History of the Progress and Suppression of the Reformation in Italy in the 16th Century; Including a Sketch of the History of the Reformation in the Grisons (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1827 Excerpt: ... CHAPTER V. SUPPRESSION OF THE REFORMATION IN ITALY. It was in the year 1542, that the court of Rome first became seriously alarmed at the progress of the new opinions in Italy. Engrossed by foreign politics, and believing that they could at any time put down an evil which was within their reach, the pope and his counsellors had either disregarded the representations which were made to them on this head as exaggerated, or contented themselves with issuing prohibitory bulls and addressing to the bishops of the suspected places monitory letters, which were defeated by the lukewarmness of the local magistrates, or the caution of the obnoxious individuals. But in the course of the year referred to, the clergy, and particularly the friars, poured in their complaints from all parts of the country, as to the danger to which the catholic faith was exposed from the boldness of the reformers and the increase of conventicles. At the head of these was Pietro Caraffa, commonly called the Theatine cardinal, from an order of monks of which he was the founder, a prelate who made high pretensions to sanctity, and distinguished himself by his violence, when he afterwards mounted the pontifical throne, under the name of Paul IV. He laid before the sacred college the discoveries he had made as to the extent to which heresy had taken root in Naples and spread through various parts of Italy; and convinced them of the necessity of adopting the speediest and strongest measures for its extermination. It was resolved to proceed in the first place against such of the ecclesiastics as were understood to favour it, among whom Ochino and Martyr were the most distinguished; but as these individuals were in possession of great popularity, and had not yet made open defection from the cathol...