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Posts: 3154
Apr 26 09 4:24 PM
XrcTim wrote: He was a catholic in name only as far as I can tell from biographies about him.
The HarperCollins Dictionary of Religion stated that Erasmus "remained a staunch Catholic and Augustinian priest" (p. 341). Arthur McGiffert noted that Erasmus "was a loyal and orthodox Catholic to the end of his life, and to break with the Catholic Church, or to undermine its influence, was the last thing he wished" (History, II, p. 392). Thomas James (1571-1629) asserted that Erasmus "was both in heart and in outward profession, a papist" (Treatise, p. xxx). V. Green wrote that Erasmus "did not criticise the doctrine of the Church, its sacraments, its priesthood or its hierarchy" (Luther and the Reformation, p. 141). Although Erasmus criticized excesses in the Catholic Church, he remained loyal to the Pope. Campbell cited Sir Richard Jebb as noting that "Erasmus never departed an inch from his allegiance to Rome" (Erasmus, Tyndale, and More, p. 233). In a letter to Conrad Pellican, Dolan noted that Erasmus "continually reiterates his conviction that the Church of Rome is the one and only Church" (Essential Erasmus, p. 207). Mourret pointed out that Erasmus "wished to maintain amicable relations with Rome, dedicated his New Testament to the Pope, and gloried in the Brief of felicitation which the Pontiff sent him" (History of the Catholic Church, V, p. 305).
John Faulkner mentioned where Erasmus affirmed: "But one should not determine for himself as to doctrine, but let the Catholic Church speak, to whose judgment I submit everything" (Erasmus: The Scholar, p. 177). Erasmus wrote: "Let us remain in union with the Catholic Church," and "Hold fast to what the Catholic Church has handed down to us from Holy Scripture" (Dolan, Essential Erasmus, pp. 357, 375). He claimed: "It is more detestable to withdraw from the Church and take up heresy or schism than to live impurely and remain orthodox in our belief" (Ibid., p. 376). David Bentley-Taylor quoted Erasmus as writing: "I know no faith but that of the Catholic Church" (My Dear Erasmus, p. 133). He noted that Erasmus reiterated: "I shall remain steadfastly in the Catholic camp, upholding the cause of truth" (Ibid., p. 162). Bainton cited Erasmus as writing in a letter to Hutten the following: "When have I ever condemned the canon law and the decretals of the popes?" (Erasmus of Christendom, p. 177). Kutilek observed: "Boldly and repeatedly, Erasmus declares himself to be a loyal and devoted Romanist, consenting to all that Rome stood for doctrinally, with its Mary-worship, veneration of the saints, sacrifice of the mass, papal supremacy, purgatory, monastic vows and orders and all else" (Erasmus, p. 21). Campbell wrote that time and again "Erasmus made the ex cathedra rulings of the Church his final court of appeal and accepted them in a true spirit of Catholic obedience" (Erasmus, Tyndale, and More, p. 276). Butler confirmed that "Erasmus repeatedly and explicitly disclaimed in his works, every opinion that was contrary to the faith or doctrines of the Catholic Church" (Life of Erasmus, p. 194).
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