A History of the Inquisition of Spain; vol. 4Lea, Henry Charles
History
A History of the Inquisition of Spain; vol. 4
Lea, Henry Charles
Inquisition -- Spain
Other Jesuits drew up similar denunciations, or attested their truth,
and the case was fairly before the Holy Office. It was too serious for
hasty action and investigation was made in Murcia, where his female
accomplices were arrested, and ample confirmatory evidence was obtained
from their confessions and from eighteen of his letters. The Carranza
case had taught the lesson that bishops could be reached only through
papal authority and, on November 7, 1709, Inquisitor-general Ybáñez
forwarded to Clement XI the accumulated evidence, to which the pope
replied, March 8, 1710, that the matter would be thoroughly examined and
the necessary action be taken. Toro had at first been disposed to make a
contest, asserting that God would work miracles in defence of the women,
and that their imprisonment was a martyrdom; that the light infused in
him by God rendered him superior to the Inquisition, and that he was
illuminated above all other men. By this time, however, he realized his
position; on February 8, 1710, he made, through his confessor, a partial
confession, and he followed this with several letters to the pope,
begging permission to come to Rome for judgement. Then a papal brief of
June 7th ordered Ybáñez, within three years and under the advice of the
Suprema, to frame a prosecution, for which full powers were granted; if
the evidence sufficed, Toro was to be arrested and the case carried on
up to the point of sentence, when all the documents were to be
transmitted to Rome, where the pope would render the decision.
Toro was duly imprisoned and his trial proceeded. Ybáñez died, September
3, 1710 and was succeeded by Giudice, who was empowered, by a brief of
October 3, 1711, to carry on the process. Toro was found to be
_diminuto_ on a hundred and four of the articles of accusation; he was
reticent and refused to answer interrogations, begging earnestly to be
sent to Rome. His request was granted, by a brief of June 7, 1714, but
his departure was delayed, and it was not until June 11, 1716, that he
reached Rome and was lodged in the castle of Sant'Angelo. Andrés de
Cabrejas, fiscal of the Suprema, accompanied him, to represent the
Spanish Inquisition in the trial which proceeded slowly. Toro's
confessions and letters were a rich mine for the calificadores, who
extracted from them four hundred and fifty-five propositions of various
degrees of error--some of them being identical with those of Molinos.
Finally he abandoned all defence and acknowledged that he had been a
dogmatizing heretic, a soliciting seducer, a blasphemer against the
purity of God, Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin, a reviver of the
filthy sects of the Begghards, Illuminists and Molinists and subject to
the same penalties.
[Sidenote: _MOLINISM_]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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