Background
Bertrand de Got, born in 1264. He became Pope Clement V, and was a nobleman and a native of Gascony, France.
Bertrand de Got, born in 1264. He became Pope Clement V, and was a nobleman and a native of Gascony, France.
He became archbishop of Bordeaux in 1299. His election to the papacy in 1305 followed the pontificate of Boniface VIII (and the brief rule of Benedict XI), during which a long quarrel between France and the papacy culminated in Boniface's capture and mistreatment by henchmen of the French king, Philip IV, at Anagni, Italy, in 1303. France had humiliated the papacy, and the cardinals chose de Got as a compromise candidate who had neither opposed Boniface nor displeased Philip. Although Clement V was not a mere tool of France, throughout his reign he was pressured by Philip IV. At Philip's request Clement was crowned at Lyons; there he suffered a fall from his horse which may have affected his health permanently, for chronic illness contributed to his submission to French demands. Philip IV urged a posthumous heresy trial of Boniface VIII, and it was probably to avoid this that Clement agreed to settle in Avignon in 1309. Further submission is shown by Clement's approval of Philip's bloody suppression of the Knights Templar; his withdrawal of Boniface VIII's bull Clericis laicos; and his withdrawal of support for Emperor Henry VII's activities in Italy. Clement V took important financial and political actions as pope. He introduced the annates, a lucrative papal tax, and thus refilled the papal treasury; but he spent the money unwisely, much of it on his relatives and on loans to France and England. He created 24 cardinals, of whom 23 were French and Gascon, thus producing a French majority. He was condemned for his nepotism, accused of simony, and disliked for his luxurious style of living. But he was also a scholarly man, and he ordered the study of the Hebrew, Syriac, and Arabic languages at the universities of Paris, Bologna, Oxford, and Salamanca. He added to canon law the sixth book of the Decretals, named "Clementines" after him. Clement's reputation today is predominately unfavorable because of his submission to French domination and his role in creating the Avignon papacy. But much evidence suggests that his intentions were good. It was always his wish to return the papacy to Rome, but poor health and fear of "another Anagni" made him unable to resist Philip IV. Clement died on April 14, 1314.
Quotations:
"We should let God be the One to praise us and not praise ourselves. For God detests those who commend themselves. Let others applaud our good deeds. "
"This world and the world to come are two enemies. We cannot therefore be friends to both; but we must decide which we will forsake and which we will enjoy. "
"Follow the saints, because those who follow them will become saints. "
"Charity unites us to God. .. There is nothing mean in charity, nothing arrogant. Charity knows no schism, does not rebel, does all things in concord. In charity all the elect of God have been made perfect. "
"Who can describe the bond of God's love? Who is able to explain the majesty of its beauty? The height to which love leads is indescribable. . .. In love the master received us, Jesus Christ our Lord, in accordance with God's will gave his blood for us, and his flesh for our flesh, and his life for our lives. "
"Filthy talk makes us feel comfortable with filthy action. But the one who knows how to control the tongue is prepared to resist the attacks of lust. "
"And we, too, being called by His will in Christ Jesus, are not justified by ourselves, nor by our own wisdom, or understanding, or godliness, or works which we have wrought in holiness of heart; but by that faith through which, from the beginning, Almighty God has justified all men; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. "
"How blessed and amazing are God's gifts, dear friends! Life with immortality, splendor with righteous, truth with confidence, faith with assurance, self-control with holiness! And all these things are within our comprehension. "
"If any one say that he has seen a just man in want of bread, I answer that it was in some place where there was no other just man. "
". .. if we say that the Father is the origin of the Son and greater than the Son, we do not suggest any precedence in time or superiority in nature of the Father over the Son (cf. Jn. 14:28)? or superiority in any other respect save causation. And we mean by this, that the Son is begotten of the Father and not the Father of the Son, and that the Father naturally is the cause of the Son. "
"Let us cleave. .. to those who cultivate peace with godliness, and not to those who hypocritically profess to desire it. For the Scripture says in a certain place (Mk. 7:6), 'This people honors Me with their lips, but their hearts is far from Me. '"
Clement V was never married.
