In 1605 a conflict between Venice and the Holy See began with the arrest of two members of the clergy who were guilty of petty crimes, and with a law restricting the Church's right to enjoy and acquire landed property. Pope Paul V held that these provisions were contrary to canon law and demanded they be repealed. When this was refused, he placed Venice under an interdict. The Republic, under Doge Leonardo Donà, decided to ignore the interdict and excommunication, ordering local clergy to continue carrying out their ministries as before as if nothing had changed. It was supported by the Servite monk Paolo Sarpi, a sharp polemical writer who was nominated to be the Signoria's adviser on theology and canon law in 1606. The interdict was lifted after a year, when France intervened and proposed a formula of compromise. Venice was satisfied with reaffirming the principle that no citizen was superior to the normal processes of law.