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

by Juan Antonio Llorente

The fathers of the council could not succeed in their attempt to cause the trial of Carranza to be transferred to them. When the assembly was dissolved, the grand-inquisitor, who had now only the Pope to contend with, commissioned the Council of the Inquisition to request the king to obtain a brief to allow the trial to be terminated in Spain; representing to him that he might say that it would be useful in alarming those Spaniards who had adopted heretical opinions; that the King of Spain merited such a favour, because he was the only prince who had used every means to extirpate heresy; that the ancient canons permitted that the trial should take place where the crime was committed; that if that of Carranza was transferred to Rome, the names of the witnesses would be revealed, which would occasion serious consequences; that the trial must be translated into Latin or Italian, which would take much time, and that none but Spaniards could understand the strength of the expressions of the witnesses; that the procurator-fiscal would be obliged to go to Rome, where he would have the mortification of not being heard or well received, because many persons of high rank had been zealous in the cause of the archbishop; that the crimes were committed before he was raised to the episcopal dignity; that it would not be convenient to allow the archbishop to go to Rome, and that the trial could not be properly judged unless he did so; that from all these considerations it would be better for the sovereign pontiff to appoint persons to finish the trial in Spain, in concert with the Supreme Council.

On the other side, Don Martin D'Alpizcueta represented to the king all the ill treatment which the archbishop had suffered, and demanded that he should be sent to Rome. He represented that the archbishop might have made his escape to Rome, but that he did not do so, because his majesty had commanded him in a letter written with his own hand, not to apply to any one but himself, and to have confidence in his protection. Alpizcueta, speaking of the injustice Carranza had suffered, says that his arrest was decreed before anything was proved against him, since all impartial persons would see that the propositions imputed to him were not heretical; that his Catechism had been approved by the Council of Trent, and that it was read in every country but Spain, where his enemies resided.

The advocate states, that suspected judges had been appointed, and that nothing but the fear of displeasing his majesty could prevent his client from challenging them;

That his enemies, taking advantage of his captivity, always prevented him from informing the king and the Pope of the secret intrigues;

That his act of accusation had been divided into fifteen or twenty parts, and the same charges multiplied into four hundred articles, while it might and ought to have been reduced to thirty points;

That he had been accused of having advanced heretical propositions, when they were perfectly Catholic;

That the accusations had been accumulated to embarrass his client, and cause him to contradict himself;

That the copies of the requisitions of the fiscal were not given to him until the period allowed for the reply had nearly expired; that the archbishop might render his detention longer by demanding fresh delays, or might reply without reflection;

That works had been imputed to him, of which he was not the author;

That consequently he did not expect to be tried fairly unless the process was transferred to the throne;