PART II . THE ALLEN-PERSONS CASES THE RESOLUTION OF CASES OF THE ENGLISH NATION .
Preface. L16-17. It should carefully be noted before we proceed to the resolution of the cases proposed below that the difficultiesto be found in them are matters of divine, human , and canon law, and that on theselaws the resolution of such cases depends. What is against divine law cannot be made lawful by any Papal dispensation or concession, although , by authority of the plenitude of power which resides in him, the Pope may declare something to be or not to be against divine law , of which he has been made true and legitimate interpreter by Christ. But what is against divine law can be made lawful in only one way; that is , only by means of the divine law itself, when two divine precepts have a bearing on a particularcase and it is necessary to violate one of them. In such circumstancesthe more important precept prevails and the other gives way to it; so that, by the observance of the more important precept , the transgression of the less important is made lawful. For example, if the precept binding a man to restore money owing to his lord conflicts in some circumstances with the precept which binds him to protect his reputation or his life, and he cannot give the money to his lord without losing his honour or his life, it is lawful for him not to give the moneyback in order to save his honouror life. As far as human law is concerned, a dispensation may be granted by the Pope for a good and honest reason, and think that the unhappy state of the unfortunateCatholics of England constitutes a very good and most honest reason; for in England Catholics are, with strong and constant bravery, prepared to die a thousand times in the most holy way for the defence of the holy church of God. It would be most holy to grant dispensations to English Catholics , for, by doing so , the holy mother, the Church , would reward the most deserving efforts made on her behalfby these her sons . Moreover, by granting dispensations conferring benefits on them, they , the members of the Church , will be kept unharmed in the future. For without dispensations they may easily throw their lives into a thousand dangers, in their effortsto avoid endangering their eternal salvationby breaking the law of the Church . Once these men have gone , moreover, religion in England will be finished, or virtually finished. Furthermore, dispensations are given to weaker and feebler men and still considered most holy. To grant dispensations would help Catholics in England to carry on the business of main-
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