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~ Council of Trent ~ Monday 10-23-2023



BULL OF INDICTION

PAUL, bishop, servant of the servants of God, for the future memory hereof.

At the beginning of this our pontificate,--which, not for any merits of our own,
but of its own great goodness, the providence of Almighty God hath committed
unto us,--already perceiving unto what troubled times, and unto how many
embarrassments in almost all our affairs, our pastoral solicitude and
watchfulness were called; we would fain indeed have remedied the evils wherewith
the Christian commonwealth had been long afflicted, and well-nigh overwhelmed;
but we too, as men compassed with infirmity, felt our strength unequal to take
upon us so heavy a burthen. For, whereas we saw that peace was needful to free
and preserve the commonwealth from the many impending dangers, we found all
replete with enmities and dissensions; and, above all, the (two) princes, to
whom God has entrusted well-nigh the whole direction of events, at enmity with
each other.

Whereas we deemed it necessary that there should be one fold and one shepherd,
for the Lord's flock in order to maintain the Christian religion in its
integrity, and to confirm within us the hope of heavenly things; the unity of
the Christian name was rent and well-nigh torn asunder by schisms, dissensions,
heresies. Whereas we could have wished to see the commonwealth safe and guarded
against the arms and insidious designs of the Infidels, yet, through our
transgressions and the guilt of us all,--the wrath of God assuredly hanging over
our sins,--Rhodes had been lost; Hungary ravaged; war both by land and sea had
been contemplated and planned against Italy, Austria, and Illyria; whilst our
impious and ruthless enemy the Turk was never at rest, and looked upon our
mutual enmities and dissensions as his fitting opportunity for carrying out his
designs with success.

Wherefore, having been, as we have said, called upon to guide and govern the
bark of Peter, in so great a tempest, and in the midst of so violent an
agitation of the waves of heresies, dissensions, and wars; and, not relying
sufficiently on our own strength, we, first of all, cast our cares upon the
Lord, that He might sustain us, and furnish our soul with firmness and strength,
our understanding with prudence and wisdom. Then, recalling to mind that our
predecessors, men endowed with admirable wisdom and sanctity, had often, in the
extremest perils of the Christian commonwealth, had recourse to ecumenical
councils and general assemblies of bishops, as the best and most opportune
remedy, we also fixed our mind on holding a general council; and having
consulted the opinions of those princes whose consent seemed to us to be
specially useful and opportune for this our project; when we found them, at that
time, not averse from so holy a work, we, as our letters and records attest,
indicted an ecumenical council, and a general assembly of those bishops and
other Fathers whose duty it is to assist thereat, to be opened at the city of
Mantua, on the tenth of the calends of June, in the year 1537 of our Lord's
Incarnation, and the third of our pontificate; having an almost assured hope
that, when assembled there in the name of the Lord, He, as He promised, would be
in the midst of us, and, in His goodness and mercy, easily dispel, by the breath
of His mouth, all the storms and dangers of the times.

But,--as the enemy of mankind ever sets his snares against holy enterprises,
--at the very outset, contrary to all our hopes and expectations, the city of
Mantua was refused us, unless we would submit to certain conditions,--as
described in other letters of ours,--which conditions were utterly alien to the
institutes of our predecessors, to the state of the times, to our own dignity
and liberty, that of this holy see, and of the ecclesiastical character. We
were, therefore, necessitated to find another place, and to make choice of some
other city ; andwhereas one fit and suitable did not immediately present itself,
we were obliged to prorogue the celebration of the council unto the ensuing
calends of November. Meanwhile the Turk, our cruel and perpetual enemy, attacked
Italy with a vast fleet; took, sacked, ravaged several cities of Apulia, and
carried off numbers into captivity; whilst we, in the midst of the greatest
alarm, and the general danger, were engaged in fortifying our shores, and in
furnishing assistance to the neighbouring states. But not therefore did we
meanwhile cease to consult with the Christian princes, and to exhort them to
inform us, what, in their opinion, would be a suitable place wherein to hold the
council: and whereas their opinions were various and wavering, and there seemed
to be needless delay, we, with the best intentions, and, as we also think, with
the most judicious prudence, fixed on Vicenza, a wealthy city granted to us by
the Venetians, and which, by their valour, authority, and power, offered in a
special manner both unobstructed access, and a safe and free place of residence
for all.

But, as too much of the time appointed had already passed away; and it was
necessary to signify to all the fresh city that had been chosen; and, whereas
the approaching calends of November precluded our having the opportunity of
making the announcement of this change public, and winter was now near; we were
again constrained to defer, by another prorogation, the time for opening the
Council, to the next ensuing Spring, that is, to the next calends of May. This
having been firmly resolved upon and decreed; considering,--whilst preparing
ourselves, and arranging all other matters for conducting and celebrating that
assembly in a proper manner under the divine assistance,--that it was a point of
great importance, both as regards the celebration of the Council, and the
general weal of Christendom, that the Christian princes should be united
together in peace and concord; We ceased not to implore and conjure our most
beloved sons in Christ, Charles, ever August, the emperor of the Romans, and
Francis, the most Christian king, the two main supports and stays of the
Christian name, to meet together for a conference between them and us; and, with
both of them, by letters, Nuncios, and our Legates a latere selected from
amongst our venerable brethren, did we very often strive to move them to lay
aside their jealousies and animosities; to unite in strict alliance and holy
friendship; and to succour the tottering cause of Christendom: for as it was to
preserve this especially, that God had bestowed on them their power, if they
neglected to do this, and directed not all their counsels to the common weal of
Christians, a bitter and severe account would they have to render unto Him.

They, yielding at last to our prayers, repaired to Nice; whither we also, for
the cause of God and to bring about peace, undertook a long journey, though
sorely unsuited to our advanced age. Meanwhile, as the time fixed for the
Council,--the calends to wit of May,--drew nigh, we did not neglect to send to
Vicenza three Legates a latere,--men of the greatest virtue and authority,
chosen from the number of our own brethren, the cardinals of the holy Roman
Church,--to open the Council; to receive the prelates as they arrived from
various parts; and to transact and attend to such matters as they should deem
necessary, until we, on our return from our journey and message of peace, should
be able ourselves to direct everything with greater precision. We, in the mean
time, applied ourselves to that holy and most necessary work, the negotiation of
peace; and this with all the zeal, the affection, and the earnestness of our
soul. God is our witness, on whose clemency we relied, when we exposed ourselves
to the dangers of that journey at the peril of our life: our conscience is our
witness, which herein, at least, cannot reproach us with having either
neglected, or not sought for, an opportunity of effecting a reconciliation: the
princes themselves are our witnesses, whom we so often and so earnestly conjured
by our Nuncios, letters, legates, admonitions, exhortations, and by all kinds of
entreaties, to lay aside their jealousies, to unite in alliance, and with
combined zeal and forces to succour the Christian commonwealth, which was now
reduced to the greatest and most urgent danger.

And witnesses too are those watchings and cares, those labours of our soul both
by day and night, and those grievous solicitudes, which we have already endured
to such an extent in this business and cause; and yet our councils and acts have
not as yet brought about the wished-for result. For so hath it seemed good to
the Lord our God, who, however, we still hope will cast a more favourable eye on
our wishes. For ourselves, we, as far as in us lay, have not, indeed, herein
omitted anything that was due from our pastoral office. And if there be any who
interpret in any other sense our endeavours after peace, we are indeed grieved;
but, in our grief, we return thanks to that Almighty God, who, as a pattern and
a lesson of patience unto us, willed that His own apostles should be accounted
worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus who is our peace.

However, in that our meeting and conference at Nice, though, by reason of our
sins, a true and lasting peace could not be concluded between the two princes,
yet was a truce for ten years agreed upon; under favour of which having our
hopes, that both the sacred council might be celebrated more commodiously, and
further that peace might be perfectly established by the authority of the
council, we were urgent with those princes to come themselves to the council, to
bring with them those of their prelates who accompanied them, and to summon the
absent. They having excused themselves upon both these points,--for that it was
at that time, necessary for them to return to their kingdoms, and that the
prelates whom they had with them, being wearied and exhausted by the journey and
its expenses, must needs refresh and recruit themselves,--exhorted us to decree
yet another prorogation of the time for opening the council. And whereas we had
some difficulty to yield herein, in the interim we received letters from our
legates at Vicenza, announcing that, although the day for opening the council
had arrived, nay had long since passed by, barely one or two prelates had
repaired to Vicenza from any of the foreign nations.

Upon receiving this information, seeing that the council could not, under any
circumstances, be held at that time, we accorded to the said princes, that the
time for celebrating the council should be deferred till next holy Easter, the
feast of the Resurrection of the Lord. Of which our ordinance and prorogation,
the decretal letters were given and published at Genoa, in the year of the
Incarnation of our Lord, MDXXXVIII, on the fourth of the calends of July. And
this delay we granted the more readily, because each of the princes promised us
to send an ambassador to us at Rome; in order that those things which were
necessary for the perfect re-establishment of peace,--all of which could not, on
account of the shortness of the time, be completed at Nice,--might be treated of
and negotiated more conveniently at Rome in our presence.

And for this reason also, they both begged of us, that the negotiation of peace
might precede the celebration of the council; for that, peace once established,
the council itself would then be much more useful and salutary to the Christian
commonweal. It was, indeed, this hope of peace, thus held out to us, that ever
moved us to assent to the wishes of those princes; a hope which was greatly
increased by the kindly and friendly interview between those two princes after
our departure from Nice; the news of which was to us a source of very great joy,
and so confirmed us in our good hope, that we believed that God, at length, had
hearkened to our prayers, and had graciously received our earnest wishes for
peace.

The conclusion, then, of this peace was both desired and urged; and as it was
the opinion not only of the two princes aforenamed, but also of our most dear
son in Christ, Ferdinand, King of the Romans, that the business of the council
ought not to be entered upon until after peace had been established; whilst all
the parties urged upon us, by letters and their ambassadors, again to appoint a
further prorogation of the time; and the most serene emperor was especially
urgent, representing that he had promised those who dissent from Catholic unity,
that he would interpose his mediation with us, to the end that some plan of
concord might be devised, which could not be accomplished satisfactorily before
his return to Germany: impelled throughout by the same desire of peace, and by
the wishes of so mighty princes, and, above all, seeing that not even on the
said feast of the Resurrection had any other prelates assembled at Vicenza, we,
now avoiding the word prorogation, so often repeated in vain, chose rather to
suspend the celebration of the general council during our own good pleasure, and
that of the Apostolic See.

We accordingly did so, and despatched our letters touching such suspension to
each of the above-named princes, on the tenth day of June, MDXXXIX, as from the
tenor thereof may be clearly seen. This necessary suspension, then, having been
made by us, whilst we were looking forward to that more suitable time, and to
that conclusion of peace which was later to bring both dignity and numbers to
the council, and more immediate safety to the Christian commonweal; the affairs
of Christendom meanwhile fell day by day into a worse state. The Hungarians,
upon the death of their king, had invited the Turk; King Ferdinand had declared
war against them; a part of Belgium had been incited to revolt against the most
serene emperor, who, to crush that rebellion, traversed France on the most
friendly and harmonious terms with the most Christian king, and with great show
of mutual good will towards each other; and, having reached Belgium, thence
passed into Germany, where he commenced holding diets of the princes and cities
of Germany, with the view of treating of that concord of which he had spoken to
us.

But as there was now no longer scarcely any hope of peace, and the scheme of
procuring and treating of a re-union in those diets seemed only adapted to
excite greater discord, we were led to revert to our former remedy, a general
council; and, by our legates, cardinals of the holy Roman Church, we proposed
this to the emperor himself; and this we did especially and finally in the diet
of Ratisbon, at which our beloved son, Cardinal Gaspar Contarini, of the title
of St. Praxedes, acted as our legate with very great learning and integrity.
For, whereas what we had previously feared now come to pass,--that by the advice
of that diet we were called upon to declare that certain of the articles,
maintained by the dissenters from the Church, were to be tolerated until they
should be examined and decided upon by an ecumenical council; and whereas
neither Christian and Catholic truth, nor our own dignity and that of the
Apostolic See, would suffer us to yield this,---we chose rather to command that
a proposal should be openly made, that a council should be held as soon as
possible. Nor, indeed, had we ever any other sentiment or wish, but that an
ecumenical and general council should be convened on the very first opportunity.

For we hoped that both peace might thereby be restored to the Christian people,
and to the Christian religion its integrity; yet were we wishful to hold that
council with the good wishes and favour of the Christian princes. And whilst
looking forward to those good wishes, whilst watching for that hidden time, for
the time of thy good pleasure, 0 God, we were at last forced to the conclusion,
that every time is well pleasing unto God wherein deliberations are entered upon
touching holy things, and such as relate to Christian piety. Wherefore, upon
beholding with the bitterest grief of soul, that the affairs of Christendom were
daily hurrying on to a worse state; Hungary overwhelmed by the Turk; Germany
endangered; all the other states oppressed with terror and affliction; we
resolved to wait no longer for the consent of any prince, but to look solely to
the will of God, and the good of the Christian commonweal.

Accordingly, as we no longer had the city of Vicenza, and were desirous, in our
choice of a fresh place for holding the council, to have regard both to the
common welfare of Christians, and also to the troubles of the German nation; and
seeing, upon several places being proposed, that they (the Germans) wished for
the city of Trent, we,---though of opinion that every thing might be transacted
more commodiously in Cisalpine Italy,---nevertheless yielded up our will, with
paternal charity, to their demands. Accordingly, we have chosen the city of
Trent as that wherein an ecumenical council is to be held on the ensuing calends
of November : fixing upon that place as a convenient one whereat the bishops and
prelates can assemble very easily indeed from Germany, and from the other
nations bordering on Germany, and without difficulty from France, Spain, and the
other remoter provinces. And in fixing the day for the council, we have had
regard that there should be time both for publishing this our decree throughout
the Christian nations, and for allowing all prelates an opportunity of repairing
to Trent.

Our motive for not prescribing that a whole year should expire before changing
the place of the council,--as by certain constitutions has been aforetime
regulated,---was this, that we were unwilling that our hope should be any longer
delayed of applying some remedy to the Christian commonwealth, suffering as it
is under so many disasters and calamities. And yet we observe the times; we
acknowledge the difficulties. We know that what may be looked for from our
councils is a matter of uncertainty. But, seeing that it is written, commit thy
way to the Lord, and trust in him, and he will do it, we have resolved rather to
trust in the clemency and mercy of God, than to distrust our own weakness. For,
upon engaging in good works, it often happens, that what human councils fail in,
the divine power accomplishes. Wherefore, relying and resting on the authority
of that Almighty God, Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost, and on the authority of
His blessed apostles, Peter and Paul, (an authority) which we also exercise on
earth; with the advice also and assent of our venerable brethren, the cardinals
of the holy Roman Church; after having removed and annulled, as by these
presents we do remove and annul, the suspension aforenamed, we indict, announce,
convoke, appoint, and decree a sacred, ecumenical and general council,--to be
opened on the ensuing calends of November of the present year, MDXLII, from the
Incarnation of the Lord,--in the city of Trent, a place commodious, free, and
convenient for all nations; and to be there prosecuted, concluded, and
completed, with God's help, to His glory and praise, and the welfare of the
whole Christian people; requiring, exhorting, admonishing all, of every country,
as well our venerable brethren the patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, and our
beloved sons the abbots, as also all others soever, unto whom, by right or
privilege, the power has been granted of sitting in general councils, and of
delivering their sentiments therein; enjoining moreover, and strictly commanding
them, by virtue of the oath which they have taken to us and to this holy See,
and in virtue of holy obedience, and under the other pains, which, by law or
custom, are usually passed and proposed in the celebration of councils, against
those who do not attend, that they are, undoubtedly to repair to and to be
present themselves in person at this sacred council--unless they shall happen to
be hindered by some just impediment, of which, however, they shall be obliged to
furnish proof--or at all events by their own lawful deputies and proctors.

And we also beseech the aforenamed emperor, and the most Christian king, as also
the other kings, dukes, and princes, whose presence, now if ever, would be of
especial advantage to the most holy faith of Christ, and of all Christians;
conjuring them by the bowels of the mercy of God and of our Lord Jesus
Christ,--the truth of whose faith, and whose religion are now so sorely assailed
both from within and without,--that, if they would have the Christian commonweal
safe, if they feel themselves bound and obliged, by the Lord's great benefits
towards them, they abandon not His own cause and interests; and come themselves
to the celebration of the sacred council, where their piety and virtue would be
greatly conducive to the common good, to their own welfare, and that of others,
both in time and eternity. But if, which we hope may not be the case, they shall
be unable to come in person, let them at least send, with an authoritative
commission, as their ambassadors, men of weight, who may each in the council
represent the person of his prince with prudence and dignity.

But above all, let this--which is a thing very easy on their parts--be their
care, that, from their respective kingdoms and provinces, the bishops and
prelates set forth without tergiversation and delay; a request which God
Himself, and we, have a right to obtain from the prelates and princes of Germany
in a special manner; for as it is principally on their account, and at their
instance, that the council has been indicted and convoked, and in the very city
which they desired, let them not think it burthensome to celebrate and adorn it
with the presence of their whole body. That thus,--with God going before us in
our deliberations, and holding before our minds the light of His own wisdom and
truth,--we may, in the said sacred ecumenical council, in a better and more
com-modious manner, treat of, and, with the charity of all conspiring to one
end, deliberate and discuss, execute and bring to the desired issue, speedily
and happily, whatsoever appertains to the integrity and truth of the Christian
religion; the restoration of good and the correction of evil manners; the peace,
unity, and concord both of Christian princes and peoples; and whatsoever is
needful for repelling those assaults of barbarians and infidels, with which they
seek the overthrow of all Christendom.

And that this our letter, and the contents thereof, may come to the knowledge of
all whom it concerns, and that no one may plead as an excuse ignorance thereof,
especially also as there may not perhaps be free access to all, unto whom our
letter ought to be individually communicated; we will and ordain, that in the
Vatican Basilica of the prince of the apostles, and in the Lateran Church, at
the time when the multitude of the people is wont to assemble there to hear the
divine service, it be publicly read in a loud voice by officers of our court, or
by certain public notaries; and, after having been read, be affixed to the doors
of the said churches, also to the gates of the apostolic Chancery, and to the
usual place in the Campo di Fiore, where it shall for some time hang exposed to
be read and seen by all; and, when removed thence, copies thereof shall still
remain affixed in the same places. For we will that, by being thus read,
published, and affixed, the letter aforesaid shall oblige and bind, after the
interval of two months from the day of being published and affixed, all and each
of those whom it includes, even as if it had been communicated and read to them
in person.

And we ordain and decree, that an unhesitating and undoubting faith be given to
copies thereof written, or subscribed, by the hand of a public notary, and
guaranteed by the seal of some ecclesiastic constituted in authority. Wherefore,
let no one infringe this our letter of indiction, announcement, convocation,
statute, decree, mandate, precept, and prayer, or with rash daring go contrary
thereunto. But if any one shall presume to attempt this, let him know that he
will incur the indignation of Almighty God, and of His blessed apostles Peter
and Paul.

Given at Rome, at Saint Peter's, in the year MDXLII of the Lord's Incarnation,
on the eleventh of the calends of June, in the eighth year of our pontificate.

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