Sweeping Reforms

By the end of September, the massive southern tour procession finally arrived in Ferrara.

Dozens of archbishops and hundreds of bishops from across the European continent, along with many more ecclesiastical jurists, gathered to participate in the Grand Duke Conference.

On the eve of the Grand Duke Conference, in the luxurious villa provided by Borso d'Ester, Marquis of Ferrara,

Laszlo once again met with Pope Pius II, who had traveled from Rome.

Matthias, who had accompanied Pope Pius II, was also present.

A year prior, after Laszlo led his army back to Vienna, he selected a group of outstanding students from Vienna University, including Matthias, who had become his attendant.

He provided these students with financial support, allowing them to pursue advanced studies at various universities across Italy. Some went to Bologna, others to Siena or Pavia, and Matthias chose to go to Rome.

The University of Rome was originally a purely ecclesiastical school, appearing very conservative compared to many other Italian universities.

However, thirty years ago, Pope Eugenius IV ordered the reform of the University of Rome, establishing four faculties—Law, Medicine, Philosophy, and Theology—in imitation of most universities of the time.

Although no Italian university currently has a dedicated Faculty of Literature and Arts like Vienna University, Italian universities have a strong artistic atmosphere, which tends to produce more artistic masters.

Laszlo wanted to change this situation. The first method was to directly poach talent from Italy, and the second was to send students abroad to bring the emerging trends in Italy back to Austria.

Matthias, as one of these students, entered the University of Rome to study law. The University of Rome adopted the Bologna university system: two years for a bachelor's degree, two years for a master's degree.

However, Matthias had received instruction from Aeneas with Laszlo in his early years, and coupled with his strong learning ability, he passed the bachelor's degree examination after only one year and was exceptionally awarded a Bachelor of Ecclesiastical Law degree.

If he had continued his studies for another year or two, he might even have obtained a doctoral degree.

However, Laszlo did not need a Doctor of Law; he needed a capable and broad-minded assistant.

Matthias had already largely met his requirements, so he decided to recall Matthias.

Matthias came to Ferrara as one of the Pope's followers and now returned to the Emperor's side.

Inside the room, the Pope and the Emperor sat opposite each other, both holding stacks of papers densely covered with writing.

The attendants were ordered to wait outside the room until the secret conversation between the Emperor and the Pope concluded.

"It seems you have drafted another detailed plan for church reform, just as you proposed imperial reform to me before," Laszlo said with a smile, pointing to the preliminary proposal in Pope Pius II's hand.

Pope Pius II also noticed what Laszlo held, and he was somewhat surprised: "Emperor, your concern for church reform was indeed genuine. I thought you were just speaking casually."

Laszlo's expression immediately turned serious, and he earnestly said, "Church reform concerns the entire Catholic world. How could I not take it to heart?

Let's get straight to the point and see how our respective proposals stack up."

"Hmm," Pope Pius II began to flip through the proposal he had prepared. "Regarding innovations in theological rituals and doctrinal scriptures, I think there's no need to discuss them.

My main goal is the reform of the church structure and the regulation of clerical conduct.

First, the sale of indulgences should be restricted, or even abolished."

"This will likely cause strong resistance," Laszlo could even foresee the repercussions of this reform. "Cutting off one's financial path is like killing one's parents. I think many bishops will oppose this."

Pope Pius II nodded, his tone growing firmer: "Their accumulation of wealth through such means further exacerbates the church's corruption. I will not only restrict indulgences but also eliminate bribery in elections and the sale of holy offices."

Eliminate bribery? Laszlo stared at Pope Pius II with a strange look. This Pope himself came to power through bribery, so isn't this a case of burning the bridge after crossing?

"I support these two proposals. In addition, I hope to implement another proposal: requiring regional churches to disclose their assets to monitor church corruption."

Although he said this, the true purpose of this proposal was to weaken the church's power and influence.

This tactic was learned from France; Pope Boniface VIII once demanded that the French church disclose its assets, attempting to tax the church, which led to conflict with the Pope.

For a church that has always advocated ideals such as contentment in poverty and charitable relief, if the public disclosure of its assets reveals immense wealth that contradicts its proclaimed ideals, it will certainly provoke public resentment, damage its social image, and thereby weaken the church's influence.

If the church conceals its assets, then he would have an even better reason to legally and legitimately confiscate the church's properties.

No matter how he looked at it, he wouldn't lose, but the bishops attending the Grand Duke Conference would certainly not easily pass this proposal.

"This proposal is also very valuable," Pope Pius II was well aware of Laszlo's hidden agenda. He continued, "Conversely, the faithful must pay tithes to the church."

Tithes are a good thing, but for Laszlo, they were a mere trifle.

He couldn't directly take food from the church's mouth; that would definitely lead to a direct confrontation with the church.

"The tithe is an ancient tradition, originating from the Bible, and naturally should be respected by all."

All these proposals targeted the church's coffers, and it was obvious they would face immense resistance.

The church was not like this originally, but the long-term devotion of believers gradually allowed the clergy to amass vast wealth.

This wealth ultimately led to the clergy living lives of extreme extravagance and debauchery.

It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.

As the clergy continued to squander the church's wealth, they soon discovered that the tithes and over twenty other taxes paid by farmers still seemed insufficient for their wanton extravagance.

A large portion of this money was used to construct magnificent and grand cathedrals across Europe, but a considerable amount was also spent by the clergy on their own enjoyment.

It can be said that the glorious and grand cathedrals seen by later generations were built brick by brick with the sweat and blood of the farmers.

Only such a wealthy church could afford to spend so much money on building cathedrals.

Laszlo had to be meticulous with every penny he spent, and he still dared not casually invest in building money-guzzlers like churches and castles.

Laszlo looked at the proposal he had discussed and drafted with Aeneas, then continued: "There's another point, regarding the College of Cardinals.

Your Majesty, as the sole German cardinal previously, you must deeply understand this. Such a vast Empire remarkably has such a scarce number of cardinal seats, even comparable to the Kingdom of Poland, which is clearly unreasonable.

Meanwhile, Italians, merely because they are closer to Rome, possess a vast number of cardinal seats, which almost allows Italians to monopolize the papal throne. We need to change this status quo."

Pope Pius II gently stroked his chin, pondering for a moment before asking, "That makes sense, but how exactly should it be done?"

"Perhaps by promoting more cardinals within the Empire, or by assigning a fixed number of cardinal seats to each country, breaking the Italian advantage."

The Pope nodded slightly. The resistance to this proposal might be much smaller, as other participating countries would certainly also wish for their nations to gain more cardinal seats.

However, for the church, especially the Pope, this was not a good thing, as it meant the dispersion and weakening of papal power.

He had to carefully consider the pros and cons of this proposal and make an appropriate choice.

"Finally, I have a small request."

Laszlo's words piqued Pope Pius II's interest. He was quite curious what Laszlo, the Emperor, would ask of the Pope.

"I wish to separate Austria from the Archdiocese of Salzburg and establish a new Archdiocese of Vienna."

Pope Pius II frowned slightly upon hearing this, pondering the intent behind Laszlo's request.

Establishing a new archdiocese in Austria, managed by an archbishop permanently residing in Vienna, clearly aimed to strengthen control over the Austrian church.

Thinking of this, the Pope couldn't help but say with some disappointment, "You seem to have placed Austria above the Empire. Have you abandoned the ideal of imperial reform?"

"How could that be!"

Laszlo immediately denied it, though he admitted that he indeed wished for Austria to be self-contained, completely separate from the Empire in terms of religion, law, administration, and obligations, enjoying only the benefits and rights brought by the Empire. However, this did not mean he had abandoned imperial reform.

Reform certainly needed to happen, but given the current intransigence of the imperial princes, the path to reform remained arduous.

He sighed softly, then continued, "This is also for the better development of the church in Austria.

What do you think about this matter…?"

Pope Pius II nodded, giving the Emperor his answer.

The conversation concluded. Outside the window, the moonlight was waning. Pope Pius II left the Emperor's residence and returned to his temporary lodging to continue studying issues not covered in their discussion, such as simplifying the Eucharist and the church's right to interpret scripture.

The issues to be discussed this time were more numerous and sharper than those debated at any previous Grand Duke Conference.

But Pope Pius II firmly believed that these were all necessary measures. If the church could not achieve self-renewal, a terrifying conflict like the Hussite Wars would eventually erupt again.

The church survived once, defeating the Hussites, but who could guarantee that the church would survive next time?