430 Vatican I Council (1869–1870) A photo of the Vatican taken during the Vatican I Council The Council was created by Pope Pius IX as a way to discuss issues within the Catholic Church While initially controversial, the meetings were eventually accepted by most of the world’s Catholic population about an imminent war between France and Germany The remaining fathers voted 75 percent affirmative, another 10 percent affirmative with conditions, and 15 percent negative On July 18 the pope personally presided over the Council and a last vote was taken The results of the vote were 433 to in favor of the document, and it was immediately promulgated On September troops from Piedmont entered the Papal States, and by September 20 they had reached Rome Pius IX would from that day forward be a selfimposed prisoner in the Vatican Unfortunately, the council did not address a large number of drafts and proposals due to the political situation that brought Vatican I to a premature end However, two constitutions were promulgated, and these are of great importance to the Catholic Church De Fide Catholica fortified Rome’s defense against the errors of atheism, materialism, and rationalism It affirmed that God exists as a personal and all-knowing God, creating everything from nothing and leading everything to its end This God can be known by reason, is revealed in Scripture and in tradition, and can be made known to the world by miraculous occurrences Faith and knowledge support each other and are entrusted to the church to defend and interpret De Romano Pontifice teaches that the primacy of the pope brings unity and strength to the entire church This primacy is one of true pastoral jurisdiction to which all clergy and faithful are bound in obedience This primacy strengthens and defends local bishops in their ministry No secular power can interfere with these duties Nonetheless, critics of the council emerged in the form of minor reactions and schisms In Germany, the “Old Catholics” sect arose, and in Switzerland the “Christian Catholics” formed After the war between France and Germany, the German government used the infallibility doctrine as a reason to encourage Kulturkampf (“Culture Struggle,” or Secularization) Austria annulled its concordat with the Holy See Other than these few occurrences, the decisions of Vatican I did not result in objections throughout the world On December 8, 1870, Pius IX finally declared St Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church Subsequent popes would challenge many of the moral and religious problems that were not addressed by Vatican I, including masonry, human freedom, Christian marriage, forbidden books, and the codification of canon law Further reading: Costigan, Richard F The Consensus of the Church and Papal Infallibility: A Study in the Background of Vatican I Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2005; Hennesey, James The First Council of the Vatican New York: Herder and Herder, 1963; Heton, John