The history of the popes, from the close of the middle ages : drawn ...

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HISTORY OF THE POPES.
that of the bishops, owed its origin to Pius V., who, in a brief
of February 13th, 1572,^ charged Cardinals Ludovico Madruzzo,
Santori, Burah and Aldobrandini to examine the petitions
of the bishops, as well as any accusations brought against
them, and to submit their decisions to the Pope for approval.
This new congregation, however, had already held its first
meeting in the autumn of the previous year.^
The congregation which had been formed for the inter-
pretation of the decrees of the Council was kept specially
busy with questions in the time of Pius V.^ These dealt for
the most part with practical questions concerning benefices,
the obhgation of making contributions to the seminaries, the
education of girls in the convents of women despite the law
of enclosure and the like. The French Calvinists gave
occasion for a decision of greater dogmatic importance.
According to Calvin baptism had not the power of taking away
original sin, and the French preachers, in consequence, made
it clear that in baptizing they had no intention of doing what
the Roman Church understood by baptism. The Council
had declared that the baptism of heretics was only valid
if they intended to do what was intended by the Church of
Christ,^ and the French Catholics therefore felt serious doubts
Vienna). *Arco wrote that in accordance with the request of the
Duke of Florence Boccaccio was being reprinted at Padua after
the Roman Inquisition had purged it of its more scandalous
contents. Cf. Dejob, De I'influence du Concile de Trente, 167,
and Vol. XVI. of this work, p. 12.
^ Published by J. Hilgers in Pastor bonus, XV. (1902-3), 238.
That the " congregatio episcoporum " still existed in the time of
Gregory XIII., see in Anal, iuris Pontif., I., Rome 1855, 2257.
^ " *Alli 22 di settembre [1571], di sabato, nelle quattro tempora,
intervenni alia prima congregazione della Consulta de' vescovi,
instituta da Sua Santita accio i vescovi et anco i sudditi sapessero
a chi ricorrere, per non infestare sempre 1' orecchi di Sua Beatitu-
dine." Santori, Autobiografia XII., 352.
^ The decrees of the congregation, edited by Poggiani, have been
printed ; between February 2, 1566 and September 25, 1568,
there were 257. Pogiani Epist., I., 372-496.
* Sess. 7, de bapt. can. 4.