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battle for the Society of Jesus." (11)
The situation was particularly grave in Germany. "Not only notorious
pessimists, but also thinking and wise Catholics considered the old church's
cause in all German lands as almost lost. In fact, even in Austria and
Bohemia, the break with Rome was so general that the Protestants could
reasonably hope to conquer Austria within a few decades. Then how is it this
change did not take place and the country was divided into two sections
instead? The Catholic party, at the close of the 16th century, had no
hesitation in answering this question, for it always acknowledged that the
Witelsbach, Habsburg and Jesuits were responsible for this happy turn of
events."(12)
Rene Fulop-Miller wrote about the Jesuits' role in these events: "The
Catholic cause could hope for a real success only if the Fathers were able to
influence and guide the princes, at all times and in all circumstances. The
confessionals offered the Jesuits the means to secure a lasting political
influence, therefore an effectual action" .(13)
In Bavaria, the young duke Albert V, son of a zealous Catholic and
educated at Ingolstadt, the old Catholic city, called on the Jesuits to
combat effectively the heresy:
"On the 7th of July 1556, 8 Fathers and 12 Jesuit teachers entered
Ingolstadt. It was the start of a new era for Bavaria... the State itself
received a new Seal.... the Roman Catholic conceptions directed the politics of
princes and the behaviour of the high classes. But this new spirit got hold
(11) and (12) H. Boehmer, op.cit., pp.89, 104, ,112, 114. (13) Rene
Fulop-Miller, op.cit., II, pp.98, 102.
GERMANY 35
of the higher classes only. It did not gain the hearts of ordinary people...
Nevertheless, under the iron discipline of the State and the restored Church, they
again became devout Catholics, docile, fanatic, and intolerant towards any
heresy..."
"It may seem excessive to attribute such prodigious virtues and actions to a mere
handful of strangers. Yet, in these circumstances, their force was in inverse ratio to
their numbers and they were immediately effective as no obstacles were met.
Loyola's emissaries won the country's heart and mind from the start... From the
next generation on, Ingolstadt became the perfect type of the german Jesuit
city".(14) One can judge the state of mind the Fathers introduced to this
stronghold of faith by reading the following:
"The Jesuit Mayrhofer of Ingolstadt taught in his "Preacher's mirror": "We will not
be judged if we demand the killing of Protestants, any more than we would by
asking for the death penalty on thieves, murderers,
counterfeiters and revolutionaries."(15)
The successors of Albert V, and especially Maximilian I (1597-1651), completed
his work. But Albert V already was conscientious in his "duty" of assuring his
subjects' "salvation".
"As soon as the Fathers arrived in Bavaria, his attitude towards Protestants and
those favourable to them became more severe. From 1563 on, he pitilessly
expelled all recalcitrants, and had no mercy for the anabaptists who had to suffer
drownings, fire, prison and chains, all of which were praised by the Jesuit
Agricola... In spite of all this, a whole generation of men had to disappear before
the persecution was crowned a complete success. As late as 1586, the moravian
anabaptists managed to hide 600 victims from the duke Guillaume. This one
example proves that there were thousands and not hundreds who were driven out,
an awful breach into a thinly populated country.
"But", said Albert V to the Munich City council, "God's honour and the salvation
of souls must be placed above any temporal interests". 16)
Little by little, all teaching in Bavaria was placed in the Jesuits' hands, and that
land became the base for their penetration in eastern, western and northern
Germany.
"From 1585 on, the Fathers converted the part of Westphalia depending on
Cologne; in 1586, they appear in Neuss and Bonn, one of Cologne's archbishop's
residences; they open colleges at Hildesheim in 1587 and Munster in 1588. This
particular one already had 1300 pupils in 1618... A large part of western Germany
was reconquered in that way by Catholicism,
(14) H. Boehmer, op.cit., pp.89, 104, 112, 114. (15)
Rene Fulop-Miller, op.cit., II, pp.98, 102. (16) H.
Boehmer, op.cit., pp.89, 104, 112, 114.
36 THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE JESUITS
thanks to the Wittelsbach and Jesuits.
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