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| 2. The Papacy |
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(See 1623–44)| By attempting to remain neutral in the great conflicts between the Bourbons and the Habsburgs, the popes sacrificed the support of both. Furthermore, the Church divided on the question of Jansenism (from Cornelius Jansenius, bishop of Ypres), which emphasized inner regeneration rather than external reorganization of the Church, as represented by the Jesuits. | 1 |
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| 1644–55 |
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| Innocent X (Giambattista Pamfili), a pope who was entirely under the control of his sister-in-law, Olympia Maidalchini. The pope denounced the Treaty of Westphalia because of the abolition of bishoprics and concessions to Protestants, but the protest had no effect. | 2 |
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| 1653, May 31 |
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| The bull Cum occasione impressionis libri condemned five propositions in the work of Jansenius, thus initiating the Jansenist controversy (See 1669). | 3 |
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| 1655–67 |
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| Alexander VII (Fabio Chigi). | 4 |
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| 1667–69 |
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| Clement IX (Giulio Rospigliosi), elected by French influence. | 5 |
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| 1670–76 |
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| Clement X (Cardinal Altieri), regarded as pro-Spanish. He disapproved of the French alliance with the Ottoman Empire and did what he could to support the war of the Habsburgs with the enemy. | 6 |
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| 1676–89 |
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| Innocent XI (Benedetto Odescalchi), one of the outstanding popes of the period. He undertook a much-needed financial reorganization of the papacy, refused to practice nepotism, enforced regulations to improve the morality of the clergy. At the same time he financed the Austrians in their campaigns against the Ottoman empire. | 7 |
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| 1682 |
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| Church assembly at St. Germain called by Louis XIV (See 1682). It adopted four articles: (1) sovereigns are not subject to the pope in temporal matters; (2) a general council is superior to a pope; (3) the power of the pope is subject to the regulations of a council and a pope cannot decide contrary to the rules of the Gallican church; (4) decisions of the papacy are not irrevocable. | 8 |
| In reply to these articles the pope refused to invest as bishops any French clerics who had taken part in the assembly. Ultimately, 35 French bishoprics were vacant. Further friction developed. The pope protested against the suppression and expulsion of the Huguenots and actually approved the expedition of William III to England, as part of an anti-French policy. | 9 |
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| 1689–91 |
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| Alexander VIII (Pietro Ottoboni). | 10 |
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| 1691–1700 |
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| Innocent XII (Antonio Pignatelli). | 11 |
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| 1692 |
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| The bull Romanum decet pontificem limited the number of offices that could be held by relatives of the pope, thus putting an end to nepotism in its worst form. Innocent also checked the sale of offices. | 12 |
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| 1697 |
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| The pope made peace with France, winning a substantial victory. Louis XIV abrogated the four articles of 1682, probably in order to win support in the matter of the Spanish succession. | 13 |
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