Dealings with the Inquisition; Or, Papal Rome, Her Priests, and Her JesuitsAchilli, Giacinto
History
Dealings with the Inquisition; Or, Papal Rome, Her Priests, and Her Jesuits
Achilli, Giacinto
Catholic Church -- Controversial literature; Inquisition
In the present instance, however, this very necessary article was
required, not only for my theological branch, but also for the college
itself, or rather for the school for the youths. The mode of procuring
it was to be by calling meetings; and for this purpose I made a tour,
accompanied by a Secretary belonging to the Committee, through the
principal towns in England; holding these meetings at various places,
which afforded a large amount in donations and subscriptions.
It is almost incredible, the sympathy which many persons evinced for
this Missionary College. My name, the story of my conversion, my
protest in my letters to the Pope, the Italian Church, all afforded
abundant interest to those who saw that a reformation had already
commenced in Italy, through a religious movement at Rome.
My brethren in the cause were immediately summoned to the spot destined
for the Theological College. To Leonini and Saccares were added De
Santis, and also Cerioni, of Jesi, in the Roman States, who had lately
come from Alexandria, where he had been Secretary to the Bishop of
Cairo. A fifth came from Smyrna, an Armenian priest named Giovanni
Keosse, who stated that he had escaped through the assistance of a
bishop, and under the protection of the Austrian Ambassador, from
the clutches of the Roman Inquisition, which had laid hold of him at
Constantinople. I cannot tell how it happened that this Keosse, on his
arrival at Malta, was placed by the Principal of the College among my
people. I should have been willing enough to have received him, if he
had brought any recommendations with him. But he came in a furtive sort
of a manner, and the reports I heard concerning him were by no means to
his advantage; so that I began to suspect some evil design on his part;
and in fact he soon showed himself in his proper colours.
A bundle of papers arrived one day at the Committee of the Malta
College in London; they were anonymous, and contained vile, and at
the same time ridiculous charges against Leonini and Saccares. I was
informed that Keosse was the author of these slanders; the Armenian,
received from motives of kindness, was already a traitor, who stabbed
in the dark. I needed no further proofs of his baseness to give him to
understand that he must forthwith take his departure: he then thought
fit to throw off the mask; he was an agent for the opposite party.
"I think," said one of my friends to him, "you need not wait the coming
of Dr. Achilli; he has declared that if you cannot prove the truth of
your accusations, he will without ceremony turn you out of the house."
In fact, finding himself discovered, the Armenian did not think proper
to wait my return; he departed, saying, he could live no longer where
such disorder was going on.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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