Once inside the monastery, the abbot of Saint-Sulpice Monastery immediately said, "Your Grace, the reputations of many fellow workers have already been affected by the assessments. We must find a way to make amends..."
"Fellow workers" was the collective term for church clergy.
The Archbishop of Chartres said worriedly, "I am more concerned about this church reform Grenier has stirred up. It has had an enormous influence among the lower clergy...
"I mentioned this to Her Majesty the Queen, but she said it was inconvenient for her to interfere in the internal affairs of the church."
"Let us first think about how to deal with the Holy See's assessment!"
Archbishop Beaumont gave a light cough, signaling everyone to calm down. He first looked toward Archbishop Aceri and instructed, "Prepare a sum of money and make contact with those sent by the Holy See. Try to persuade them to raise the pass rate, or obtain the examination questions."
The latter nodded. "Would 500,000 francs do?"
"One million francs. We must make it impossible for them to refuse."
In the past, he would certainly have been reluctant to spend so much money. But now that the church was beset by troubles on all sides, it had to display the boldness to spend money like dirt. The church leaders went on to discuss other bribery methods in detail before the topic swiftly turned to dealing with church reform.
"First, we must shift people's attention away from church property," Montmorency said.
In truth, everyone knew the church was wealthy, but it was an unspoken matter. If it were repeatedly dragged into the open, it would inevitably provoke the public's rejection of the church.
Archbishop Beaumont nodded. "We must publicize that church property all comes from donations by the faithful, and that the church does