The inquisition in the Spanish dependencies: Sicily—Naples—Sardinia—Milan—the Canaries—Mexico—Peru—New GranadaLea, Henry Charles
History
The inquisition in the Spanish dependencies: Sicily—Naples—Sardinia—Milan—the Canaries—Mexico—Peru—New Granada
Lea, Henry Charles
Inquisition
In his zeal for the effective discharge of his duties, Cubelles sent to
Palermo for detailed information as to the conduct of the Inquisition
and was furnished with copies of the Spanish instructions and forms.
This seems to have provoked the Roman Congregation of the Holy Office,
between which and the Spanish there was perpetual jealousy, and it sent
to Malta a Dominican to act as his assistant and to direct him. He was
succeeded, both as bishop and inquisitor, by Martin Rojas de Portorubio,
to whom in 1573 Gregory XIII sent a commission. Apparently it was
impossible for the Inquisition to maintain harmonious relations with the
temporal power and, already in 1574, he complained to Rome that his
officials were beaten and that the Grand Master, Jean l’Evesque de la
Cassière, threatened to throw him out of the window if he came to the
palace. This created considerable scandal, but Rome, unlike Spain, was
not accustomed to support inquisitors through thick and thin, and the
result was that, by brief of July 3, 1574, Gregory revoked his
commission and sent Dr. Pietro Duzzina as apostolic vicar to conduct the
Inquisition. In thus separating it from the episcopate no provision was
made for its expenses, but soon after this the confiscated property of
Mathieu Faison, a rich heretic burnt in effigy, yielded a revenue of
three hundred crowns and, when Bishop Rojas died, March 19, 1577,
opportunity was taken to burden the see with a pension of six hundred
more for its benefit.[95] It was thus rendered permanent, but a
protracted struggle with successive grandmasters was necessary to secure
for its officials the privileges of the forum and the immunities and
exemptions which they claimed.[96]
Yet the Spanish Inquisition was not satisfied to be thus completely
superseded by that of Rome, even in so remote and inconspicuous a spot
as Malta. In 1575 Duzzina arrested a man as a heretic; it was known that
testimony against him had been taken in Sicily and application for it
was made to the inquisitors of Palermo. They applied for instructions to
the Suprema, which ordered them not to give it but to claim the
prisoner. The result was that the Maltese tribunal tried him on what had
occurred on the island and discharged him.[97] This emphasized its
absolute separation from the Spanish Holy Office and its history need
not be further followed here, except to allude to the most celebrated
case in its annals, when the two Quakeresses, Katharine Evans and Sarah
Cheevers, moved by the Spirit, went to Malta on a mission of conversion
and suffered an imprisonment of four years.[98]
CHAPTER II.
NAPLES.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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