God whether they be Ecclesiastical or Temporal and restraiz with the Civil Sword the stubborn and evil doers The Bishop of Rome hath no Jurisdiction in this Realm of England The Lawes of the Realm may punish Christian men with death for heinous and grievous crimes It is lawful for Christian men at the Commandment of the Magistrate to wear weapons and serve in the Wars The XXXV Article appoints Homilies against Rebellion to be read in Churches The summary of these Homilies and the whole drift of them is contained First part page 2. of the first Homily against wilful disobedience and rebellion in these words In reading of the holy Scriptures we shall finde in very many and almost infinite places as well of the Old Testament as of the New That Kings and Princes as well the evil as the good do reigne by Gods Ordinance and that subjects are bound to obey them And that Doctrine of the Church of England which is that of the Word of God is fully demonstrated in these godly Homilies published and enjoyned to be read in Churches by Royal Authority CHAP. IV. Proving by the Bulls and Decrees of Popes That the Doctrine of the Roman Court in the point of Obedience to Sovereignes is a Doctrine of Rebellion HItherto we have stood upon the Defensive and have with no great labour wiped off the false and foul aspersions of Rebellion cast upon the Doctrine of the Protestant Churches Let us try whether we can use the Sword as well as the Buckler And we will use no other then the Popes own Sword For as David said of Goliah's sword There is none like that give it me In this Combate the enemies sword is the right weapon none like it The Adversary to disgrace our Doctrine hath objected to us some passages of our Authors most of them false or wrested and some actions of persons of the Protestant party But though he had proved all these to be true he had done no harm to our Doctrine which is not built upon private opinions or upon private or publick actions He should have taken our Confessions in hand and Indicted them of rebellious Tenets if he could have found any Or finding none he should have given glory to God and confessed the Truth of God with us But if I bring him the Bulls of his Popes and their Decrees can he scape as we do when he urgeth us with maxims of Buchanan or Goodman Can he say The Pope speaks Treason and prescribes Rebellion as we say of these men and my faith is not tyed to his authority Can he as freely go off from the Popes judgement as we do from the best of our party when their Tenet is represented to us aberring from the rule of Gods Word and dissenting from the Articles of Religion consented unto by the Provincial Convocations of the Church We will then object to him and his party that which they cannot disown unless they disown their Faith and Religion since their Faith and Religion depend upon the Popes Decrees and that so strongly and with such a spirit of delusion that the most pestilent opinions pass with them for Evangelical Truths and the most abominable actions for patterns of Holiness if they be once marked with that stamp according to Bellarmines sentence which no Romanist hath yet disallowed for any thing I know If the Pope did Bellarm. lib. 4. de Pontifice ca. 5. Si Papa erraret in praecipiendo vitia vel prohibendo virtutes teneretur Ecclesia credere vitia esse bona virtutes malas nisi vellet contra conscientiam loqui Idem cap. 31. in Barklaium In bono sensu dedit Christus Petro potestatem faciendi de peccato non peccatum de non peccato peccatum erre in commanding vices or prohibiting vertues the Church should be obliged to believe that vices are good and vertues evil unless she would speak against Conscience And to the same purpose he affirmeth That in good sense Christ hath given to St. Peter the power to make sin to be no sin and that which is no sin to be sin And he takes it for granted That the power which Christ hath given to St. Peter he hath ipso facto given it to the Pope his Successor If then we prove that sedition rebellion and murther of Kings is justified promoted yea and commanded by that Head of their Faith the Papists must either approve it as good and holy or cease to be Papists and learn to have the Faith of the Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of glory without respect of persons Since the Roman Church stands much upon her Antiquity we will begin by the ancientest example of approving the murther of Kings that can be charged Ann. Chr. 611. upon the Roman See It is that of Gregory the I. who hearing that Phocas had slain the Emperour Mauritius his Liege Lord having first killed his children before his face and that he had invaded the Empire writ a gratulatory Epistle to that monster where these words are found We are glad that the benignity Greg. 1. lib. 11. Epist 36. Benignitatem pietatis vestrae ad Imperiale fastigium pervenisse gaudemus Laetentur Coeli exultet Terra de benignis actibus vestris universae Reip. populus hilarescat of your Piety hath attained to the Imperial Dignity Let the heavens rojoyce and let the Earth be glad and let the people of the whole Commonwealth be joyful for your gracious deeds The next example shall be that of Gregory the II. who rebelled against his Sovereigne the Emperour Ann. Chr. 726. Leo Isaurus and made Rome and the Roman Dutchy do the same And while the Emperour was sore afflicted with the wars of the Saracens in the East he made himself Lord of that part of his Masters Dominions in Italy for which Sigonius giveth an admirable Sigonius Hist de Regno Italiae lib. 3. Ita Roma Romanusque Ducatus à Graecis ad Romanum Pontificem propter nesandam eorum haeresim impietatemque pervenit reason That Rome and the Roman Dutchy were lost by the Grecians and got by the Pope of Rome by reason of their wicked heresie A strange kind of penance from a Pastor to turn the sinner out of his house and possess himself of it That wicked heresie of Leo Isaurus was That he prohibited the adoration of Images and pulled them down every where For that Heresie and Impiety the holy Father Gregory the II. imposed this penance upon the Emperour He made him lose his Estate and himself seized upon it This is the beginning of the Popes Temporal Principality This is the Title whereby he holds Rome and the Territory of it to this day even plain Rebellion and Tyrannical Invasion of his Sovereigns Estate and Dominion The next Successor of Gregory the II. was Gregory the III. of whom Platina writeth thus This Pope as soon as he attained to the Papal Platina in Greg.
to Rome where he was so ill beloved that no body stirred to rescue him With this adversity his proud heart was broken and he died five and thirty dayes after Benedict the XI who was elected in his place absolved Philip presently And his Successor Clement the V. to that Absolution added a complemental Bull in which Philip is exalted as a pious and religious Prince As it may be seen Extravagante Meruit and well deserving of the Church as it may be seen Extravagante Meruit For the Popes easily pardon the sins of those whom they fear Truly that vertuous King hath left a fair lesson to posterity by what wayes the favour of that Holy See ought to be purchased and preserved And since Lewis the XIV now reigning is taking the like course with the Pope he is like to be in time the favourite of his Holinesse and to obtain from him another Bull meruit declaring how well that eldest Son of the Church hath deserved from the Church his Mother Pope Iohn XXIII angry that Ludovicus Bavarus had taken upon him the administration of the Empire before Platina Hieronymus Marius he got his leave refused to crown him though many times desired by him The Emperour did nothing the lesse continue his power and imperial care both in Germany and Italy and going to Rome the Pope then sitting at Avignon was crowned by the joynt consent of Clergy Nobles and People Upon which he was excommunicated and deprived of the Empire as far as words could do it by this Pope And the same Sentence was confirmed against the Emperour by the Successor of Iohn Benedict the XII Clement the VI. who came next after was more inclement then his predecessors in persecuting Ludovicus Bavarus For he excommunicated all the Bishops that Nauclerus adhered to him and set Bulls at the doors of all the Churches to raise rebellion against him And when the Emperour would submit to him and sue for peace he required such conditions of him as neither he nor the Princes of the Empire would or could yield unto as that he should depose himself put all his Estate and his own Sons in the Popes power and promise to undertake no more any thing without the Popes leave These conditions being rejected by the Emperour Clement charged the Electors to elect another Which when the Archbishop of Ments refused to do representing the Emperours innocency he deprived him of his Archbishoprick and of his Electoral dignity The other Electors corrupted with money by John King of Bohemia elected his Son Charles King of the Romans whom Clement approved whence great and bloody Warres followed and the Emperour Ludovicus Bavarus was taken away by poyson by Clements means as some Authors write That Election of Charles the IV. was the breaking Fasciculus temp Volatterran of the back of the Empire which the Popes had been long labouring for For this Charles that he might be elected Emperour pawned the tributes of the Empire to the Electors And the Electors made him swear that he would never disengage that pawne Then they made him make that authentical Capitulation which I have produced in my first Chapter The Empire being thus weakned and losing the Tributes which are the sinewes of Warre was disabled from resisting the Turk who hath since wasted the Christian Provinces with little opposition and hath destroyed so many Churches or turned them into Moskites For all these distractions the Church and the Empire may thank the See of Rome which had a hand in all the Negotiations of the Princes of Germany and Italy and whose Authority acted alwayes for the depression of the Emperour Neither could all these conditions so hurtful to the Imperial Dignity and the publick subsistence have past into standing laws if the Pope had not promoted them or if he would have shewed himself against them Since this Pope Clement the VI. for about fifty or threescore years I find not that the Popes had many irons in the fire out of the limits of Italy the Papal power being much broken with Schismes So that the Popes instead of fulminating Bulls against Emperours and Kings courted its several Monarchs of Christendome to take their party against their Anti-popes Benedict the XIII in the year 1408. being incensed Theodoricus à Niem in nemore unionis against Charles the VI. of France for inhibiting the exactions of the Papal Court sent a Bull of Excommunication against the King and his Princes The University Somnium Viridarii of Paris required that the Bull should be torne and that Pope Benedict whom they called Peter de Luna should be declared Heretick Schismatick and disturber of peace Which was done The Bull was torne by Sentence of the Court. And two Bullists bearers Carolus Molinaeus contra parvas datas relates that Sentence of the Court. of that Bull made that which they call Honourable amends upon the Pallace stairs then were carried in two dung carts arrayed in Jerkins of course linnen cloth painted with paper Miters on their head the trumpets sounding before them and the common people howting upon them and abusing them So little account did they make of the roaring of the Popes Bulls For a hundred years after Benedict the XIII I find not that the Popes made use of their spiritual Sword against any Prince out of Italy and Sicily partly by reason of Schismes when that Roman Beast had many heads partly by reason of the Councils occasioned by these Schismes For they had three Councils in lesse than forty years at Constance at Basil and at Florence and the first and second of them took upon them to depose Popes and gave credit to that dangerous opinion so odious to the Court of Rome that the Council is above the Pope This kept the Popes for a time in some order and respect to the Princes of Christendome but for some wrangling about pragmatick sanctions which grew not so high as to Warre or Excommunication But in recompence Julius the II. raised warres and tumults as much as would serve for a hundred years He drew both his Swords against several Princes and States of Christendome especially against that excellent King Lewis the XII of France For having drawn him into Italy for his ends he makes a League Oâ—â—phrius Paul â—â—â—â—us to drive him out excommunicates him and puts his Kingdome to Interdict Excommunicates the Venetians giveth their dominions to any that will take them Driveth the Bentivogli out of Bononia exposeth their houses to pillage Excommunicates the Duke of Ferrara and invades his Countrey by Armes goes to Warre in person Makes the English the Spaniards and the Switzers to fall upon the French takes many Imperial Cities Excommunicates the King of Navarre and giveth his Kingdome to the King of Arragon who upon that invades and takes it And this is all the title that the Spaniard hath to Navarre which he keepeth to this day So much blood was
shed in Christendome by the meanes of that plague of mankind Pope Julius the II. that it is thought that he was the death of two hundred thousand Christians in seven years time In a Synod of the Gallican Church at Tours it was Nicol. Cilles in Vita Ludov. XIII Thuan. lib. 1. declared that the Pope hath no power to make warre against a Christian Prince and if he do so that the Prince hath power to invade the Popes Territories This the King signifieth to Julius and cites him to answer to a General Council which both the Emperour and he had called to be held at Lyons The Council was held there but soon removed to Pisa where the Council cited Julius to appear and he not appearing was condemned as an Incendiary unworthy to sit at the Helme of the Church and declared deprived of the Papal Dignity There also Lewis coined golden Crownes with this Motto Perdam nomen Babylonis I will destroy the name of Babylon For it is observable that all that have quarrelled with the See of Rome these thirteen hundred years have called it Babylon and Saint Hierom ad Marcellam Hierome was he that began We cannot charge the Successor of Iulins Leo the X. to have stirred Wars abroad he loved too much his ease at home for that But I could not pass by him for indeed his memory is precious to all Protestants for giving occasion to the Reformation by his Indulgences And he is worthy to be recorded for his sentence spoken to his Secretary Cardinall Bembo Quantum nobis Crispinus nostrisque ea de Christo fabula profuerit satis est omnibus saeculis notum an anxiome of too high a nature to be Englished After him came next but one Clement the VII the Fomenter of the quarrell between the Emperour and the French joyning sometimes to the one sometimes to the other and playing false with both whereby he gave occasion to the taking and sacking of Rome The thundering of this Pope and of his Successor Iovius Paul the III. against Henry the VIII did him no harm but to themselves and to the Roman See very much Of the following Popes till Pius the V. the Protestants have much to say as of men that sought their own pleasure and wrought their ruine Hence so much blood split in horrible Massacres But these are besides my subject which is to make the Popes to appear Authors of rebellion But now in a good time we are come to Pius the V. that Pope whom the English Protestants have most reason to remember For without admonition or citation Cambdens Hist of Qu. Elizabeth premised he pronounced a sentence of anathema against that blessed and glorious Queen Elizabeth to raise rebellion in the Kingdome against her Authority and Life and caused the same to be published and set up upon the Pallace Gate of the Bishop of London the Title was this A sentence declaratory of our holy Lord Micolaus Sanderus de schismate Anglicano lib. 3. Pope Pius against Elizabeth Queen of England and the Hereticks adhering unto her Wherein her Subjects are declared absolved from the Oath of Allegiance and every thing due unto her whatsoever and those which from thenceforth obey her are innodated with the anathema In that Bull Pope Pius having first styled himself Servant of Servants declareth that God hath made the Bishop of Rome Prince over all people and all Kingdoms to pluck up destroy scatter consume plant and build Then he calleth Elizabeth the pretended Queen of England the servant of wickedness And having declared her crimes which are to have taken upon her self that supremacy which his Holiness pretended to and to have establish'd the true Catholick Orthodox Religion in her Kingdomes he doth thunder out this seditious Decree against her and all her loyall Subjects We do out of the fulness of our Apostolick power declare the aforesaid Elizabeth being an Heretick and a favourer of Hereticks and her adherents in the matters aforesaid to have incurred the sentence of anathema and to be cut off from the unity of the body of Christ And moreover we do declare her to be deprived of her pretended Title to the Kingdom aforesaid and of all Dominion Dignity and Priviledge whatsoever And also the Nobility Subjects and People of the said Kingdome and all other which have in any sort sworn unto her to be for ever absolved from any such Oath and all manner of duty of Dominion Allegiance and Obedience as we also do by authority of these presents absolve them and do deprive the same Elizabeth of her pretended Title to the Kingdome and all other things abovesaid And we do command and interdict all and every the Noblemen Subjects People and others aforesaid that they presume not to obey her or her Monitions Mandates and Laws And those which shall do to the contrary we do innodate with the like sentence of anathema This Bull was the fire and the roaring of the Canon and the bullet came forth immediately which was the rebellion in the North for which Chapino Vitelli was sent into England from the Duke of Alva under pretence of compounding some controversies about commerce And Nicholas Morton was sent from the Pope to knit the rebellion Which he did denouncing from his Master that Queen Elizabeth was an Heretick and thereby had forfeited to the Pope all her dominion and power At the same time a rebellion broke out in Ireland kindled or blown by a Spaniard Iuan Mendoza And when the Rebells of England were defeated they found refuge among the Papist Rebells of Scotland who set up again the English rebellion All these in vain by the gracious assistance of God to poor England as if his compassion had been stirred up by his jealousie after that the Pope had declared himself so insolently Prince over all People and all Kingdoms to pluck up destroy scatter consume plant and build And God would shew that to himself not to the Pope belongeth the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory for ever Neither did Pius the V. fight onely by Bulls but at the same time that the Bull was published he laid down a hundred thousand Crowns to raise the rebellion and promised fifty thousand more yea and to bear the whole charge of the War That money was distributed by one Ridolpho And how active that Pope was to stirre Spain France and Netherlands against the Queen and to put her Kingdome in combustion is related by Hieronymo Catena an Authour of great credit at Rome in his life of Pius the V. Gregory the XIII succeeded Pius the V. in all his plots against England He gave to Thomas Stukely an English Rebell a Commission to help the Rebells of Ireland and get that Kingdome for the Bastard-Son of his Holiness Iames Boncompagnon and gave him the command of eight hundred Italians to joyn with King Sebastian of Portugal who had engaged his word to the Pope to serve him