urpations
of the papal power. He was to preach against it, to expose and refute it
to the best of his ability, and to declare that it was done away, and
might neither be obeyed nor defended further. Again in all places "where
the king's just cause in his matter of matrimony had been detracted, and
the incestuous and unjust [matrimony] had been set forth [and
extolled]," the clergy were generally directed "to open and declare the
mere verity and justice" of the matter, declaring it "neither doubtful
nor disputable," but to be a thing of mere verity, and so to be allowed
of all men's opinions. They were to relate in detail the pope's conduct,
his many declarations in the king's favour; the first decretal, which
was withheld by Campeggio, in which he had pronounced the marriage with
Catherine invalid; his unjust avocation of the cause to Rome; his
promises to the King of France; and finally, his engagement at
Marseilles to pronounce in the King of England's favour, if only he
would acknowledge the papal jurisdiction.[386] They were therefore to
represent the king's conduct as the just and necessary result of the
pope's duplicity. These things the clergy were required to teach, not as
matters of doubt and question, but as vital certainties on which no
difference of opinion could be tolerated. Finally, there were added a
few wholesome admonitions on other subjects, which mark the turning of
the tide from Catholic orthodoxy. The clergy were interdicted from
indulging any longer in the polemics of theology. "To keep unity and
quietness in the realm it" was "ordained that no preachers" should
"contend openly in the pulpit one against another, nor uncharitably
deprave one another in open audience. If any of them" were "grieved one
with another," they were to "complain to the King's Highness or the
archbishop or bishop of the diocese." They were "purely, sincerely, and
justly" to "preach the scripture and words of Christ, and not mix them
with men's institutions, or make men believe that the force of God's law
and man's law was the like." On subjects such as purgatory, worship of
saints and relics, marriage of the clergy, justification by faith,
pilgrimages and miracles, they were to keep silence for one whole year,
and not to preach at all.[387]

[Sidenote: Difficulty of securing obedience to the order.
Obstructiveness of the bishops,]

[Sidenote: And of the regular clergy.]

These instructions express distinctly the convicti