New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-04-01
THE PAPACY.
A STUDY OF ITS ATTITUDE TOWARD
LUTHER.
A HISTORY OF THE PAPACY DURING THE
PERIOD OF THE REFORMATlON By NJ
Creighton, u. D.. Oxon, and Cam. Lord Bishop OF

-ls27. PIP. XII. 1884, Oongmans. Green & Coz
Dr. Creghtons fifth volume covers the period
In Papal history between the close of the Lateran
Council the fifth of that designation and the
beginning OF the quarrel between Henry VIII and
his wife Catherine which separated the English
Church from Rome The doings Of the Lateran
Council here thing of the past the author
merely remarkng that Leo Y had dismissed 1t
after 'cleverly shelving all unpleasant ques-
TONS" while the English schism. speaking from
the Papal point of view. is still In the future
and only be limited at oracularly In the
midst Of the mseries of Clement VII at Rome.
and Orvieto. Picturng the helplessness or Glenn
ent among the warning forces. with only one
thought in his mind. that OF keeping out OF the
pitiless clutches of the Spaniards, the author
points out that this the time chosen by
the English King 10 breach a troublesome piece
of business The affair looked tempting to the
desparing Pope. He fancied that some advan-
tage might be gained from 1t. But. as the his
torian remarks. he little knew that his attempts
to manage that business for the purpose OF his
political necessities were destined TO bring upon
the Papacy more irretrievable disaster than the
revolt of Germany" 1t would probably never
have occurred, however, had it not been for the
German movement. Thus the volume covers all
but the beginning OF the reign Of Leo X (who
succeeded julius Ii while the Lateran Council was
in progress), the who'll of the period OF Adrian
VI and part of Clements time. AS Leo and Glenn
ent were relatives. and the policy of the one
was confessedy carried forward by the other the
incumbency of Adrian was merely an awk-
ward interval when the practical impotence
Of theoretically absolute ruler. which had
been known to the few, became familiar to all
the world Nothing on earth could have pre-
hotxy he
North Of Europe IN matters of religion. But 1t
was an extraordinary piece Of ill-fortune that
flst when the Papacy needed most the plausible
diplomacy of a trained Italian intellect ii should
have fallen into the hands of a candid Teuton'
incapable Of deceit but equally incapable or bust
ness a man who was simply driven into monk
ish seclusion by the difficulties with which he was
surrounded. We may be sure that If one
of the Medici had Immediately succeeded the
other the woes of the Papacy, though they
might have been as great, would have been bet
ter hidden than they were.
To the mind of Leo as the author shows.
the result of the Lateran Council must have
seemed highly favorable to the See Of Rome.
The tendency of the times was to lessen the au-
thority Of councils, and that was plainly what
an ambitious Pope should desire, since he might
soon hope to WELD the whole power Of the
Church without restraint Apparently no BODY
OF pubkc opinion stood in the way Of extending
the ecclesiastical claims Of the Pope to the ut
termost BY the example OF the Middle Ages
II was to be inferred that this ecclesiastical ex-
tension meant a proportionate enlargement III
the field of politics. This influence was wrong.
Public men, lay and secular and the people at
large no longer looked to councils for Keller.
simply because the problems Of the times were
such as the formal gatherings of eccesastics
could not solve. At the opening OF the
fifteenth century the pressing need Of the
world seemed t. be ecclesiastical reform
But the medieval ideal of political, as
well as religious unity. was as potent as ever
to the fancy. At the beginning of the sixteenth
century men had ceased to look for ecclesiastic
reform. They were absorbed in the work Of per-
fecting separate national systems A remedy
had been discovered for medieval anarchy. ana
now each nation was troubled with affairs OF
its own England was plunged In civil warfare,
which left a legacy of social readjustment'
France and Spain were busted with internal con-
soidation under their Kings In the midst OF
Europe was Germany, politically almost chaos,
with the mere semblance OF order in its Emper-
or and its Electors and its weak federal bond.
From Italy had issued the literary movement,
which was changing the face Of civilization.
This had happened so often before that 1t might
we'll be taken for law Of history. Leo could
not have supposed that a revival of letters
which the Church encouraged. and which he
loved in the light, agreeable half-pagan aspect it
presented at Florence and Rome. was dangerous
to his power He might have anticipated that
IT would produce in other countries. as 1t had
IN italy polished Indifference, which accepted
all elements of culture, the Church well
the rest without very close moral examination.
The effect Of the twelfth century learning had
been quite uniform throughout Europe; and the
same result to be hoped for with humanism.
Thus Leo, looking out over Europe, might have
expected the new learning to allay disagreeable
criticism on the conduct Of the Papal Court; and
amid the growing and Jealous nations the posi-
bilities of the Papacy as a factor in politics
were infinite. 1t forgotten that the Papacy
had outgrown the idea upon which its suprem-
acy was based in worldly affairs. There had been
a time when it was the only orderly system OF
government in Europe. That was no longer the
case. The practical interests of the people now
centred in separate monarchies. and they no
longer felt the hand OF Rome, which even in the
most orthodox of kingdoms, Spain, carefully
intercepted by royalty
In Germany still afflicted by the medieval an
archy the national spirit was impossible. and
men continued TO look to the Papacy for order.
for reform, just they looked to Italy for learn
ing What mockery to the Italians was
profoundly earnest to the Germans. Leo could
not fail to be surprised on observing that north
of the Alps humanism took on hue almost
sanguinary. He could think Of bitter quarrels
over trifes among Italian scholars. but never of
case where a controversy on the merits Of
Hebrew literature had divided the learned world
into parties that only awaited leaders to rend
the Church in twain The author shows in de-
tail how the persistence Of the converted Jew.
John Pfefferkorn. in thrusting his quarrel upon
the aged and learned Reuchlin was the cause Of
feelings that found full vent only in the rebel
lion Of Luther Pfefferkorn, with the misdrected
enthusiasm of a convert, sought authority to