Before the Pope's arrival, Napoleon had already learned through telegraph that Joseph had invited him to France for a friendly visit, and he was also aware that Joseph hoped to gradually tie the Holy See to his chariot economically through this contact with the Pope.
Thus, Napoleon warmly received the Pope in Paris. They then conducted friendly negotiations at the consulate, where Napoleon expressed agreent and appreciation for the Pope's plans to vigorously promote charitable causes. He indicated his willingness to cooperate within his capabilities.
Following this, the Pope had a candid discussion with Minister Lucien about specific affairs, establishing the responsibilities and duties of both sides. Afterward, the Pope, accompanied by Minister Lucien, visited various universities and hospitals in Paris. Then, together with Napoleon, the Pope issued a joint statent.
"Pope Pius VII and the First Consul of the French Republic, Napoleon Bonaparte, on behalf of the Holy See and the French Republic respectively, jointly declare the following:
The French believe that ensuring religious freedom, allowing every nation, every state, and every individual to freely choose to believe or not believe in religion, and to believe in this or that religion, is a natural human right that should not be interfered with by any secular power.
The Holy See believes, in accordance with the teachings of Jesus Christ, 'Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's.' Secular authority should not interfere in matters of religious faith. In fact, in the history of the Church, interference by secular powers has caused the division of the Church and the ergence of nurous heretical beliefs. This historical lesson teaches that any attempt by the state to interfere in religion today is a violation of the fundantal principles of religion.
The French believe that respecting the natural human rights of all is an inescapable responsibility of the governnt, even in tis of unavoidable war. For this reason, the French governnt makes the following pledge:
If combatants from the opposing side are captured, their basic human rights will still be protected by the governnt of the French Republic. The French governnt and its ard forces, when interrogating captured personnel, will not use violence or intimidation.
For the wounded among the captured, the French governnt will provide dical treatnt to the best of its ability and will not allow any harm or brutality to be inflicted on the lives and persons of the captured, especially not murder, torture, use for biological experints, or intentional failure to provide dical aid and care.
The French governnt and military also commit to not deliberately attacking enemy dical facilities and to protecting the safety of the opposing side's dical personnel.
The French governnt believes that even in war, the personal rights of civilians must be protected. The French governnt commits to not deliberately attack civilian facilities, not to attack, plunder, or otherwise harm enemy civilians.
The Holy See believes that all humans were created by God and should be brothers and sisters. War between brothers and sisters is a great tragedy. Even if war cannot be completely eradicated at this ti, it is very important to avoid excessive atrocities during war.
The Holy See greatly appreciates the relevant commitnts of the French governnt and looks forward to other countries making similar commitnts to reduce the damage of war on brothers and sisters from all countries.
To show support for the good actions of the French governnt, the Holy See suggests that from now on, protected dical personnel of warring countries may wear a red cross to indicate their identity. Hospitals and other facilities should also display a clear red cross to facilitate identification by all parties.
The Holy See will organize dical personnel to assist the wounded of both sides during the war, an action that embodies Jesus' love for humanity. The Holy See requests that all parties protect the safety and dignity of the dical personnel organized by the Holy See."
Through this joint statent, both France and the Holy See have placed themselves on a moral high ground. Now, any country that does not adhere to the joint statent issued by France and the Holy See and conducts war is almost automatically viewed as barbaric.
anwhile, the Holy See has taken a significant step towards establishing a "Charity Empire."
At the sa ti, in North Arica, the situation of the war also began to change significantly.
Since France declared war on Britain, Louisiana quickly organized a volunteer army of up to fifty thousand n and began to attack Canada. However, the performance of the French forces in these offensive actions was not very good. General Arthur Wellesley's troops, relying on defense, repelled multiple French attacks continuously.
However, tactical success did not change the strategic passivity. After these battles, the British forces' supplies had beco very tight because the sea routes were blocked, and all sorts of crucial materials could not be brought in. So now, General Arthur Wellesley's troops were even running low on ammunition.
Just then, an even more critical situation occurred—those French-speaking guys in Quebec suddenly declared independence and announced their withdrawal from the war, maintaining neutrality during the conflict.
The betrayal by those guys in Quebec was sothing the British had been prepared for. But being
prepared did not an they could effectively respond. Although the Quebecois claid they would remain neutral, the British didn't believe this at all. More importantly, Quebec controlled the waterways, and their change in stance exacerbated the British logistical problems.
After Quebec declared "neutrality," French rchant ships imdiately entered the Saint Lawrence River, bringing large quantities of materials to Quebec. This started to worry the British that the Quebecois' "neutrality" was rely a preparation for stockpiling enough resources to launch an attack.
At this point, the Arican army also began to regroup and launched a new attack on Canada. They advanced from the east, and "neutral" Quebec provided various conveniences to the Arican forces, including selling them supplies.
General Arthur Wellesley realized that if he continued to confront the French in the Great Lakes area, the Quebecois and Aricans might cut off his already weak supply line, so he had no choice but to order a full retreat to Ottawa. However, retreating in the face of the enemy is no easy task. Especially since the French volunteer forces in North Arica, almost every soldier had a horse, which made their combat effectiveness in pursuit far surpass their performance in positional warfare. Ultimately, when Arthur Wellesley retreated to Ottawa, he had lost half his forces.
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