12 août 1789
15 octobre 1791
France. Comité des Affaires ecclésiastiques
France. Comité Ecclésiastique (1789-1791)
- décret du 12 août 1789 établissant un comité Ecclésiastique, un comité de Judicature et un comité Féodal.
- décret du 23 septembre 1789 autorisant le comité Ecclésiastique à se procurer les renseignements nécessaires sur les dîmes et les biens ecclésiastiques.
- décret du 2 novembre 1789 qui met les biens du clergé à la disposition de la nation.
- décret du 5 février 1790 relatif à une augmentation des membres du comité Ecclésiastique.
- décret du 17 février 1790 relatif à l’ordre du travail sur les matières ecclésiastiques.
- décret du 14 mai 1790 concernant l’aliénation des domaines nationaux, leur vente aux municipalités et leur revente aux municipalités.
- décret du 1er décembre 1790 concernant la dîme ecclésiastique inféodée et les baux passés pour des biens nationaux.
- décret du 23 janvier 1790 sur l’ordre du travail de l’Assemblée nationale concernant les domaines de la Couronne et les domaines ecclésiastiques.
- décret du 12 juillet – 11 août 1790 sur la Constitution civile du clergé.
- décret du 27 novembre 1790 relatif à la prestation du serment des évêques, curés et autres ecclésiastiques fonctionnaires publics.
Dans la séance de l’Assemblée du 13 août 1789, les députés débattent des modalités de nomination des membres des comités Ecclésiastique et de Judicature, composés de quinze membres chacun. L’Assemblée décrète « qu’il serait nommé trois membres par bureau, et que les quatre-vingt-dix personnes ainsi nommées se réduiraient à trente, lesquelles se partageraient en deux bureaux de quinze chacun ».
Le résultat du scrutin est annoncé dans la séance du 20 août et déclare membres du comité Ecclésiastique les députés Lanjuinais, d’Ormesson, Grandin, Martineau, Delalande, le prince de Robecq, Sallé de Choux, Treilhard, Legrand, Vaneau, Durand de Maillane, l’évêque de Clermont, Despatys de Courteilles, l’évêque de Luçon et De Bouthillier.
Ce premier comité est organisé en trois sections :
1° Constitution et administration des biens du clergé ;
2° Dépouillement des déclarations. Travail préparatoire de la vente des biens ecclésiastiques et liquidation de la dette ;
3° Examen et rapport des mémoires (affaires particulières).
Dans la séance du 5 février 1790, Treilhard demande et obtient de l’Assemblée le doublement du nombre de membres du comité, le nombre actuel ne pouvant « suffire au dépouillement de cent mille déclarations et au travail qu’exige la correspondance à suivre avec les municipalités pour soumettre ces actes à une espèce de contrôle ». Le 7 février, 15 nouveaux membres sont ainsi adjoints : dom Gerle, Dionis du Séjour, l’abbé de Montesquiou, Guillaume, le marquis de La Coste, Dupont de Nemours, Massieu, l’abbé Expilly, Chasset, l’abbé Gassendi, Boislandry, Defermont, Lebreton, La Poule et Thiébaut. Contrairement au premier comité, le second est majoritairement composé de laïques.
En 1790, il est établi momentanément un comité particulier des Dîmes, formé par la réunion de commissaires issus de quatre comités : Ecclésiastique, des Finances, d’Aliénation et des Impositions.
Le comité Ecclésiastique est établi par un décret de l’Assemblée nationale constituante du 12 août 1789, commun aux comités de Judicature et Féodal, tous trois chargés de préparer le travail législatif relatif aux anciens droits supprimés le 4 août. Au comité Ecclésiastique revient la question de la dîme, dont le remplacement a été proposé par les députés du clergé eux-mêmes, mais dont le mode de compensation divise l’Assemblée. Plus généralement, le comité est chargé de préparer une réforme de l’Église gallicane.
Dans la séance du 13 août, sous la présidence de Le Chapelier, les constituants s’accordent sur l’engagement de fournir aux ministres du culte « un traitement convenable », en compensation des pertes financières consécutives à la suppression de la dîme. En revanche, le règlement de la question de la possession des fabriques est renvoyé à la législature suivante.
En octobre 1789, l’Assemblée nationale ordonne la suppression des professions religieuses. Le mois suivant, les députés déclarent les biens du clergé « à la disposition de la nation » (décret du 2 novembre 1789) et s’en réservent l’administration (décrets des 14 et 20 avril 1790). En contrepartie, l’Assemblée décrète les dettes du clergé « nationales » et charge le Trésor public « d’en acquitter les intérêts et capitaux » (décret du 17 avril). L’Assemblée affecte, en conséquence, « toutes les propriétés et revenus dont elle peut disposer » au paiement des créanciers de l’État. Elle libère en outre les biens ecclésiastiques de toute hypothèque ; l’aliénation de ces biens nationaux, décrétée le 19 décembre 1789, est inaugurée par le décret du 14 mai 1790.
Si l’aliénation des domaines nationaux relève du comité éponyme, celle du mobilier issu des établissements ecclésiastiques supprimés est à la charge du comité Ecclésiastique. Ce mobilier est composé de quatre classes : 1° meubles ordinaires et communs qui n’ont d’autre valeur que des meubles de même qualité, des chaises et des tables par exemple ; 2° effets mobiliers précieux en ce qu’ils sont des monuments d’art ou de science, tels que des médailles, des pierres gravées, des modèles de machines ; 3° livres manuscrits ou imprimés ; 4° pièces d’argenterie ou de cuivre. Les comités Ecclésiastique et d’Aliénation demandent en conséquence aux districts des inventaires détaillés des biens mobiliers de chaque établissement, afin d’en vérifier la valeur et d’en fixer la destination (patrimonialisation, vente, refonte ou recyclage, réemploi à l’identique).
Les articles composant la Constitution civile du clergé sont adoptés par l’Assemblée constituante entre le 12 juillet et le 11 août 1790, au terme de vifs débats inaugurés par un rapport préparatoire du comité Ecclésiastique du 21 avril 1790 et alimentés par les discours de Camus, Lanjuinais et l’abbé Grégoire, mais aussi de Martineau, l’abbé Expilly, Treilhard et Durand de Maillane. Leur projet vise la restauration de la discipline ancienne de l’Église, la promotion d’une doctrine gallicane revêtue des caractères de l’Antiquité chrétienne. Le climat de défiance populaire face aux abus et aux privilèges du clergé permet à l’Assemblée nationale de se constituer en garant légitime d’une réorganisation générale menée de manière unilatérale.
La Constitution civile se compose de quatre titres ou parties :
1° Offices ecclésiastiques : « Chaque département formera un seul diocèse, et chaque diocèse aura la même étendue et les mêmes limites que le département ». La refonte de la carte des diocèses sur celle des départements est l’une des dispositions les plus contestées de la Constitution civile.
2° Nomination aux bénéfices : elle se fait par la voie du scrutin électoral, à la pluralité absolue des suffrages et sans distinction de religion. Les évêques sont élus par les assemblées départementales, les curés, par celles des districts. « Le nouvel évêque ne pourra s’adresser au pape pour en obtenir aucune confirmation ; mais il lui écrira comme au chef visible de l’Église universelle, en témoignage de l’unité de foi et de la communion qu’il doit entretenir avec lui » ;
3° Traitement des ministres de la religion : garanti par l’État, il s’effectue sous le contrôle du ministre des Contributions publiques. Il revient aux commissaires de la Trésorerie nationale de pourvoir les districts des fonds nécessaires pour le paiement des traitements des ecclésiastiques en fonction et pour le paiement des pensions des anciens religieux. Il est en outre fourni « à chaque évêque, à chaque curé et aux desservants des annexes et succursales, un logement convenable » ;
4° Loi de la résidence : tous ceux qui sont revêtus d’un office ou emploi ecclésiastique sont « obligés de résider continuellement dans le lieu du service », sans aucune exception ni distinction.
Les changements radicaux introduits par ce texte ont naturellement suscité de fortes réactions de la part d’une partie du clergé. Pour en assurer l’effectivité, l’Assemblée nationale décrète l’obligation pour les ecclésiastiques fonctionnaires publics de prêter serment de fidélité à la Constitution civile (décret du 27 novembre 1790), inaugurant par là une scission entre clergé constitutionnel ou assermenté, et clergé réfractaire ou insermenté.
Après le vote de la Constitution civile du clergé et des mesures générales de son exécution, sa mise en œuvre passe dans les compétences du pouvoir exécutif. De même, la législation relative aux différents types de biens nationaux et à leur destination entraîne le transfert des documents sources (les inventaires de biens) vers les services ministériels concernés. Aussi n’est-il guère surprenant que l’Assemblée nationale législative ne proroge pas le comité Ecclésiastique, qui se trouve supprimé de fait au mois d’octobre 1791.
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