Editing Pope Paul III (section)

===Politics and religion===
The fourth pope during the period of the [[Protestant Reformation]], Paul III became the first to take active reform measures in response to Protestantism.<ref name=Concordia>[http://reformation500.csl.edu/bio/paul-iii/ "Pope Paul III", ''Reformation 500'' Concordia University] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911091847/http://reformation500.csl.edu/bio/paul-iii/ |date=11 September 2014 }}</ref> Soon after his elevation, 2 June 1536, Paul III summoned a general council to meet at [[Mantua]] in the following May, but the opposition of the Protestant princes and the refusal of [[Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua]] to assume the responsibility of maintaining order frustrated the project.<ref name=Loughlin/> Paul III first deferred for a year and then discarded the whole project.

In 1536, Paul III invited a committee of nine eminent [[prelate]]s, distinguished by learning and piety alike, to report on the reformation and rebuilding of the Church. In 1537 they produced the celebrated ''[[Consilium de Emendanda Ecclesia|Consilium de emendenda ecclesia]]'',<ref>{{cite book| last=le Plat |first=J. |title=Monumenta ad historiam Concilii Tridentini |pages=ii, 596–597 |language=la |place= Leuven |date=1782}}</ref> exposing gross abuses in the Roman Curia, the church administration, and public worship; and proffering bold proposals aimed at abolishing such abuses. The report was widely printed, and the pope was in earnest when he took up the problem of reform. He clearly perceived that Emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] would not rest until the problems were grappled with in earnest.

However, to the Protestants, the report seemed far from thorough; [[Martin Luther]] had his edition (1538) prefaced with a vignette showing the cardinals cleaning the [[Augeas|Augean stable]] of the Roman Church with foxtails instead of brooms. In the end, no results followed from the committee's recommendations.

As a consequence of the extensive campaign against "idolatry" in [[Kingdom of England|England]], culminating with the dismantling of the shrine of St. [[Thomas Becket]] at [[Canterbury]], Paul III excommunicated [[Henry VIII]] on 17 December 1538 and issued an interdict on England.{{sfn|Scarisbrick|2011|p=361}}

In 1534, a decision by Paul III favoured the activity of merchants of all nationalities and religions from the [[Levant]] and allowed them to settle with their families in [[Ancona]], which had become part of the [[Papal States]] under his predecessor [[Clement VII]]. This decision helped make Ancona a prosperous trading city for centuries to come. A Venetian travelling through Ancona in 1535 recorded that the city was "full of merchants from every nation and mostly Greeks and Turks." In the second half of the 16th century, the presence of Greek and other merchants from the [[Ottoman Empire]] declined after a series of restrictive measures taken by the Italian authorities and the pope.<ref name=wos>Jan W. Woś, ''La comunità greca di Ancona alla fine del secolo XVI'', Tipografia Sonciniana, 1979</ref>

Around this time, family complications arose. In order to vest his grandson [[Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma|Ottavio Farnese]] with the [[Duchy of Camerino]], Paul forcibly wrested the same from the [[Duchy of Urbino|duke of Urbino]] (1540). He also incurred virtual war with his own subjects and vassals by the imposition of burdensome taxes. [[Perugia]], renouncing its obedience, was besieged by Paul's son, Pier Luigi, and forfeited its freedom entirely on its surrender. The burghers of [[Colonna family|Colonna]] were duly vanquished, and Ascanio was banished (1541). After this, the time seemed ripe for annihilating heresy.

In 1540, the Church officially recognized the society forming about [[Ignatius of Loyola]], which became the [[Society of Jesus]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://personal.ashland.edu/~jmoser1/jesuits.htm|title=Pope Paul III's Approval of the Society of Jesus (1540)|website=personal.ashland.edu|access-date=11 September 2014|archive-date=11 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911055124/http://personal.ashland.edu/~jmoser1/jesuits.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1542, a second stage in the process of Counter-Reformation was marked by the institution, or reorganization, of the Congregation of the Holy Office of the [[Inquisition]].

On another side, the emperor was insisting that Rome should forward his designs toward a peaceable recovery of the German Protestants. Accordingly, Paul III despatched [[Giovanni Morone]] (not as yet a cardinal) as [[nuncio]] to [[Hagenau]] and [[Worms, Germany|Worms]] in 1540; and in 1541 Cardinal [[Gasparo Contarini]] took part in the adjustment proceedings at the [[Conference of Regensburg]]. It was Contarini who proposed the famous formula "by faith alone are we justified," which did not, however, supersede the Roman Catholic doctrine of good works. At Rome, this definition was rejected in the [[papal consistory|consistory]] of 27 May, and Luther declared that he could accept it only provided the opposers would admit that this formula constituted a change of doctrine.
[[File:Titian - Ranuccio Farnese - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|[[Ranuccio Farnese (cardinal)|Ranuccio Farnese]] was made cardinal by Paul III at the age of 15.]]

However, after the Regensburg Conference had proved fruitless, the emperor insisted on a still larger council, with the final result being the [[Council of Trent]], which finally was convoked on 15 March 1545, under the bull ''Laetare Hierusalem''.

Meanwhile, after the peace of [[Crespy]] (September 1544), Emperor Charles V (1519 – 1556) began to put down Protestantism by force. Pending the [[Diet of Worms]] in 1545, the emperor concluded a covenant of joint action with the papal legate Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, with Paul III agreeing to aid in the projected war against the German Protestant princes and estates. This prompt acquiescence was probably grounded on personal motives: Because the emperor was preoccupied in Germany, the moment now seemed opportune for the pope to acquire for his son Pier Luigi the duchies of [[Duchy of Parma and Piacenza|Parma and Piacenza]].{{sfn|Knecht|2014|p=42}} Although these belonged to the Papal States, Paul III planned to overcome the reluctance of the cardinals by exchanging these papal duchies for the less valuable domains of Camerino and [[Nepi]]. The emperor agreed, welcoming the prospect of 12,000 infantry, 500 cavalry, and considerable funds from the pope.

In Germany the campaign began in the west, where [[Electorate of Cologne|Archbishop of Cologne]] [[Hermann of Wied]] had converted to Protestantism in 1542. Emperor Charles began open warfare against the Protestant princes, estates, and cities allied in the [[Schmalkaldic League]] (see [[Philip of Hesse]]). Hermann was excommunicated on 16 April 1546 and compelled by the emperor to abdicate in February 1547. By the close of 1546, Charles V had subjugated South Germany. The victory at the [[Battle of Mühlberg]] on 24 April 1547 established his imperial sovereignty everywhere in Germany, and the two leaders of the League were captured. The emperor declared the [[Augsburg Interim]] as a magnanimous compromise with the defeated schismatics.
[[File:Farnese detail.JPG|thumb|300px|right|The Farnese coat of arms or ''stemma'' on the facade of the [[Farnese Palace]] in Rome]]

Although the emperor had subdued the German Protestant armies, he had failed to support the pope's territorial ambitions for his son Pier Luigi, and relations between them cooled. The situation came to a total rupture when [[Ferrante Gonzaga]], the imperial vice-regent, forcibly expelled Pier Luigi.

In 1547, the pope's son was assassinated at [[Piacenza]], and Paul III placed some of the blame on the emperor. In the same year, and after the death of [[Francis I of France]] (1515–47) deprived the pope of a potential ally, the stress of circumstances compelled him to accept the ecclesiastical measures in the emperor's Interim.

With reference to the assassinated prince's inheritance, the restitution of which Paul III demanded ostensibly in the name of the church, the pope's design was thwarted by the emperor, who refused to surrender Piacenza, and by Pier Luigi's heir in Parma, Ottavio Farnese.

In consequence of a violent altercation on this account with Cardinal Farnese, Paul III, at the age of 81, became so overwrought that an attack of sickness ensued from which he died on 10 November 1549.

Paul III proved unable to suppress the Protestant Reformation, but it was during his pontificate that the foundation was laid for the [[Counter-Reformation]]. He decreed the second and final [[Excommunication (Catholic Church)|excommunication]] of Henry VIII of England in December 1538. His efforts in Parma led to the [[War of Parma]] two years after his death.