When Pope Paul V made the decision of placing Venice under interdict in 1606, the Catholic Church’s slow but steady decline since the end of the Middle Ages became more rapid and apparent to both the secular leaders and common people of Europe. Paul V was initially concerned about laws that restricted the clergy’s right to acquire land (de Vivo 157), and tensions reached a breaking point when a cardinal and bishop were jailed for violating these laws (“Paul V”). The doge and Senate of Venice were subsequently excommunicated, and a papal interdict was enacted (“Paul V”). Although the Venetians had yielded to the Church when they were under interdict in the past, they began to “view compliance with papal wishes as a concession to Spanish dominance”
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For example, this conflict between church and state ended when “a compromise was arranged through Henry IV, king of France. The laws remained in force, but the clergymen were released from prison” (“Paul V”). Although both sides were able to resolve their differences without war, Venice had clearly gained more than it had lost. The laws that restricted the Church’s use of Venetian land remained in effect, ultimately proving that the ecclesiastics had to yield to temporal power. In addition, this interdict “was the last in the history of the Church; with the example set by Venice as an eternal warning before him, no other Pope ever dared risk another” (Norwich 516). The interdict and the conflict that resulted had such a detrimental impact on the Catholic Church that no other Pope since the 17th century dared to implement one again. The Church had likewise lost a weapon that “by the very threat of which, in the Middle Ages, had been enough to bring kings and emperors to their knees” (Norwich 515). The defeat of the Church during the Interdict of 1606 continued its downward decline in both power and
For example, this conflict between church and state ended when “a compromise was arranged through Henry IV, king of France. The laws remained in force, but the clergymen were released from prison” (“Paul V”). Although both sides were able to resolve their differences without war, Venice had clearly gained more than it had lost. The laws that restricted the Church’s use of Venetian land remained in effect, ultimately proving that the ecclesiastics had to yield to temporal power. In addition, this interdict “was the last in the history of the Church; with the example set by Venice as an eternal warning before him, no other Pope ever dared risk another” (Norwich 516). The interdict and the conflict that resulted had such a detrimental impact on the Catholic Church that no other Pope since the 17th century dared to implement one again. The Church had likewise lost a weapon that “by the very threat of which, in the Middle Ages, had been enough to bring kings and emperors to their knees” (Norwich 515). The defeat of the Church during the Interdict of 1606 continued its downward decline in both power and