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Those who are in authority, I say, do evil when holy justice dies

Primary Source #1. Those who are in authority, I say, do evil when holy justice dies in them because of their selfish self-centeredness and their fear of incurring the displeasure of others. They see those under them sinning but it seems they pretend not to see and do not correct them . . .

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Those who are in authority, I say, do evil when holy justice dies

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  1. Primary Source #1 Those who are in authority, I say, do evil when holy justice dies in them because of their selfish self-centeredness and their fear of incurring the displeasure of others. They see those under them sinning but it seems they pretend not to see and do not correct them . . . A shepherd such as this is really a hireling! Not only does he fail to rescue his little sheep from the clutches of the wolf; he devours them himself! . . . And don’t be afraid, father, no matter what may happen, of these blustery winds that have descended upon you--I mean those rotten members who have rebelled against you. Don’t be afraid, for divine help is near . . . Do something about it . . . Delay no longer, for your delaying has already been the cause of a lot of trouble . . . Up, father! No more irresponsibility! . . . SOURCE: Catherine of Siena, To Pope Gregory XI (January 1376) [S, 203]

  2. Primary Source #2 After the apostolic seat was made vacant by the death of our lord, pope Gregory XI, who died in March, we assembled in conclave for the election of a pope, as is the law and custom, in the papal palace, in which Gregory had died . . . Officials of the city with a great multitude of the people, for the most part armed and called together for this purpose by the ringing of the bells, surrounded the palace in a threatening manner and even entered it and almost filled it . . . They gave us no time to deliberate but compelled us unwillingly, through violence and fear, to elect an Italian without delay. In order to escape the danger which threatened us from such a mob, we elected Bartholomew, archbishop of Bari, thinking that he would have enough conscience not to accept the election . . . But he was unmindful of his own salvation and burningwith ambition . . . SOURCE: French cardinals, The Great Schism (1378) [475]

  3. Primary Source #3 Note how God shows love for His Church through the schism that has recently befallen the papacy . . . it seems to them [God’s children] that the pope is Antichrist on earth, because he is the opposite of Christ in life and lore. Christ was a very poor man from His birth to His death and forswore worldly riches and begging . . . but Antichrist, in contrast to this, from the time that he is made pope . . . covets worldly wealth and tries in many shrewd ways to gain riches. Christ was a most meek man . . . but people say that the pope is the proudest man on earth, and makes lords kiss his feet whereas Christ washed His apostles’ feet . . . If these and similar accusations are true of the pope of Rome, he is the very Antichrist and not Christ’s vicar . . . SOURCE: John Wycliffe (ca. 1330-1384), Concerning the Pope (1379) [477]

  4. Primary Source #4 In regard to these follies of the Unlearned . . . I find these points: (1) The pope is the head of the holy Roman church. (2) The college of cardinals is the body of the holy Roman church. (3) The pope is manifestly and truly the successor of the prince of apostles, Peter. (4) Cardinals are manifest and true successors of the college of Christ’s other apostles . . . None of these six points is truth known by the bodily senses or discovered by an infallible intelligence or known through revelation, or laid down in divine Scripture. Therefore, no one of these six points is truth in the religion of Jesus Christ which is to be followed . . . SOURCE: Jan Hus (ca. 1373-1415), The Church [479]

  5. Primary Source #5 This holy and general council, representing the universal church , decrees and declares that the united college of cardinals was empowered to call the council, and that the power to call such a council belongs of right to the aforesaid holy college of cardinals , especially now when there is a detestable schism. The council further declared that this holy council, representing the universal church, caused both claimants of the papal throne to be cited in the gates and doors of the churches of Pisa to come and hear the final decision [in the matter of the schism] pronounced, or to give a good and sufficient reason why such a sentence should not be rendered. SOURCE: Council of Pisa (1409) [S, 205]

  6. Primary Source #6 A good way to till the field of the Lord is to hold general councils frequently, because by them the briers, thorns, and thistles of heresies, errors, and schisms are rooted out, abuses reformed, and the way of the Lord made more fruitful. But if general councils are not held, all these evils spread and flourish. We therefore decree by this perpetual edict that general councils shall be held as follows: The first one shall be held five years after the close of this council, the second one seven years after the close of the first, and forever thereafter one shall be held every ten years. One month before the close of each council the pope, with the approval and consent of the council, shall fix the place for holding the next council. If the pope fails to name the place the council must do so. SOURCE: Council of Constance (1417) [S, 205]

  7. Primary Source #7 And I, Agnolo di Tura, called the Fat, buried my five children with my own hands. And there were also those who were so sparsely covered with earth that the dogs dragged them forth and devoured many bodies throughout the city. There was no one who wept for any death, for all awaited death. And so many died that all believed that it was the end of the world . . . And it was all so horrible that I, the writer, cannot think of it and so will not continue . . . The city of Siena seemed almost uninhabited for almost no one was found in the city. And then, when the pestilence abated, all who survived gave themselves over to pleasures: monks, priests, nuns, and lay men and women all enjoyed themselves, and none worried about spending and gambling . . . SOURCE: Agnolo di Tura, plague in Siena, Italian chronicle (1351)

  8. Primary Source #8 In that land . . . no one can see the Transmontane Star, known as the Star of the Sea, which is immovable and stands in the north and is called the Lode Star. They see, rather, another star, its opposite, which stands in the south and is called the Antarctic Star. Just as sailors get their bearings and steer by the Lode Star, so sailors beyond those parts steer by the southern star, which we cannot see. So our northern star, which we call the Lode Star, cannot be seen there. This is proof that the earth and sea are round in shape and form . . . I say with certainty that people can encircle the entire world, below the equator as well as above, and return to their homelands, provided they have good company, a ship, and health . . . So people who travel to India and the foreign isles girdle the roundness of the earth and the seas . . . SOURCE: John Mandeville, Travels (1356-66)

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