Libellus Addressed to Leo X, Supreme Pontiff by Blessed Paolo Giustiniani and Pietro Querini

Abstract

Reviewed by: Libellus Addressed to Leo X, Supreme Pontiffby Blessed Paolo Giustiniani and Pietro Querini Amy Nelson Burnett Libellus Addressed to Leo X, Supreme Pontiff. By Blessed Paolo Giustiniani and Pietro Querini. Edited and trans. by Stephen M. Beall, with notes by John J. Schmitt. Reformation Texts with Translation (1350–1650) 14. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 2016. 244 pp. In 1513, two Camaldolese monks from aristocratic Venetian families addressed a booklet to their friend Giovanni de' Medici, who had just been elected as Pope Leo X. This volume makes available both the Latin original and an English translation on facing pages. The introduction situates the Libelluswithin efforts to reform the church between the execution of Girolamo Savonarola and Luther's [End Page 470]95 theses, but this mischaracterizes the proposal. Not quite half of the work concerns suggestions for internal reform, but this is preceded by four sections justifying the papacy's authority over all peoples throughout the world and proposing how to accomplish this extension of papal authority. Teaching the Christian faith is certainly implied by the authors, but their emphasis is on establishing obedience to the papacy. Jews were to be offered incentives for conversion and threatened with expulsion if they remained obstinate, and missionaries were to be sent to the pagan inhabitants of the western hemisphere. Eastern Christians too, like severed limbs, were to be brought back under the headship of Rome. Muslims were classed as heretics and so force could legitimately be used to eliminate them. There is a certain cold-eyed cynicism in the authors' suggestion that the best way to restore peace and tranquility within Latin Christendom was to unite princes in war against the Muslims in the hope of gaining wealth and territory. The authors described four different Muslim groups and advocated a policy of "divide and conquer:" under the best of circumstances, the Persian ruler and Moorish sultan might convert to Christianity, but even without their conversion they might be allies against the Turks. Only after discussing the pope's responsibility to bring other peoples under his authority do the authors turn to his responsibility to put his own house in order. Their proposals for the reform of the Latin church combine humanist educational ideals with suggestions for institutional reform, such as improving standards for ordination and holding regular visitations and synods to supervise the clergy from archbishops on down. The authors also suggest that Scripture should perhaps be translated into the vernacular and priests required to preach and teach from it on Sundays. With their moderation and their tentative tone, these proposals are a far cry from the fiery language of either Savonarola or Luther. Instead the authors employ all their rhetorical skill to flatter the new pope and avoid any appearance of insubordination. The brief introduction provides biographical information on the Libellus'authors and points out how some of its reform proposals would be endorsed at the Second Vatican Council, while annotations to the English translation identify individuals and explain some of the more obscure references. The translation seems intended to [End Page 471]demonstrate the existence of pre-Reformation reform efforts to modern Catholic readers, but the Libellus'rhetorical style, its exaltation of papal authority, and the unrealistic nature of many of its proposals raise questions about whether the booklet was meant to be much more than a set-piece congratulating Leo X upon his ascension to the papal throne. Amy Nelson Burnett University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska Copyright © 2018 Johns Hopkins University Press and Lutheran Quarterly, Inc.