Editing Temporal power of the Holy See (section)

== Early modern period ==

Theologian [[Robert Bellarmine]], in his 16th-century dogmatic work {{lang|la|[[Disputationes de Controversiis|Disputationes]]}}, strongly affirmed the authority of the pope as the [[vicar of Christ]]. However, he reasoned that since Christ did not ''exercise'' his temporal power, neither may the pope.<ref>Springborg, Patricia. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263155499_Thomas_Hobbes_and_Cardinal_Bellarmine_Leviathan_and_'the_ghost_of_the_Roman_empire' "Thomas Hobbes and Cardinal Bellarmine: Leviathan and 'the ghost of the Roman empire{{'"}}]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807091943/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263155499_Thomas_Hobbes_and_Cardinal_Bellarmine_Leviathan_and_%27the_ghost_of_the_Roman_empire%27 |date=7 August 2022 }}. ''History of Political Thought''. XVI:4 (January 1995), pp. 503–531 [516–517].</ref>

In 1590, [[Pope Sixtus V]] had, of his own initiative, placed the first volume of the {{lang|la|Disputationes}} on a new edition of the {{lang|la|[[Index Librorum Prohibitorum]]}} for denying that the pope had direct temporal authority over the whole world. The entry concerning Bellarmin reads: {{lang|la|"Roberti Bellarmini Disputationes de Controversiis Christianae fidei adversus huius temporis haereticos. Nisi prius ex superioribus regulis recognitae fuerint."}}{{translation needed inline|date=May 2024}} Sixtus V died before he could promulgate the [[Papal bull|bull]] which would have made this new edition of the ''Index'' enter into force. Sixtus' successor, [[Urban VII]], asked for an examination and after it was done Bellarmine was exonerated and the book removed from the ''Index''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Blackwell|first=Richard J.|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v1gFDgAAQBAJ&q=urban+vii+index+Blackwell+urban+viii&pg=PT123|title=Galileo, Bellarmine, and the Bible|date=1991|publisher=University of Notre Dame Press|isbn=978-0-268-15893-4|page=30|language=en|chapter=Chapter 2: Bellarmine's Views Before the Galileo Affair|doi=10.2307/j.ctvpg847x|quote=Bellarmine himself was not a stranger to theological condemnation. In August 1590 Pope Sixtus V decided to place the first volume of the ''Controversies'' on the ''Index'' because Bellarmine had argued that the pope is not the temporal ruler of the whole world and that temporal rulers do not derive their authority to rule from God through the pope but through the consent of the people governed. However Sixtus died before the revised ''Index'' was published, and the next pope, Urban VII, who reigned for only twelve days before his own death, removed Bellarmine’s book from the list during that brief period. The times were precarious.}}</ref><ref name=":42">{{Cite book|last1=Vacant|first1=Alfred|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionnairedet02pt1vaca|title=Dictionnaire de théologie catholique : contenant l'exposé des doctrines de la théologie catholique, leurs preuves et leur histoire|last2=Mangenot|first2=Eugene|last3=Amann|first3=Emile|date=1908|publisher=Letouzey et Ané|others=University of Ottawa|edition=2nd|volume=2|location=Paris|page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionnairedet02pt1vaca/page/563 563]–564|language=fr|chapter=Bellarmin}}</ref>

Concerning the pastoral and spiritual power of the pope, Bellarmine's {{lang|la|Disputationes}} (1586–1593) and {{lang|la|De potestate summi pontificis in rebus temporalibus}} (1610; ''Concerning the Power of the Supreme Pontiff in Temporal Matters'') "gave definite form to the theory of [[papal supremacy]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/France|title=France – Political ideology|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2020-02-18}}</ref>