Part 7 (1/2)
”After they are used to this, ill create thirty or forty cardinals in a day[47], and give to one Mount St Michael at Ba on to these a few rich livings, until churches and cities are waste, and after that ill say, 'We are Christ's vicars and shepherds of Christ's sheep; the mad, drunken Germans must put up with it'”
I advise, however, that the number of the cardinals be reduced, or that the pope be made to keep theh, and each of theulden a year[49] How comes it that we Germans must put up with such robbery and such extortion of our property, at the hands of the pope? If the Kingdom of France has prevented it[50], why do we Germans let them make such fools and apes of us? It would all be more bearable if in this way they only stole our property; but they lay waste the churches and rob Christ's sheep of their pious shepherds, and destroy the worshi+p and the Word of God Even if there were not a single cardinal, the Church would not go under As it is they do nothing for the good of Christendole about the incomes of bishoprics and prelacies, and that any robber could do
[Sidenote: The Curia]
3 If ninety-nine parts of the papal court[51] were done away and only the hundredth part allowed to reive decisions in matters of faith Noever, there is such a swar that they are ”papal,”
that there was nothing like it in Babylon There are more than three thousand papal secretaries alone; ill count the other offices, when they are so many that they scarcely can be counted? And they all lie in wait for the prebends and benefices of Germany as wolves lie in wait for the sheep I believe that Gerave in former times to the emperors Indeed, soulden find their way froet nothing for it but scorn and contempt And yet onder that princes, nobles, cities, endowments, land and people are impoverished!
We should rather wonder that we still have anything to eat!
Since we here come to the heart of the matter, ill pause a little, and let it be seen that the Gerross fools as not to note or understand the sharp practices of the Romans I do not now complain that at Rome God's command and Christian law are despised; for such is the state of Christendom, and particularly of Roh matters Nor do I complain that natural or te
The case is worse even than that I complain that they do not keep their own self-devised canon law, though it is, to be sure, mere tyranny, avarice and temporal splendor, rather than law Let us see!
[Sidenote: The Annates]
In former times German emperors and princes permitted the pope to receive the _annates_ from all the benefices of the German nation, i
e, the half of the first year's revenues froiven, however, in order that by ht accuainst the Turks and infidels in defence of Christendoht not rest too heavily upon the nobility, but that the clergy also should contribute sole-hearted devotion of the German nation the popes have so used, that they have received this money fortax and tribute, and have not only accumulated no treasure, but have used the money to endow many orders and offices at Roh the annates were a fixed rent
[Sidenote: Saracen-tax]
When they pretend that they are about to fight against the Turks, they send out eence on this sa the Turks[53], for they think the ive thereed; though we clearly see that not a _heller_ of the annates or of the indulgence-ainst the Turks, but all of it goes into the bottoreements with us, and they do not intend to keep any of them All this must be counted the work of Christ and St Peter!
Now, in this matter the German nation, bishops and princes, should consider that they too are Christians, and should protect the people, whos te wolves who, in sheep's clothing, pretend to be shepherds and rulers; and, since the annates are so shamefully abused and the stipulated conditions are not fulfilled, they should not perainst all justice; but by a law of the emperor or of the whole nation, they should either keep the annates at hoain[54]
For since the Roht to the annates Therefore the bishops and princes are bound to punish or prevent such thievery and robbery, as the law requires
In this they should aid the pope and support him, or he is perchance too weak to prevent such an abuse all by himself; or if he were to undertake to defend and ainst hiainst a wolf and a tyrant, for he has no authority to do or to defend evil Moreover, if it were ever desired to accuht in the future to have sense enough to see that the German nation would be a better custodian or it than the pope; for the Ger, if only theIt is with the annates as it has been with many another Roain, the year has been so divided between the pope and the ruling bishops and canons[55], that the pope has six months in the year--every other month--in which to bestow the benefices which all vacant in his months[56] In this way almost all the benefices are absorbed by Ronities[57], and when once they fall into the hands of Roh a vacancy ain occur in the pope's enuine robbery, which intends to let nothing escape Therefore it is high tiether abolished, and that everything which they have brought to Roain For the princes and nobles should take oods be returned, the thieves punished, and those who have abused privilege be deprived of privilege If it is binding and valid when the pope on the day after his election makes, in his chancery, rules and lahereby our foundations and livings are robbed,--a thing which he has no right to do; then it should be still more valid if the Emperor Charles on the day after his coronation[58] were toin all Germany shall be allowed to come into the hands of Ros which have already fallen into its hands shall be released, and redeeht by virtue of his office and his sword
But now the Roman See of Avarice and Robbery has not been able to await the time when all the benefices, one after another, would, by the ”papal months,” come into its power, but hastens, with insatiable appetite, to get possession of them all as speedily as possible; and so besides the annates and the ”months” it has hit upon a device by which benefices and livings all to Rome in three ways:
_First_, If any one who holds a free[59] living dies at Ro to the Ro--See[60]; and yet they will not be called robbers, though they are guilty of such robbery as no one has ever heard or read about
_Second_, In case any one who belongs to the household of the pope or of the cardinals[61] holds or takes over a benefice, or in case one who already holds a benefice afterwards enters the ”household” of the pope or of a cardinal But who can count the ”household” of the pope and of the cardinals, when the pope, if he only goes on a pleasure-ride, takes with hi all es? Christ and St Peter went on foot in order that their vicars ht have the ht out another sches it to pass that even here h they were in Rome; all in order that in every place theall benefices to Rome and tie them fast there forever Are not these vexatious and devilish inventions? Let us beware! Soon Mainz, Madgeburg and Halberstadt will gently pass into the hands of Roh[62] ”Afterwards ill make all the Ger let outside”
_Third_, When a contest has started at Rome over a benefice[63] This I hold to be als to Rome For when there is no contest at ho up contests out of the earth and assail livings at their will Thus , or settle the contest for a ti rightly or wrongly contestedforever to the Roman See It would be no wonder if God were to rain from heaven fire and brimstone and to sink Rome in the abyss, as He did Sodom and Gomorrah of old [Gen 19:24] Why should there be a pope in Christendo else than such archknavery, and if he protects and practices it? O noble princes and lords, how long will ye leave your lands and people naked to these ravening wolves!
[Sidenote: The Palliuh, and Avarice grew iet hold of all the bishoprics, therefore my Lord Avarice devised the fiction that the bishoprics should be nominally abroad, but that their land and soil should be at Roreat sum of money he buy the _pallium_[65], and bind himself with terrible oaths to be the pope's servant[66] This is the reason that no bishop ventures to act against the pope That, too, is what the Ro when they imposed the oath, and thus the very richest bishoprics have fallen into debt and ruin Mainz pays, as I hear, 20,000 gulden These be your Romans!
To be sure they decreed of old in the canon law that the _palliuratis, the number of papal servants diminished, the contests lessened, the chapters[67] and bishops allowed their liberty But this did not bring in money, and so they turned over a new leaf, and all authority was taken from the bishops and chapters; they are made ciphers, and have no office nor authority nor work, but everything is ruled by the archknaves at Rome; soon they will have in hand even the office of sexton and bell-ringer in all the churches
All contests are brought to Rome, and by authority of the pope everyone does as he likes
What happened this very year? The Bishop of Strassburg[68] wished to govern his chapter properly and to institute reforms in worshi+p, and with this end in view ulations
But ation of the priests, overthrew and altogether condemned this holy and spiritual ordinance This is called ”feeding the sheep of Christ!”