Galileo displays his telescope to Doge Leonardo Dona and the Venetian Senate (painting by HJ Detouche, c. 1754) |
Galileo would go on to discover the moons of Jupiter and observe the rings of Saturn. His discoveries confirmed the Copernican theory that the Earth and other planets revolved around the Sun. This put him in direct conflict with the Roman Catholic Church, who taught that the Earth was the center of the universe. He was condemned for heresy, and lived out his days under house arrest. Unbelievably, it wasn't until 1992 that the Church admitted its treatment of Galileo had been wrong.
This is an example of the dark power the papal authority had over Catholic Europe during the time of Doge Leonardo Donà.
Gianmaria Donà Dalle Rose at Ateneo Veneto - Photo: Cat Bauer |
THE CONFLICTS & THREAT OF EXCOMMUNICATION
Under Donà's predecessor, Doge Marino Grimani, two clerics had been tried, convicted and imprisoned in Venice for crimes such as rape, fraud and murder. This was a shock to the system, as previously members of the clergy had always had Vatican immunity. Pope Paul V declared that the clergy were outside the jurisdiction of the Venetian Republic, and demanded that the prisoners be handed over to the ecclesiastical authorities, who would take whatever action they deemed appropriate. Venice knew that if they released the prisoners to the jurisdiction of the Vatican, their crimes would go unpunished.
Venice had also challenged the Holy See by passing a law restricting Church building -- in a small island city like Venice there were already numerous ecclesiastical buildings, which paid no tax -- there was room for no more -- but Pope Paul V wanted the law repealed. During the fall of 1605, these arguments raged on, growing exceedingly more heated as the year drew to an end.
LEONARDO DONÁ BECOMES DOGE OF VENICE
Doge Grimani died in 1605 on Christmas day, the same day that a missive from Pope Paul V arrived. Leonardo Donà was elected Doge on January 10th. In addition to being a seasoned diplomat, Donà was part of a group of scientific thinkers who met regularly in Venice, whose members also included Galileo and Fra Paolo Sarpi. Even though he was a Catholic prelate, Sarpi was a firm believer in the separation between Church and State. Sarpi was appointed official counselor to the Venetian Senate, and drafted the replies to the papal briefs.
Both sides refused to budge. Pope Paul V was outraged, and called Venice's actions heresy. The Holy See ordered Venice to hand over the clerics or face banishment. They were given 24 days to submit or the Pope would excommunicate La Serenissima.
Venice doubled down. They threw out the Papal Nuncio, the Vatican's Ambassador to Venice. Doge Donà retorted that as Doge of Venice, in temporal affairs he recognized no superior power except the Divine Majesty itself and told all the patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, vicars, abbots and priors throughout the territory of the Republic to continue to celebrate the Mass. On Sarpi's advice, Donà banished all the Jesuits, Theatines and Capuchins from the Republic of Venice, declaring: "We ignore your excommunication: it is nothing to us."
Venice had been excommunicated in the past. This time she was challenging the Holy See's authority in secular matters. In spiritual matters, Venice wanted to remain part of the Church. Paolo Sarpi wrote countless letters and held endless debates, defining the boundaries between what fell under celestial matters of the Church, and what were secular matters of the State. He was called before the Inquisition, but refused to appear.
The clergy in Venetian territory continued to celebrate Mass; the churches were teeming with more worshipers than ever. Other nations began taking sides. It was decided that France would mediate. Eventually, Venice agreed to release the two clerics to the French Ambassador, but reserved the right to judge and punish them. They refused to let the Jesuits return. Finally, Pope Paul V lifted the Interdict. Venice, under Doge Donà, had won the battle between Church and State. It was the last Interdict in the history of the Church.
L'Antipapa Veneziano by Gianmaria Donà Dalle Rose published by Giunti Editore |
On July 16, 1612, Doge Leonardo Donà collapsed during a heated debate in the Collegio, the main executive body of the Republic of Venice, and died an hour later at the age of 76.
Gianmaria Donà Dalle Rose signing L'Antipapa Veneziano - Photo: Cat Bauer |
Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog