The council now expressed its universal, desire that all three popes should voluntarily resign their dignities. Gregory, ninety, was ready to abdicate provided that his rivals resigned and were not allowed to preside at the council. Benedict, ninety-one, was willing to meet Sigismund at Nice in order to achieve the same ends. The Italian cardinals and delegation became convinced that the pressure; of conciliar and public opinion was too great for continued resistance;
Deputies of the nations visited Cossa and hinted at his resignation in vague terms, proposals which, mysteriously, he seemed to receive most cheerfully. To the council's utter surprise, lie convened a general congregation to begin to carry this into effect by submitting the form which the resignation should take. `If they take this,' Cossa told, me, `we will not only be buying time, but we will be taking the first giant step on the way to defeating them.'
On his throne at the cathedral altar as president of the council, in the presence of the King of the Romans, the cardinals, the prelates, princes and delegations of nations, on 8 March Cossa called upon me to read the sample draft of the resignation which Cossa, as his own lawyer, had prepared.
`Your most holy Lord Pope John XXIII here present,' Read in a voice which was at once both sincere and thrilling, `although in no way obliged thereto by vow, oath or promise, yet for the repose of the Christian people, has proposed and resolved of his own free-will and accord to give peace to the Church even by resignation, provided that Petrus do Luna and Angelo Corrario, who were condemned and deposed at the Council of Pisa as heretics and schismatics, also legally and sufficiently resign their pretended popedoms, in manner, circumstance and at a, time to be forthwith declared and concluded by a treaty forthwith to be made to this effect by our Lord, the Pope, or his proctors, and the deputies of the nations.'
The council found the formula offensive and rejected it. Negotiations for an acceptable form went on, but patience with Cossa was becoming exhausted. The Germans insisted that only the council
was the sovereign judge. Bishop Buckley of England again that the pope should be burned as a heretic. The French demanded that Cossa not merely promise, but vow and swear, that he would resign.
On 12 March, a general congregation was held at the pope's palace. The King of the Romans, the Patriarch of Antioch, who was president of the French nation at Konstanz, and all national deputies; were present: The patriarch handed a new formula to the pope and asked him to read it aloud. Cossa passed it to me. I rose and read from the document:
`I, Pope John XXIII, in order to secure the repose of Christendom, declare and promise, vow and swear to God, to the Church, and to this holy council, freely and spontaneously, to give peace to the Church by means of my own resignation, and to do and carry this into effect in accordance with the determination of the present council, if and when Petrus da Luna and Angelo Corrario, called Benedict XIII and Gregory XII in their respective obediences, shall similarly; either in person or by their legal proctors, resign their pretended popedoms and, even in any case of resignation or death or otherwise, that my resignation may give peace to the Church and extinguish the schism.'
Cossa did not comment.
On the next day, to open the second general session of the council, the pope celebrated mass, then seated himself in front of the great altar, facing the congregation. The Patriarch of Antioch handed him the formula which Cardinal Ellera had read out the day before. Cossa read it aloud in a loud and sonorous voice. When he came to the Words, `I vow and swear,' he rose from his seat, knelt before the altar, placed his hand over his heart and added, `I promise to fulfil this.' He returned to his throne to conclude the formula.
Sigismund made the most of it: He took off his crown and threw himself at the pontiff's feet, kissed them tenderly and thanked him again and again for what he had done for the Holy Church. A Te Deum Laudamus was sung. All the church bells in the city broke out into peals of joyous music. The congregation was in tears and everyone believed that, at last, the great schism was about to be ended.
Cossa was urged to appoint Sigismund and certain cardinals as his proctors to carry through the abdication: He was supported by the Italian nation when he refused this. His refusal sent Sigismund into such a rage that he ordered the lake and city gates to be heavily guarded night and day to prevent anyone from leaving Konstanz. `He is toying with us,' Sigismund ranted. `He has no intention of keeping his word.'
The next day he called a congregation to introduce the need for an immediate conclave to meet and elect a new pope for the Church, proclaiming in the most pointed way that he no longer considered Cossa to be pope. John of Nassau arose in wrath and shouted that, unless John XXIII were re-elected he would recognize no pope, but his worldly character matched the reputation of the Holy Father and lent no weight to the process. At a meeting of the council the following day, Bishop Buckley, speaking for the English nation, demanded, in the presence of the King of the Romans, that Cossa be arrested and imprisoned and, were, it not for the instinctive and implacable opposition of the French, this would have happened.
That night, on Cossa's orders, I brought the Duke of Austria secretly to the papal palace. Frederick was, a tall, fat, florid man of Twenty years still young enough to believe that life, was an adventure and that intrigues brought power, He had readily made a lucrative deal with Cossa. The time had come for him to deliver,
`I want to speak to you in an entirely tentative way,' the Holy Father said gently. `We must be prepared at all times, even though we may never need to carry out our plans. But that is what leadership is, isn't it, my son?'
`You were twice the commander I could ever be, Holiness. I would give my, life to learn from you in all things.'
`I bless you for that. First, I'd like you to get me a boat with a sail and keep it moored in readiness at Steckhorn – that's about five miles down the river from Ermatingen, they tell me just past the Gottlieben castle on the Rhine.'
`Oh, I know Steckhorn, Holy Father. Steckhorn is in my dominion.'
Ah. Yes.'
`Are you really thinking of escape, Holiness?'
`I cannot conceive that it could be necessary.' He paused and gazed sadly at the young man. `Although, if the English are able to dominate the council with their threats to burn me, I should have to try to escape then.'
Should such a monstrous thing take place, you will ride out of this travesty at the centre of my two thousand horse.'
'My Cardinal Ellera lives by one rule,' the pontiff said. "If you're always ready, you're always glad," he says.'
`Yes. I see. By all means
`If you will be ready, my son; Cossa said, `all Christendom will be glad.'
When the fat young duke had gone, I brought Cossa a large parchment page. `This is what they are circulating throughout the nations today' I said
Cossa examined the page without reading it. 'A fairly expensive job of scrollwork, I would say. How many copies?
`Dozens. These things are nailed to the doors of every nation's meeting place. And every officer has one.'
`Then someone has been working on this little move for weeks. Someone with money to burn. What does it say?'
'Say? Oh, it merely accuses you of every mortal or abominable sin in the book and demands a public inquiry into your character.'
'Sins? It is only because those glossy rats in the council are so well informed on the subject that they are able to define every mortal and abominable sin in the book. How can they expect mercy?' What have they charged me with?'