History of the Catholic Church, vol 1 by J. MacCaffrey (color ebook reader .TXT) 📖

(1700-21). His election was acclaimed in Rome, in Italy, and throughout the Catholic world. He was a man of great sanctity of life, devoted to prayer and labour, who set an example to others by preaching and hearing confessions regularly in St. Peter’s. While he was Pope there was no danger of nepotism at the papal court, and no prospect for unworthy or greedy officials in the Papal States. During his entire reign he was involved in disputes with the Catholic powers.

The death of Charles II. of Spain led to a conflict between Louis XIV., who claimed the crown for his grandson Philip of Anjou (Philip V.), and the Emperor Leopold I., who supported the cause of his son, the Archduke, Charles III. Clement XI. endeavoured at first to maintain an attitude of neutrality, but as Philip had been crowned and had established himself apparently on the throne of Spain the Pope was obliged to acknowledge him. This action gave great offence to Leopold I. and to his successor, Joseph I., who retaliated by interfering in ecclesiastical affairs and by despatching an army against the Papal States. Clement XI., abandoned by Louis XIV. and by Philip V. was obliged to come to terms with the Emperor, and to acknowledge Charles III. as king of Spain. Immediately Louis XIV. and Philip V. were up in arms against the Pope. The nuncio was dismissed from Madrid and relations between Spain and Rome were interrupted for a long period; the papal representatives were excluded from the negotiations preceding the Peace of Utrecht (1713); and feudal territories of the Holy See were disposed of without consulting the wishes of the Pope, Sicily being handed over to Victor Amadeus of Savoy (1675-1713) with whom Clement XI. was then in serious conflict.

To put an end to difficulties with the foreign bishops, who exercised jurisdiction in portion of his territory, the Duke of Savoy had demanded full rights of nomination to episcopal Sees. When this demand was refused he recalled his ambassador from Rome (1701), and took upon himself the regulation of ecclesiastical affairs. He appointed an administrator to take charge of the revenues of vacant Sees, enforced the Royal Placet on episcopal and papal documents, and forbade the publication of Roman censures (1710). A partial agreement was arrived at when the royal administrator consented to accept his appointment from the Pope, but the transference of Sicily to the Duke of Savoy led to a new and more serious quarrel. The latter attempted to revive the privileges known as the Sicilian Monarchy, accorded formerly to the ruler of Sicily. The Pope refused to recognise these claims, and as the king remained stubborn nothing was left but to place the island under interdict. To this the king replied by expelling those priests who observed the interdict. This state of affairs lasted until Sicily passed into the hands of the King of Spain (1718).

The Turks were active once more and threatened Europe by land and sea.

Clement XI. sent generous supplies to Venice to equip its fleet, encouraged Stanislaus Augustus of Poland who had joined the Catholic Church, granted tithes upon ecclesiastical property to help him in the struggle, and allowed Philip V. of Spain portion of the revenues derived from the benefices in Spain and in the Spanish-American colonies, on condition that the Spanish fleet should be sent into the Mediterranean to take part in the war against Turkey. The victories of Prince Eugene (1716-18) dealt a severe blow to the power of the Sultan, but the Spanish fleet instead of assisting the Christian forces was used for the capture of Sardinia from the Emperor. As evidence of the difficult position of Clement XI. in face of the powers of Europe it is sufficient to point to the fact that at one time or another during his reign, his nuncios were driven from Vienna, Turin, Madrid, and Naples.

The conclave that followed was, as might be expected, a stormy one; but in the end Cardinal Conti, who had been nuncio in Lucerne and Lisbon, was elected and took as his title Innocent XIII. (1721-24). He granted the kingdom of Naples to the Emperor, who in turn without consulting the Pope bestowed the papal fiefs of Parma and Piacenza on Prince Charles of France. Peace was restored between the Holy See and Spain (1723), and Innocent XIII., yielding very unwillingly to the importunate demands of France, conferred a cardinal’s hat on Dubois, the prime minister.

His successor was Benedict XIII. (1724-30). Cardinal Orsini, as he was known before his election, belonged to the Dominican Order, and at the time of the conclave held the Archbishopric of Benevento. As archbishop he was most zealous in the administration of his diocese, and as Pope he followed the same strict simple life to which he had been accustomed when a Dominican friar. He made peace with the Emperor by granting him practically all the rights contained in the Sicilian Monarchy, reserving to the Holy See only the final decision of important cases (1728), and with the King of Savoy by acknowledging his title over Sardinia and by granting him the right of episcopal nomination in the island. With the demand of King John of Portugal, namely, that Portugal should enjoy the privilege of presenting candidates for appointment to the college of cardinals, Benedict XIII.

refused to comply, and as a consequence the Portuguese ambassador was recalled from Rome and communications with the Holy See were interrupted. The extension of the feast of Gregory VII. (Hildebrand) to the whole Church gave great offence to many rulers both Catholic and Protestant, because such a step was interpreted as a direct challenge to the new theories of secular intervention in ecclesiastical affairs. Benedict XIII. was a saintly ruler, whose only misfortune was that he relied too much on unworthy councillors like Cardinal Coscia and Cardinal Lercari, who deceived him in their negotiations with the governments of Europe and in the administration of the Papal States. A rebellion against these men broke out in Rome when the news of the Pope’s death became public. Cardinal Coscia was deprived of his dignity and imprisoned, while many of his associates and subordinates were punished no less severely.

Cardinal Corsini who succeeded as Clement XII. (1730-1740) was faced with a very difficult situation in Rome and in the Papal States. The treasury was empty, the finances were in disorder, and the discontent was general. The Pope, though very old, delicate, and almost completely blind, showed wonderful energy and administrative ability.

The financial affairs of the government were placed upon a proper footing. Instead of a deficit there was soon a surplus, which was expended in beautifying the city, in opening up the port of Ancona, and in the drainage and reclamation of the marshes. Like his predecessors, Clement XII. had much to suffer from the Catholic rulers of Europe. He was engaged in a quarrel with the King of Savoy because he tried to limit the privileges that had been conceded to this sovereign by his predecessor. Philip V. of Spain demanded that the Pope should confer a cardinal’s hat together with the Archbishoprics of Seville and Toledo on his son, then only nine years of age. The Pope endeavoured to satisfy the king by granting the temporal administration of Toledo until the boy should reach the canonical age for the reception of Orders (1735), but owing to an attack made upon the Spanish ambassador in Rome during a popular commotion the courts of Naples and Madrid dismissed the papal ambassador and broke off relations with the Holy See. Peace, however, was restored with Spain in 1737, and with Naples in the following year. Clement XII. condemned the Freemasons (1738). He canonised Vincent de Paul, John Francis Regis, and Juliana Falconieri.

The conclave that followed lasted six months before any of the candidates could secure the required majority. At last Cardinal Lambertini was elected and proclaimed under the title of Benedict XIV.[5] (1740-58). In many particulars, but more especially as a scholar and a writer, he may be regarded as one of the greatest Popes of modern times. He was born in 1675, was educated at Rome and Bologna, and even as a very young man he was looked upon as a leading authority on canon law and theology. He rose steadily from position to position in Rome till at last he found himself cardinal and Archbishop of Bologna. As archbishop he was most successful in the discharge of all the duties that appertained to his office. He held diocesan synods regularly, visited the most distant parishes of his diocese, superintended the education of his clerical students for whom he drew up a new plan of studies, and above all he strove to maintain most friendly relations with both priests and people. But notwithstanding his cares of office he found time to continue his studies, and to prepare learned volumes on Canon Law, Theology, and History, that placed him amongst the leading scholars of his time.

Nor did he change his policy or his course of life after his election to the papal throne. Benedict XIV. was convinced that a better training would help to strengthen the influence of the clergy, and would enable them to combat more successfully the rising spirit of unbelief. Hence he was anxious to introduce into the colleges more modern educational methods. He founded four academies, one for Christian Archaeology, one for Canon Law, one for Church History, and one for the special study of the history of the Councils. He gave every encouragement to priests who wished to devote themselves to literary pursuits, and in his own person he showed how much could be done in this direction without any neglect of duty. His instructions and encyclicals were learned treatises, in which no aspect of the subject he handled was neglected. His decrees on marriage, especially on mixed marriages (/Magnae Nobis admirationis/, 1748), on Penance, and on the Oriental Rites were of vital importance. Both before and after his elevation to the papacy he published many learned works, the most important of which were the Institutiones Ecclesiasticae, De Synodo Diocesana, De Servorum Dei Beatificatione et de Beatorum canonizatione, Thesaurus Resolutionum Sacrae Congregationis Concilii, and the Casus Conscientiae.

In his administration of the Papal States Benedict XIV. was no less successful. The enormous expenses incurred by his predecessor had depleted the papal treasury, but the schemes of retrenchment enforced by Benedict XIV. produced such good results that in a few years money was available for the development of agriculture, industries, and commerce. With the civil rulers of Europe he had a difficult part to play. Convinced that disputes between the civil and ecclesiastical authority resulted only in promoting the schemes of the enemies of religion, he was determined to go to the very limits of concession for the sake of peace and harmony. For a time at least he was able to secure a partial reconciliation, and had his overtures been met in the proper spirit a working arrangement might have been established, that would have enabled both powers to combine against the forces at work for the overthrow of Church and State.

The title of King of Prussia assumed by the Elector of Brandenburg was recognised by the Pope; peace was made with Portugal by granting to the crown rights of patronage over bishoprics and abbeys (1740), and to set the seal on this reconciliation the title of Rex Fidelissimus

was bestowed on the King of Portugal. With the court of Turin the Pope had still greater difficulties, but an agreement was arrived at, whereby the king was to have the right of nomination to ecclesiastical benefices; the foreign bishops having jurisdiction in the territory of Savoy were to