Il nipotismo di Roma, or, The History of the Popes Nephews: from the time of Sixtus IV. to the death of the last Pope, Alexander VIILeti, Gregorio
History
Il nipotismo di Roma, or, The History of the Popes Nephews: from the time of Sixtus IV. to the death of the last Pope, Alexander VII
Leti, Gregorio
Nepotism; Papacy -- Early works to 1800; Papacy -- History
Therefore to save the reputation of the Papal dignity, I am forced to
say, that those Popes, who at first did profess an aversion to their
kindred, and yet afterwards admitted them, were certainly seised with
some melancholy humors and capriciousness, which made them commit such
errors. It must not seem strange if I call them errors, since reason it
self must needs call them so; for first, to be perswaded that their
predecessors had failed in admitting their kindred into _Rome_, and in
giving up the government of the Church into their hands; then, to swear
and protest to keep theirs at a distance, that they may be freed from the
like miscarriages; and after all this, not onely to call them into
_Rome_, give them the Keys of the treasure, and put all the
administration of the temporal and spiritual into their hands, whereby to
make themselves Princes, but also to give them an absolute authority over
the Church, the Popedome, nay, the very person of the Pope; this is
certainly to demonstrate, that the Pope hath the power of making that to
be good and just, which he hath condemn’d for bad & mischievous; which if
the people of Rome, or the Courtiers, do believe, certainly people of
judgment and sound understanding do not.
As for me, I have not hitherto denyed that opinion of the Roman Divines,
_viz. that the Popes cannot erre_; but when once I came to see the
falsity of it proved in the person of _Alexander_ the seventh, certainly
I have had a mind to curse those Divines, that flatter thus the Popes,
not out of a design to serve the Church, but to make themselves great;
and we know very well, that there are now many of them living, who have
been made Cardinals, meerly because they had writ to the advantage and
honour of the Pope, which thing still stirs up others to do the same; but
let them write what they will, all the world shall never perswade me, but
that the proceeding of _Alexander_ towards his kindred, in calling them
to him, contrary to his oath, is as great an error as ever Pope
committed.
Yet let us do them the favour to interpret their Doctrine their own way,
and allow of their distinction, that is, that the Popes are infallible in
matters of faith, but not in matters of policy; let it be so; but if we
do them this kindness, I hope they will be so civil as to requite it with
another: we desire them then to tell us a little; The Popes Nephews, have
they not the same authority as the Popes themselves, who invest them with
it as soon as they are admitted into the _Vatican_, they govern all
affairs, politick, civil, Ecclesiastick, and in a word, sacred, prophane,
divine, all things pass through their hands. Then with them sometimes
the Popes may erre, even in matters of faith, since often in matters of
faith they trust their Nephews, who being men subject to passions, are
admitted by all to be capable of error.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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