Theologian · Early modern
St. Robert Bellarmine
1542–1621 · Jesuit controversial theology (congruism)
Doctor of the Church, canonized and declared Doctor in 1931.
Jesuit cardinal and the greatest controversialist of the Catholic Reformation, Bellarmine's Controversies answered the Reformers point by point on Scripture and Tradition, the Church, the Pope, the sacraments and grace. He argued that the Pope's power in temporal affairs is only indirect, that civil authority comes from God through the people (against James I's divine right), and he delivered the 1616 admonition to Galileo.
Why he matters: His definition of the Church as a visible society, his theory of indirect papal power, and his account of political authority all passed into Catholic teaching; he is the model of the theologian who answers error by stating the faith fully and fairly.
Where to be careful
His Controversies were briefly placed on the Index by Sixtus V (1590) for denying the Pope's direct temporal power; the entry was removed at Sixtus's death. His role in the Galileo affair is often misrepresented; he asked for demonstration, not silence.
Reading
-
On the Roman Pontiff (De Romano Pontifice)St. Robert Bellarmine (trans. Ryan Grant) · The classic treatise on the papacy, now in English.
-
The Mind's Ascent to God by the Ladder of Created ThingsSt. Robert Bellarmine · His spiritual side; a Jesuit Itinerarium.
-
Bellarmine: Saint and ScholarJames Brodrick, SJ · The standard life.
Documented positions
Where this thinker stands on each dispute the test covers.