Here the venerable Doctors who were assisting Us did exhort her with the most lively instance and did strive to obtain from her that she would submit herself and her acts to the Church Militant. They cited to her a number of authorities taken from Holy Scripture, and shewed her numerous examples. They enlarged upon these authorities and these examples. One of the Doctors,[[88]] in his exhortation, brought forward this passage of Matthew, chapter xviii.: “If thy brother sin against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone”; and this other, “If he will not hear the Church, let him be unto thee as a heathen-man and a publican.” He shewed to Jeanne these truths in French, and said to her at the end, that if she would not submit to the Church and obey it, the Church must abandon her as an Infidel [sarrazine].
“I am a good Christian,” she answered, “I have been baptized; I shall die a good Christian!”
“As you ask that the Church should administer the Eucharist to you, why will you not submit to the Church? It would be administered to you at once.”
“Of this submission I will say no more than I have said: I love God, I serve Him; I am a good Christian; I wish to help and maintain the Church with all my power.”
“Do you not wish that a good and notable procession might be ordained to restore you to a good estate if you are not therein?”
“I desire that the Church and the Catholics should pray for me.”
Public Admonition by the Judges.
Wednesday, the 2nd day of May, the Judges held a sitting in the room of the Castle of Rouen near the Great Hall of the same Castle; assisted by 63 Assessors.
We, the Bishop, did first address to the above-named the following words:
“After having been thoroughly questioned, this woman hath had to reply to the Articles judicially prepared against her by the Promoter; then We have had a summary made of her avowals and declarations in a succinct and abridged form of assertions in Twelve Articles, which We have addressed to the Doctors and other persons consummate in knowledge of Theology, of Civil Law and of Canon Law, in order to have their advice. By the answers which many amongst them have for some time past been sending, We have been able to recognize that, in their eyes, this woman hath fallen short in many things: but nothing as regards this has as yet been decided by Us; and before We come to a final decision, many honest men, conscientious and wise, have thought it would be well to seek by all means to instruct her on the points in which she seems to be lacking, and to reinstate her in the way and knowledge of the truth. This result We have always desired, and We ardently desire it still. For We ought all to bend ourselves thereto, We who live in the Church, and in the ministration of holy things; We ought to strive to shew to this woman with all gentleness that she is, by her words and by her actions, outside the Faith, the truth, and religion, and to warn her charitably to think of her salvation.