Digital Continent Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul 2016 | Page 47

40

spiritually subject to only Rome and it was viewed as an example to follow by the reformers.83
Determined to apply the same standards to papal elections, the papal election decree of 1059
called for the cardinal-bishops to play a crucial role in the elections. If simony or any other
threat could not be avoided in Rome they had the authority to hold the election elsewhere. Even
if violence delayed enthronement, the pope-elect possessed full papal rights. Although imperial
rights were mentioned, they were now, according to decree, subject to a higher authority. If
misused, the imperial prerogative was forfeited. If not exercised, election validity was not
diminished. Imperial participation in papal elections was now subject to ecclesiastical
authority.84 The decree of 1059 was a statement of liberation for the papacy from both imperial
power and the various Roman aristocratic factions. It was to mark the end of the manipulation of
papal elections by secular forces.85 The success of such reform required obedience of both the
bishops and secular rulers. Without deference to Rome, such a sweeping reform that embraced
the views of the early Fathers would be nearly impossible to implement.
The Council of Rome 1074 had such obedience in mind in canons numbered twenty-three
and twenty-four. These stressed that the primary obedience of the clergy was owed to the Holy
See, not necessarily whoever was considered to be their immediate superior. This particular
doctrine was not new but was a traditional principle deemed necessary for effective universal
reform. Occasionally, a profession of obedience made at a local council served as a reminder.
The customs of feudalism and the practice of lay investiture had jointly ensnared the
ecclesiastical princes. Any conflict that was bound to arise with secular leaders and rulers could

83

Blumenthal, The Investiture Controversy, 17.

84

Ibid., 93-94.

85

Tierney, 36.