Enciclopedia Cattolica

EMANCIPAZIONE, ATTO DI

Emancipation, Act of

Volume V · p. 185 · 1950

English translation · Testo originale italiano

EMANCIPAZIONE, ATTO di. - Contempla l'a- brogazione delle leggi che in Gran Bretagna ed Ir- landa ponevano i cattolici in uno stato di inferiorità giuridica e politica rispetto ai protestanti.
EMANCIPAZIONE, ATTO di. - Contempla l'a- brogazione delle leggi che in Gran Bretagna ed Ir- landa ponevano i cattolici in uno stato di inferiorità giuridica e politica rispetto ai protestanti.

Machine translation of the 1948–1954 Italian original. The original text is authoritative.

### ACT OF EMANCIPATION

The Act of Emancipation refers to the repeal of laws in Great Britain and Ireland that placed Catholics in a state of legal and political inferiority compared to Protestants.

The most important provision on this matter is the *Act for the Relief of His Majesty's Roman Catholic Subjects* of 13 April 1829 (10 Geo. 4, c. 7). Prior to this fundamental law, other acts had already alleviated the condition of Catholics during the reign of George III. In 1778 (18 Geo. 3, c. 60), Catholics who took an oath of allegiance were granted the right to own land, and in 1791 (31 Geo. 3, c. 32), Catholics who had taken the oath were guaranteed the right to practice the professions of barrister, solicitor, attorney, and notary.

This was only the beginning; however, while in Parliament, due to the gravity of the Irish situation, the abolition of restrictions was debated several times, an insurmountable obstacle was found in the Protestant stronghold of the House of Lords. Finally, during the winter of 1828–29, the Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington, and the Home Secretary, Sir Robert Peel, succeeded in convincing King George IV of the political expediency of granting Catholics the civil and political rights hitherto denied them. The bill was introduced in the Commons with a major speech by Peel (5 March 1829). Approved on its third reading by 320 votes to 134, it was then sent to the Lords, where it passed by a majority of 104 votes. With the royal assent, it came into force on 13 April of the same year. Under this law, Catholics acquired the right to sit in the House of Lords and the House of Commons and were granted the right to vote; only members of the clergy were excluded from serving as deputies. Every civil and military office, subject to taking an oath (later abolished in 1871), could be held by Catholics, with the exception of those of Regent of the United Kingdom, Lord Chancellor, and others. However, Catholics could only celebrate their religious ceremonies in designated places or private homes; properties belonging to Catholic ecclesiastical orders or communities residing in the Kingdom had to be registered, and those who entered the State clandestinely were banished for life. These latter provisions were repealed by the Roman Catholic Relief Act of 15 December 1926 (16 & 17 Geo. 5, c. 55). Some restrictions remained, including the prohibition that the sovereign cannot be of the Catholic faith or have a Catholic wife, and another that prevents Catholics from holding certain high offices (such as Regent, etc.).

**

Bibl.:** J. Amherst, *The history of the Catholic Emancipation and the progress of the Catholic Church in the British Isles*, London 1886; W. S. Lilly-J. E. P. Wallis, *A manual of the law of the Catholic Emancipation*, vol. 1, 1836, which also reproduces in full the text of the Act of 1829 from p. 160 to p. 179; H. W. C. Davis, *Catholic Emancipation*, in *The Cambridge Modern History*, X, Cambridge 1907, pp. 620–644, with bibliography. On the movement for Catholic emancipation in the early years of the 19th century cf. G. C. Brendick-J. K. Fotheringham, *The history of England from Addington administration to the close of William IV's reign*, in *The Political History of England*, XI, London 1906, pp. 237–252. Silvio Furlani

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### EMANUEL (EMANUEL; Hebrew 'Immanu'el) — "God is with us"

Septuagint: *Ἐμμανουήλ*. A symbolic name (derived from the usual expression of good wishes: Ex. 3:12; Josh. 1:5, etc.) given to the child foretold by Isaiah (7:14) as the "son of the Virgin," to whom the prophet later (8:8) turns in an ideal sense, speaking of "his land" (in context = Palestine). In the Gospel (Matt. 1:23), it is applied to Jesus with a quotation from Isa. 7:14.

The prophecy is set against a tragic moment in Near Eastern history. The kings of Damascus, Samaria, and others are at war with Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria, while the king of Jerusalem, Ahaz (q.v.), has submitted to the Assyrian. Tension mounts between Damascus, Samaria, and Ahaz, with preparations for a possible siege. Isaiah turns to Ahaz to encourage neutrality, grounding it in theocratic religious principles: trust in God rather than in pagan Assyria; no fear of the two smoking firebrands. As a guarantee of his proposal, God is willing to give the king a sign (miracle) of his choosing (Isa. 7:11). The king refuses, evidently concerned about the freedom of his political actions. The prophet then turns from the king to the house of David and announces: "The Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (Isa. 7:14). The figure of the child then appears in various connections with historical events in subsequent prophecies up to chapter 12 ("Book of Immanuel," Isa. 7–12), receiving among other things messianic and divine titles (9:5 ff.; 11:1–16).

The prophecy, as a "demonstrative sign," is not without difficulties (Rienner-Zerwick): it may be interpreted as a single sign (Vaccari), or as two different signs in two moments: the sign offered to the king and rejected (v. 11), and the sign given to the house of David (v. 14). It has recently been interpreted as an announcement by Isaiah to the royal house that the concerns for the preservation of the theocratic dynasty are so far from being a valid excuse for rejecting the course of action marked by the prophet that God has already arranged for the birth of the Messiah and the preservation of David’s throne from a virgin, in other words, without human consent. God, arbiter of Israel and the world, does not want trust in him to waver (Garofalo). In any case, the prophecy, which exegetical and ecclesiastical authorities (Euchir. Bibl., Rome 1927, n. 59) agree in considering a direct messianic prophecy, is one of the most beautiful and fruitful for Christian apologetics and preaching.

**

Bibl.:** M.-J. Lagrange, *La Vierge et l'Emmanuel*, in *Rev. bibl.*, 2 (1893), pp. 480 ff.; M. L. Dumeste, *La prof. de l'Emmanuel*, in *Vie spir.* 41 (1934), pp. 129 ff.; A. Schulz, *"Abid*, in *Bibl. Zeitschrift* 23 (1935–36), pp. 229 ff.; A. Vaccari, *De signo Em.*, in *Verb. Dom.* 17 (1937), pp. 45 ff.; 75 ff.; J. Coleran, *Propter hoc...*, ibid., p. 303 ff.; H. Junker, *Erkl. der Weis. vom Em.*, in *Past. bibl.* 49 (1938–39), pp. 240 ff.; 279 ff.; 338 ff.; 50 (1939–40), p. 5 ff.; G. Rienner-M. Zerwick, *Sign. demonst.*, in *Verb. Dom.* 19 (1939), pp. 246 ff.; S. Garofalo, *L'Em. in H. Regno*, 1 (1942), pp. 43 ff.; C. Lattey, *The Em. prof.* in *Cath. bibl. quart.* 8 (1946), pp. 369 ff.; 9 (1947), pp. 89 ff.; 147 ff.; see also Isaiah: MESSIA AND MESSIANISM.