Cisalpinism facts for kids
Cisalpinism was a movement among English Roman Catholics in the late 1700s. The name "Cisalpinism" means "this side of the Alps". This group wanted to help Catholics in England gain more freedom. At the time, many laws limited what Catholics could do. Cisalpinists believed that being loyal to the King of England was not against being loyal to the Pope. They wanted to show that English Catholics were good citizens.
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Why Cisalpinism Started
In the late 1700s, Britain faced problems with its American colonies. The government needed more soldiers. To encourage Catholics to join the army, the government passed the Catholic Relief Act of 1778. This law made some of the strict "Penal Laws" against Catholics a bit easier. However, this act also led to anti-Catholic protests called the Gordon Riots in 1780.
The Catholic Committee
Cisalpinism was mostly about politics, not religious beliefs. It aimed to help Catholics get more rights in England. At this time, the Penal Laws still made life hard for Catholics.
First Catholic Committee
In 1782, thirty Catholic laymen (people who are not priests) met. They chose a group of five people called the "Catholic Committee". This committee was meant to work for Catholic rights for five years. However, according to its secretary, Charles Butler, the committee did not achieve much at first.
The committee's first idea was to change the title "apostolic vicar". This title made it seem like English Catholics were too closely linked to Rome. The committee suggested that these vicars should become regular bishops, like in other countries. But the church leaders had different ideas, so this plan was dropped.
Second Catholic Committee
The first committee's term ended in 1787. So, a new committee was formed with ten members. In February 1788, this committee wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger. They complained about the many rules that caused Catholics problems.
Some of the things Catholics were not allowed to do included:
- Having schools to teach their children their own religion at home.
- Sending their children to other countries for education.
- Working as lawyers.
- Serving in the House of Commons (part of Parliament).
- Taking their family's seat in the House of Lords (another part of Parliament).
The committee asked the Prime Minister to fix these problems, saying they were loyal subjects. Later that year, more members joined the committee. These included James Talbot, a church leader from London, and Charles Berington, another church leader. A monk named Joseph Wilks also joined.
Not everyone agreed with the Cisalpinists. Bishop Charles Walmesley, a church leader in western England, worried about their ideas. He thought a new oath of loyalty might make Catholics reject the Pope's spiritual power. He also feared it would weaken ties to Rome. He even thought they might change church practices, like Saturday fasting or the length of Lent.
Some priests in Staffordshire wrote a statement called the "Staffordshire Creed". They complained about a monk, Joseph Wilks, being removed from the church. This statement also talked about the rights of priests against bishops. Bishop Walmesley was very upset by this. In 1797, he officially removed the people who signed the "Staffordshire Creed" from the church.
One person who supported Cisalpinism was John Lingard. He was a writer and the first leader of Ushaw College, a seminary. Later, Father Daniel Rock continued some Cisalpine ideas. However, over time, a different movement called Ultramontanism became more popular. This movement emphasized stronger ties to the Pope in Rome.
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