical and civil affairs was rapid. In 1464, Louis XI made him his almoner; the same year, Balue received the Abbeys of Fecamp and Saint-Thierri (Reims) and in 1465, that of Saint- Jean-d'Angely, two priories, and the Bishopric of FiVreux. Having obtained the deposition of his benefactor, Beauvau, from the See of Angers, he secured the see for himself (1467). His intrigues in the affair of the Pragmatic Sanction procured him, at the request of Louis XI, the cardinalate, to which Paul II (1464-71) reluctantly raised him (1467). Guilty of high treason, he was arrested two years- later (1469) with his accomplice William d'Harau- court. Bishop of Verdun (1456-1.500). As a cardinal, he could not be judged by a civil tribunal, but the negotiations between the pope and the king, regard- ing his trial, remaining fruitless, he was held captive by Louis XI for eleven years (1469-80). The base- less story of his detention in an iron cage originated- in Italy in the sixteenth century. After many fruitless attemjjts, the pope in 1480 obtained Balue's freedom through Cardinal Julian de la Rovere, later Pope Julius II (1503-13). Balue went to Rome with the cardinal, was restored to all his riglits and dignities (1482) and was named Bishop of Albano (.1483). At the death of Louis XI (1483) he came, at the request of Charles VIII, as papal legate to France and left it as French ambassador to Rome (1485). Balue succeeded, moreover, in securing, besides several benefices, the nomination as Protector of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem and Guardian to Prince Djem, brother of the Sultan of Turkey.
