A Blow for the Pope, Part 6
Cases papall to the number of one and fifty, wherein the Pope hath power onelyonly to dispence, and none els besids, except by speciall licence from him.
FIrst the determination of doubts and questions belonging to faith.
Translation of a Bishop elected or confirmed.
Likewise of abbots exempted. Deposition of Bishops.
The taking of resignation of Bishops
Exemptions of Bishops, not to bee vnderunder Arch-Bishops.
Restitution of such as bee deposed from their order.
The judiciall definition or the interpretation of his owne priviledges.
Changing of Bishopricks: or demission of coventes.
New correction of Bioshps seats, or institution of new religions.
Subjection or division of a Bishoprick vnderunder another.
Dispensation for vowing to goe to the holy Land.
Dispensation for the vow of chastitie, or of religion, or of holy orders.
Dispensation against a lawfull oath, or vow made,
Dispensation against divers irregularities, as in crymes greater then adulterie, and in such as bee suspended in symony.
Dispensation in receaving into orders him that had two wyues.
Dispensing with such as being with murthers, that which is aboue their order, as if a deacon should say Masse, being not Priest.
To receave vntounto orders such as bee blamished or maymed in bodie.
Dispensation with marther, or with such as willingly cut off any member of mans bodie.
Dispensation to give orders to such as hauehave beene vnderunder the sentence of the great curse or excommunication.
Dispensation with such as beeing suspended, with the grea ter curse doeminister in vnholy order.
Dispensation with such as being vnlawfully borne to receaveorder or benefices.
Dispensation for pluralities of benefices.
Dispensation to make a man Bishop, before he be 30. yeare old.
Dispensation to giuegive orders vnderunder age.
The Pope hath power to make and call a generall councill.
The Pope hath onelyonly power to detriue an ecclesiasticall person, and giuegive away his benefice being not vacant.
The Pope onelyonly is able to absolue him, who is excommunicat by name.
The Pope onelyonly is to absolue him, whom his Legat doth excommunicat.
The Pope judgeth onelyonly in the causes of them, that appeall vntounto him, and where hee judgeth no mar must appeale from him.
OnelyOnly hee hath authoritie to make Deacon Priest, whom he had made subdeacon either vponupon Sundayes, or vponupon other feasts.
OnelyOnly the Pope and none els at all times, and in all places weareth the Palle.
The Pope only dispensses with a man, either being not with murtherers, or being vnworthie to bee made Bishop.
He onelyonly either confirmeth or deposeth the Emperour when hee is chosen.
A man being excommunicat, and his absolution referred to the Pope, none may absolue that man but the Pope alon
The same hath authotitie in any election, before it be made to pronunce it non when it is made.
Hee doth Canonize Sancts, and none els but hee.
Dispensation to how many dignities and personage in a Church, and without charge and cure of the soule, belongeth onelyonly to the Pope.
To make that effectuall, which is of none effect, and contrarie-wayes belongeth onelyonly to the Pope.
To plucke out a Monke out of his cloister, both against his owne will and the Abbots, pertaineth onelyonly to the Pope. His sentence maketh a law.
The same day in the which the Pope is consecrated, he may giuegive orders.
Hee dispenseth in degrees of consanguinity and affinitie.
Hee is able to abolish lawes, that is both civill and Canon, where danger is of the soule.
It is in his dispensation to giuegive indulgences generall to certane places or persons.
Item to legitimate what person soever hee pleaseth, as touching spritualities, in all places, as touching temporalities, as honours, inheritance.
To erect new religions, to approue or reproue rewles, ordinances, and ceremonies in the Church.
Item to dispence and discharge and subject, from the band of alledgence, or oath made to any manner of person.
No man may accuse him of any cryme, vnlesse of heresie, and that neither except hee bee incorrigible.
The same is also free from all lawes, so that hee cannot incur into any sentence of excommunication, suspension, irregularitie, or into penelty of any cryme, but into the note of cry me hee may well.
Finally: Hee by his dispensation may grant, yeato a simple Priest, to minister the sacraments of confirmation to infants, also to giuegive lower orders, and to hallow churches and Virgins.
These bee the causes wherein I hauehave power to dispense, and no man els, neither Bishop, nor metrapolitan, nor legat, without licence from mee.
AFter that I now sufficiently declared my power in earth, in Heaven, and in Purgatory, how great it is, and what is the fulnesse thereof, in binding, and loosing, cōmāding, permitting, electing, cōfirming, deposing dispēsing doing & vndoing, I wil intreat a litle of my riches likewise, and great possessions, that everie man may see by my wealth, and abundance of all things, rents, tyths, tribute, my silkes, Purple myters, Crownes of gold and silver, Pearles and gumes, lands and lordships, how God heere prospereth and magnifieth his viccar in the earth: For to mee pertaineth first the imperiall citie of Rome, the Palace of Later an, the Kingdome of Cicile is proper to mee, Aprilia and Capua be mine, also the Kingdome of England and Ir land bee they not brought to bee tributaries to mee, 214. To these I admit also besids other Provinces and countries, both in the occident and orient, from the North to the South these dominions by name, & others moe: 216. which Constantinus the Emperour gaue vntounto mee, not that they were not mine of before, hee did giuegive them. 217. For that I tooke them of him, I tooke them not as a gift, as is aforementioned, but as restitution, and that I randred them againe to Otho, I did it not for my duetie to him, but onelyonly for peace sake, what should I speake heere of my dayly enemies, of my first fruits, annates, palles, indulgences, Bulls, confessionals, indulgences & prescripts, testamēts, dispensations, priviledges, elections, prebendes, religious houses, and such like, which came to no small masse of money, in so much that for a palle to the Arch-Bishop of Mentz which was wont to bee gotten for ten thousand 218 Florence, now is growne to twentie seven thousand Florence which I receaved of Iacobus the Arch-Bishop not long before Basil counsell: besids the friuits of other Bishoprickes in Germany, comming to the number of fiftie, whereby what advantage commeth vntounto my Coffers, it may partly bee conjectured. But what shall I speake of Germany, 219. when the whole world is my dyocie, as my Cannonists doe say, and all men are bound to belieue, 220. except they will imagine as the Maniches doe two beginnings which is false and hereticall. Moses sayeth. In the beginning GOD made Heaven and earth, and not in the beginnings, 221. wherefore as I beginne so I conclude, cō manding, declaring, and pronouncing, to stand vponupon the necessitie of salvation, for everie humane creature to be subject to mee.
End of the text · John Foxe, A Blow for the Pope (1631)