778/1552 New editions of the breviary and of the Index were carefully prepared. At the same time the moral reforms of Trent were laxly carried out, for while decrees enforcing them were promulgated by Sixtus with one hand, with the other he sold dispensations and privileges. THE COUNCIL OF TRENT While the popes were enjoying their _jus incorrigibilitatis_--as Luther wittily expressed it--the church was going to rack and ruin. Had the safety of Peter's boat been left to its captains, it would apparently have foundered in the waves of schism and heresy. |