What papal spiritual power can do when unencumbered by temporal distractions

Was Robert Bellarmine Ahead of His Time?

By John M. Vella

In Empire of Souls, Stefania Tutino offers a fresh perspective on the central role Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) played in the development of post-Reformation Catholicism, and its relationship to the early modern state. Tutino compliments her study with a newly published collection of writings, never before translated into English, that she believes best represents Bellarmine’s political theology. These two impressive scholarly achievements go beyond the standard story of a reactionary crusader battling anti-papal princes, and protesting Protestants, typical of most traditional studies. Rather, Bellarmine is portrayed sympathetically as a controversial figure whose political theology was too liberal, or better yet, Whiggish, for some members of the Roman Curia who doubted his commitment to papal supremacy. Yet, his sophisticated defense of papal spiritual authority was influential enough to provoke many critical responses from across Europe. For Tutino, Bellarmine was not only the central figure in the debate over the proper relationship between Church and state in early modern Europe; his vision of the papacy still resonates today, perhaps more than it did during his lifetime.

However, his relevance in our day should not diminish in our minds how preeminent he was in his time. Before he began teaching at the Roman College in 1576, Bellarmine established a reputation as a distinguished scholar and preacher at Louvain, where he lectured on Aquinas at the Jesuit College. While there, he would counsel apologists to master the core of Catholic theology. He followed his own advice when he wrote his three-volume, Disputationes de controversies Christianae fidei (orControversiae for short),by weaving contemporary controversies into the larger fabric of the faith, presenting a comprehensive understanding of Christian doctrine. He re-imagined the Catholic Church as a res publica Christiana, a theo-political organism that enveloped into itself all Christian commonwealths without violating their temporal jurisdiction. This concept of Christian empire was a reconstruction of medieval Christendom with the pope as its spiritual head. Tutino believes this expansive vision of the Catholic Church as an empire of souls was a notable departure from the theological approaches of Bellarmine’s contemporaries.

What is the Best Regime?

With the publication of Controversiae, Bellarmine was drawn further into debates over how much temporal and spiritual power the pope could rightly claim. He thought a complete response to attacks on Church governance, by Protestants and others, must begin with answers to fundamental questions. So, in volume one ofControversiae (1586), Bellarmine sought to answer this perennial question in political philosophy: What is the best regime? The question was asked by the ancient Greeks, and reconsidered by Aquinas, who seemed to favor monarchy in some places, and mixed government in others. Bellarmine solved the apparent inconsistency by arguing that monarchy was the best regime in principle, but a mixed regime is better in practice, due to the “corruption of human nature.” After offering several additional reasons for mixed government, he added that a prince received his authority democratically, ex universo populo, and not from God directly. The democratic origin of temporal political legitimacy is an essential feature of Bellarmine’s argument for papal spiritual supremacy, since it is the pope, not the prince, who receives his authority directly from God. Furthermore, the temporal authority of the prince, and the spiritual authority of the pope, resides in separate jurisdictions. The pope’s role is not only different from the secular prince; it is superior. The fundamental features of this argument are found in the first translation of Tutino’s collection taken from the second volume of Controversiae (1588).

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