, a mild and pliant
pontiff, to convene a council in Germany to heal the religious feud. He
drew up a memorial, which was published and widely scattered, declaring
that the Protestants had become far too powerful to be treated with
outrage or contempt; that there were undeniable wrongs in the Church
which needed to be reformed; and that no harm could accrue from
permitting the clergy to marry, and to administer both bread and wine to
the communicants in the Lord's Supper. It was a doctrine of the Church
of Rome, that the laity could receive the bread only; the wine was
reserved for the officiating priest.
This memorial of Ferdinand, drawn up with much distinctness and great
force of argument, was very grateful to the Protestants, but very
displeasing to the court of Rome. These conflicts raged for several
years without any decisive results. The efforts of Ferdinand to please
both parties, as usual, pleased neither. By the Protestants he was
regarded as a persecutor and intolerant; while the Catholics accused him
of lukewarmness, of conniving at heresy and of dishonoring the Church by
demanding of her concessions derogatory to her authority and her
dignity.
Ferdinand, finding that the Church clung with deathly tenacity to its
corruptions, assumed himself quite the attitude of a reformer.
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