5. Hinderers of the Office of the Inquisition.—In various ways the Inquisition may be hindered, directly or indirectly; and those who do not aid the inquisitors are held guilty as hinderers. Thus, in a bull of Pope Alexander IV., he requires of the prelates, “Since, therefore, there are certain predicant friars appointed by the apostolic see, inquisitors against heretics, that they may carry on the business of the faith with a fervent mind and constant heart, through many tribulations and persecutions, we admonish and exhort all of you in our Lord Jesus Christ, strictly commanding you by these apostolical writings, in virtue of your obedience, and enjoining you, that you favourably assist these inquisitors in carrying on this affair; and that, laying aside the fear of man, you effectually give them your counsel and help. But, as for those whom we shall know to be contemners, besides the Divine judgment that hangs over them, they shall not escape the ecclesiastical vengeance.”
6. Suspected Heretics.—Suspicion may be light, vehement, or violent, as the Papists declare, and great numbers are accused and imprisoned by the Inquisition only on the suspicion of holding opinions contrary to the Romish church. Those who are lightly suspected are enjoined ceremonial purgation; those vehemently suspected are required solemnly to abjure every heresy; and he who is violently suspected is commonly condemned.
7. Persons defamed for Heresy.—Common report, especially if certified before a bishop, renders a person suspected, and liable to a process by the Inquisition; and the punishment is canonical purgation, with some other penalty.
8. Relapsed Persons.—Persons relapsed are those who, after having publicly abjured heresy, are convicted of falling into it again. The punishment of such persons is extreme; they are given over to the secular power to be burnt without mercy.
9. Readers of Prohibited Books.—Nothing can exceed the intolerance of the Papists in relation to the writings of the reformers; and the books of the Waldenses, of Wycliffe, of Luther, and of the other reformers, were sought for with the utmost zeal. Multitudes suffered death, therefore, for reading their writings, especially their translations and commentaries on the Holy Scriptures.
10. Those not Priests administering the Lord’s Supper.—Such persons are declared to approach idolatry, because they teach the faithful to adore the bread and wine, as though it were the body and blood of Jesus Christ. In like manner, he who is not a priest, and yet hears confessions and gives absolution, is said to abuse the sacrament. Such persons are to abjure, as vehemently suspected, and then be delivered over to the secular power to be punished with death.
11. Priests soliciting in Confession.—Incontinent priests, in the sacramental confession, are known, as a common practice, to solicit and provoke women to commit dishonourable actions. Cases of this kind are very common; but it is dangerous to accuse a confessor of such a crime, as the proof is so very difficult, while he possesses the means of immediate revenge by the Inquisition. But the crime itself is seldom punished, even where many nuns, and even abbesses, have had children by their father confessors.
12. Blasphemers.—Blasphemers are of various kinds—some saying, “I deny God; I do not believe in God;” or, “I deny the faith on the cross, or chrism, which I received in my forehead; or I deny the virginity of our Lady.” Heretical blasphemers are punished by their tongues being tied and pinched with an iron or wooden gag; and being exposed in public, wearing each an infamous mitre, they were whipped and banished; but if the offender were a person of rank, his punishment is lighter, though he was required to abjure heresy.
13. Diviners and Fortune-tellers.—Those guilty of divination are supposed to use or to imitate the sacraments, or things sacramental, in the practice of their mysteries; they are, therefore, punished with suspension of dignities, whipping; excommunication, or banishment. And those who practise astrology are punished in the same manner, as offenders against the church.
14. Witches and Wizards.—These were regarded as a sect supposed to hold intercourse with the devil, especially on the eve of Friday, when he was said to appear in a human shape. They are said to deny their holy faith and baptism, the Lord God, and the blessed Virgin Mary. For these imaginary crimes, it is computed that 30,000 persons were burnt to death, in about a century and a half, by the cruelty of the Inquisition, chiefly in Spain and Sicily.