Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Pope Innocent XI and William of Orange


To appease the



Unknown said...

Was Pope Innocent XI a signatory to the 'Grand Alliance'of Augsburg which gave 'William of Orange' the mandate to oust 'King James II' of the thrown of England. If so, was he the only catholic in authority who did so?

Thank you,
Patrick Mc Cann.

elena maria vidal said...

I can't find anything about the Pope being a signatory. Here are some sites with more information:



Byron Hoover said...

Finally a balanced and insightful analysis in the wake of the recent revisionist history critical of this great pope. Your points are exactly on the mark - Innocent XI took whatever action he deemed appropriate for the welfare of the Church in the complicated world of the late 17th century. James II's imprudent attempts to force Catholicism on his Anglican nation were already doomed, and his close ties to Louis XIV rendered him increasingly problematic to the Church. All of us are indebted to Blessed Innocent XI for saving Europe from the onslaught of the Ottoman Turks at Vienna and preserving Western Civilization in the process. God bless you for your wisdom in defending this outstanding pontiff in such an enlightened and powerful way. Byron Hoover

elena maria vidal said...

Thank you very much, Mr. Hoover.

johngx said...

Given the historical inter-twinning of Church and State, Innocent XI was inevitably caught up in the intrigues of Europe, yes.

But nonetheless, even in historical terms, to have acted as he did to help significantly to oust Catholicism and bring in a Protestant order, it remains that his actions look like treachery from the very highest levels.

With beautification, the historical plot seems to get that much thicker... A Catholic saint? Well, ok.


Unknown said...

By 1688 England had been a Protestant stronghold for over 150 years. Catholics were decidely in the minority and received unjust treatment by English society regardless of the religious affiliation of the reigning monarch. King James II did not possess the talents of governance to rule his nation effectively and was closely allied to Louis XIV of France, who had already wreaked havoc across the continent for decades. Even when Blessed Innocent XI united the Christian kings of Europe to defeat the attacking Ottoman Turks at Vienna in 1683, Louis XIV secretly backed the invading Turkish forces for his own selfish interests. Scholars of European history regard Innocent XI as the greatest pope of his century. His beatification in 1956 stands as appropriate acknowledgment of his courageous and visionary leadership of the Church and his heroic and providential defense of Western Civilization.