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 COUNTER-REFORMATION

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COUNTER-REFORMATION

mission was due to the magnanimous soul of Cardinal Allen, whose noble sentiment oportet mcliora non ex- pectare sed facere (Letters, p. 367) conceived as it was in the face of overwhelming persecution, gives us the measure of his lofty spirit. "This Church here", wrote Campion, "shall never fail, so long as priests and pastors shall be found for the sheep, rage man or devil never so much." So it fell out. Allen's seminary, first at Douai, then at Reims, sent forth, year after year, its small quota of missionaries, and the Jesuits, with the lesser seminaries, added a few more. It was an heroic struggle, for no persecution can be heavier than that of the law remorselessly ap- plied in a law-loving country. But the courage of the whole Catholic body (numerically small) rose to the occasion, and if there were many failures, as also some serious quarrels and scandals, there was an astonish- ingly high average of courage and perseverance. In time their worst persecutors died off, and calmer days ensued, but at the close of the period the Puri- tans were renewing Elizabeth's cruelties, and priests' blood was flowing almost as fast as ever. This same religious enthusiasm manifested itself during the last decade or so of the period, in the foundation of new convents, orders, etc., on the Continent. .The move- ment roughly corresponded with the similar move- ment in France. The name of Mary Ward (q. v.) is one of the most noteworthy in England. The mission of the English Jesuits to Maryland (q. v.) in spite of home trials is another manifestation of the same spirit.

Ireland. — During Elizabeth's reign the Irish were almost alw.ays engaged in a struggle for life against the ever increasing forces of the English "planters". Sometimes they had their hour of victory, but there never had been time for reform. The process of the Irish martyrs claims about a hundred sufferers in this reign, headed by Dermod O'Hurley, Archbishop of Cashel. There were also many missionaries of note, the earliest of whom was David Wolfe, S. J., sent by Pope Pius V ; there were also several heroic bi.shops like Richard Creagh of Armagh, and many notable Fran- ciscans and Jesuits.

But it was not until the comparative peace under King James that it was possible to fill up the gaps in the episcopate, to found colleges on the Continent, at Paris, Salamanca, Lisbon, Douai, etc. (only one or two had commenced earlier), to organize anew the re- ligious orders (especially the Franciscans). The old life revived in many secluded sanctuaries at home; synods were actually held at Kilkenny, Dublin, and Armagh, and elsewhere literary life was reawakening. (See Four Masters; Wadding, Luke.) There were many notable bishops like Peter Lombard, David Rothe, etc. Though the persecution never wholly ceased (Bishop Cornelius O'Devany, 1612, and some sixty others were martyred during this period), the Counter-Reformation made great progress, and there were moments when it seemed about to triumph, as, for example, in 1625 and 1641-49. But at the clo.se of the period Cromwell was to blot out with cruelties worse than those of the Tudors all the good that had been accomplished.

Scotland and Scandinavia. — The Counter-Reforma- tion can hardly be said to have affected Scotland and Scandinavia, so complete had been the victory of Protestantism. Yet while Queen Marj' reigned in Scotland there had been renewed signs of life. Fathers de Gouda, Edmund Hay, James Gordon, S. J., Bishop Leslie, and Ninian Winzet are the more notable names of this period. Mention must also be made of John Ogilvie, S. J., martyred in 1615. and the heroic resis- tance made by many Catholic nobles to the t vranny of the Kirk. There was no local ecclesiastical supi'rior or government, the mission depending directly on tlic Holy See till 165:!; but there were some small Scottish colleges for the .secular clcrgj' at Rome, Douai, Paris, and Madrid. In Scandinavia the fall of Catholicism

did not come about in a day or a generation — Father Possevin, S. J., as also several papal nuncios strove hard to avert it — but the Counter- Reformation as a movement did not reach any of its peoples.

The A^etherlands. — In the Netherlands every effort was made to exterminate Catholicism in the United Provinces, which had revolted from Spain, contrary to the repeated promises of the Prince of Orange. Still considerable numbers retained their faith — their spiritual needs being cared for by missionaries — - though it was impossible to keep up the ancient hier- archy. In Catholic Flanders the re\'ival ran a more or less imiformly prosperous course. Amongst the great prelates and writers of this period were Lin- danus. Bishop of Roermond, Justus Lipsius, Leonard Lessius, Cornelius a Lapide, Martin Becan, Thomas Stapleton (an Englishman), etc. But the contro- versies occasioned by Baius form a less pleasant epi- sode, and the wars at the end of this period were most injurious. Campaigns and battles ruined the coimtry, and the final terms of peace notably reduced its power.

Poland. — In this country there was a long struggle between Catholicism, which was held by the Crown and the people, and Protestantism, which filtered in from the neighbouring Protestant countries and uni- versities, and was affected by many of the faction- loving nobles and the merchants. Catholicism at last gained the decided upper hand, through the efforts of Stanislas Hosius and other bishops, preachers like Scarga, and the Jesuit colleges. King Sigismund II and Wladislaus IV, co-operating with a series of very active and able papal nuncios, ensured the Church's victory; the Protestants, however, still retained much power.

VIII. Ecclesiastical Liter.ature. — The high spirit of this period manifested itself in literature in many characteristic forms. The age was one of the greatest for theology the world has ever known It suffices to recall the names of Bellarmine, Baronius, Suarez, Vasquez, Petavius, and many others who have been alluded to already. More characteristic still were the writers on personal or interior reform, foremost among them St. Ignatius, whose "Spiritual Exercises", for their profound spiritual and practical wisdom, must be placed in a class apart. Similarly distinguished writers were St. Francis of Sales (de- clared, in 1877, a Doctor of the Church), St. Teresa, Scupoli, Blosius, Louis of Granada, M. Olier, Alfonso Rodriguez. The teachings of the Church were set forth in the admirable catechisms of Canisius (1555- 60) and of the Council of Trent (1566). To the same period belong the revised editions of the Vulgate (1590-9S), the Roman Breviary (1568), the Roman Missal (1570), the Roman Martyrology (1582), the Corpus Juris Canonici (1582), the Decretum of Gra- tian (1582). Father Campion's "Decem Rationes" (1581) and Father Person's "Christian Directorv", exercised an extensive influence, doctrinal and relig- ious, on contemporary opinion, which was also deeply affected by the religious poems of Tasso and Calderon, of Southwell and Crashaw. The music of the age also partook in the revival, as is testified by the great name of Pale.strina and the pleasant memories of the exer- cises of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri.

IX. Clcse of the Period and Retrospect. — It has been said before that a iieriod of fervour and zeal comes to an end when that zeal dies down to mediocrity in many countries, or among the large majority of people. This had taken place by the year 1648. In Gormanv the period is generally said to close in 118, but elsewhcr(\ i. e. in France and in Ireland, the tide of fervour was still flowing in many ]ilacos, while in Rome and Italy it was still fairly strong. Hut tliis does not prevent our re- garding tlie broad movement sis having spent itself. Though the level of education had risen, the diminu- tion in the number of men of genius was marked.