The History of the Inquisition of Spain from the Time of its Establishment to the Reign of Ferdinand VII.

by Juan Antonio Llorente

Philip II., who then resided at Brussels, was far from being capable of arresting the progress of a trial undertaken by the inquisitors for a matter of faith; he contented himself with promising to protect Carranza, as long as it was compatible with the Catholic religion. The demand of being heard in his defence, before the condemnation of his Catechism, might have been granted, if the depositions concerning his personal faith had not presented an obstacle. Don Ferdinand Valdés represented to the princess Jane, governess of the kingdom, the declarations of the witnesses, which, read by a person without discrimination, and with the intention of injuring, made the archbishop appear to be a real heretic. The princess communicated this to the king, her brother, who being naturally suspicious, and knowing that Valdés was inimical to Carranza, resolved to take the cowardly part of remaining inactive, and waiting until the affair should be elucidated. It is not true that Philip repented of having elevated Carranza to the see of Toledo; the proof of this exists in the procedure: he was favourably disposed towards the archbishop, till Valdés and the counsellors of the Inquisition persuaded him that Carranza was an hypocritical heretic. The absolute inactivity of this prince's character, and the formidable and continual activity of Valdés, were the cause of the misfortunes of Carranza.

The archbishop now thought it would be better to submit in order to avoid the infamy, and without waiting for replies from Brussels and Rome, on the 21st of September, 1558, he addressed a petition to Don Sancho Lopez de Otalora, counsellor of the Inquisition, in which he consented that his Catechism should be placed in the Index, provided his name was not mentioned, and that the prohibition did not extend beyond Spain, because the work was in the Spanish language. He hoped by these means to preserve the reputation of being a Catholic author, the only fame of which he was ambitious. In November, he sent letters to the grand-inquisitor and others, and remitted petitions to the Supreme Council, earnestly requesting, that in order to terminate all difficulties as soon as possible, his Catechism might be printed in Spanish, and given to him to be revised, corrected, and translated into Latin. His efforts were unsuccessful; the grand-inquisitor, far from wishing to serve him, obtained from the Pope the brief which completed his disgrace. He perceived that he ought to have followed the advice which had been given to him in Flanders, to repair to Rome, instead of Spain. The Bishop of Orense gave him to understand that there were in his case some things savouring of heresy, when he made the following reply:—Unless this crime entered by the sleeve of my habit, I am, thank God, innocent of any thing of the kind. I shall therefore allow the affair to take the common course.

On the 7th of June, 1558, Paul IV. declared in full consistory, "that being informed that the heresies of Luther, and some others, had been propagated in Spain, he had reason to suspect that several prelates had adopted them; and in consequence he authorized the grand-inquisitor for two years from that day, to make inquests concerning all the bishops, archbishops, patriarchs, and primates, of that kingdom: to commence their trials, and, in case that an attempt to escape was suspected, to arrest them and lodge them in a place of security, and that the inquisitor should immediately report the same to the sovereign pontiff, and send the criminals to Rome as soon as possible, with their process sealed up." The archbishop received notice of the expedition of this brief, in a letter from Cardinal Theatire, on the 18th of January. Valdés also demanded of the king, his permission to put it in execution. A letter from Don Antonio de Toledo to Carranza, dated Brussels, 27th of February, informed him, that his majesty had commanded the grand-inquisitor to suspend the proceedings till he arrived in Spain; adding, that his majesty was quite convinced of the wickedness with which the archbishop was treated. Valdés renewed his demand in March, representing the inconveniences of delay, and at last obtained permission to execute the brief.

During this period, the inquisitors of Valladolid continued to receive every possible deposition unfavourable to the archbishop, to justify the proceedings against him.

On the 20th of February, 1559, Fray Gaspard Tamayo, a Franciscan, voluntarily denounced the Catechism: he said, he thought it wrong in the author, to exhort the faithful to read the Scriptures, and not to address to the saints the prayers beginning Pater-Noster and Ave-Maria.

On the 11th of April, Don Juan de Acuña, count de Buendia, deposed that the archbishop had recommended him to renounce that practice, and to pray to the saints in the manner he had taught in his book; that he and all his family, and Donna Francisca de Cordova, had followed his advice, until the Bishop of Ciudad Rodrigo had persuaded them to the contrary: the deponent added, that he knew that Carranza had given the same advice to several other persons employed in the palace. This deposition was followed by those of the countess his wife, their chaplain, and seven of their servants.

On the same day, Fray Dominic de Roxas deposed, that the Marquis de Roza, his father, asked Carranza if he should cause a thousand masses to be said for his soul during his life, or after his death, and that the archbishop replied, "If my lord the marquis will believe me, he will say the masses during his life." The deponent further said, that the archbishop, in going to Trent to attend the second convocation of the council, was in company with some Lutherans who were with the King of Bohemia; that he disputed with one of them in the presence of the Bishop of Segovia, and though he appeared to have the advantage in the argument, he afterwards said privately to the deponent, "I was never so much embarrassed as to-day; although I am a master of theology, yet I am not so learned in the Scriptures as this Lutheran, who is only a layman." The witness also said, that the archbishop had read and approved his explanation of the articles of the faith, and that he had even inserted part of it in his Catechism. It has been also stated, that Fray Dominic recanted all his depositions before his death.

On the 5th of May, Donna Catherine de Castilla, who was a prisoner of the holy office, declared that she believed the archbishop to be a Lutheran; but repenting, she retracted her declaration, and said that she knew that Carranza had maintained to Don Carlos de Seso, her husband, that he committed a fatal error in denying the existence of purgatory. She persisted in her recantation.

I appeal to my readers, if the state of the trial and the depositions of the witnesses were sufficient allegation: Canino the fiscal, reserving to himself the right of accusing him with more formality hereafter, demanded that the person of the archbishop should be seized, that he should be imprisoned, and his goods and revenues sequestrated, to be at the disposal of the grand-inquisitor. Valdés, after consulting the Supreme Council, commanded the fiscal to present the papers of which he had spoken in his requisition: these were the Catechism with the qualifications of Cano, Cuevas, Soto, and Ybarra; two MSS. bound, containing the articles of faith by Fray Dominic de Roxas, and the other works of Carranza mentioned under the numbers 3, 4, 13, 27, 28, 29, and 30, with their qualifications; two sermons sent by Carranza to the licentiate Herrera, judge of the trials for smuggling, who was under arrest for Lutheranism; the depositions of the witnesses, with a summary of them, and to cause the archbishop to be pronounced attainted of heresy. Valdés, having drawn up, on the 8th of April, a verbal process of the reception of the powers granted by the Pope, the licentiate Canino, fiscal of the council of the Inquisition, on the 6th of May, presented to the grand-inquisitor a requisition, in which he demanded the execution of the brief, and declared that he would designate, in time and place, the person which it was to strike. Valdés remitted a declaration, in which he announced that he was ready to do justice whenever he was required. On the same day, the fiscal presented another requisition, in which he stated that Don Bartholomew Carranza, archbishop of Toledo, had preached, insinuated, written, and taught, in his conferences, his sermons, and his catechism, and in other books and writings, several heresies of Luther, according to the depositions of witnesses, and the books and writings which he presented to support his charges: the letters were those of the Bishop of Cuenza, Don Pedro de Castro; a letter from the archbishop to Doctor Cazalla, dated Brussels, 18th of February, 1558, in reply to compliments on his elevation to the see of Toledo; (in this letter he begs Cazalla to "pray that he may have the light necessary to govern his diocese well;" adding, "that it was more needful to ask it then than before, for those who formed part of the church of God;") two letters of Juan Sanchez, a Lutheran, in which he says that he was going to Flanders, because he hoped to be well received by Carranza.

As these formalities were all fulfilled in one day, it is not to be doubted that it was a concerted scheme between the grand-inquisitor, some members of the council, and the fiscal: if this had not been the case, three days would have been necessary for these ceremonies. On the 13th of May, the grand-inquisitor and the council determined that Carranza should be cited to appear, and reply to the accusations of the fiscal.