Page:A history of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, volume 3.djvu/85

 JOHN'S VIGOROUS ACTION. 69 The permanent evil which he wrought by his shameless traffic in benefices, and the reputation which he leff behind him, are visi- ble in the bitter complaints which were made at the Council of Siena, a century later, by the deputies 01 the Gallican nation. They refer to his pontificate as that in which the Holy See re- served all benefices to itself, when graces, expectatives, etc., were publicly sold to the highest bidder, without regard to qualifica- tion, so that in France many benefices were utterly ruined by reason of the insupportable burdens laid upon them. It is no wonder, therefore, that when St. Birgitta of Sweden was applied to, in the latter half of the fourteenth century, by some Francis- cans to learn whether John's decretals on the subject of the pov- erty of Christ were correct, and she was vouchsafed two visions of the Virgin to satisfy their scruples, the Virgin reported that his decretals were free from error, but discreetly announced that she was not at liberty to say whether his soul was in heaven or in hell. Such was the man to whom the cruel irony of fate com- mitted the settlement of the delicate scruples which vexed the souls of the Spirituals.* John had been actively engaged in the proceedings of the Council of Vienne, and was thoroughly familiar with all the de- tails of the question. When, therefore, the general, Michele, short- ly after his accession, applied to him to restore unity in the dis- tracted Order, his imperious temper led him to take speedy and vigorous action. King Frederic of Trinacria was ordered to seize the refugees in his dominions, and deliver them to their superiors to be disciplined. Bertrand de la Tour, the Provincial of Aquitaine, was instructed to reduce to obedience the rebels of the convents Saxony recently printed by Schmidt (Pabstliche Urkunden und Regesten, pp. 87-295) will explain the immense sums raised by John XXII. from the sale of canonries. It is within bounds to say that more than half the letters issued dur- ing his pontificate are appointments of this kind. The accounts of the papal collector for Hungary in 1320 show the thorough- ness with which the first-fruits of every petty benefice were looked after, and the enormous proportion consumed in the process. The collector charges himself with 1913 gold florins received, of which only 732 reached the papal treasury. (Theiner, Monumenta Slavor. Meridional. I. 147). T. I. p. 32).— Revelat. S. Brigittas Lib. vn. c. viii.
 * Jo. de Ragusio Init. et Prosecut. Basil. Concil. (Monument. Concil. Ssec. XV.