the Pope what would have become of the Posterity of Henry the Fourth For Sixtus Quintus whose first Employ was to be a Keeper of Swine having gotten to be Pope grew so insolent as to Excommunicate King Henry the Fourth and to declare him uncapable to succeed to the Crown but the Parliament nulled his Holiness his Bull which broke the design for that time Mezeray mentions the Bull which deserves reading There are these words That the Authority given to Saint Peter and to his Suceâ—ssors by the infinite power of the Eternal God is greatly above all powers of Earthly Kings that it belongs to them to make Laws be observed and to chastise those who oppose them to overturn their Seats and to tumble them down to the ground as the Ministers of Satan He adds afterwards That by the Indispenceable Duty of his Office he is constrained to draw the Sword of Vengeance against Henry the late King of Navarre and against Henry Prince of Conde the spurious and detestable off-spring of the Illustrious House of Bourbon Wherefore being in this lâ—fty See and in the full power which the King of Kings and the Lord of Monarchs hath given him he doth declare them Hereticks c. Thus also did Pope Julius the Second Out the Grandfather of King Henry the Fourth of his Kingdom of Navarre and made it fall to the Spaniards O miserable and detestable Creatures thus to abuse the simplicity and credulity of men as to dare by a Diabolical pride to attribute to themselves an Authority which belongs only to God and which Jesus Christ himself never exercised whilest he was upon Earth It is said in the Gospel that Michael the Archangel disputing with the Devil would not bring any railing accusâ—tion against him but was content to say to him only The Lord rebuke thee because he looked upon God as him to whom judgment and vengeance belonged And yet we see that the Sons of Adam are bold and desperate enough not only to condemn but to destroy Dignities which they ought to Reverence and to ruin them together with whole States as their fancy leads them and that men give themselves over to these Impieties which is unconceivable There must be in it an Enchantment not to be comprehended By this you may see what judgment we ought to make of the Harangue which Cardinal Perron made in behalf of the French Clergy in the Assembly of the States at Paris Anno 1616 he maintained that the Pope could Excommunicate and Dâ—pose Kings and make them be Assassinated and that not to believe it was as much as to say that the Popes who had long enjoyed these Rights were Antichrist And that for his part and for his Brethren they would voluntarily suffer Martyrdom in defence of this Holy Doctrine He desired to have his name inserted in the Martyrology of Garnet and of Raâ—illiac and to go to the same Paradise Ite truces animae letho Tartara vestro polâ—uite totas erelâ—i consumite poenas This stroke of Cardinal Perron confirms absolutely what Sancy says of him that he did not believe in God and that judgment ought we to make of him it By all these Examples then we see that Princes especially Kings of France ought never to trust any Pope whatsoever and that the Popes can never be the Mediators of those Differences which are between them and other Princes The Advocates for the Papacy do alledg also that 't is a great advantage that the Popes draw Revenues out of Catholick Countries because they make a good use of them and with this Mony they assist the Catholick Princes against the Turk and employ it to many other good uses For Example They say that the present Pope hath this Year given a great deal of Corn to the poor People at Rome and Portions to marry off several poor young Maids But what doth this signify to prove that the Popes are universal Vicars of Jesus Christ upon Earth and Heads of the Catholick Church I do not say that to be Pope a Man must lay aside all Humanity and become a Devil that Opinion suits only with those who believe the Pope to be Antichrist Cicero tells us that even those who live only by their Crimes cannot live without some exercise of Justice It is a wonderful thing that the greatest part of the World with the great Veneration which they have for the very Name of Popes should be so ridiculously favourable to them as to admire them for very common Actions when they ought always to surpass the most perfect Christians in Charity in greatness of Mind and in contempt of the great things of this World if it be true that they are the Vicars of Jesus Christ and Successors of St. Peter but to see how these People are extolled for the little Good they sometimes do you would think they had a Dispensation from doing any good Actions It is like those who commend the great Vertue of a Woman that does not prostitute her self to all the World you would say that she might be dishonest for all that and that for this there is no such great Commendation due to her just so do People magnify the Pope because they say he will give five hundred thousand Livers a Year to defend Poland against the Turks But first of all there is his own Interest in the case for the Popes look upon themselves as chief Kings of Poland as well as of other Catholick Kingdoms and they think they lose so much Land and so many Subjects as the Turks gain from the Catholicks but what is such a Sum as this to a Priest whose Revenue amounts to twenty Millions how doth he employ the rest of the Churches Blood I dare be bold to say he doth every Year plunder Poland of more than this Sum. But now in a time that People begin a little to know the Papacy we must not wonder they endeavour by some good AAions to keep it from Contempt As for the Corn which they give at Rome to the Poor what a great matter that is It is but just that since the Papacy hath made them idle and lazy it should maintain them Was there ever yet a Tyrant who did not do some good I do not inveigh against the Person of the present Pope who of all the Popes that have been in Possession of this See since Boniface the Third is certainly one of the least wicked It is the Papacy only which I oppose that extravagant Authority which they make Men to adore that never yet did any thing but Mischief and I make a distinction quite contrary to that which ignorant People make of it who say that the Popes as Men may be wicked but not as Popes for I maintain that as Popes since Boniface the Third they have never done any thing but ill but as Men they may sometimes do Actions that are morally good If the Popes did their Duty as true
of France hath maintained it self against all their endeavours without being divided and hath still kept some small Remains of Liberty which they daily attempt to rob us of The second device was to engage Princes and great men and those who were very rich in the Croisadoes and Expeditions of the Holy Land and to make them take the Cross which besides the vast Treasures which the Popes got by it augmented greatly their Authority for from hence they invented Indulgences from whence the Court of Rome hath drawn unspeakable Advantages as well in Riches as in Authority The third was by introducing neatly under the pretence of ignorance and the weakness of Princes the use of Cardinals of divers Nations in the Election of the Pope for by this these Nations are for the Spiritual â—art become subject to the See of Rome the Clergy and people of Râ—me as well as the Emperors have lost the Right of Electing the Bishop All these States have thought that the Bishop of Rome was greater than another Bishop and that they had great Interest in his Election and the Popes have gotten many Creatures in all these States It is true that at this time they are almost all Italians because they have of late so well bridled all these Countries by the Infinite number of their Monks and by many other Inventions that they now fear not their casting off the yoke After that Henry the Fourth had been Deposed and the Right of Investing Bishops taken from him the Successors of this Gregory pretended that the Ecclesiasticks were exempt from all Jurisdiction and power of â—ecular Princes even in Civil Affairs And besides that that the Bishop of Rome could Dâ—pose Kings if they did not submit to all his Orders and to fortifie this came forth the Decretals of many Popes of which these people at last made so good use to compose their Bull de Caena Domini and the Directory of the Inquisitors But say they all this does not hinder the Bishop of Rome from being Head of the Church for we see that the Laws and Rules and Roman Discipline have been followed by the other Churches It is true that in the West as there was no other Patriarchal See and as in most places thee Christian Faith had been received by means of the Roman Churâ—h the woâ—ld had a great respect for it and beâ—ides it was by reason of the Dignity of this City As in France we always consult the Sorbonne at Paris concerning matters of Religion not that for this reason the other Universities or Churches depend upon it But it is false that all Christians or the greatest part of them have received the Rules and Discipline of Rome The Greek Churches never owned them nor any of those who are in Asia or in Africa as the Armenian the Ethiopian and others And what we have already alledged from many of the Fathers and Councils from the Gallican Church from the Churches of Ravenna Milan and Toledo who with so much difficulty received the Roman Office even in the Eleventh Century shews sufficiently that they had no dependance on the Bishop of Rome I could bring a thousand other proofs did I not fear being too tedious to the Reader Aventin relates that Gregory the Second sent one Winefred towards the Countries lying upon the Rhine to reform the Churches there and to set them on the Roman bottom but that they vigorously opposed him and many Bishops called him the Author of Lyes and corrupter of the Christian Faith. In the first Tome of the Councils we have a Letter of Damasus Bishop of Rome to Hierome a Priest where we find these words which do sufficiently confute the pretences of our people I intreat Brother thy charity to send us the Greek Psalter with the Notes by which they sing them These are the words Peto charitatem tuam ut Graecorum Psallentiam ad nos dirigere tua Fraternitas delectetur For adds he we are so simple that upon Festival days we do nothing but read a Chapter in the Epistles or in the Gospel and we have no custom of singing Psalms nor is the Grace and Glory of Hymns to be found in our mouths Observe these words Charitas tua and Fraternitas tua from a Bishop of Rome to a Priest and how far they were from endeavouring to make other Churches subject to their Laws since that on the contrary they did correct their own faults by the good example of others We find also at the end of St. Gregory's Works that about the year 593 he sent a Monk called Austin into England who passing through France was surprized to see there another manner of Divine Service than he had seen in Italy with Ceremonies quite different that when he wrote to Gregory he asked him how it came to pass that since there was but one Faith the customs of Churches were so different and that the custom and manner of Masses was not the same at Rome as in France To which St. Gregory answered You know Brother what is the custom of the Roman Church wherein you have been educated But my opinion is that if you find any thing be it in the Roman Church or the Gallican or in any other which may be more agreeable to God you should prâ—fâ—r it for we ought not to love the things for the places but the places for the good things we find in them There are some people also who would make an advantage of this that the Church of Rome is by the Fathers called the Apostolick See. In truth as the Pharisees sat in the seat of Moses as our Saviour says so do the Bishops of Rome also â—it upon the Seat of the Apostles But it is certain that the other Bishops who teach the Doctrine of the Apostles and imitate their example are more Apostolick than they You must know that all the Churches founded by the Apostles were honoured with this Title and particularly famous and Metropolitan Cities which were looked upon as the Mothers of other Churches tho sometimes they had embraced Christianity after others that were less considerable because there Resided the Civil which drew after it the Ecclâ—siastical Jurisdiction And because there were many in the East where Christians were far more numerous than on this side none of those Churches ever raised it self above the others but in the West there being but one which was the Roman and no other having been since erected tho the Germans Spaniards French and othâ—r Nations have embraced the Christian Religion since those times yet Rome alone hath had this Glorious Title and the others have had great respect for it without any manner of dâ—pendance on it however at the beginning as hath already been shewed But that hindereth not but that other Orthodox Churchâ—s may also have it consult Tertullian he says that all Churches that follow the Faith of the Apostles are Apostolick And Pope Pelagius confirms the same
in Epictetus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that where Profit is there is Piety Omnia retinendae Dominationis causâ honesta They do not only give Dispensations to Princes which are many times very unjust but they also give them to every Body for Mony which makes Hereticks abhor the Catholick Religion who in this have much more respect for the Law of God never practising any thing like this and if there be amongst them a Licentious Person who hath some great Affair to compass he must become a Catholick then making his Addresses with a good grace to the Pope his business is done this is not Simony because that which he obtains is in premio del denaro donato a Dio a Reward for the Money which he hath given to God as Cardinal Palavicini says He also makes them give Mony as a Punishment for their Sins as the same Jesuit says in another place How could Men arrive to such Excesses of Impiety as to suffer such things as these A Pagan heretofore said that Maxima fortuna minima licentia est that they ought to give themselves the least liberty who are Masters of the greatest Fortunes Our Popes on the contrary believe that they may do any thing because that every thing is subject to them which boldness the long continuance of their Empire hath caused Vetustate Imperii coalita audacia and as they found that the People easily swallowed down their Impostures they by degrees invented more enormous ones When People have once passed some certain Bounds they have afterwards no shame left them neque metus ultra neque pudor est But it is a strange thing that no body opposes such horrible things that they are suffered to be done in the Church and in the Name of God too which the whole World ought to acknowledg to be Holiness it self Every body hath seen it doth yet see it says nothing of it but by silence approves nay applaudes it I believe for my part that People please themselves with fancying that God is like the Popes and that they may come off easily with him in their Affairs That which is as bad too as all the rest is that proportionably other Ecclesiasticks at least many of them do attribute to themselves some part of this Authority of the Popes of dispencing against the Law of God and that after the Popes Example who have infected all the others Sicut Grex totus in agris unius scabie cadit This it is which hath produced those fine Morals which reign so much in the World and have done so much Mischief They will rather dispence with some great Crime against the Law of God and Nature than with an indifferent thing against which either they or their Predecessors have made some rash Decree for by either of them they raise their Almighty Power above Heaven it self In the first they raise themselves above God by dispencing with the Obedience to his Law and by the other they make that a Sin which is not so in its own nature which belongs only to God and so they put themselves in his place What Reason is there for Example in what Pope Innocent the Third established that a Priest may be dispenced with for keeping many Concubines but not for being twice married upon which the Glossary makes this just Observation Notandum mirabile quod plus valet hic luxuria quam Castitas What reason is there that at Rome the best Benefices are disposed of in favour of wicked Wretches Atheists Poisoners and Sodomites Fellows that are known to be such and not to one only but a great number of them and that in France such Benefices as those cannot be possessed by a Prince and natural Son of a great King I am not ignorant that there are some Canons which are against it but why shall People observe so scrupulously a Canon of a Council upon a thing almost indifferent whilst that the Popes do every day violate many Canons of the most Sacred Councils in things that are Essential and even in this very Point for there is no body who knows Italy or Spain but must acknowledg that there are a great many who not only possess Benefices but Priests and Bishops who are Bastards born even of double Adultery begotten by Priests upon married Women I do affirm that I have my self known more than four of them and even in France our own Country which is a very religious place in comparison of Italy or Spain who is there but knows that there are People of this sort in Possession of Benefices The Roman Divines maintain that a Priest is not irregular for Adultery and Sodomy yet it would be irregular to let a Prince enjoy Benefices because his Father did not beget him by his lawful Wife See in Navarre the great Canonist he shall tell you that Sodomy causeth no irregularity in a Priest but that Marriage does because Pope Innocent the Third hath so established After he hath spoken of those cases which causes Irregularity he asks the Question whether Sodomy be one or no. Dubitarûnt an voluerimus etiam nefandum Sodomiae crimen comprehendere sequitur respondendum esse non comprehendi primo quia irregularitas nisi ob casus jure expressos non incurritur secundo quia verba illa sunt Innocentii Facit etiam quòd nos intelleximus quod in Italiâ ubi ut fertur plus hoc malo laboratur quam oporteret nullae de eo Dispensationes quaeruntur He concludes that Sodomy makes not a Priest irregular And the Cardinal Tolet does maintain it to be the common Doctrine of the Divines at Rome that all Orders even Priesthood it self may be conferred upon Children and those who have not yet the use of Reason Omnes Ordines says he etiam Presbyteratum conferri posse Infantibus nondum usum Rationis habentibus est communis Doctrina Theologorum We see clearly by this that when in France these People refuse to grant Benefices without Cure of Souls upon the account of pretended Irregularities that it is more out of Pride than Religion and that they take pleasure as I have already said to make People feel their Yoke this they call super Aspidem Basiliscum ambulare to tread upon Serpents and Dragons Those who maintain the Popes Authority do moreover affirm that we are obliged to the Popes for the Holy Tribunal of the Inquisition without which the true Religion would have supplanted by Heresy in Italy Spain and Portugal Cardinal Palavicini does assure us so Il Tribunal dell ' Inquisitione dal quale l' Italia riconosce la conservata integrita della sua fide It is to the Holy Tribunal of the Inquisition that Italy owes the preservation of the Integrity of the Faith. Wherein truly they do a great deal of Honour to God and to the Christian Religion to imagine that