Sess. 21. A decree was read on the part of the pope, ap- proving and ratifying all the dispensations of marriage, and tliose relating to the penitentiary, which had been granted by Benedict or Gregory.
I A decree was published on the part of the pope and council, confirming all collations, provisions, translation-, etc . made canonically by the two rival popes.
Sess. 23. A decree was read, ordering metropolitans to convoke provincial councils, and the generals of orders to hold chapters, having presidents of the pope's appoint- ment. Finally, Alexander ratified all that the cardinals hid done since May 3, 1408, and especially what had pass- ed at Pisa. With regard to Church reform, as many of the prelates had left the council, the pope declared thai eel should be deferred until the following coun- cil, which he appointed to be held in 1412; then he dis- missed the assembly, giving plenary indulgence to all who had assisted at. it, and to all who had adhered to it. See Hardouin. Ada, vii, 1929 sq.j \iii. 1 Bq.; Mansi, Concil. xxvi, 1131 sip; xxvii, 1 522; Labbe, Condi. xi, •_'in; Lenfant, Hist, du Concdt Pisa (Amsterd. 1724, dtoi; Wessenberg, DU Allgemeinen ConciLdes 15 ". L6 Jahrh. ii. 18 sq. ; Hefele, Conciliengesch. vol. v. For the imbecile conduct of papal affairs under the newly chosen candidate we refer the reader to the an. \i i \- amo i: V, and tin' history of his successor, John Will
(s. v.). In this plaee we may simply add that tin
schism, instead of being closed, continued, with three popes in the r i ol two. The effort also to reduce
the rank of the pope to a constitutional instead of an
absolute monarch, by giving to the councils of the
Church the supreme tribunal, to which the pope him- self is subordinate and amenable, failed. See 1m m- i.ii.n i m ; Papal Si prew \< i.
III. Another council was convened at l'isa in loll.
at the instigation of the emperors Maximilian and Louis XII of France, who having just cause of complaint against pope Julius II (q. v.), persuaded the cardinals of St. Croix, Xarbonne, and Cosenzi to convoke a coun-
cil, whose object was Bel forth to he the reform of the Church in its head and in it- members, and to punish various notorious crimes which for a long time bad scandalized the whole Church. It was further stated that there was urgent need of such councils, that Ju- lius hail not only neglected to convoke one. but had done all in his power to hinder it : and. linally. the pope was in respectful terms cited to appear at the council. Besides thi-. in answer to the complaint made against them by Julius, they published an apology for their conduct, in w hich they justified the convocation of the Council of Pisa: first, by a decree passed in the thirty- ninth session of the council: secondly, by the pope's own \ou. according to which he had promised to hold a council: thirdly, by the oath of the cardinals, and b\ the necessity of avoiding so great scandal. They further showed that the canons, which vest the power of convoking such councils in the pope, are to be under- stood as speaking of the ordinary Btate of things, but
that cause may arise in which c icils may be called
and assembled by others than the sovereign pontiff. Tin pope, in order to parry the flow, convoked a rival council to Rome, and cited the three above-mentioned cardinals to appear there within a certain time, under pain of deprivation. The Council of Pisa, however. proceeded, and was opened Nov. 1. 1511. Four cardi- nals attended, and the proctors of three who were ab- sent, also fourteen French bishops and two archbish- ops, together with a few abbots and doctors; deputies
from the universities of France, and the ambassadors
of Louis XII. 'J'lii' following is an account of each -• -- sion's transactions:
Ses<. 1. Cardinal St. Croix presided. The convocation of the Council of Pisa, having for its object the reforma- tion of the Chinch, was pronounced to be just and lawful, ami all that had been or might he done to its prejudice declared null and void.
Sess. -'. All that related to the order of the assembly w.i- settled; the canon of Toledo read, and officers ap- pointed. A decree was made to the effect thai the pres- ent council could not be dissolved until the reformation of the Church should have been effected. Tin d< the Council of Constance, relating to the authority of oecumenical councils, w< re renewed.
Sess. 8. At this time, the pope having entered into a league with Ferdinand and the Venetiai s, began to at- tack the state of Florem c, and the fathers judged it ex- pedient to transfer the council to Milan; which accord- ingly was done; and on Jan. 4, 1512, the fourth was held at Milan.
Sea l '! i issembly was more numerous, the cardi- nals of St. Severin and St. Angelo joined themselves to
the others. The proctor-generS of the Order of 1 'remon- strants made a long discourse upon the disorders which
ravaged the Church; then certain decrees were read, by which thirty days were given to the pope, within which time to determine himself to reform abuses in the Church, or else to assemble an oecumenical council, or to unite with that already assembled.