favour these innovations within his own dominions is shown by his statement that the Archbishop of Salzburg had recently, in a synod, earnestly called upon him to put a stop to the progress which they were making, but, he added, his long experience in such matters had shown him what was possible and what impossible, and he had accordingly set forth the difficulties of the task in a paper addressed to the archbishop, a copy of which he enclosed to the Pope.1

The nuncio Commendone, in transmitting this document to Rome, accompanied it with a letter from the Cardinal Bishop of Augsburg, recommending the postponement of the question until the reassembling of the Council of Trent, and, as Pius answered it in this sense, no further action was taken, though Ferdinand made haste to repeat his demand, in view of the impatience of both clergy and people, who could ill brook the delays inseparable from the discussion of the subject in so unwieldy a body." When Commendone, moreover, passed through Cleves on his way to the council, then about to be reopened, the Duke of Cleves earnestly besought him to lend his influence to the accomplishment of the measure, urging as a reason that in the whole of his dominions—and he was sovereign of three populous duchies-there could not be found five priests who did not keep concubines. In order to secure his favour for the approaching council, Commendone did not scruple to hold out expectations that the concessions would be granted.3

During the progress of the Reformation, when the fate of the Catholic Church of Germany had sometimes seemed

1 Pallavicini, loc. cit. That the Catholic Church of Germany had become widely infected with this Lutheran heresy is also shown by the fact that in 1548 the Archbishop of Cologne had found it necessary to prohibit throughout his province all marriages of priests, monks, and nuns, and had pronounced illegitimate the offspring of such unions.-Hartzheim VI. 357.

2 Le Plat, Monument. Concil. Trident, IV. 644.

3 Pallavicini, Lib. xv. c. 5.-The duke, though no bigot, was a good Catholic.

to hang in the balance, no princes had earned a larger title to the gratitude of Rome than the powerful Dukes of Bavaria, who were the leaders of the reaction. Yet now the influence of that important region was thrown in favour of the abrogation of celibacy, and Duke Albert was the first who boldly brought the matter before the council by a demand for ecclesiastical marriage, presented on 27 June, 1562. To this the evasive answer was returned that the council would take such action as would be found to redound to the glory of God and to the benefit of the Church. During the same year the Emperor Ferdinand also repeatedly urged its consideration. A plan for the reform of the Church presented by his delegates not only called attention to the necessity of purifying the morals of the regular and secular clergy, but demanded that, to some nations at least, the privilege of sacerdotal marriage should be conceded. Another elaborate paper argued the question with much temperate force, and declared that many priests had already married for the purpose of escaping the corruptions of celibacy, while studiously preserving themselves from the errors of Lutheranism. Out of a hundred parish priests scarcely one could be found who was not either openly or secretly married, and it was necessary to tolerate them to prevent the utter destruction of the Church.3

A third document is extant, without date, which was laid before the cardinals of the papal court by the Emperor, in which the question was argued at considerable length and with much vehemence. After asserting that, from the records of the primitive Church, celibacy was not then recognised as imperative, it proceeded to declare that if

1 Pallavicini, Lib. XVII. c. 4. At the request of Duke Albert, the question was also mooted at the provincial synod of Salzburg, held in 1562 for the purpose of sending delegates to Trent.-Hartzheim VII. 230.

2 Articuli de Reform. Eccles. No. 14, 15, 18.-Goldast. II. 376.

3 Consultat. Imp. Ferdinandi (Le Plat, V. 249, 252).

marriage ever were permissible, the present carnal and licentious age rendered it a necessity, for not one Catholic priest out of fifty could be found who lived chastely. All were asserted to be notoriously dissolute, scandalising the people and inflicting great damage on the Church. The request was made not so much to satisfy the priests who desired marriage as to meet the wishes of the laity, for many patrons of livings refused presentation to all but married men. However preferable a single life might be for the clergy, it therefore was thought better to give it up than to leave open the door to the scandalous impurities traceable to celibacy. Another weighty reason was alleged in the great scarcity of priests, caused alone by the prohibition of marriage, in proof of which it was urged that the Catholic schools of divinity were all but empty and the episcopal function of ordination nearly disused, while the Lutheran colleges were crowded by those who subsequently obtained admission into the true Church, where they worked incredible mischief. The argument that the temporal possessions of the Church would be imperilled by sacerdotal matrimony was met by indignantly denouncing the worldly wisdom which would protect such perishable interests at the cost of innumerable souls sacrificed by the existing condition of affairs. For these and other reasons it asked that marriage should in future be allowed to all the priesthood, whether already in orders or to be subsequently admitted: that married men of good character and education should be ordained to supply the want of pastors: that those who had contracted matrimony, in contravention of the canons, should no longer be ejected, seeing that it was most absurd to turn out men because they were married, while retaining notorious concubinarians, and that if, with equal justice, both classes should be dismissed, the people would be left almost, if not entirely, destitute of spiritual guides. The paper concluded by asserting that if the prayer be

granted the clergy could be retained in the Church and in the faith, to the great benefit of their flocks, and that the scandal of promiscuous licentiousness, which had involved the Church in so much disgrace, would be removed.1

This vivid sketch of the condition of the church, with the evils which were everywhere felt, and the remedies which suggested themselves to clear-sighted and impartial men, was as ineffectual as other similar efforts had been, for to all such arguments the Council of Trent was deaf. France, too, was more than willing to see celibacy abolished. M. de Lanssac, the French ambassador, was ordered to place himself in close relations with the representatives of the Emperor, and to unite with them in seeking the relaxation of all regulations which tended to prevent the reunion of the Protestants, while the Gallican bishops were commanded to show themselves reasonable and yielding in such matters: and when Lanssac reported the demands of the Emperor, comprehending clerical marriage among other changes, Charles IX. assented to them in terms of warm commendation. The Cardinal of Lorraine, moreover, was instructed to urge some measures efficient to reform the licentious lives of the ecclesiastics, which spread corruption and debauchery among the people, while permission for priestly marriage was recommended as one of the means essential to recall the heretics to the bosom of the true Church. As a compromise, however, the French prelates contented themselves with suggesting that none but elderly men should be eligible to the priesthood, and that the testimony of the people in favour of

3

1 Considerat. Cæsar. Majest. sup. Matrim. Sacerd. Nos. 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 (Goldast. II. 382-3-Le Plat, VI. 315).

The scarcity of priests in Germany, with resulting neglect of religion, was no new thing, and had been strongly represented in 1542 by the nuncio Morone. He attributed it to the popular contempt felt for ecclesiastics, and said that, although some bishops maintained training seminaries, the scholars, when they acquired a little learning, mostly became Lutherans.-Lämmer, Monumentt. Vaticana p. 398. 2 Le Plat, V. 154, 208, 211.

3 Ibid. 562-3.

their moral character should be a prerequisite to ordination, in hopes that by such means the necessary purification of the clergy at least could be effected, while the sharpest measures should be adopted to punish their licentiousness.1

All this was useless, and, in fact, it is difficult to imagine how any one could expect a reform of this nature from a body composed of prelates all of whom were obliged by Pius IV., in a decree of 4 September, 1560, to solemnly swear to a profession of faith containing a specific declaration that the vows of chastity inferred on entering into holy orders, or assumed in embracing monastic life, were to be strictly observed and enforced. The question thus was prejudged, and the council was more likely to listen to Bartholomew a Martyribus, the Archbishop of Bracara, who laid before them a paper containing the points which, in his opinion, required reformation, among which were the revival of the canons respecting concubinary bishops and priests, the prohibition of sons succeeding to their fathers' benefices, and the excommunication of confessors who debauched their fair penitents 3-though when the sturdy archbishop in a stormy debate declared that "illustrissimi cardinales egent illustrissima reformatione," he doubtless was held to be a most uncourtly and impracticable reformer.

Despite all the urgency from without, it was not until 8 February, 1563, after the council had been in session for more than a year, that the theologians at last arranged for disputation the articles on matrimony, and laid them before the council for discussion. They were divided into five

pp. 133-4.

1 Capi dati da' Francesi cap. 1.—(Baluz. et Mansi IV. 374) Comp. Zaccaria, 2 Votum castitatis sacris ordinibus conjunctum, atque vota quæ in probatis religionibus emittuntur, et alia quæcunque rite suscepta, fideliter sunt observanda.Le Plat, IV. 649.

3 Ibid. IV. 756, 760, 761, 765.—The 182 articles which, according to Archbishop Bartholomew, required reform in the internal discipline of the Church form as damaging a commentary upon its condition as any of the attacks of the Protestants.