The next pope, the Lombard Odes calchi, who took the name of Innocent XI., was one of the most saintly figures in the history of the papacy. He was a man of such austere and holy life that he seemed a fit subject for the new procedure of beatification, which was introduced under Clement XI., but not completed. He undertook a number of reforms, and was scrupulous in refraining from favouring or en riching his relations, either by open or by covert means. He reme died the disorder which prevailed in the finances of the Papal States, limited the expenditure of the papal court, and tried to root out the abuse of the sale of offices. He issued strict regula tions in order to raise the moral standard in the Church. He instructed the clergy not to indulge in dialectical sophistries in their sermons, but to preach the crucified Christ. A sumptuary order was issued with the object of discouraging luxury, and women were forbidden to appear with bare neck and arms. The passion for gambling among the Roman nobility was checked by the closing of gaming houses, and the usury of the Jews by the institution of monti di pieta. The pope also introduced reforms into the educational system. Innocent XI. condemned 65 theses from the writings on morality of various Jesuits. He was equally severe against Molinos, whose doctrine of quietism, according to which the highest stage of perfection is to be found in com plete passiveness, seemed likely to be a source of confusion.
It was inevitable that Innocent XI., who placed the Church above everything, should come into conflict with Louis XIV., who stood for the omnipotence of the State. Their first serious dispute arose in connection with the "regalia," which the king regarded as part of the rights of the Crown and claimed to exercise throughout the territory of France. According to this theory, whenever a bishopric was vacant, the revenues and the right of filling benefices in the diocese belonged to the king. The pope refused to recognize this claim, which went beyond what had formerly been customary; and the king called an assembly of the French clergy in 1682 which adopted the so-called "Liberties of the Gallican Church." These four articles maintain that the temporal sovereignty of kings is independent of the pope, that a general council is above the pope, that decisions on matters of faith only become valid by the consent of the Church, and affirm the unalterable validity of the national rights of the Church of France. Rome could not accept these articles, which were in tended to affirm the privileges of the Gallican Church. Innocent rejected them, and could not be induced to make concessions even when Louis XIV. began his shameful persecution of the Hugue nots. New complications arose when the right of asylum exer cised by accredited ambassadors to Rome was abolished. Almost all countries realized that this antiquated rule, which enabled any one fleeing from justice in Rome to take refuge in the premises of one of the embassies, rendered the proper administration of justice impossible; but Louis XIV. protested against its abolition, and took vigorous measures of reprisal.
Innocent condemned
not only the violent measures which were taken against the Protestants in France, but also the ill-considered and hasty manner in which James II. attempted to restore Catholicism in Protestant England, where the constitution of the Church was closely bound up with that of the State. In vain he warned the king, who was under the influence of France, of the danger of a breach with parliament. It is thought that he was aware of the plan to place William of Orange on the throne of England, and that he did not regret James II.'s fall, which he hoped would destroy the preponderance of Gallican France.
Missionary work was carried on with great energy during Innocent's pontificate. In order to assist the struggle against the Turks he brought about an alliance between Poland and Austria, and he lived to see the saving of Vienna in 1683, and the liberation of Hungary a year later. As a result of the victory over the hereditary enemies of Christianity, the Odes calchi were raised to the dignity of princes of the empire, and received the Hungarian duchy of Sirmium.
The Venetian Ottoboni now be came pope, with the name of Alexander VIII. Unlike his prede cessor, he practised nepotism, and enriched his nephews. He purchased the library of Christina of Sweden for the Vatican, condemned a number of heretical doctrines, and was active in charitable works. He assisted his native city in its war with the Turks. Partial satisfaction was at this time received from France, which gave up the right of asylum.
Owing to the opposition between the Spanish and Imperial party and the French party in the Col lege of Cardinals, it was only after a five months' conclave that the Neapolitan Pignatelli was elected pope. He took the name of Innocent XII. Benevolent, charitable and frugal, he called the poor his relations and put an end to the pernicious practice of nepotism among the popes by his Bull of 1692. Even since that time the families of popes have sometimes been aggrandized, but the system of nepotism was abolished. Innocent also put an end to the abuse of the sale of offices, and made excellent laws for the government and administration of justice in the Papal State. He was responsible for the completion of the Monte Citorio (Curia Innocenziana). The Roman nobles were severely punished for all offences against the law, and the pope also endeavoured to im prove discipline in monasteries. At this time the French clergy revoked the resolutions of 1682, and Louis XIV., who was anxious, in view of the alliance against France, to live at peace with the Church, abolished the obligatory teaching of the Gallican articles. The pope then declared in favour of the French claim in the question of the Spanish succession, but without taking up an atti tude of direct opposition to Austria, although the overweening conduct of the imperial ambassador in Rome had given offence, notwithstanding his recall by the Emperor Leopold. The Peace of Ryswick (1697) appointed the pope as arbitrator in the dispute about the succession to the Palatinate; the decision was given by Clement XI. in 1702.