But when he was about to depart, important difficulties arose, which made it necessary to postpone his intended journey. Pope PAUL III., who had ascended the Papal chair at the death of Clement VII., seemed to be in earnest about summoning a General Council of the Church. The Emperor had held the opinion since 1530, that a General Council must be held, if harmony was to be restored to Germany. But Pope Clement was never in earnest in the matter; and even the Papal Nuncio, PAUL VERGERIUS, seems only to have gone to Wittenberg in order to deceive. But now it had a different appearance. Pope Paul had already published a bull, June 2d, 1536, calling a Council to meet at Mantua, on the 23d of May, of the following year. But it offered no hopeful prospect, for it said, among other things: "Not only to exterminate all heresy and error from the vineyard of the Lord, and to improve the morals of the Christian Church by such holy and wholesome medicine, but also to effect a general peace and unity among all Christian believers, and to reconquer our kingdom and lands by a general crusade against the Unbelievers." It proceeds in the same tone. The Lutherans could not greatly rejoice in a Council which was to accomplish such things. It was generally reported at this time, that a Papal Nuncio would come to Saxony; and it was of importance to know how he was to be received. We may easily understand that the Elector was not disposed to meet him in the most friendly manner. However, he requested the opinions of the divines and jurists in Wittenberg. They replied that it would only be possible to consent to a Council, under certain conditions. Let us hear what principles were expressed in Melanchthon's opinion. He thought that it would be best, if the Council could be prevented, for the Pope evidently had no other intention than to condemn the Protestants. That they had a perfect right to protest against the Council, but as they had continually appealed to such an one, it would now bring "disgrace" upon the Protestants, if they should fly from it. Neither he, nor the other Wittenbergers, would permit the Pope to be judge in this General Council of the Church. However, the Elector differed altogether from the temperate views expressed in these opinions. He held, that the Council summoned by the Pope was neither a free nor general one, and that it ought not to be attended to; he even thought that an opposition Council should be called, in which nothing should be transacted "but what is founded in divine and holy Scripture, and drawn up in accordance with it."