nted. Cardinal Reisach had died at the end of
December without having been able to take his seat, and Cardinal De Luca
had presided in his stead. De Angelis was now put into the place made
vacant by the death of Reisach. He had suffered imprisonment at Turin,
and the glory of his confessorship was enhanced by his services in the
election of the Commissions. He was not suited otherwise to be the
moderator of a great assembly; and the effect of his elevation was to
dethrone the accomplished and astute De Luca, who had been found
deficient in thoroughness, and to throw the management of the Council
into the hands of the junior Presidents, Capalti and Bilio. Bilio was a
Barnabite monk, innocent of court intrigues, a friend of the most
enlightened scholars in Rome, and a favourite of the Pope. Cardinal
Capalti had been distinguished as a canonist. Like Cardinal Bilio, he
was not reckoned among men of the extreme party; and they were not
always in harmony with their colleagues, De Angelis and Bizarri. But
they did not waver when the policy they had to execute was not their
own.

The first decree was withdrawn, and referred to the Commission on
Doctrine. Another, on the duties of the episcopate, was substituted; and
that again was followed by others, of which the most important was on
the Catechism. While they were being discussed, a petition was prepared,
demanding that the infallibility of the Pope should be made the object
of a decree. The majority undertook to put a strain on the prudence or
the reluctance of the Vatican. Their zeal in the cause was warmer than
that of the official advisers. Among those who had the responsibility of
conducting the spiritual and temporal government of the Pope, the belief
was strong that his infallibility did not need defining, and that the
definition could not be obtained without needless obstruction to other
papal interests. Several Cardinals were inopportunists at first, and
afterwards promoted intermediate and conciliatory proposals. But the
business of the Council was not left to the ordinary advisers of the
Pope, and they were visibly compelled and driven by those who
represented the majority. At times this pressure was no doubt
convenient. But there were also times when there was no collusion, and
the majority really led the authorities. The initiative was not taken by
the great mass whose zeal was stimulated by personal allegiance to the
Pope. They added to the momentum, but the imp