That the primates and rulers of the Church of Rome, on being consecrated to their office, swear to observe the decrees of the Council of Trent, appears from the bull of Pope Pius LV, where are these words in the form of the oath of their profession of faith dated November, 1564:

In firm faith I believe and profess each and everything contained in the creed used by the Holy Church of Rome, and I receive without any doubts all such things as are maintained and declared in her holy canons and oecumenical councils, especially by the most holy Council of Trent, so help me God.

That they also bind themselves by an oath to believe and profess what the council of Trent has ordained concerning the imputation of Christ's merit, and justification by faith therein, is evident from these words in the same bull:

I embrace and receive each and everything which has been determined and declared in the most holy Council of Trent concerning original sin and justification.

What these are may be seen from the extracts taken above from that Council, nos. 3-8. From those articles, which have been established as principles at that Council, the following conclusions have been drawn:

That the Roman Catholics held exactly the same beliefs before the Reformation as the Reformed Church did after it concerning . . . the imputation of Christ's merit and justification by faith therein; with the sole difference that they united that faith with charity or good works. See above, nos. 19, 20. That the leading Reformers, Luther, Melanchthon and Calvin, retained all the dogmas concerning . . . the imputation of Christ's merit and justification by faith, just as they were and had been with the Roman Catholics; but they separated charity or good works from that faith, and declared that they were not together saving, in order that they might be completely severed from the Roman Catholics as to the very essentials of the Church, which are faith and charity. See above, nos. 21-23. That nevertheless the leading Reformers adjoined good works, and even conjoined them, to their faith, but in man as a passive subject whereas the Roman Catholics did so in man as an active subject; and yet there is actually a conformity between the latter and the former as to faith, works and merit. See above, nos. 24-29.

From what has been shown it is also evident that the aforesaid faith is one which the Roman Catholics swear to observe equally with the Reformed.