"We specially owe to our Emperor， Napoleon the First， love， respect， obedience， fidelity， military service， and tributes ordained for the preservation of the empire and his throne. . . For God has raised him up for us in times of peril that he might restore public worship and the holy religion of our fathers and be its protector."Every boy and girl in each parish recite this to the vicar or curéafter vespers in their tiny voices as a commandment of God and of the Church， as a supplementary article of the creed. Meanwhile the officiating priest in the pulpit gravely comments on this article， already clear enough， at every morning or evening service；[109] by order， he preaches in behalf of the conscription and declares that it is a sin to try to escape from it， to be refractory； by order， again， he reads the army bulletins giving accounts of the latest victories；always by order， he reads the last pastoral letter of his bishop， a document authorized， inspired and corrected by the police. Not only are the bishops obliged to submit their pastoral letters and public instructions to the censorship； not only by way of precaution， are they forbidden to print anything except on the prefecture presses， but again， for still greater security， the bureau of public worship is constantly advising them what they must say. First and foremost， they must laud the Emperor. But in what terms， and with what epithets， without indiscretion or mistake， in order not to meddle with politics， not to appear as a party managed from above， not to pass for megaphones， is not explained， and is therefore a difficult matter.
"You must praise the Emperor more in your pastoral letters，" said Réal， prefect of police， to a new bishop. "Tell me in what measure.""I do not know，" was the reply. Since the measure cannot be prescribed， it must be ample enough. There is no difficulty as regards other articles. - On every occasion the Paris offices take care to furnish each bishop with a ready-made draft of his forthcoming pastoral letter - the canvas on which the customary flowers of ecclesiastical amplification are to be embroidered. It differs according to time and place. In La Vendée and in the west， the prelates are to stigmatize "the odious machinations of perfidious Albion，" and explain to the faithful the persecutions to which the English subject the Irish Catholics. When Russia is the enemy， the pastoral letter must dwell on her being schismatic； also on the Russian misunderstanding of the supremacy of the Pope. Inasmuch as bishops are functionaries of the empire， their utterances and their acts belong to the Emperor. Consequently he makes use of them against all enemies， against each rival， rebel or adversary， against the Bourbons， against the English and the Russians， and， finally， against the Pope.
X. The Council of 1811. - The Concordat of 1813.
Similar to the Russian expedition， this is the great and last throw of the dice， the decisive and most important of his ecclesiastical undertakings， as the other is in political and military affairs. Just as， under his leadership， he forces by constraint and， under his lead， a coalition of the political and military powers of his Europe against the Czar， - Austria， Prussia， the Confederation of the Rhine， Holland， Switzerland， the kingdom of Italy， Naples， and even Spain， - so does he by constraint and under his lead coalesce all the spiritual authorities of his empire against the Pope. He summons a council， consisting of eighty-four bishops that are available in Italy and in France. He takes it upon himself to drill them， and he makes them march. To state what influences he uses would require a volume[110] -theological and canonical arguments， appeals to Gallican souvenirs and Jansenist rancors， eloquence and sophisms， preparatory maneuvers， secret intrigues， public acting， private solicitations， steady intimidation， successful pressures， thirteen cardinals exiled and deprived of their insignia， two other cardinals confined in Vincennes， nineteen Italian bishops conveyed to France under escort， without bread or clothes. Fifty priests of Parma， fifty of Plaisance， besides one hundred other Italian priests， sent away or confined in Corsica.