The Battles of 1901–1902

Pustet’s monopoly was supposed to run to 30 September 1898, but there was yet more slippage. In February 1894, Pécoul himself was unsure of the expiry date, and informed Cardinal Richard, on behalf of union delegate Keufer, that it was either 1898 or 1900. ¹ Two years later he clarified, in angry italics, that Pustet had secured an extra two years of monopoly, to 1900, ‘because of the difficulties caused in Germany by its war with France’. ² In the event, on 1 January 1901 the Vatican belatedly declared the Regensburg privilege expired, the 1883 decree having already been quietly removed in 1899 from the roll of decrees in force. ³ The July 1894 decree, however, stood, and on behalf of Pustet, Haberl continued to argue that, until it was annulled by the same authority as had bestowed it, the Regensburg edition’s canonic authority remained untouched by the expiry of the privilege. ⁴ Nevetheless, Vatican chant policy took a new turn. There, Fr De Santi gained an ally in Mgr Carlo Respighi, who to Pécoul’s delight published a rebuttal of Haberl’s claim that the Pustet edition had a Palestrina connection via the Medicean edition. ⁵ Moreover, from the point of view of the French campaigns, Pécoul and De Santi had made friendly contact on the subject of Pécoul’s elder daughter Augusta’s wedding: indeed, De Santi (who would surely have shunned Pécoul had he known at that stage who was behind so much of the anti-Pustet polemics and union activism) even passed him confidential information about Haberl’s abusive behaviour and its impact in Rome. ⁶ Finally, with a new Prefect of the SCR in place in the form of Cardinal Domenico Ferrata, De Santi had ensured that an SCR decision to make the Regensburg edition mandatory in the 70diocese of Rome – the Papal diocese – was reversed before it could be implemented. ⁷ Pécoul declared himself satisfied, writing to Dumay on 3 May 1901 that Pustet’s edition was defeated: ‘the Congregation of Rites can no longer legitimately impose its use anywhere. / Liberty is gained’. He thanked Dumay warmly and, in tones that suggested the file could now be closed, congratulated him on supporting a successful campaign. ⁸