Pope Paul V: Difference between revisions

* [[Roman Catholic Diocese of IesiJesi|Bishop of Jesi]] (1597–1599)

'''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 papal [[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]] 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|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>

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.

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 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}}

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 England|Parliament]] the previous November, was unfortunate for the Papal cause, for Papal 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 king of England.

* 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]]