In May, 1663, the divines of the Sorbonne, on the ground of the development of extreme Ultramontane views, published the following declaration: I. It is the contention of this faculty that the pope possesses no authority whatsoever concerning matters belonging to the State or affecting the control on the part of the most Christian King over matters of State. This faculty has, in fact, always opposed the contentions of those who hold for even an indirect authority on the part of the Church in State matters. II. It is the doctrine of this faculty that the Christian King recognises in matters of State no higher authority than God himself. III. It is the doctrine of this faculty that the subjects of the king can, under no pretext or suggestion, be freed from their obligation of loyalty and obedience to the monarch. IV. The faculty can approve no propositions or theories which are opposed to the complete freedom of the Gallican Church or to the full authority for this kingdom of the canon law of France. The faculty denies that the pope has the authority to issue instructions that are contrary to the authority of these canons. This faculty holds that the authority of the pope does not take precedence of that of a general council of the Church. V. This faculty holds that without the collaboration of the Church as expressed in a general council, the pope does not possess infallibility. This declaration was the view which was later confirmed, first by the Parliament of Paris, and later by the King (Louis XIV). The King at the same time prohibited the printing or distribution of any writings maintaining contrary doctrine. In 1664 and 1665, the Sorbonne published a censure of certain Ultramontane propositions which had been found in books by de Vernant and Guimenius. These censures were themselves condemned in very sharp terms in a Bull issued in 1665 by Alexander VII. The Parliament of Paris promptly prohibits the publication of the Bull and confirms the censures of the Sorbonne. Diplomatic negotiations followed but did not succeed in bringing any satisfactory conclusion for the issue. In 1671, was published the _Exposition de la Doctrine de l’Église Catholique_, by Bossuet, a treatise which, while it by no means supported the contentions of the Holy See, found in Rome a favourable reception and secured the individual commendation of Innocent XI. [Sidenote: The Rights of the Crown in Ecclesiastical Matters]