He was a Dutch Catholic who wanted to be "rid of the Roman See and its satellites"; yet in his old age, he was considered for a cardinal's red hat. He believed that priests and monks should be allowed to marry. He argued for liberalized divorce, defended the use of the vernacular in the Mass, and questioned the infallibility of the Pope. He would, in short, be much at home among church reformers today. This month, in Rotterdam, the Dutch began a summer-long celebration marking the 500th anniversary of his birth.
With good reason: Erasmus* has survived those centuries well. As...
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