Prince, on coming to the throne,
published an edict reestablishing the Pragmatic Sanction; and this step,
added to his ambitious enterprises in Italy, brought him into hostile
collision with Pope Julius II. The King, unwilling to make war on the
head of the Church without some semblance of ecclesiastical sanction,
convoked a council at Tours in September, 1510, and consulted the clergy
on a series of questions arising out of the disturbed state of his
relations with Rome. They decided, in accordance with the known views
and wishes of the sovereign, that it is lawful for an independent
prince, if unjustly attacked, to defend himself against the pope by
force of arms; to withdraw for a time from his obedience; to take
possession of the territory of the Church, not with the purpose of
retaining it, but as a temporary measure of self-protection; and to
resist the pretensions of the pontiff to powers not rightfully belonging
to him. Citations to appear in Rome might, under such circumstances, be
safely disregarded; as also papal censures, which would be null and
void. If the emergency should arise, the council added, the king ought
to be governed by the ancient principles of ecclesiastical law, as
confirmed and reenacted by the Pragmatic Sanction.

The Gallican clergy sent a deputation to Pope Julius on this occasion to
entreat him to adopt a more conciliatory policy toward the princes of
Christendom; and they determined, in case their advice should be
fruitless, to demand the convocation of a general council to take
cognizance of the Pope's conduct, and prescribe the measures necessary
for the guidance and welfare of the Church. An ecclesiastical congress,
calling itself a council-general, but altogether unworthy of that august
title, was held, in fact, in the following year at Pisa, under the
auspices of the King of France and the emperor Maximilian. The Pope
refused to appear there, and convoked a rival synod at Rome, summoning
the cardinals who had authorized the meeting at Pisa to present
themselves at his court within sixty days. On the expiration of this
term he publicly excommunicated them, degraded them from their dignity,
and deprived them of their preferments.

Thus the Western Church once more exhibited the spectacle of a "house
divided against itself," as during the scandalous strife between the
synods of Basel and Florence; and for some time a formal schism appeared
imminent. The so-called Council of Pisa cons