Pope Paul V: Difference between revisions

|predecessor = [[Pope Leo XI|Leo XI]]

|successor = [[Pope Gregory XV|Gregory XV]]

|death_place = [[Rome]], [[Papal States]]

'''Pope Paul V''' ({{lang-langx|la|Paulus V}}; {{lang-langx|it|Paolo V}}) (17 September 1550&nbsp;–&nbsp;28 January 1621), born '''Camillo Borghese''', was head of the [[Catholic Church]] and ruler of the [[Papal States]] from 16 May 1605 to his death, in January 1621. In 1611, he honored [[Galileo Galilei]] as a member of the Papalpapal [[Accademia dei Lincei]] and supported his discoveries.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xoJVfOiyTb4C&pg=PA59|page=59 |title=Galileo Galilei: First Physicist |isbn=9780195131703 |last1=MacLachlan |first1=James |date=15 April 1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA }}</ref> In 1616, Pope Paul V instructed Cardinal [[Robert Bellarmine|Cardinal Bellarmine]] to inform Galileo that the [[Copernican theory]] could not be taught as fact, but Bellarmine's certificate allowed Galileo to continue his studies in search for evidence and use the [[geocentric model]] as a theoretical device. That same year Paul V assured Galileo that he was safe from persecution so long as he, the Pope, should live. Bellarmine's certificate was used by Galileo for his defense at the [[Galileo affair|the trial of 1633]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v1gFDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT124 |page=124 |title=Galileo, Bellarmine, and the Bible |isbn=9780268158934 |last1=Blackwell |first1=Richard J. |date=31 January 1991 |publisher=University of Notre Dame Pess }}</ref>

Camillo Borghese was born in [[Rome]] on 17 September 1550 into the [[Borghese]] family]] of [[Siena]] which had recently established itself in Rome. He was the eldest of seven sons of the lawyer and Sienese patrician Marcantonio Borghese and his wife Flaminia Astalli, a Roman noblewoman. Camillo was carefully trained in jurisprudence at [[Perugia]] and [[Padua]], and became a canonist of marked ability.<ref name=Loughlin/>

In June 1596 Camillo was made the [[Sant'Eusebio|Cardinal-Priest of [[Sant'Eusebio]] and the [[Cardinal Vicar]] of Rome<ref name=Loughlin>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11581b.htm|title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope Paul V|website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref> by [[Pope Clement VIII]], and had as his secretary [[Niccolò Alamanni]]. He then opted for other titular churches like [[San Crisogono]] and [[Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Rome|Santi Giovanni e Paolo]]. He held aloof from all parties and factions, devoting all his spare time to his law-books.

Clement VIII also bestowed upon him [[episcopal consecration]] in 1597 after his appointment as [[Roman Catholic Diocese of IesiJesi|Bishop of IesiJesi]]; the co-consecrators were Cardinal Silvio Savelli (former [[Latin Patriarch of Constantinople]]) and Cardinal [[Francesco Cornaro (1547–1598)|Francesco Cornaro]] (former Bishop of Treviso).<ref>Charles Bransom, Jr., "The Episcopal Lineage of Pope Clement X & Pope Paul V," [http://apostolicsuccession-episcopallineages.blogspot.com/p/theepiscopal-lineage-of-pope-clement-x.html Apostolic Succession & Episcopal Lineages in the Roman Catholic Church (blog)], retrieved: 14 September 2018.</ref> Bishop Borghese retained the diocese of Iesi until 1599. He held aloof from all parties and factions, devoting all his spare time to his law-books.

When [[Pope Leo XI]] died, 1605, Cardinal Borghese became pope over a number of candidates including [[Caesar Baronius]] and [[Robert Bellarmine|Roberto Cardinal Bellarmine]]; his neutrality in the factional times made him an ideal compromise candidate.<ref>Baumgartner, Frederic J., ''Behind Locked Doors'', (2003) Palgrave Macmillan, p. 141</ref>

The pope created 60 cardinals in ten consistories held during his pontificate. He named his nephew [[Scipione Borghese]] as a cardinal (continuing the trend of nepotism) and also named [[Pope Gregory XV|Alessandro Ludovisi]], who would become his immediate successor, [[Pope Gregory XV]], as a cardinal.

Paul's insistence of ecclesiastical jurisdiction led to a number of quarrels between the Church and the secular governments of various states, notably [[Republic of Venice|Venice]], where patricians, such as Ermolao Barbaro (1548–1622) of the noble [[Barbaro family]], argued in favor of the exemption of the clergy from the jurisdiction of the civil courts. Venice passed two laws obnoxious to Paul, one forbidding the alienation of real estate in favour of the clergy, the second demanding approval of the civil power for the building of new churches.<ref name=Loughlin/> Two priests charged by the Venetian state with cruelty, wholesale poisoning, murder and licentiousness, were arrested by the [[Venetian Senate]] and put in dungeons for trial. Having been found guilty, they were committed to prison.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}

Paul V insisted that they be released to the Church. He demanded the release of the priests as not being amenable to the secular law. When this was refused, the Pope threatened an [[interdict]] on account of the property laws and the imprisonment of ecclesiastics, which threat was presented to the Senate on Christmas 1605. The Venetian position was ably defended by a canon lawyer, [[Paolo Sarpi]], who extended the matter to general principles defining separate secular and ecclesiastical spheres. In April 1606 the Pope [[excommunication|excommunicated]] the entire government of Venice and placed an [[Venetian Interdict|interdict]] on the city. Father Sarpi strongly advised the Venetian government to refuse to receive the Pope's interdict, and to reason with him while opposing force by force. The Venetian Senate willingly accepted this advice and Fra Paolo presented the case to Paul V, urging from history that the Pope's claim to intermeddle in civil matters was a usurpation; and that in these matters the Republic of Venice recognized no authority but that of God. The rest of the Catholic clergy sided with the city, with the exception of the [[Jesuits]], the [[Theatines]], and the [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchins]]. The dissenting clergy were forthwith expelled from Venetian territories. [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]]es continued to be said in Venice, and the feast of [[Corpus Christi (feast)|Corpus Christi]] was celebrated with displays of public pomp and "magnificence", in defiance of the Pope. Within a year (March 1607) the disagreement was mediated by [[Kingdom of France|France]] and [[Habsburg Spain|Spain]]. The [[Republic of Venice|Most Serene Republic]] refused to retract the laws, but asserted that Venice would conduct herself "with her ''accustomed piety''." The Jesuits, which Venice considered subversive Papal agents, remained banned. No more could be expected. Paul withdrew his censure.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}

The Venetian Republic rewarded Fra Paulo Sarpi, its successful canon lawyer, with the distinction of state counsellor in jurisprudence and the liberty of access to the state archives, which infuriated Pope Paul. In September 1607, after unsuccessfully attempting to lure Father Sarpi to Rome, the Pope responded by putting out a contract on his life.<ref>Watson, J. Henry, ''The History of Fra Paolo Sarpi'', New York: La Croce (1911)</ref> Father Sarpi was the target of at least two assassination plots in September and October. Stabbed three times with a [[stiletto]],<ref>Whitfield, John Humphreys and Woodhouse, John Robert. ''A Short History of Italian Literature'', Manchester University Press, 1980, p. 187</ref> Fra Sarpi somehow managed to recover, while the assassins found refuge in the Papal territoriesStates.<ref>Robertson, Alexander, ''Fra Paolo Sarpi: the Greatest of the Venetians'', London: Sampson, Low, Marston & Co. (1893), pp. 114–117</ref>

Paul V's hard-edged Catholic diplomacy cut the ground from under moderate [[Catholics]] in [[Kingdom of England|England]]. His letter of 9 July 1606 to congratulate [[James I of England|James I]] on his accession to the throne was three years late and seemed to English eyes merely a preamble to what followed, and his reference to the [[Gunpowder Plot]], made against the life of the monarch and all the members of [[Parliament of the United KingdomEngland|Parliament]] the previous November, was unfortunate for the papalPapal cause, for papalPapal agents were considered by the English to have been involved (the effigy of Pope Paul V is still burnt every year during the [[Lewes Bonfire]] celebrations). However, the Pope in that letter pleaded with James not to make the innocent Catholics suffer for the crime of a few, and Paul V also promised to exhort all the Catholics of the realm to be submissive and loyal to their sovereign—in all things not opposed to the honour of God. The [[Oath of Allegiance (1606)|oath of allegiance]] James demanded of his subjects, however contained clauses to which no 17th-century Catholic could in conscience subscribe: the oath of allegiance was solemnly condemned in a brief published a matter of weeks later (22 September 1606, extended 23 August 1607). This condemnation served only to divide English Catholics. The other irritant (to the papacy) in English relations was Cardinal Bellarmine's letter to the English archpriest [[George Blackwell (priest)|George Blackwell]], reproaching him for having taken the oath of allegiance in apparent disregard of his duty to the Pope. The letter received enough circulation to be referred to in one of James's theological essays (1608), and Bellarmine was soon fencing in a pamphlet exchange with the Kingking of England.

In November 1615, Paul V welcomed the embassy of the Japanese samurai [[Hasekura Tsunenaga]] in [[Rome]].<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Louis-Frédéric |last=Nussbaum |first= Louis-Frédéric|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=PA412 |page=412 |title=Japan Encyclopedia |isbn=9780674017535 |year=2002 |publisher=Harvard University Press }}</ref>

[[File:Emanuele Ne Vunda Sala dei Corazzieri Palazzo Ducale.jpg|thumb|upright|Painting of [[Emanuele Ne Vunda]], ambassador from [[Alvaro II]] to Pope Paul V in 1604–1608, Sala dei Corazzieri, [[PalazzoQurinal del QuirinalePalace]], [[Rome]], 1615–1616.]]

In Rome, the pope financed the completion of [[St. Peter's Basilica]], and improved the [[Vatican Library]], separating out the [[Vatican Apostolic Archive]]s. He restored the [[Aqua Traiana]], an ancient Roman [[AqueductRoman (Roman)|Aqueductaqueduct]] (named after him ''[[Acqua Paola]]''), bringing water to the [[rione|rioni]] located on right bank of the [[Tiber]] ([[Trastevere]] and [[Borgo (rione of Rome)|Borgo]]) using materials from his demolition of the [[Forum of Nerva]]. He had always encouraged [[Guido Reni]]. Like many Popes of the time he was also allegedly guilty of [[nepotism]], and his nephew [[Scipione Borghese]] wielded enormous power on his behalf, consolidating the rise of the Borghese family.

Paul V died on 28 January 1621 of a [[stroke]] in the [[Quirinal Palace]] and was succeeded as pope by [[Pope Gregory XV]]. The pope had been ill for more than three months following a series of strokes, and died six hours following his last stroke the morning of his death. He was interred in the basilica of [[Santa Maria Maggiore]].

While bishop, he was the [[principal consecrator]] of:<ref name=CathHierCamBorg>[http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bborc.html "Bishop Pope Paul V -– Camillo Borghese"] ''[[Catholic-Hierarchy.org]]''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved June 294, 2017</ref>

* [[Simeone Tagliavia d’Aragoniad'Aragonia]], [[Cardinal-Bishop of Albano]] (1602).

* James I, ''De Triplici Nodo, Triplex Cuneus,'', (his anonymous pamphlet encouraging loyalty to the Crown, accompanied by letters from Paul V about the Catholic Church's opinion of the Oath of Allegiance, and James' responses to them).

[[Category:17th-century Italian nobility]]

[[Category:15521550 births|Paul 5]]