but it is needless in a matter so notorious The Bulla Coenoe Domini as it was published by Paul III. without those Additions which have been since made is it self alone an irrefragable Evidence of the Judgment of this Council as to the excommunicating of Kings For in that Bull all secular Powers are excommunicated who call any Ecclesiastical Persons to their Tribunals Courts c. (b) Bulla Pauli III. Idib Apr. 1536. Bullarii Rom Tom. 2. And this Bull was publish'd before the Convocation the Trent Council and twenty seven years before the Decree mentioned was made by the Council and therefore was confirmed by it And if any Prince stands a year excommunicated he is judged a Schismatick and Heretick and what punishment he is then liable to I need not tell you 4. Another gross Abuse confirm'd by this Council is giving the Pope the Election into Bishopricks in foreign Dominions As the form of Examination of Persons fit to govern the Churches in every Province is to be approved by the Pope so when the Examination is finish'd it is to be reduced into a publick Instrument and sent to him to be examined by four Cardinals and proposed in Consistory that his Holiness having full knowledg of the whole matter and of the Persons if by the Examination and Inquisition made they shall be found fit he may out of them profitably provide for the Churches (c) Sess 24. Cap 1. 5. The reserving of all such weighty criminal causes of Bishops as deserve Deposition and Deprivation to the Popes Cognizance and Decision And if the Cause be such as it must necessarily be tried out of the Court of Rome that it be committed to none except such Metropolitans and Bishops as the Pope shall chuse But that the Commission be special and sealed with the Popes own Seal and that he never give them any more Power than barely to take Instruction of matter of Fact and to make the Process which they shall forthwith send to the Pope the definitive Sentence being reserved to his Holiness (d) Sess 24. Cap. 5. Now as this and the Abuse next foregoing are both intolerable Usurpations upon the Rights of Princes so they make the Bishops in the whole Christian Church intirely dependent on the Pope He may set them up and pull them down at his Pleasure And is not the Universal Church like to be well governed when all the Bishops are at the Popes beck 6. The Exemptions of Monastick Orders from the Jurisdiction of Bishops This Abuse had been complain'd of long before as the great bane of Ecclesiastical Discipline and the chief cause of the lewd and scandalous Lives of the Monks and the Reformation of it was demanded of the Council by the Emperors Ambassadors (e) Soav p. 513. And what did the Council do in order to the removal of this grand Abuse Did they abolish all Exemptions already granted and forbid the granting of any more for the future No they ordained indeed That no Secular Clerk nor Regular dwelling out of his Monestry should be exempted if he offended from being visited punished and corrected by the Ordinary of the place As Delegate of the Apostolick See (f) Sess 6. cap. 3. That the Chapters of Cathedrals and other greater Churches by no Exemptions Customs Oaths or Agreements should be freed from being visited and corrected by their Bishops and other greater Prelats by Apostolical Authority (g) Sess 6. c. 4. That the Ordinary of the place shall every year by the Apostolical Authority visit all Churches however exempted (h) Sess 7. cap. 8. That all Secular Clerks notwithstanding any Exemptions Declarations Customs Oaths Agreements shall as oft as there is need be corrected and chastized for their Excesses and Faults by the Bishops resident in their Churches as Delegates of the Apostolick See i Sess 14. cap. 4. That the Monastries held in Commendam the Abbies Priories c. not tied to a Regular observance shall be visited by the Bishops as Delegates of the Apostolick See k Sess 21. cap. 8. But for those Monasteries and other Religious houses in which they are tied to Regular Observance the Bishops shall provide by Paternal Admonition that the Superiors observe their Regular Constitutions and cause them to be observed by those that are under them and if within six months after Admonition they do not visit and correct them then the Bishops as Delegates of the Apostolick See may proceed to Visitation and Correction This is as I take it the sum of what the Council hath decreed concerning Exemptions In which observe 1. That the Bishops have nothing to do with any Regulars of what Order soever who do not dwell out of their Religious houses in case their Superiors take care that they observe the Rules of their Order By which vast numbers of men are left at liberty to defie the Bishops and to create to them all manner of Molestation 2. In case their Superiors neglect their Duty the Bishops cannot proceed to visit till they have first paternally admonished them and their six months further neglect after such Admonition But 3. That which I chiefly observe is That not only no Monasteries whether Regular or not Regular but not so much as any Churches or Chapters are otherways subjected to the Bishops than as they are the Popes Delegates they act purely by a Power derived from him which he may therefore either revoke or contract at his Pleasure A fine Sham Are not the Bishops highly promoted They may now visit and correct Churches Chapters Colleges Monasteries Abbies Priories Provostships Yes so far and so often as the Pope gives them leave We have seen that the Trent Council was so far from making any real Reformation in Discipline that it not only took no effectual course for the removal of any Abuse but on the contrary confirmed many and those such as were of all others most pregnant with mischief And yet this is not the worst for as it confirmed the old so 2. It introduced many new Errors in matters of Discipline as well as Doctrine by which the Popes Tyranny was enlarged and advanced to a higher pitch than ever Several of which have been already mention'd and therefore I shall not now inlarge upon them As 1. The Decree of Proponentibus Legatis pass'd in the first Sesfion under Pius l Sess 17. That nothing should be proposed to be treated of in Council but by the Popes Legats A Priviledg never granted to any Pope by any foregoing Council 2. The making of all their Decrees with the Reservation of the Popes Authority m Sess 7. Sess 25. cap. 21. as has been before shew'd Another new Prerogative conferr'd on his Holiness 3. The giving the Pope a Power to expound their Decrees as we have also before heard in case any difficulty arise about the sense of them or a necessity of Declaration n Sess 25. which was never granted by any
(m) Sess 11. which determins it necessary to Salvation for every human Creature to be subject to the Bishop of Rome and the Pope's Supremacy set so high that none might say unto him what dost thou It is true this Council was summon'd by Julius II upon pretence of reforming the Church but that which he really intended was to defeat the Reformation decreed by the Council of Pisa as Du Ranchin tells us (n) Review of the Council of Trent l. 4. c. 7. And that this was no uncharitable Surmise is sufficiently evident by the Event For what one Act can be mentioned of Julius during those five Sessions he lived that so much as look'd toward a Reformation And when after some Years Travel by the Midwifery of Pope Leo X something called a Reformation was brought forth what was it else but a Reformation from better to worse For as it takes no notice of any Corruption in Faith or Worship but supposes them entirely sound So 1. Not one in ten of those Abuses in other matters which were most complained of are so much as mentioned as will appear to any Man who will be at the pains to compare it with the Grievances which not long after were presented by the Princes of Germany to Pope Adrian VI (o) Fascit rerum expetiend ac fugierd fol. 177 178. and with the Articles of Reformation presented by the select Council to Paul III. (p) Richer l. 4. p. 136. and with other Catalogues of Abuses concerning Ecclesiastical Persons and Things published long before by Petrus de Alliaco Gerson and other Members of their own Church As for those Abuses which it meddles with what are they for the greater part but such as were in matters of small moment How triflng is all the Reformation that concern'd the Cardinals who above all others his Holiness only excepted stood in need of being reformed 2. Several of those Abuses it would seem to abolish it does it with such Reserves and Exceptions as do in truth give Protection to them For instance In the first Decree which is usher'd in with such a solemn Preface that if a Man read no further he will conclude that certainly some great Matter follows and so indeed it is as to the matter of the Decree but then an Exception is added which renders it utterly insignificant For the Decree is That Patriarchal Metropolitical and Cathedral-Churches and Monasteries shall be disposed not at the instance of any Person by way of Commendam but shall be provided with such Bishops and Abbots as are of suitable Age Learning and Gravity of Manners Hitherto well but see now the Exception Vnless it shall be thought good that with respect to the profit of the Churches they be conferred upon Men otherwise qualified upon the account of their Prudence Nobility Probity Experience or for that they have been Ancient Courtiers and deserved well of the Apostolick See (q) Nisi ratione utilitatis Ecclesiarum Prudentiae Nobilitatis Probitatis Experientiae atque curalitatis antiqae cum competenti literatura in sede Apostolica veritorum aliter visum fuerit faciendum Sess 9. in Decret Reformat Is not the Mockery now manifest Does not the Exception pull down as much as the Decree sets up Was not the Church notwithstanding this solemn Decree like to be provided with excellent Bishops Metropolitans and Patriarchs when it was sufficient qualification that they were Noblemen ancient Courtiers with a competency of Learning or such as had done the Pope good Service To as good purpose was it decreed That no Man should be dispensed with to hold more than two incompatible Benefices without a great and urgent Cause (r) Bulla Reformat Sess 9. For when the Pope has a mind to gratifie a Favourite will he not easily find such a Cause Beside That a manifest Abuse is hereby establish'd viz. Dispensations without any urgent Cause to as many as the Pope pleases to hold two such Benefices as are incompatible 3. Instead of the Removal some very pernicious Corruptions and Abuses were by express Law established I shall instance in one viz. The Exemption of Church-men both as to their Persons and Purses from the Jurisdiction of all Secular Powers (s) Reformat Curiae alior which is utterly inconsistent with Civil Government and hath been one main Cause of those numberless Treasons Seditions and Rebellions in which that Church hath the preeminence of others 4. As for some other Decrees which respect Manners and Discipline namely That Clergymen especially should live chastly and that they who live otherwise should be severely punished according to the Canons That the Constitutions of former Popes against Simonists should be renewed (t) Ibid. Could they be otherwise than insignificant as long as the causes of these Corruptions were still maintained and no provision made for putting the Canons in execution For the Pope to talk of reviving the ancient Canons without first reforming his own Court from whence the neglect and contempt of these Canons mainly proceeded was as absurd as to go about to cleanse the Stream while the Fountain remains polluted And that de facto the Censures decreed by this Council were for the most part never executed is confess'd even by the Bigot Carranza (u) Summa Concilior p. 897. I need say no more Nor was it indeed needful to say so much since I might have spared the pains of proving that which was so notorious by the event I appeal to the Romanists themselves whether Corruptions and Abuses did not more abound and whether Complaints against them were not more loud and clamorous after the celebration of this Council than before A worthy Reformation so palpable was the Cheat that divers of their own Church speak of it with Indignation and Abhorrency This says the Doctor frequently quoted is that excellent Reformation so earnestly desired by all Christian Nations for 200 years or to speak more truly this is the Cover and Daub for the Abuses of the Roman Court (w) Haec illa est eximia tantopere à Christianis Nationibus ducentis abhinc annis exoptatat Reformatio vel ut verius dicamus abusuum Curiae-Romanae incrustatio atque involutio Richer l. 4. p. 26. And speaking again of this Council he represents it as that which might make any Man despair of ever seeing a good Reformation For since says he Diseases Injuries and Corruptions flow thence from whence Medicine and wholsom Laws ought to proceed who would not abandon all hope of the publick Safety and of the Restauration of the Church to a better state (x) Cum igitur morbi injuriae atque corruptelae illinc unde medicina juraque salutaria debebant promonare scaturiunt quotusquisque de Ecclesiae in melius instauratione de publica salute spem omnem non merito abjiciat l. 4. p. 117 118. What those Diseases Injuries and Corruptions were which flowed from this Council and
eleven Months if two or three days of Residence be interposed in the right place viz. about the middle of the sixth Month for he loses nothing unless he be absent six Months together And 3. In case he continue contumacious what is to be done He is at last to be referr'd to the Pope And it might be presumed that his Holiness would be so kind as to grant a Dispensation upon reasonable terms for no Decree had yet pass'd for granting one gratis It will perhaps be said That what was wanting in this Decree was supply'd afterward Sess 23. c. 1. Where the Synod to prevent misinterpretation as if by Virtue of this Decree a Person might lawfully absent himself Five Months together Ordains That all that have Bishopricks Cardinals not excepted are oblig'd to Personal Residence nor may they be absent from their Churches except for causes there mention'd which are to be approved by the Pope or the Metropolitan And what are those Causes Not only Christian Charity urgent necessity and the evident profit of the Church or Commonwealth but due Obedience also (q) Nam cum Christiana Caritas urgens necessitas debita obidentia ac evidenâ— Ecclesiae vel Reipublicae utilitas aliquos nonnunquam abesse postulent exigant decernit eadem sacrosancta Synodus has legitimae absentiae causas a beatissimo Romano Pontificae aut a Metropolitano in Scriptis esse approbandaâ— So that when the Pope requires it Bishops not only may but are bound to be absent from their Churches by Virtue of that Obedience they owe to him And this is no more than what the Pope often requires of bare Bishops but of Cardinals usually by Virtue of their Office which is to be personally assistant to him So that a Cardinal who holds Five or Six Bishopricks may by Virtue of this Decree be oblig'd never to see one of them as long as he lives Sess 7. c. 6. The Decree to prevent and annul abusive Unions of Benefices is illusory For first it confirms all those Unions right or wrong that could plead Prescription but of Forty years yea but of Twenty eight For as the Congregation of Cardinals interpret that Decree the Forty years were to be reckon'd from the confirmation of the Decrees of the Council (r) Non datur potestas per Concilium Tridentinum examinandi revidendi Uniones quae per 40 annos ante Confirmationem Decretorum ejusdem Concilii factae fuerunt Uniones perpetuae a 40 annis a publicatione Concilii Tridentini computandae which was not till Twelve years after that Decree was made 2. As for other Unions which had been made within that time those which were obtain'd by false Information shall be declared Void those which have not taken effect and which shall hereafter be made if not made for reasonable Causes and with Citation of all that were interess'd before the Ordinary they shall be presumed to be surreptitiously obtain'd and therefore shall be of no force unless it shall be otherwise declared by the Apostolical See (s) Uniones perpetuae a quadraginta annis citra factae examinari ab Ordinariis tanquam a sede Apostolica legatis possint nisi aliter a sede Apostolica declaratum fuerit viribus omnino careant So that all Unions which had not yet taken effect and which should afterward be made without reasonable Causes or without Citation of those which were concern'd shall be Valid if it seem good to the Apostolick See to declare them so An excellent Piece of Reformation But to conceal the Knavery R. H. thought it adviseable not to make mention of the latter Exception (t) Considerat c. Cap. 12. S. 220. Sess 14. The Decrees Ch. 1 2 3. are all ineffective for want of express mentioning the Pope by whom the Licenses Priviledges and Faculties were granted the exercise of which is by those Decrees prohibited (u) Soav l. 4. p. 352. And Ch. 5. the exception in the conclusion is of larger extent than all the Remainder (w) p. 353. But because R. H. recommends to our consideration above all the rest the Decrees of the Twenty fourth Session (x) Considerat c. Cap. 12. S. 206. I shall proceed to them and for brevities sake passing over those which concern Matrimony shall in a word reflect upon some of the rest Chap. 8. To those which Sin publickly publick Penance is decreed But the Decree is void by what follows viz. Yet the Bishop may change this publick Penance into another secret when he shall judge it more expedient (y) Episcopus tamen publicae hoc poenitentiae genus in aliud secretum poterit commutare quando ita magis judicaverit expedire Chap. 17. Plurality of Benefices is straitly forbidden but the foregoing Decree Sess 7. Chap. 5. is not rescinded which renews the Constitution of Greg. X by which this Abuse is established (z) Decretal L. 6. Cap. 1. Tit. 16. Cap. Ordinarii The Decree of Cognition of Causes in the first instance Chap. 20. was quite destroy'd says Soave by the exception added i. e. Except those which the Pope will commit and reserve to himself For Causes were never taken from the lawful Tribunals but by Commission and Advocation of Popes and now the cause of the Disease was preserv'd and the Symptom only cured And however the adjunct for urgent and reasonable Causes did seem to moderate the matter well yet Men of Vnderstanding knew that it was as much as to say for any Arbitrary Cause (a) Soav l. 8. p. 792. And R. H. himself grants almost as much as this amounts to For in that he says A Rescript after the matter is particularly made known to the Pope and upon this his Hand and Seal obtain'd cannot be a thing so ordinarily happening as to overthrow the whole benefit of the Decree (b) Considerat c. Cap. 12. S. 212. He plainly intimates that it may so often happen as to overthrow the Benefit in a great measure But what a ridiculous Piece of Mockery was the Explication of the Clause proponentibus Legatis Chap. 21. The Emperor's and the Kings of Spain's Ambassadours had often declar'd against it as that which destroy'd the Liberty of the Council and earnestly demanded that it might be revoked but could by no means obtain it at length when they were now putting an end to the Council they declare That the meaning of the Synod was not to change in any part the usual manner of handling Matters in general Councils As if a Physician who could not be prevailed with to do any thing for his Patient while there was hope of Life should set himself to apply his Medicines just when his Patient was dying By what hath been said it is sufficiently manifest That many of the Decrees concerning matters to be reform'd were so framed as to defeat themselves 4. But let us now suppose That there had been no fraud in the
are ugly enough yet they are so much more deform'd as drawn by others who yet were no Hereticks that his when compared with theirs may be thought to flatter them Yea I appeal to any indifferent Reader whether Pallavicino himself says not more to the discredit of Leo X. g Hist l. 1. c. 2. Whether the Character he gives of Julius III. does not make more to his disgrace h L. 13. c. 10. n. 8. than that Soave gives him And for those Popes which Soave highly commends does not Pallavicino as much defame them Adrian of whom Soave thought the World not worthy Pallavicino represents as a Pope not worthy of the World He was indeed an excellent Priest but in truth a mean Pope the Cardinals valu'd him above his desert when they exalted him to the Papal Throne i Fu Ecclesiastico ottimo Pontifice in verita mediocre c. l. 2. c. 9. And for Marcellus though he falls foul upon Soave for defaming him yet see what a worthy Eulogie he has left of him 'T was happy for him that he died so soon for had his Reign been long he would hardly have maintain'd by his actions that high opinion the World had conceived of him k Lib. 13. c. 11. n. 7. To conclude this if we may credit Aquilinus Pallavicino seems to have done more mischief to the Church of Rome by what he has written of the Popes than Soave l Certum sane apparet quantum detrimenti Catholicae reipublicae inducat haec Pallavicini historia in his quae de Romanis Pontificibus narrat Unde e contra minus damni Petrus Soave in suo opere afferre videtur p. 77. Quis tulerit Gracchos 2. Having seen how fairly he treats the Popes let us now look whether he hath shew'd himself so just to their Legats in the Council Pallavicino says That he defames not only some but all the Presidents and that perpetually m Non parlo del vituperio perpetuo col quale infama e tutti i Presidenti di essa c. Introduz c. 11. If this Accusation were true it would be a shrewd Argument of his insincerity but how remote it is from the neighbourhood of truth will soon be made appear The Presidents of the Council under Paul III. were John Maria de Monte Cardinal Bishop of Palestrine Marcellus Cervinus Cardinal Priest of the holy Cross and Reginald Pool Cardinal Deacon of S. Mary in Cosmedin Hear now what Soave says of them In this Man viz. Reginald Pool the Pope chose Nobility of Blood and Opinion of Piety which commonly was had of him In Marcellus Constancy and immovable and undaunted Perseverance together with exquisite Knowledge In Monte reality and openness of mind with such Fidelity to his Patrons that he preferred their interest to the safety of his own Conscience n L. 2. p. 111. Is there any thing in this but what is for the credit of Reginald and Marcellus and nothing but the last clause that can reflect the least disparagement upon Monte. He says That the Legats admonition at the opening of the Council was accounted Pious Christian Modest and worthy the Cardinals o L. 2. p. 132. And this I hope is not to disgrace them Again That they proposed to the Popes consideration that it would be good to make some effectual Reformation in Rome p L. 2. p. 254. And that at Trent in the next Congregation they proposed the Reformation of divers Abuses q P. 256. These things are spoken of the Legats in common Let us now see what he says of each of them apart and first of Marcellus When a great and rich Prelate r This was the Cardinal of Trent in the Congregation went about to shew that they ought only to aim at the Reformation aggravating much the common Deformation of the whole Clergy and inculcating that so long as our Vessels were not cleansed the Holy Ghost would not dwell in them The Cardinal of Holy Cross much commended that Prelate for making mention of a thing so holy and of so good example for beginning from themselves they might easily reform all the rest of the World and he earnestly exhorted all to the practice thereof Å¿ L. 2. p. 144. He tells us also That the Cardinal took incredible pains to make the Decrees viz. of the sixth Session avoiding as much as was possible to insert any things controverted among the Schoolmen and so handling those which could not be omitted as that every one might be contented t P. 215. And truly says he concerning these particulars it is not fit to rob the Cardinal of his due Praise u P. 216. It seems Soave intended this for his Praise And so did he many things which he hath left on Record concerning the Cardinal of Monte. For instance his Discourse about Residence in which the Cardinal says That the World hath complain'd long since of the absence of Prelates and Pastors daily demanding Residence That their absence from their Churches is the cause of all the mischiefs of the Church For the Church may be compared to a Ship the sinking whereof is ascribed to the absent Pilot That Heresies Ignorance and Dissolution do reign in the People and bad Manners and Vices in the Clergy because that Pastors being absent from the Flock no Man hath care to instruct those or correct these c. w L. 2. p. 191. When his Master the Pope order'd the Legats to find out matters to delay the Session Monte who was of an ingenuous Disposition thought it would be hard and could not promise to be constant in so long a Dissimulation x P. 204. This may perhaps pass for a Defamation with Pallavicino the Jesuits being so excellent at the art of dissembling He elsewhere tells us That Monte was peremptory against the Abuse of selling the Sacraments y P. 247. And his Zeal Courage and undaunted Resolution upon all occasions in asserting and maintaining the Pope's Power and Greatness z P. 260 261 266 268 279 281. one who hath read Pallavicino's new Gospel would not think the Cardinal should reckon it a Disparagement to him Let us now see how Soave defames Cardinal Pool He says That he was of the Blood Royal That the Dependents of the Farnesi for his good Disposition were content to elect him Pope to succeed Paul III. That he was of exemplary life That he was acceptable to the Nobility of England for his Wisdom and Sanctity a P. 298 384 405. That many in England were scandaliz'd and alien'd from the Pope for depriving him of his Legation And if this be to dispraise what is it to commend a Man But let it be that in the Jesuits reckoning good Disposition and exemplary Life are no matters of just Commendation The Presidents of the Council under Julius III. were Marcellus Crescentius Cardinal of S. Marcellus Sebastianus Pighinus
Warfare should be no longer those carnal ones by which for many Ages he has been a Man of Blood and Slaughter but that he should be forc'd to live for the future a little more becoming the Vicar of the Prince of Peace Who could have imagin'd but that he had been forbidden under forfeiture of his Tripple Crown to share the Church Revenues between his Byblows and his Donnaes And to transfer the Government of the Universal Church from himself to a young Gallant call'd Cardinal Padrone And who would not have expected That some care should have been taken to remove those gross Superstitions and Abuses which they themselves acknowledged were too frequently practiced in the Worship of Images And to prevent those shameless Cheats that were put upon silly People by Counterfeit Reliques And that if not for Conscience yet for shame at least the Penitentiary Tax should have been utterly abolished and the yearly Kine turn'd out of their fat Pastures That mercenary Whores might no longer brave it in Palaces and mounted upon their Mules be attended at Noon-day by Nobles and Clergymen thorow the Streets of Rome An Abomination for which the Select Council of Paul III. could find no parallel in any other City of the World (k) In hac etiam urbe Meretrices ut Matronae incedunt per Urbem seu Mula vehuntur quas affectantur de media die nobiles Familiares Cardinalium Clericique Nulla in Urbe Videmus hanâ— Corruptionem praeterquam in hac omnium exemplari habitant etiam insignes aedes Concil delect Card. alior Praelat de emendanda Eccles An. 1538. These things are no more than what every sober Romanist would have expected should have been done and yet not only these but many more of great Importance were not so much as touch'd If then we suppose the best that can be viz. That the Council effectually provided for the Correction of those Abuses it thought good to Reflect upon yet since those which were much more mischeivous were wholly neglected must it not needs be a goodly Reformation That Physitian is likely to make an excellent Cure who in an Hectical Body applies himself only to the Killing of the Itch. Which was the Censure generally pass'd upon the great Reformation made in the 21. Session (l) Soav l. 6. p. 539. And yet 3. If we consider those Corruptions and Abuses the Council took notice of it will appear they were not in good earnest in that slight Reformation they would seem to make and that upon this twofold account 1. Because many of them it pass'd no Decrees to reform them but referr'd them to the Pope 2. For others concerning which it pass'd Decrees of Reformation many of the Decrees are meer Shams and Illusions First Several of those Abuses it took notice of it referr'd the Reformation of them to the Pope We have before heard that the Reformation of the Pope himself was left to himself and by consequence those Abuses which were the Source of all others We have likewise seen that the withholding of the Cup was remitted entirely to his Judgment To which I add the abuses of Indulgences which had given infinite Scandal and were a chief motive to the Reformation The Synod desiring that these might be corrected ordains in the general That all wicked gains for the obtaining of them be utterly abolishd But for other Abuses which proceed from Superstition Ignorance Irreverence or other occasions whatsoever seeing by reason of the manifold Corruptions of Places and Provinces in which they are committed they cannot be prohibited in particular It commands all Bishops that every one of them diligently collect the Abuses of his own Church and propose them in the first Provincial Synod to the end that being known by the other Bishops also they may forthwith be presented to the Pope by whose Authority and Prudence that may be determin'd which is expedient for the Vniversal Church (m) Abusus vero qui in his irrepserunt quorum occasione insigne hoc Indulgentiarum nomen ab Haereticis blasphematur emendatos correctos cupiens praesenti decreto generaliter statuit pravos quaestus omnes pro his consequendis unde plurima in Christiano populo abusuum causa fluxit omnino abolendos esse Caeteros vero qui ex superstitione ignorantia irreverentia aut aliunde quomodocunque provenerunt cum ob multiplices locorum provinciarum apud quas hi committuntur corruptelas commode nequeant specialiter prohiberi mandat omnibus Episcopis ut diligenter quisque hujusmodi abusus Ecclesiae suae colligat eosque in prima Synodo provinciali referat ut aliorum quoque Episcoporum sententia cogniti statim ad Summum Romanum Pontificem deferantur cujus auctoritate prudentia quod universali Ecclesiae expedit statuatur What a heap of Abuses is here at once remitted to his Holiness for indeed the whole matter of Indulgences as it is usually taught and practised in the Church of Rome is nothing else but Abuse 2. For other Abuses the Reformation of which the Synod took to themselves many of the Decrees by reason of some defect or excess for want of something that should make them effectual or by the addition of those Salvo's Exceptions and Limitations which defeat their force are but meer Shams and Illusions This is manifest in one Decree or other of almost every Session in which any thing is decreed concerning Reformation But it may suffice to give a few instances Sess 6. c. 1. The Synod ordains That if the Governor of a Patriarchal Metropolitic or Cathedral Church shall be absent six months together from his Diocess without a lawful impediment and just and reasonable causes he shall lose the fourth part of the revenue of one Year and if he continue absent six months more he shall lose another fourth part and the Contumacy encreasing he shall if a Suffragan Bishop by his Metropolitan if a Metropolitan by the Senior Suffragan within three months be delated to the Pope who by his supreme Authority may punish him and provide the Church of a more profitable Pastor (n) Si quis a Patriarchall Primatiali Metropolitana seu Cathedrali Ecclesia sibi quecunq titulo causa nomine seu jure commissa quacunque ille dignitate gradu praeeminentia praefulgeat legitimo impedimento seu justis rationabilibus causis cessantibus sex mensibus continuis extra suam Diocesin morando abfuerit c. Now who that hath but half an eye doth not see that this Decree is evacuated these three ways First by the exception of just and reasonable Causes For these will never be wanting when those are Judges whose Interest it is not to have Residence practiced (o) Soav p. 2â—9 Unless the Council had determin'd in particular what those just and reasonable causes were 2. In that wirhout any cause and without any forfeiture too he may be absent six months together saving a few days yea
Decrees themselves but that they had been all so composed to render them most effectual for obtaining their ends That they had been extended to all Persons and to all matters too that stood in need of Reformation Yet they were all in effect revoked that is render'd no further binding than the Pope pleas'd these two ways 1. By reserving to the Pope a power of dispensing with them 2. By reserving to him the whole power of expounding them 1. By reserving to the Pope a power dispensing with them For nothing was decreed but with this reserve Saving always the Authority of the Apostolick See in all things This was expresly premised to the Decrees of Reformation Sess 7. (c) Eadem Sacrasancta Synodus eisdem Praesidentibus Legatis incaeptum residentia Reformationis Negotium ad Dei Laudem Christianae Religionis increnentum prosequi intendens ut sequitur statuendum censuit salva semper in omnibus sedis Apostolicae auctoritate And lest it might be thought not to extend to all the subsequent Decrees to make all sure in the Conclusion of the Council it was again declar'd as we have before heard That in all the Decrees of the Council made under Paul Julius and Pius with what Words or Clauses soever it should be understood that the Authority of the Apostolick See is excepted and preserved (d) Sess 25. c. 21. And what is meant by the Authority of the Apostolick See in this matter but an Authority of dispensing with the Canons and Decrees whensoever the Pope shall judg it convenient Thus it is interpreted by Espensaeus (e) In cap. 1. Epist ad Tit. Richerins (f) Hist Concil general l. 4. par 2. p. 182 183. and other Romish Doctors Thus it was understood by Cardinal Amulius when he perswaded the Pope to confirm the Decrees absolutely For that his Holiness might provide for his Ministers by Dispensation without violating the Decrees of the Council because in them the Apostolical Authority is reserved (g) Soav p. 815 816. But 't is needless to produce Witnesses for the proof of this since as Father Paul says Every Fool knew what this Exception meant (h) P. 260. And was not this to pull down all they had before built up as Richerins says (i) Septima Sessione ubi de Reformatione agitur hoc egreginem assumentum omnibus aliis capitibus quae de disciplina aut Ecclesia emendanda Sciscuntur pro exordio praemittitur quo quidem Caetera omnia diruuntur antiquantur l. 4. par 2. p. 182. or as Du Ranchin expresses it To put a Gull upon all Christendom (k) Review of the Council of Trent l. 2. c. 4. n. 26. I know Pallavicino tells us which R. H. lays much weight upon That altho they may lawfully dispense with these Laws yet the Popes for their Conscience and Honour sake require for the most part such weighty Causes and so rarely happening for doing this that their Concessions in matters prohibited by the Council do not amount to the 20th part of those formerly made (l) Apparat ad Hist c. 10. Methinks the Jesuit speaks faintly He says not that the Popes always but for the most part require such weighty Causes which is a plain Concession that they sometimes not only dispense with these Laws but without any such weighty Causes And if he confess that sometimes we may then take it for granted that they often do so But whether the Popes since the Council of Trent have been so tender of their Consciences and Honour in dispensing with the Laws made by it let some Instances determine By one Decree Expectative Graces and secret Reservations (m) Sess 24. c. 19. by another Accesses or Regresses to Ecclesiastical Benefices are forbidden (n) Sess 25. c. 7. How well those were observed by the Pope let Espensaeus inform us who five years after the Council was ended makes doleful complaints of these and many other Abuses of like nature then practiced by the Court of Rome (o) Comment in cap. 1. Epist ad Tit. p. 483. Edit Paris 1619. The Council decreed That no Ecclesiastical Person tho a Cardinal should hold two Bishopricks or other Ecclesiastical Benefices (p) Sess 24. c. 17. And yet many years after this Law came to be in force one French Cardinal had at the same time three of the wealthiest Arch-bishopricks and six of the richest Abbies another was possessed at once of twelve Abbies and one of the fattest Bishopricks (q) Richer l. 4. par 2. p. 192. And we cannot reasonably suppose but that his Holiness made as liberal Provision for the Cardinals of other Nations as for those of France There had need be a weighty Cause indeed to warrant such enormous and scandalous Dispensations as these But could there be any cause why the Rich and the great Ones should as Richerius says without any difficulty obtain from the Court of Rome Dispensations for many Benefices (r) Hercle ad corruptelarum cumulum apprime facit quod Divites Magnates nullo negotio a Curia Romana dispensationes obtinent ad plura Beneficia p. 193. Yes a very weighty one because the Rich and the Great were best able to pay for them But why should the Cardinals notwithstanding this express Law to the contrary hold all sorts of Benefices how incompatible soever without a Dispensation by Virtue of a Priviledg which they call Os apertum (Å¿) Et inter alios Cardinales propter Privilegium quod os apertum nominant nulla omnino indigent Dispensatione ad omnia omnis generis Beneficia quantumvis incompatibilia possidenda ibid. How wide is a Cardinals mouth when open'd Why to maintain the Pomp and Grandeur of the Roman Court And is not that a weighty Cause too and such as rarely happens Two other of the most important Decrees are those by which Provision is made of fit Persons for Bishopricks and other Ecclesiastical Benefices (t) Sess 24. c. 1. c. 18. And were not these well observed when six Abbies and one Archbishoprick were reserved for a Child of three years old (u) Richer l. 4. par 2. p. 192. And was not Vrban VIII very scrupulous in dispensing with them when he gave nothing to those who had best served the Church but what his Nephews had before refus'd as unworthy of their acceptance And Innocent X. did as well observe them when he committed the Government of the Universal Church to an imperious and insatiable covetous Woman and bestowed all Livings as She was pleas'd to direct and command (w) Rycaut in the Life of Innocent X. And Clement X. was no less careful to put them in Execution when all Persons of Virtue and Merit were rejected and none but a sort of progging Merchants advanced to Benefices (x) Id. in his Life There is another Decree by which all Titles and Rights to Benefices that were obtain'd by Simony
than it found them upon a twofold Account 1. By confirming those Errors and Corruptions that were before 2. By adding others to them 1. By confirming the Errors and Corruptions before introduced That the Fathers made no Reformation of these I have already shew'd I now add That they undertook the Defence of them made Decrees to confirm them and cursed all those who should dare to oppose them The Popes Supremacy Transubstantiation Adoration of the Host Communicating in one Kind Invocation of Saints Veneration of Images and of Reliques Purgatory Indulgences were all establish'd and as much as in them lay render'd immovable against all Assaults I need not prove this because it is not only confessed by all but is by some insisted upon as a mighty Argument against the Protestants That the Fathers were unanimous in condemning their Tenents that is in condemning all those Doctrines that were opposite to the Romish Errors and in asserting the contrary (b) R. H. Considerat c. S. 152. 2. Nor did they only support the old but introduced many new Errors in the Faith Those who were read in Ecclesiastical Story said That in all the Councils held in the Church from the Apostles time until then there were never so many Articles decided as in the sixth Session only in which saith the Historian Aristotle had a great part by having exactly distinguished all the kinds of Causes (c) Soav l. 2. p. 228. Thanks to Father Aristotle One would think his Logick and Metaphysicks added to the Holy Scriptures might make them a compleat Rule without the Addition of unwritten Traditions 'T is true that some of those Points were not then first broach'd but had for some time before been commonly taught and received in the Church of Rome but none of them were Articles of their Faith or any more than disputable Points among themselves before they were defined by the Council And therefore in further Prosecution of this I shall do these two things 1. I shall mention several of their new Definitions some of which are at the best but matters of Opinion others of them palpably False 2. I shall shew That these new Articles some at the best doubtful others manifestly false are by the Council made necessary to be believed in order to Salvation 1. For their new Definitions besides many others which I shall omit take these following which I shall for the greater part but barely mention 1. That unwritten Traditions are of the same Divine Authority with the Holy Scriptures (d) Sess 4 2. That the Books of Tobit Ecclesiasticus Wisdom Judith and the two Books of Maccabees are Canonical Scripture (e) Ibid. The contrary to which was Catholick Doctrine at Rome it self but a few years before this Council (f) Et quoniam Hieronymum sortiti sumus Regulam ne erremus in Discretione Librorum Canonicorum nam quos ille Canonicos Tradidit Canonicos habemus quos ille a Canone discrevit extra Canonem habemus Cajetan Comment in 1. cap ad Heb. vers 1. and approv'd by Pope Clement VII (g) Divo Hieronymo Pater Beatissime Universa Ecclesia Latina plurimum debet non solum ob Annotatas ab eo in Libris Veteris ac Novi Test particulas tum adjectitias tum ambiguas sed etiam propter discretos ab eodem libros Canonicos a non Canonicis Liberavit siquidem nos ab Hebraeorum opprobrio quod fingamus nobis antiqui Canoni◠Libros aut Librorum partes quibus ipsi penitus carent Cajetan Epist Dedicat. ad Pap. Clement VII ante Comment in Libros Hist V. T. See Bishop Cosins Scholast Hist of the Canon of the Scripture I know R. H. (h) C. 11. §. 198. and many more Romish Writers tell us That this was defined in the Council of Florence If it was this will add but very little either to its Antiquity or to its Authority but that it was there can be no proof produced but a spurious Article in Caranza's paultry Epitome the least Intimation of which is not to be met with in any of the larger Editions of the Councils 3. That by the Grace conferr'd in Baptism all that which hath the true and proper nature of Sin is removed (i) Sess 5. c. 5. 4. That Concupiscence in the Regenerate is not truly and properly Sin (k) Ibid. 5. That the Works of justified Persons are truly Meritorious of Eternal Life and increase of Glory (l) Sess 6. Can. 32. 6. That the Catholick Church from the beginning hath always observ'd the manner of confessing to a Priest alone in secret (m) Sess 14. Can. 6. 7. That Confession to a Priest is necessary to Salvation by the Law of God n Ibid. 8. That to obtain Remission of Sins it is necessary by the Law of God to confess all and every mortal Sin which a man can call to remembrance to a Priest o Sess 14. Can. 7. 9. That it is necessary by the Divine Law to confess the Circumstances of every mortal Sin which change the nature of the Sin p Ibid. And is there one in an hundred that knows which are the Circumstances that change the kind 10. That a man conscious of mortal Sin how contrite soever he thinks himself is not duly prepared for the Eucharist without preceding Confession to a Priest q Sess 13. Can. 11. 11. That the Mass is a true and proper Sacrifice r Sess 22. Can. 1. 12. That Christ by these words Do this in remembrance of me did institute his Apostles Priests and ordained that they should offer his Body and Blood ſ Can. 2. 13. That the Sacrifice of the Mass is Propitiatory and ought to be offered for the Living and Dead for Sins Punishments Satisfactions and other Necessities t Sess 22 Can. 3. 14. That the Mystical Benedictions Lights Incense Garments and many other things of like nature used in the Mass are by Apostolical Tradition u Cap. 5. This is so palpably false that it hath not the least Colour of Truth And this the Trent Fathers knew well enough For Antonius de Valletelina a Dominican told them That it was plain by all History that anciently every Church had her particular Ritual of the Mass brought in by use and upon occasion That the Roman Rite hath been to gratifie the Pope received in many Provinces tho the Rites of many Churches are still most different from it That the Roman also hath had great Alterations as will appear to him that readeth the Ancient Book called Ordo Romanus which have been made not only in Ancient times but even in the latter Ages also and the true Roman Rite observed within 300 years is not that which is now observed by the Priests in the City but that which is retain'd by the Order of St. Dominick For the Vestments Vessels and other Ornaments of the Ministers and Altars it appeareth not by Books only but by