Hungarian Bishop pray'd the Hungarians and Polonians That for God's sake and for the Charity every Christian oweth to the Church they would not abandon so honest just and profitable a Cause but that every one would put down in writing what he thought might be constituted for the Service of God without any respect of man not reforming one part but the whole Body of the Church in the Head and the Members (i) P. 5â—8 If from Bishops we ascend to Cardinals tho to their Pride and Luxury and Pomp and Grandeur nothing could give a greater blow than a due Reformation yet to such a wretched State was the Church reduced that many of them did not only acknowledge the necessity of Reforming it but in some measure contributed their endeavours toward it Gaspar Cardinal Contarene John Peter Cardinal Theatine James Cardinal Sadolete and Reginald Pool Cardinal of England were of the number of the Select Council that presented the Articles of Reformation to Pope Paul III. (k) Richer Hist Concil General l. 4. part 2. p. 156. The College of Cardinals at the death of Alexander VI. before they entred the Conclave for the Election of a new Pope took an Oath that if any of them should be chosen he should immediately before the Publication of his Election bind himself under pain of Perjury and a Curse to call a Council within two years for the Reformation of the Church (l) Richer Hist Concil General l. 4. part 1. c. 2. which Oath was taken by Julius II. (m) Id. l. 4. part 1. c. 3. p. 334. who was chosen Pope and when it appear'd afterward that he made no conscience of keeping it seven years having pass'd without any mention of a Council in the year 1511. nine Cardinals who had withdrawn themselves from Rome by reason of his Insolencies by the assistance of the Emperor Maximilian and Lewis XII King of France call'd the Second Pisan Council to that purpose (n) Id. Petrus de Alliaco Cardinal of Cambray wrote a Book for the Reformation of the Church (o) Fascic rerum expetend aâ— fugiend and Ludovicus Cardinal of Arles who presided in the Council of Basil zealously endeavoured it The Cardinals who call'd the first Pisan Council to extinguish the Schism rais'd by the two Anti-Popes Benedict XIII and Gregory XII vow'd that they would to the utmost of their power procure that he that should be chosen Pope should reform the Church and that till a due and sufficient Reformation of the universal Church was made as well in the Head as in the Members he should not suffer the Council to be dissolv'd (p) Richer Hist Concil General l. 2. p. 102. Tho the Testimonies already produc'd are beyond Exception yet behold greater Witnesses than these I mean Popes themselves who above all men in the World abhor'd all Proposals of Reformation as that which would throw them down from their usurp'd Dominion and put a stop to their lawless Tyrannies To such an Excess were the Romish Corruptions grown and so evident was the necessity of reforming them that they were forc'd to confess it who most desir'd to deny it To this purpose Paul III. appointed a select Council of Prelates to collect those Abuses which were most Notorious and Pernicious and present them to him that he might correct them (q) Id. l. 4. part 2. p. 136. Pope Marcellus II. said that he resolv'd to make a severe and intire Reformation but died before he could let the World know whether he intended to be as good as his word (r) Hist Counc of Trent l. 5. Paul IV. who succeeded him promised to reform not verbally but really the Head Members Clergy Laity Princes and People (Å¿) Hist Counc of Trent l. 5. Alexander V. as soon as he was chosen by the Pisan Council promised to set himself to the Work and to chuse good and learned Men out of every Nation to consult with the Cardinals about it (t) Concil Pisan sess 21. apud Richer Pope Adrian VI. was free and ingenuous in confessing the abominable Corruptions of the Church and especially of the Court of Rome and professed that he took the Papacy upon him to the end that he might reform the Universal Church (u) Sleidan Comment l. 4. Richer Hist Concil general l 4. par 2. p. 129 Fascic reâ—um expetend c. f. 173. What Testimony of greater Authority can be desired than these already mentioned unless it be the concurrent voice of the Church representative in a general Council To which I now proceed The first Pisan Council as it is commonly reckoned though it was indeed the second were resolved to reform the Church which Alexander V. as was said before who was chosen by and presided in that Council promised to assist them in (w) Concil Pisan sess 17. 21. apud Richerium apud Binium sess 16 20. The Council of Constance which followed five Years after decreed That the Pope which was then to be chosen should together with the Council or those which should be deputed by the several Nations reform the Church before the Council should be dissolved and the matters about which it was thought fit the Reformation should be made were reduced to eighteen Heads (x) Concil Constant sess 40. In the Council of Basil the Pope gave his Legate full power of concluding all such things as appertained to the reformation of the Ecclesiastical State (y) Concil Basel sess 1. Bin. And whereas there were six things which that Council resolved mainly to prosecute two of them were these 1. That the Church should be reformed in the Head and Members 2. That the antient Discipline as much as possible should be restored (z) Richer hist Concil general l. 3. c. 2. The second Council at Pisa declared That the reformation of the Church was most necessary and passed this Decree upon it That the Holy Synod would not nor could dissolve it self till the Universal Church should be reformed both in Faith and Manners as well in the Head as in the Members (a) Sess 3. apudi Richerium l. 4. par 1. p. 430. Where it is observable That the Reformation decreed by this Council as so highly necessary did extend to Faith as well as to Manners And so did also that which was required by many other great Men of the Roman Communion as shall be afterward shewed when I descend to particulars It cannot be expected that I should ascend higher in the Ecclesiastical State since a general Council is the highest Authority of the Church on Earth by which we see the necessity of a Reformation is confirmed and that not by one single Council only but by four successively three of which were confirmed by Popes The first Pisan by Alexander V. the Council of Constance by Martin V. the Council of Basil by Nicolas V. and so much of it as concerned the Reformation and much more by Eugenius
a General Council confirm'd by another As the Council of Basil confirm'd by Pope Nicolas V. was esteemed a Schismatical and Seditious Conventicle and reprobated by the last Lateran Council confirm'd by Pope Leo X. (f) Binii notis in Concil Constantiens Bâ—ll de Concil Auâ—t l. 2. c. 17. which at Rome is accounted a General Council So that unless Errors become Truth and Contradictions be reconciled when determin'd by a Pope and Council we may conclude that not only the Pope himself but a General Council confirm'd by him hath err'd It plainly appears by what hath been said that those have actually err'd whom the Church of Rome supposes to be her only infallible Guides From whence it unavoidably follows that the Church of Rome hath err'd First in all those Points which have been erroneously defin'd by them Secondly In supposing them to be Infallible I shall not stay to shew of what use Councils either General or Provincial are how far their Authority extends and what great Benefit may accrue to the Church by them tho they be suppos'd not to be Infallible But shall proceed to the next Proposition viz. II. That the Errors of the Church of Rome were not slight and in matters of small moment but so gross and enormous when the Reformation was set on foot that there was a necessity of reforming them This will be evident First By unquestionable Testimonies Secondly By taking a particular view of the Errors themselves First By Testimonies of unquestionable Authority of Persons who could neither be mistaken through Ignorance nor byass'd by Interest or Affection to represent Matters worse than indeed they were But who were on the contrary as well acquainted with the State of the Roman Church as any Persons in the World who were promoted to the greatest Honours in it whose worldly Interests ingaged them above all other men to maintain its Reputation and Authority and who not only liv'd but died in Communion with it Such were their learned Doctors their Bishops and Cardinals their Princes and Emperors their Popes and General Councils tho the two last are not to be reckon'd for single Witnesses but for the Voice of their Church the one being their Church Representative the other according to their Divinity their Church Virtual Of those many which offer themselves I shall content my self to produce a few and those shall be such as were either cotemporary with or who liv'd within about a hundred years of the Reformation passing over those who were at a greater distance from it John Gerson the renowned Chancellor of Paris in a Sermon to the Council of Constance applies to the modern Church of Rome these words of the Prophet Ezekiel Thou didst trust in thine own beauty and plaiedst the Harlot because of thy renown and pour'dst out thy Fornications on every one that pass'd by And in all thy Abominations thou hast not remember'd the days of thy youth Thou hast built thy brothel house at every head of the way and hast made thy beauty to be abhorr'd Behold therefore I will deliver thee into the hands of those that hate thee And after he had told them what were the sad Symptoms of approaching Ruine he advises them to a great and notable Reformation of Manners as the only means to prevent it (a) John Gerson Serm. de â—ignâ—â— ruinâ— Ecclesiae And because saith he some may say that the Church is founded upon a Rock and therefore in no danger of ruin He declares more particularly what were those Enormities in which the Church-men especially needed to be reform'd and then exhorts the Council either to reform all Estates of the Church in a General Council or command them to be reform'd in Provincial Synods that by their Authority the Church might be repaired and the House of God purg'd from all Vncleanness Vices and Errors (b) Declarat Defect viror Ecclesiast The same Author earnestly press'd Pope Alexander V. to set himself to reform those Corruptions and Abuses which as he says were the Plague of the Church and without the removal of which 't was in vain to expect Peace (c) Serm. coram Alexand in die Ascens Domini Nic. Clemangis another Parisian Doctor writ several Books upon this Subject in which he represents to the World the deplorable State of the Roman Church and the necessity of Reforming it (d) De Corrupto Statu Ecclesia de Reparaâ—â—â—â— Ruinâ— Eccles Add to these single Testimonies the solemn Appeal of the whole University of Paris from Pope Leo X. to a General Council in defence of the Pragmatick Sanction In which they set forth how that the Councils of Constance and Basil made many Decrees especially about the Reformation of the Ecclesiastical State as well in the Head as in the Members which in those days especially seem'd to stand in need of Reformation And how among other things the Sacred Council of Basil consider'd how by the antient Fathers Sacred Canons and wholsome Decrees were made for the happy Government of the Ecclesiastical State which as long as they were observ'd the vigour of Ecclesiastical Discipline continued Religion Piety and Charity flourish'd But after that men through Ambition and Covetousness began to contemn the Decrees of the Holy Fathers there follow'd Deformities in the Church many of which they afterwards enumerate and then appeal from the Pope to a future General Council (e) Fascic rerum expeâ—end ac sugiend Richer Hist Concil General l. 4. part 2. p. 84. And 't is observable that this Appeal was made in the year 1517. the very same year in which Luther began to preach against the horrible Abuses of Indulgences If we pass on to Bishops and Archbishops tho their Interest ingag'd them more strongly to oppose it yet we shall find several even among them who were so sensible of the necessity of Reformation that they earnestly call'd for it and endeavour'd to promote it Frederick Archbishop of Salerno Jerome Archbishop of Brunswick and Joh. Matth. Gibertus Bishop of Verona plainly declar'd that they had a great Sense of the Corruptions of the Church by the Articles of Reformation which together with the rest of the Select Council they deliver'd to Pope Paul III. (f) Richer Hiâ—t Concil General l. 4. part 2. p. 136. In a Book Intitled Onus Ecclesiae written by John Suffragan Bishop of Saltzburgh in the year 1519. that is but two years after Luther began the Reformation we have for many Chapters together a most direful Description of the corrupt State of the Church (g) Onus Ecclesiâ— c 19 20 21 c. In the Council of Trent the Bishop of Conimbria said For these 150 years the World hath demanded a Reformation in the Head and the Members and hitherto hath been deceived that now it was time they should labour in earnest and not by Dissimulation (h) History of the Council of Trent l. 6. p. 558. And Dudithius an
his Book of the Reformation of the Church That altho they are great Evils which we see yet unless the Church be speedily reformed we shall in a short time see incomparably greater after those horrid thunders we have already heard we shall presently hear others that are more horrible And the Suffragan Bishop of Saltzburg having described the Vices of the Roman Court he concludes 'T is vehemently to be presumed and cautiously to be feared that the Ruine of the Latin Church as to its Ecclesiastical Dignity is near (b) Onus Ecclesiae c. 19. fol. 36. Nor shall we think it strange that considering men apprehended such dreadful Evils were approaching if we consider that this deplorable corruption of manners was 1. Universal in all States and Degrees of Men. 2. And more especially in the Clergy 3. And most especially in the Pope and Cardinals 1. There was a general corruption of manners both in the Civil and Ecclesiastical State The Cardinal but now mention'd having recited the sad complaints S. Bernard made of the corrupt State of the Church in his time he further adds If these things were spoken by blessed Bernard they may now much more be said because since his time the Church hath proceeded from bad to worse and in the whole State as well Spiritual as Secular Vertue being abandon'd it hath fallen into the shame and filthiness of Vice (c) Fascic rerum expetend ac fugiend fol. 203. And supposing all States and Orders to be corrupted he afterwards proceeds to shew what he thought were the best expedients both for the Reformation of the Church in general and of the head and the several subordinate Members in particular Nicolas de Clemangis tells us That wicked Persons did so much abound in all professions of men that scarce one among a thousand was to be found who did sincerely live answerable to their Profession and if there was any one that was honest chast and frugal and did not follow this lewd kind of life he was made a laughing stock to others and was presently call'd either an insolent and singular madman or an Hypocrite (d) Sed tanta est improborum in singulis professionibus exuberantia ut vix inter mille unus reperiatur qui id quod sua Professio exigit sinceriter fâ—ciat Quinetiam si simplex aliquis si castus frugalis in Collegio aliquo vel conventâ— latam lubrican perditorum vitam non sectetur fabula ridicula caeteris efficitur insolensque singularis insaâ—â—s aut hypocrita continuo appellatur c. Nic. de Clemang de corrupto Statu Eccles c. 25. The description of the corrupt manners of all orders of Men both in Church and State which we find in the book before cited (e) Onus Ecclesiae is so black and tragical that it can hardly be read without horrour and that Book was publish'd about the beginning of the Reformation And the Cardinal of Lorrain forty years after in his Speech to the Council of Trent attributes all the dismal calamities which had befallen the Kingdom of France to corruption of Manners as one principal cause of them (f) Hist of the Counc of Trent l. 7. 2. And no wonder that all flesh had corrupted their ways when the lives of the Clergy which should have been the Salt of the World were themselves more corrupt and unsavory than those of the Laity Cardinal Julian in his Epistle to Pope Eugenius IV. tells him That the People were above measure incens'd against the Ecclesiastical State by the dissolute lives of the Clergy for which saith he 't is greatly to be fear'd unless they mend their Manners lest the Lay-men after the example of the Hussites fall foul upon the whole Clergy And in truth this deformity administers great boldness to the Bohemians and gives a fair colour to their errours who especially inveigh against the filthiness of the Clergy (g) Incitabat me huc venire deformitas dissolutio Cleri Alemaniae ex qua laici supra modum irritantur adversus statum Ecclesiâ—sticum propter quod valde timendum est nisi sise emeâ—dent ne laici more Hussitarum in totum irruant Clerum c. Richer Hist Concil general l. 3. c. 2. p. 322 323. The German Bishop before quoted in the words of Catharine of Sienna gives this character of the common Clergy at the beginning of the Reformation The Modern and unhappy Clergy addict themselves to temporal things being destitute of Divine light they love themselves neglect the love of God and their Neighbour they are worse than wordly Men whom they destroy together with themselves They are addicted to Pleasures and infamous Practices and neglect the Salvation of the Souls of Christ's faithful People By the lives of such wicked Clergymen the seculars come to be disobedient and irreverent towards the Church they are seduced by blind Guides who Oh shame are ignorant Idiots Proud Covetous Hypocrites Simoniacal Luxurious Envious slow to good Works prone to Evil c. Where at this day can be found that Continence in Gesture Diet apparel and Laughter that becomes the Clergy At Banquets Taverns Plays and Theaters they are more frequently found than in places dedicated to God How hugely pernicious to the Vniversal Church the Scurrility Ignorance Fornication Simony and other crimes are with which almost the whole Clergy is infected there is no man doubts (a) Onus Eccles c. 21. S. 1. Much more may be found of the like import in the following part of the Chapter And Nicolas de Clmeangis who was himself an Arch-Deacon in the Church of Rome represents the Clergy of that Church as the dregs and scum of mankind as persons who for the generality abandon'd themselves to the most loathsom vices as may be seen in the Margin (b) Jam illud obsecro quale est quod plerisque in Dioecesibus Rectores Parochiarum ex certo conducto cum sâ—is Praelatis pretio passim publice Concubinas tenent De corrupto Statu Ecclesiae c. 15. Si quis bodie desiâ—iosus est si quis à labore abhorrers si quis in otio luxuriari volens ad sacerdotium convolat quo adepto statim se caeteris sacerdotibus voluptatum sectatoribus adjungit qui magis secundum Epicurum quam Christum viventes caâ—â—onulas sedulo frequentantes potando commessando pâ—ansitando convivando cum tesseris pila ludendo tempâ—ra tota consuâ—unt Crapulati vero inâ—briati pugnant clamant tumuâ—tuantur nomen Dei sanctorum sâ—orum polutissimis labiâ—s execrantur siâ—que tandem compâ—siti ex meretricum suarum amplexibus ad Divinum â—â—tare veniunt c. 16. Nor were the inferiour Clergy alone chargeable with these foul immoralities but the Prelates were as bad or worse than the Curates The Bishops says the foremention'd Author serve Onus Ecclesia c. 20. S. 3. their own Tables instead of the Altar they are unwise in Divine things