"You will see，" exclaimed Bonaparte， while negotiating the Concordat， "how I will turn the priests to account， and， first of all， the Pope！"[25]
III. Dealing with the Pope.
Services which he obliges the Pope to render. - Resignation or dismissal of the old bishops. - End of the constitutional Church. -Right of appointing bishops and of sanctioning curés given to the First Consul.
"Had no Pope existed，" he says again，[26] "it would have been necessary to create him for the occasion， in the same way that the Roman consuls appointed a dictator for difficult circumstances." Only such a dictator could effect the coup d'état which the First Consul needed， in order to constitute the head of the new government a patron of the Catholic Church， to bring independent or refractory priests under subjection， to sever the canonical cord which bound the French clergy to its exiled superiors and to the old order of things， "to break the last thread by which the Bourbons still communicated with the country." "Fifty émigré[27] bishops in the pay of England now lead the French clergy. Their influence must be got rid of， and to do this the authority of the Pope is essential； he can dismiss or make them resign." Should any of them prove obstinate and unwilling to descend from their thrones， their refusal brings them into discredit， and they are "designated[28] as rebels who prefer the things of this world， their terrestrial interests to the interests of heaven and the cause of God." The great body of the clergy along with their flocks will abandon them ； they will soon be forgotten， like old sprouts transplanted whose roots have been cut off； they will die abroad， one by one， while the successor， who is now in office， will find no difficulty in rallying the obedient around him， for， being Catholic， his parishioners are so many sheep， docile， taken with externals， impressionable， and ready to follow the pastoral croisier， provided it bears the ancient trademark， consists of the same material， is of the same form， conferred from on high and sent from Rome. The bishops having once been consecrated by the Pope， nobody save a Gregory or some antiquarian canonist will dispute their jurisdiction.
The ecclesiastical ground is thus cleared through the interposition of the Pope. The three groups of authorities thereon which contend with each other for the possession of consciences[29] - the refugee bishops in England， the apostolic vicars， and the constitutional clergy -disappear， and now the cleared ground can be built on. "The Catholic religion being declared[30] that of the majority of the French people， its services must now be regulated. The First Consul nominates fifty bishops whom the Pope consecrates. These appoint the curés， and the state pays their salaries. The latter may be sworn， while the priests who do not submit are sent out of the country. Those who preach against the government are handed over to their superiors for punishment. The Pope confirms the sale of clerical possessions； he consecrates the Republic." The faithful no longer regard it askance.
They feel that they are not only tolerated， but protected by it， and they are grateful.[31] The people recover their churches， their curés， the forms of worship to which they are almost instinctively accustomed， the ceremonial which， to their imagination， belongs to every important act of their lives， the solemn rites of marriage， baptism， burial， and other sacramental offices. - Henceforth mass is said every Sunday in each village， and the peasants enjoy their processions on Corpus-Christi day， when their crops are blessed. Agreat public want is satisfied. Discontent subsides， ill-will dies out， the government has fewer enemies； its enemies， again， lose their best weapon， and， at the same time， it acquires an admirable one， the right of appointing bishops and of sanctioning the curés. By virtue of the Concordat and by order of the Pope， not only， in 1801， do all former spiritual authorities cease to exist， but again， after 1801， all new titularies， with the Pope's assent， chosen， accepted， managed， disciplined，[32] and paid by the First Consul， are， in fact， his creatures， and become his functionaries.-IV. The Pope， Napoleon's employee.
Other services expected of the Pope. - Coronation of Napoleon at Notre-Dame. - Napoleonic theory of the Empire and the Holy See. - The Pope a feudatory and subject of the Emperor. - The pope installed as a functionary at Paris， and arch-chancellor on spiritual matters. -Effect of this for Italy.
Over and above this positive and real service obtained from the sovereign pontiff， he awaits others yet more important and undefined， and principally his future coronation in Notre Dame. Already， during the negotiations for the Concordat， La Fayette had observed to him with a smile：[33] "You want the holy oil dropped on your head"； to which he made no contradictory answer. On the contrary， he replied， and probably too with a smile： "We shall see！ We shall see！" Thus does he think ahead， and his ideas extend beyond that which a man belonging to the ancient régime could imagine or divine， even to the reconstruction of the empire of the west as this existed in the year 800. "I am not Louis XIV.'s successor，" he soon declares，[34] "but of Charlemagne. . . . I am Charlemagne， because， like Charlemagne， Iunite the French crown to that of the Lombards， and my empire borders on the Orient." In this conception， which a remote history furnishes to his boundless ambition， the terrible antiquitarian finds the gigantic and suitable framework， the potent， specious terms， and all the verbal reasons he requires. Under Napoleon， the successor of Charlemagne， the Pope can be only a vassal： "Your Holiness is the sovereign of Rome， but I am its emperor，" the legitimate suzerain.