De convenientia institutorum Romanae Ecclesiae cum Evangelica libertate

1. “But let us grant,” say the Lutherans, “some temporal principality to the Roman Pontiff. Who is there that would not condemn so burdensome an exaction of taxes, tithes, and levies as we so often see? Add that nearly all the offices of the city of Rome, which are almost countless, are bought for a great price; no one can obtain ecclesiastical rights and dignities unless he purchases the documents with money¹—so that one might cry out Jugurtha’s saying: ‘O city for sale, and soon² to perish if it finds a buyer.’”³

Is this not an oppressive collection of money,⁴ to the detriment, loss, and ruin of evangelical liberty? For when Christ asked Simon in Matthew, chapter XVII,⁵ “From whom do the kings of the earth receive tribute or poll tax? From their own sons, or from strangers?” and Peter answered, “From strangers,” he added, “Then the sons are free.” Elsewhere too it is said:⁶ “You received without payment; give without payment.” If, then, the sons are free from every tax, according to our Savior’s pronouncement, and if what was received freely is to be given freely, how is it consistent with the liberty of Christians, who are sons of God, that taxes, tithes, priestly offices, and magistracies should be paid by them? This is no liberty, but a shameful, infamous, disgraceful servitude.

The Lutherans think these and similar charges carry great weight against the Roman Church; but we shall show by clear reasoning that they are of little importance, mere fables and trifles, inventions of malicious men that bring harm.

2. To begin with taxes: who does not know that taxes and tribute are owed to kings and princes so that provision may be made for the common peace, tranquillity, and safety of peoples? How could a commonwealth be made safe from enemies, robbers, and wicked citizens⁷ unless some expense were supplied to the ruler, by which the ranks of soldiers, judges, and other magistrates who govern it might be maintained and supported? Experience, the teacher of all things, itself⁸ shows that money is the sinew not only of war but also of peace and of all the things by which cities and kingdoms are preserved. If such taxes are collected for the common⁹ good of cities,¹⁰ what reason is there that they should not justly and lawfully be exacted from the people? Moreover, tribute is paid to the rulers themselves, as¹¹ as their stipend for preserving the peace of cities. “The farmer who labours,” says Paul,¹² “ought to be the first to receive some of the fruits.”¹³ And in the first epistle to the Corinthians, chapter IX,¹⁴ he says: “Who ever serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not drink the flock’s milk?” Elsewhere he also says: “Those who serve at the altar should live from the altar.”¹⁵ Our Lord, too, considers the worker worthy of his wages.¹⁶ But we must understand this prudently: namely, that they devote their labour to the safety of peoples and cities, that the taxes be moderate, and that they be distributed according to the rule of justice.¹⁷ For if they are excessive, if they are not directed to the people’s benefit, and if they lack a just distribution, they are not owed to the ruler; rather, he must be accused of tyranny if he extorts them by force, and he becomes a debtor to the citizens for this unjust plunder. Hence the Lord rebukes rulers of this sort in Ezekiel, chapter XXXIV,¹⁸ in these words: “You ate the milk, clothed yourselves with the wool, and slaughtered what was fat, but you did not feed my flock.” Since, then, we have granted the Supreme Pontiff temporal rule, we must also concede to him the rights of taxation.

3. But in their argument that Christians are free from paying all taxes because they are sons of God, the Lutherans are greatly mistaken. For our Savior’s saying is not to be understood of all Christians, but of Christ Jesus himself and his disciples, whose household was poor. Therefore, we shall consider only those Christians exempt from paying taxes who imitate the poor life of Christ and the Apostles and have made themselves owners of nothing. For it is most just that those who have devoted themselves solely to divine matters for the common safety of peoples be burdened with no taxes or tribute.

4. I come to tithes, which many also use as an occasion to rail against the Roman Church. What? If the person who governs the Christian commonwealth and has the primary care of the salvation¹⁹ of souls faces a need to defend it from enemies,²⁰ may he not demand for military purposes not merely a tenth, but even a fifth, a fourth, or a third part of ecclesiastical goods, by which he can repel the enemy and preserve peace and tranquillity in the commonwealth? He who does not see this is foolish. Who is so witless and heedless as not to know that a part must be put in danger for the preservation of the whole?²¹ Nature herself prompts us to put an arm in the way of a blow falling upon the head, lest we die from such a strike.²² If, then, the Roman Pontiffs sometimes exact tithes to preserve the Christian commonwealth, this must not be counted as a crime against them; they should instead be praised, exalted, and honoured with glory,²³ because they do not neglect the safety of the Christian people but work diligently for it.²⁴ The same may be believed possible for the Church’s other needs, since the safety of Christians surely depends on the safety of the Roman Church, just as the soundness of the body depends on the soundness of the head. Just as the Levites are commanded in Numbers, chapter XVIII,²⁵ to give tithes to the High Priest, so it accords with natural law that clerics should provide them to our Supreme Pontiff, who cares for us all in common, whenever some need arises.

5. We think little of the next charge, made to insult the Roman Church: that all the offices of its court must be obtained for a great sum of money. I would indeed concede²⁶ that it might perhaps be better or more advantageous if they were freely bestowed. Yet even in this sale of offices there is a means by which we may best protect the Roman commonwealth. Since these offices are highly profitable, it is no wonder that the Roman Pontiff takes something from those who seek them, as support for the Church that provides such rich and ample gains.

The Lutherans may perhaps object that this sale of offices brings great loss to the Christian people, because whoever has bought an office for himself tries to sell his services,²⁷ in order to recover the large sum he spent to obtain it. The result, they say, is that he bleeds those who need his services. But those who chatter in this way do not know that the Roman See has established a fixed rule for its offices,²⁸ and a moderate one at that, which no one may safely exceed. We may also hope that Pope Clement VII,²⁹ who is most restrained in all things, will so regulate all the affairs of the City that henceforth no one, unless wholly wicked,³⁰ will be able to accuse the Roman curia of avarice or excessive gain. For, already in the first year of his pontificate, he has given such proof of probity, moderation, and integrity that we may promise ourselves the greatest benefits through his favour.

6. The Roman Church is further branded with this charge: that priestly offices and documents can be obtained only by purchase.

But let the Lutherans tell me: is not the Roman Pontiff the distributor of all the Church’s wealth and riches?³¹ By right of his pontificate, can he not dispense all the ecclesiastical goods of the Catholic Church according to the circumstances of places and persons? What wonder, then, if for the common good of the Church and the support of his household he asks for some part of the annual revenues from those to whom he grants the care and income³² of churches? How could the authority of the Roman See be maintained with dignity unless it acquired from such resources the means to uphold its pontifical order? If you take financial support away from the Roman Pontiff,³³ you will see all ecclesiastical dignity trampled underfoot and no regard paid by earthly rulers to Christ’s vicar. For many histories—which I pass over lest I stray too long from my purpose—show clearly that when the Roman principality was confined to a narrow territory, the Roman Church suffered many calamities and hardships, and suffered them so severely that it must be counted a miracle that it rose to the majesty we see today.

7. The saying of our Savior,³⁴ “You received without payment; give without payment,” is no obstacle to our position. Its meaning is that neither the grace of the Holy Spirit nor any spiritual gift is to be sold for any price; rather, just as we received that grace freely, so we ought to give it generously.

Finally, what the Lutherans seem to shout—that everything in Rome is for sale³⁵—is plainly a lie, contrived by them³⁶ to stain the dignity and majesty of the Roman See. For they know with absolute certainty that if its dignity and majesty endure (and they will endure, perhaps to their great loss and harm), they will be unable to gain dominion over Christians, which they desire above all. The Roman Church lacks neither justice, nor clemency, nor generosity.³⁷ If some Pontiffs have been branded with the stain of avarice,³⁸ all that stain has been driven from the palace of Clement VII.³⁹ For he does not devote himself to bringing money into the City,⁴⁰ but to reforming morals, to peace, and to tranquillity.