Though Ferdinand was strongly attached to the tenets of the papal
church, and would gladly have eradicated Protestantism from his domains,
he was compelled to treat the Protestants with some degree of
consideration, as he needed the aid of their arms in the wars in which
he was incessantly involved with the Turks. He even made great efforts
to introduce some measure of conciliation which should reconcile the two
parties, and thus reunite his realms under one system of doctrine and of
worship.
Still Protestantism was making rapid strides all over Europe. It had
become the dominant religion in Denmark and Sweden, and, by the
accession of Elizabeth to the throne of England, was firmly established
in that important kingdom. In France also the reformed religion had made
extensive inroads, gathering to its defense many of the noblest spirits,
in rank and intellect, in the realm. The terrors of the inquisition had
thus far prevented the truth from making much progress in Spain and
Portugal.
With the idea of promoting reconciliation, Ferdinand adopted a measure
which contributed greatly to his popularity with the Protestants. He
united with France and Spain in urging Pius IV.
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