Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 19.djvu/524

Rh 504 P P E D M each German state was reduced proved favourable to its freer action, and enabled it, in no small measure, to pur sue that independent policy which, in several instances, materially aided the progress of the Reformation. The history of the popedom from this point (c. 1517) to the commencement of the council of Trent (1545) will be found in the article on the REFORMATION. The distinctive features of the doctrinal belief formu- Council lated by the council of Trent were mainly the outcome ofTreut. of Jesuit influences (see JESUITS); and, enforced as these tenets were by the terrorism of the Inquisition, the Increased freedom of thought which during the revival of learning hostility h a( j passed comparatively unchallenged within the pale 16 of the church was now effectually extinguished. But it to free niust at the same time be admitted that, concurrently thought, with this tendency to greater rigidity of doctrine, Roman Catholicism became characterized by far greater earnest ness of religious teaching, displayed a remarkable activity in the cultivation of theological learning, and abolished, or sought to abolish, many glaring abuses. In this amend ment, however, Rome had at first but small share. The Reformation movement within the church took its rise in Spain ; and the purely political feeling which now con stituted so considerable an element in the papal policy led each pontiff to regard with no little jealousy the overween ing aggrandizement of the Spanish monarchy. Political considerations, in fact, sometimes prevailed over theologi cal sympathies. PAUL III. (1534-49), in endeavouring to trim his sails between the contending influences of France and Spain, more than once took side with the powers who were fighting the battle of Protestantism. While thus involved in antagonism to the chief of the Financial Catholic powers, the Roman see found its difficulties not a little enhanced by the alienation of the revenues formerly expedi- derived from those countries which now professed the ents. Protestant faith. Prior to the 16th century the States of the Church had enjoyed an almost unrivalled prosperity. That prosperity was mainly owing to their immunity from direct taxation. Nothing had contributed so much to the unpopularity of Hadrian VI. as his endeavour to levy a small hearth-tax, in order to replenish to some extent the coffers emptied by the prodigality of his predecessor. The loss of the revenues alienated by successive pontiffs was now aggravated by the failure of the supplies derived from the collection of Peter s pence and annates in Protest ant countries. Even the sums levied in those kingdoms which continued to profess Catholicism suffered consider able diminution before they reached the Roman treasury, and the main source of revenue at this period appears to have been that represented by the sale of offices. In the serious financial embarrassment in which the curia now found itself involved, every expedient was had recourse to in order to meet the inevitable expenditure ; and it is to the example of the papal treasury that Von Ranke attri butes the commencement of national debts. In default of the contributions no longer levied in England, in the United Provinces, and in northern Germany, the pope found himself under the necessity of taxing his own territory; and in this manner the Romagna, once so prosperous, was crushed by a weight of taxation which ultimately embraced every article of merchandise. The farmer and the peasant left the land ; and the papal pro vinces, formerly the most fertile and prosperous in Italy, degenerated into a series of ill-cultivated, unwholesome, and unproductive wastes. Relations If left to rely solely on the loyalty of its adherents and &amp;gt; the the prevalent impression of its abstract merits, the position power ?* e PP ecl om at this period, viewed in connexion with its financial difficulties, might well have seemed almost hopeless, had not its interests been so closely interwoven with those of the secular power. The latter indeed was frequently induced to connive at the papal exactions from the mere fact that it shared largely in the proceeds ; and in France the very advantages gained by the crown led it to regard with complacency a system by which the royal influence and the royal revenues were alike so largely augmented. The temporal ruler was thus sometimes found a firm supporter of the popedom, even although involved in hostilities with the reigning pope. During the pontificate of JULIUS III. (1550-55), who dreamed away his closing years in the splendid palace and gardens which he had himself designed near the Porta del Popolo, the curia played a merely passive part in the great European drama ; but with the accession of Cardinal Caraffa, who assumed the title of PAUL IV. (1555-59), Paul! it became animated by another spirit. An energetic supporter of the doctrines already promulgated by the council of Trent, devoted to the cause of the church, but hating the Spaniard with the traditional hatred of a Neapolitan, his support was given entirely to the French interests in European politics. He proclaimed himself at once the liberator of Italy and the reformer of the church. In his plans of reform, although he relied mainly on the Inquisition, he included alike the monastic orders and the secular clergy. His successor, Pius IV. (1559-65), Pius I&quot; although a man of different character, pursued a similar policy. The council of Trent assembled again under his auspices, but its discussions now concerned only points of Roman doctrine and discipline, and the rupture with the Protestant communions was complete. With the acces sion of Pius V. (1566-72), who had filled the office of Pius ^ chief inquisitor in Rome, the conditions of the papal policy had become less embarrassing. Spain now stood at the head of the Catholic powers, and England at the head of the Protestant. In France the issue of the deadly struggle that was being waged between the Huguenots and the League, which seemed likely to decide the religious destinies of Europe, was still doubtful. Philip II. accord ingly appeared as the natural ally of the popedom, and Pius, having once accepted the position, remained true to this alliance throughout. The lavish expenditure of GREGORY XIII. (1572-85) brought back the former con dition of financial embarrassment. He not only made large grants to aid the cause of Catholic education, and especially the newly-founded colleges of the Jesuits, but he systematically subsidized the powers who fought on the side of the church. Although the revenues of the papal states were again on the increase, the rate of exchange during Pope Gregory s pontificate was never once in their favour. At last the pressure became insupportable. The spirit of Guelf and Ghibelline revived. The Romagna rose in insurrection ; and, eventually, the aged pontiff died broken-hearted amid the disorganization and lawless ness which surrounded him on every side. But already the tide of Protestantism was beginning to ebb ; and the famous bull In Coena Domini, which Gregory promulgated in 1584, enjoining the extirpation of the different heresies in Germany, indicated the growing weakness of the Lutheran communities. The five years embraced by the pontificate of SIXTUS Sixtu: V. (1585-90), the last of the really great pontiffs, mark another great crisis in the history of the popedom. At his accession, the papal authority had dwindled to its narrowest limits, being recognized scarcely anywhere save in Spain and Italy, and in a few islands of the Mediterranean. To his tact, ability, and good sense, con joined with the widespread activity of the Jesuits, and aided by the dissensions that prevailed among the Pro testant sects, Catholicism was mainly indebted for the remarkable reaction in its favour which set in with the