Anti-Sacrilege Act

In April 1824, King Louis XVIII's government, headed by the Ultra-royalist Jean-Baptiste, Comte de Villèle, introduced a first draft of the law into Parliament.

After the accession of Charles X in September of the same year, Villèle's government decided to seize the opportunity and reintroduced the bill, giving an increase in the stealing of sacred vessels (chalices and ciboria) as the reason.

Benjamin Constant, a Protestant, argued that his religion itself prohibited him from voting for the law, as the real presence of the Christ in the host could be considered as such only by Catholics.

Either the person said to be guilty believes in the dogma and is therefore "insane", argued Constant, or he does not, in which case sacrilege cannot be said to be constituted and he must therefore be punished only as a "heckler" (perturbateur).

Thus Justice Minister Peyronnet finally decided to limit the law to sacrileges "voluntarily and publicly" committed, as not to interfere with inner conscience and confession.

Hugues Felicité Robert de Lamennais attacked Villèle's government in a pamphlet, asking how a sacrilege can be a crime committed against religion but not against God.