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unresolved issues in 1790-1791

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creating tensions between supporters of the revolution and and those who thought that its reformers were too radical

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the reforms to the Church

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the National Assembly includes many members of clerical deputies to the Estates General

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the majority were parish priests

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very popular because they were the people who started to break rank with privilege in 1789

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joined with the Third Estate, i.e. the commoner deputies

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a great deal of good will toward the parish clergy of France

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when people celebrated the achievements of the first year of the Revolution in 1790, the music written for that occasion by François-Joseph Gossec (1734-1829)

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expresses popular Catholic beliefs

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God is watching over the developments of the French Revolution

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everyone believes that the Revolution needs to reform the church

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even the parish clergy

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the Assembly takes actions which begin to concern the members of the First Estate

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First Estate: clergy

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Second Estate: nobility

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Third Estate: commoners

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1789

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Assembly resolves the fiscal crisis of the Monarchy by seizing Church property to be sold off at auction

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concerned that Jews have been giving equal rights to Catholics

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1790

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Civil Constitution of the Clergy

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attempt of the National Assembly to apply reforms to the church, administrative matters

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salaries and tithes

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churches and chapels

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elections

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assembly decided there are too many churches

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many smaller chapels are to be closed down

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this rankles people

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introduces election by active citizens

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just as elections to the local administrative council

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this was too much of a change for the members of the Church, who believed that authority from the people instead of from God

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this change seemed to be anathema

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any clergy had to take an oath to be faithful to the nation

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they try to take a limited oath

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in secular matters I respect the nation

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but they were not able to be full priests

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half the parish priests are ready to take the oath

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Pope declares that the French Revolution is anathema

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the priests that take the oath are guilty of heresy

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will be excommunicated

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the church was therefore torn apart

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in the northwest and west very few priests were prepared to take the oath

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in Paris, most were prepared to take the oath

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in Brittany, the small parishes functioned as tiny theocracies, and pledging an oath to the French nation was too much of a change

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the priest provides the fulcrum of the community

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a community of souls

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in the southeast

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there were concentrated villages

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the mass of the parish clergy saw themselves as citizen priests