Dynasties and Empires - Gameplay Thread (End of 1521)

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On the Dangerous Disagreements within the Universal Church

Acknowledging there are problems affecting the Universal Church that must be adressed one way or the other, the Vicar of Christ decided it would be the wisest for him to act like a father of grown, quarreling sons who must step up and mediate between his beloved offsprings with all kindness and understanding so they may forgo their differences.

For said reason, His Holiness is willing to grant Doctor Luther a safe passage to and from Rome, shall he agree to show his own good will by appearing before the Pope to have a frank discussion about the future of the Church.

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1. We are giving a careful consideration whether to extend Our Apostolic blessing toward one of the candidates to the Holy Imperial Throne. The ideal situation would be for the Pope and the Emperor to be occupied with their own affairs without undue interference from the other side. However, having been approached by some candidates already, We have been already dragged into this election.

2. Given We are not only the Vicar of the Christ, but also temporal ruler of the State of the Church, let it be known that serious measures for bringing greater welfare to our temporal subjects are to be formulated and implemented.

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The Bull

Having received a proper request by the interested party to rule on a delicate matter, We, the Pope, hereby declare there are sufficient theological grounds to declare that the marriage between our faithful son and most rightful Governor of the Scottish Realm, John Stewart, Duke of Albany, and Anne, Countess of Auvergne,  is and always was invalid in the eyes of our Lord, thereby freeing the Duke to enter into a valid matrimony.

x Leo X

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After careful consideration, the Holy Father had found sufficient theological grounds to hereby recognize Katarzyna and Regina as fully legitimate daughters of King Sigismund.

x Leo X

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On Indulgences

While His Holiness is far from repudiating the practice of selling indulgences as sometimes necessary measure to collect revenue needed by the Holy Church, he realizes the great theological and moral controversy said practice generates. In the interest of expediting reconciliation within the Church, His Holiness declared the practice being suspended indefinitely.

On Queen Dowager's Marriage

Having received a valid request from an interested party, His Holiness authorizes his Nuncio in Scotland to investigate whether there's sufficient ground to declare marriage of the Queen Dowager and the Earl of Angus as invalid.

On the Imperial Election

After long consideration, the Holy Father had decided he will not make a public statement of approval or disapproval to any candidacy.

On Doctor Luther

Due to practical difficulty preventing Doctor Luther from traveling to Rome, as well as being himself unable to leave the vicinity of Rome, His Holiness has decided to task Nuncio von Miltitz with conducting talks in his name.

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His Holiness has determined the marriage between our devoted daughter, the Queen Dowager of Scotland, and one Earl of Angus, is and never was valid in the eyes of the God and the Holy Church.

The Earl of Angus angered us by openly taking another woman as his common law wife, thus mocking the sacrament of marriage. And the fact their previous engagement might've not been severed in the accordance to the canon law, adds another argument to rule accordingly.

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It is with grave anger His Holiness had learned of Johann von Eck's disobeying his direct order to cease from all public and writing polemics now, that the Holy See is engaged in serious talks, aimed at healing the divisions within the Holy Church, that being especially important given political division in the wake of highly divisive imperial election and the growing danger represented by the odious Saracens in the East. Von Eck's action are nothing short of sabotaging the process.

Therefore His Holiness orders von Eck, under pains of excommunication, to confine himself into a monastery, with no contact with the outside world, until He decided otherwise.

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The Holy Father does hereby authorize a formation of the Society of Saint Adalbert (also known in Bohemia and Poland as Vojtěch and Wojciech respectively), a body of clergymen and trusted laymen that shall work to spread the Holy Faith among the primitive peoples of the New World, in cooperation and with respect to temporal authorities established there by Christian monarchs. The Society shall be answerable directly to the Vicar of Christ.

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Owing to Emperor Henry's impeccable credentials as devoted son of the Holy Church and the Defender of Faith, His Holiness concludes there hardly is a better candidate to join in the noble spirit of spreading our faith in the New World.

Therefore, after consulting with parties involved, the Treaty of Tordesillas is amended to grant the lands located above 40 degrees North of the Equator to England.

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His Holiness the Pope is very pleased to give his apostolic blessing to the union between the Duke of Albany and the Queen Dowager of Scotland.

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In nomine Patris et Fili et Spiritus Sanctus

The continuing desecration of the Holy Land by the Saracens' dirty feet constitutes enough of an insult for the entire of Christendom to rise up and avenge said insult in the sea of blood and fire. To make the matters even more aggravated, the odious moors are constantly threatening the Christendom, instead of hiding in shame as they should have. Enslavement and rapes of Christian virgins, piracy at high seas, just to name these two, can no longer by tolerated.

By the divine authority vested in Us, and after receiving numerous requests from Kings of Europe urging us to take this step, We, as the Vicar of Christ, proclaim the Crusade against the heathens defiling the Tomb of Our Lord, and calls upon all Princes of Europe to join in in the holy and noble quest.

(The Holy Father is also said to have remarked the crusade will not distract him from his work to bridge gaps between Christians in Europe.)

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In nomine Patris et Fili et Spiritus Sanctus. Amen.

We, Leo X, Bishop of Rome and the Vicar of Christ, are happy to honor the memory of one of the greatest and most pious Queens of our era. Isabella of Spain, Queen Regnant of Castille and Leon and one of the most devoted daughters of the Holy Church, did more to spread the faith both in new and old worlds than any servant of God. She expelled odious moors from Spain, made a decision resulting in discovery of the new lands in the west and immensely strengthened the Church in Spain and Europe.

A decision to elevate any person to Sainthood is never a simple one, except in rare cases as such. From this day on, Saint Isabella shall be known as the Patron of Missions.




(No, it doesn't mean I will be expelling the Jews from the Papal states or something like thus. Relax.)

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For his treason against the rightful authority of his lord, the King of England and the Holy Roman Emperor, we declare that Edward Stafford, also known as the Duke of Buckingham, is hereby cast outside the Holy Church.