Remaking the Secular Clergy
Remaking the Secular Clergy
This chapter discusses the problems that arise in the effort to transform the intricate layering of France's secular clergy, which resulted partly from their differing social backgrounds and, partly, from the complex and essentially unchanged benefice system in which they were anchored. Yet a generation of bishops increasingly viewed their objective of a well-regulated diocese in terms of a disciplined, resident and conscientious lower clergy, of whom the parish priests were to be the linchpin. However, such a specific objective could not be pursued on its own, as if the parish clergy were merely the servants and appointees of the bishops, nor could it be divorced from the problem of what to do with lower ranks of the populous secular clergy as a whole. Consequently, there was no miraculous “one-size-fits-all” remedy that could single-handedly transform the lower clergy, actual or future, so that a combination of measures, both old and new, had to be tried.
Keywords: social backgrounds, France's secular clergy, benefice system, well-regulated diocese, parish priests, one-size-fits-all remedy
Yale Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
