y; for, institutionally, he is supreme, and the conscience of all
its members is in his hand. His signature is of the highest value; it
is very important to obtain this, and the First Consul concludes the
Concordat with the Pope.

By this Concordat, the Pope "declares that neither himself nor his
successors shall in any manner disturb the purchasers of alienated
ecclesiastical property, and that the ownership of the said property,
the rights and revenues derived there from, shall consequently remain
in commutable in their hands or in those of their assigns."[3193]
Henceforth the possession of this property is no longer a sin; at
least, it is not condemned by the spiritual authority, by that external
conscience which, in Catholic countries, governs the inward conscience
and often supplies its place; the Church, the moral head, removes with
its own hands the moral scruple, the last small stone, troublesome
and dangerous, which, lying underneath the cornerstone of lay society,
breaks the level of the entire structure and compromises the equilibrium
of the new government.--In exchange, the State endows the Church. By
the same Concordat, and by the decrees which follow it, "the
government[3194] ensures a suitable salary to bishops and cure's,"
15,000 francs to each archbishop, 10,000 francs to each bishop, 1500
francs to each cure of the first class and 1000 francs to each cure of
the second class,[3195] also, later on,[3196] a maximum of 500 francs
and a minimum of 300 francs to each assistant-priest or vicar. "If
circumstances require it,[3197] the conseils-generaux of the large
communes may grant to prelates or to cures an increase of salary out of
their rural possessions or octrois." In all cases, archbishops, bishops,
cures and priests shall be lodged, or receive a lodging indemnity. So
much for the support of persons.-As to real property,[3198] "all the
metropolitan churches, cathedrals, parochial buildings and others, not
alienated, and needed for the purposes of worship, shall be subject to
the disposition of the bishops."--The parsonages and gardens attached
to these, not alienated, shall be given up to the cures and
assistant-priests."--"The possessions of the fabriques,[3199] not
alienated, as well as the rentals they enjoyed, and which have not been
transferred, shall be restored to their original purpose.--As to the
outlay and expenditure for worship,[31100] for the parochial center or
cathedral, if its revenue