Editing Jansenism (section)

=== Formulary controversy: 1664–1669 ===
{{main|Formulary controversy}}

At the urging of several bishops, and at the personal insistence of King [[Louis XIV]], Pope Alexander VII sent to France the [[apostolic constitution]] ''[[Regiminis Apostolici]]'' in 1664, which required, according to the {{lang|la|[[Enchiridion symbolorum]]}}, "all ecclesiastical personnel and teachers" to subscribe to an included [[formulary (model documents)|formulary]], the ''[[Formula of Submission for the Jansenists]]''.<ref name="DH2012">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2012 |title=Compendium of Creeds, Definitions, and Declarations on Matters of Faith and Morals |encyclopedia=Enchiridion symbolorum: a compendium of creeds, definitions and declarations of the Catholic Church |publisher=Ignatius Press |location=San Francisco |editor1-last=Denzinger |editor1-first=Heinrich |edition=43rd |isbn=978-0898707465 |editor2-last=Hünermann |editor2-first=Peter |editor3-last=Fastiggi |editor3-first=Robert L. |editor4-last=Nash |editor4-first=Anne Englund |display-editors=2}}</ref>{{rp|at=n. 2020}}

The formula was the basis of the [[Formulary Controversy]]. Many Jansenists refused to sign it; while some did sign, they made it known that they were agreeing only to the doctrine (matters ''de jure''), not the allegations asserted by the bull (matters ''de facto''). The latter category included the four Jansenist-leaning bishops, who communicated the bull to their flocks along with messages that maintained the distinction between doctrine and fact. This angered both Louis XIV and Alexander VII, who commissioned nine French bishops to investigate the situation.

Alexander VII died in 1667 before the commission concluded its investigation and his successor, [[Pope Clement IX]], initially appeared willing to continue the investigation of the nine Jansenist-leaning bishops. However, in France, Jansenists conducted a campaign arguing that allowing a papal commission of this sort would constitute a renouncement of the traditional liberties of the [[Gallicanism|Gallican Church]], thus playing on traditional French opposition to [[ultramontanism]]. They convinced one member of the cabinet (Lyonne) and nineteen bishops of their position. These bishops argued, in a letter to Clement IX, that the [[infallibility of the Church]] applied only to matters of [[revelation]], and not to matters of fact. They asserted that this was the position of [[Caesar Baronius]] and [[Robert Bellarmine]]. They also argued in a letter to Louis XIV that allowing the investigation to continue would result in political discord.

[[File:Carlo Maratta - Portrait of Pope Clement IX.jpg|thumb|[[Pope Clement IX]] (1600–1669), whose intervention in the [[Formulary Controversy]] led to a 32-year lull (1669–1701) in the controversy over Jansenism known as the ''Clementine Peace'']]

Under these circumstances, the [[papal nuncio]] to France recommended that Clement IX accommodate the Jansenists. Clement agreed, and appointed [[César d'Estrées]], [[Bishop of Laon]], as a mediator in the matter. Two bishops who had signed the letter to the pope, [[Louis Henri de Pardaillan de Gondrin]], [[Archbishop of Sens]], and Félix Vialart de Herse, [[Bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne]], assisted d'Estrées. D'Estrées convinced the four bishops, Arnauld, Choart de Buzenval, Caulet and Pavillon, to sign the ''Formula of Submission for the Jansenists'' (though it seems they may have believed that signing the formulary did not mean assent to the matters ''de facto'' that it contained). The pope, initially happy that the four bishops had signed, became angry when he was informed that they had done so with reservations. Clement IX ordered his nuncio to conduct a new investigation. Reporting back, the nuncio declared: "they have condemned and caused to be condemned the five propositions with all manner of sincerity, without any exception or restriction whatever, in every sense in which the Church has condemned them". However, he reported that the four bishops continued to be evasive as to whether they agreed with the pope as to the matter ''de facto''. In response, Clement IX appointed a commission of twelve cardinals to further investigate the matter.<ref name="Catholic" /> This commission determined that the four bishops had signed the formula in a less than entirely sincere manner, but recommended that the matter should be dropped to forestall further divisions in the Church. Foreign wars also pressured Louis XIV to avoid internal conflict. The pope agreed and thus issued four briefs, declaring the four bishops' agreement to the formula was acceptable, thus instituting the ''Paix clémentine'' ('Clementine Peace') which lasted from 1669 to 1679.<ref name="Gazier-1923" />{{Rp|page=|pages=179–188}}