Council of Ferrara

The sky over Ferrara was covered in dark clouds, and fine threads of rain, like silver lines, fell gracefully, casting a hazy veil over the ancient city.

Inside a magnificent venue in the city, the Grand Duke Conference of Ferrara was about to begin.

Twenty years prior, the last Grand Duke Conference had also been briefly held here.

At that time, hundreds of representatives from the East and West Churches gathered here to discuss the various differences between the two, attempting to mend the Great Schism between the East and West Churches.

The then East Roman Emperor John VIII, Pope Eugene IV, and the Patriarch of Constantinople all attended this unprecedented grand event.

However, due to an outbreak of plague in the city, the meeting was eventually moved to Florence.

This time, Ferrara once again had the honor of hosting the Grand Duke Conference, and bishops from all over Europe gathered here to jointly discuss the future path of the Church.

Pope Pius II stood on the high pulpit, dressed in a magnificent white robe with gold embroidery shimmering faintly in the dim light, and a triple crown on his head symbolizing his supreme authority.

His gaze swept across the many clergy and scholars below, his expression solemn.

"Gentlemen," Pope Pius II began, his voice low but powerful, echoing clearly in the silent hall, "we are gathered here today because the Church is facing an unprecedented crisis."

"Our Church, which should be a lighthouse guiding believers to light, a pure place for spreading God's gospel, is now deeply mired in mud." He slowly paced, his hands clasped in front of him, "More than forty years ago, our predecessors executed Huss at the Council of Constance, and it was only recently that the Emperor completely eradicated the remaining forces of the Hussites.

More than twenty years ago, the Council of Basel was supposed to discuss the crucial matter of mending the Great Schism of the East and West Churches.

However, it ended up changing locations three times, leading to a schism in the Church and devolving into a farce of power struggles, which indirectly led to the downfall of the East Roman Empire.

Fortunately, all of that is in the past, but a new problem lies before us!"

A profound silence fell over the hall, everyone holding their breath, listening intently to the Pope's words.

"Look around us," Pope Pius II said, his voice trembling slightly with anguish, "the buying and selling of holy offices continues despite prohibitions; those who should devoutly serve God are using holy positions as tools for personal gain.

The Church's property is wantonly squandered, extravagance is rampant, while believers who truly need help struggle in hardship.

In monasteries, rules and precepts are cast aside, and monks no longer devote themselves to spiritual practice but indulge in worldly pleasures."

Pope Pius II paused, his gaze sharply scanning the crowd.

"Even worse, the Church's doctrines are arbitrarily misinterpreted, leading to confusion among believers and shaking the foundation of their faith.

Our role as spiritual guides is gradually being lost. If we do not reform, where will the Church go?

How will God's will be conveyed to the world?

I fear that then, figures like Huss will reappear, sparking an even more brutal war and bringing even deeper suffering!"

His words were like heavy hammers, striking at everyone's hearts, so much so that after the Pope's speech concluded, the hall was utterly silent for a moment.

After a long while, scattered applause finally broke out in the hall.

With the Pope's speech finished, it was now the turn of the Roman Emperor, who was invited to attend the conference, to speak.

Laszlo stood tall and straight, exuding majesty in his every movement.

He took a few steps forward to stand beside the Pope, bowing slightly to him in respect, then turned to face the assembly.

"What Your Majesty said is absolutely true," Laszlo's voice was clear and firm, "We have overcome the crisis of the Church's schism and quelled the threat of the Hussite heresy.

However, now, the corruption of faith is brewing new crises; social unrest and public confusion are testing our wisdom and courage.

The Church and the Roman Empire, though different in their duties, share the same goal: to maintain order and protect faith.

The reform of the Church is by no means just empty slogans or superficial gestures; it requires the active participation and cooperation of every attendee.

No matter what difficulties we encounter, I will firmly stand with the Pope, supporting the Church's self-renewal.

As long as we work together, we can surely dispel the gloom and allow the Church to regain its holy splendor, continuing to lead believers towards a bright future."

After Laszlo's speech, the attendees in the hall reacted even more coldly than they had during the Pope's address.

Aside from the participants from the German regions, the other bishops felt extremely heavy-hearted seeing two German men standing on the stage.

It was widely rumored that the current Pope was a puppet supported by the Roman Emperor, with the aim of controlling the Papal States.

It was now common knowledge that Pope Pius II had served as a royal advisor in the Emperor's court before becoming Pope.

However, no one dared to openly accuse the Pope and the Roman Emperor of electoral bribery.

After all, Nicholas had indeed been a cardinal with extremely high qualifications, and no one wanted to offend the highly prestigious Roman Emperor.

Now, seeing the Pope and the Roman Emperor, two religious and secular leaders who were often at odds, standing side by side, further confirmed people's suspicions.

Laszlo could even see many people whispering to each other, seemingly having considerable opinions about him and the Pope, especially the Italians and the France.

Many of them had some interest in Church reform, but not much.

The power of the France Church had been greatly restricted after Charles VII issued the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, and it had almost completely cut ties with the Pope.

The Italian clergy were among the most corrupt in the Church, especially those representing the Papal States.

Just a few months prior, Pope Pius II had specifically written a letter to Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, hoping he would be more restrained and moderate.

This was because some clerics had reported the exploits of Borgia and several other bishops to the Pope—they had held a multi-day party in the garden of a lavish mansion.

It was a scene of debauchery, with revelry every night.

It was said that the wild cries of some Siena dancers had reached the point of disturbing the peace, yet in Siena, no one could control these high-ranking and powerful bishops.

Pope Pius II criticized them severely, but Rodrigo Borgia, presuming he held evidence of Pope Pius II's electoral bribery, directly ignored the Pope's warning.

And Pope Pius II was helpless against this; he always lacked sufficient power to deal with these powerful Roman families, and he was often suspected and feared by the clergy for not being corrupt enough.

This was a ridiculous and tragic state of affairs, and it only strengthened Pope Pius II's resolve to reform the Church.

And the Italian Church forces were likely to be his greatest obstacle.

If one were to say who supported Church reform the most, it would undoubtedly be the bishops from the German regions, not because they disliked profiting under the guise of faith.

In fact, their greed was no less than that of bishops from other regions.

"As soon as the gold coin clinks in the money box, a soul springs forth from Purgatory," a cleric selling indulgences in the Roman Empire once said.

What they truly hoped for was to break free from the Pope's control, so they could freely accumulate wealth within the Roman Empire without being exploited by the Pope.

The Holy Roman Empire was called the "Pope's milk cow" precisely because the wealth extorted by the religious nobles of the Roman Empire had to be split fifty-fifty with the Pope.

Therefore, every year, the Pope received a continuous flow of money from within the Roman Empire, and this money was squandered by the Popes, later even forming a path dependency.

When a Pope found himself spending money too quickly, leading to the Papal States being forced to incur large debts, he almost immediately thought: "We should go sell indulgences in German!"

No cleric would dislike indulgences; such a simple piece of paper could defraud ignorant peasants of their meager savings.

Except for those clerics with true conscience and faith, such as Huss, and now Pope Pius II.

Huss chose radical resistance, which ultimately led to a tragic end, nearly destroying Bohemia twice.

Pope Pius II decided to take a completely different path, but it remains to be seen what outcome his reforms will bring.