The Method of
passing Sentence upon one who hath Confessed to Heresy
but is Relapsed, Albeir now Penitent
THE
ninth method of arriving at a conclusive sentence in a
process on behalf of the faith is used when the person
accused of heresy, after a careful investigation of the
circumstances of the process in consultation with men of
good judgement, is found to have confessed her heresy
and to be penitent, but that she has truly relapsed. And
this is when the accused herself confesses in Court
before the Bishop or Judges that she has at another time
abjured all heresy, and this is legally proved, and that
she has afterwards fallen into such a heresy or error:
or that she has abjured some particular heresy, such as
that of witches, and has afterwards returned to it; but
that following better advice she is penitent, and
believes the Catholic faith, and returns to the unity of
the Church. Such a one is not, if she humbly ask for
them, to be denied the sacraments of Penance and the
Eucharist; but however much she may repent, she is
nevertheless to be delivered up as a backslider to the
secular Court to suffer the extreme penalty. But it must
be understood that this refers to one who had made her
abjuration as one manifestly taken in heresy, or as one
strongly suspected of heresy, and not to one who has so
done as being under only a light suspicion.
The following
procedure must be observed in this case. When, after
mature and careful and, if necessary, repeated
investigation by learned men, it has been concluded that
the said prisoner has actually and prepense relapsed
into heresy, the Bishop or Judge shall send to the said
prisoner in the place of detention two or three honest
men, especially religious or clerics, who are zealous
for the faith, of whom the prisoner has no suspicion,
but rather places confidence in them; and they shall go
in to her at a suitable time and speak to her sweetly of
the contempt of this world and the miseries of this
life, and of the joys and glory of Paradise. And leading
up from this, they shall indicate to her on the part of
the Bishop or Judge that she cannot escape temporal
death, and that she should therefore take care for the
safety of her soul, and prepare herself to confess her
sins and receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist. And
they shall visit her often, persuading her to penitence
and patience, strengthening her as much as they can in
the Catholic truth, and they shall diligently cause her
to confess, so that she may receive the Sacrament of the
Eucharist at her humble petition. For these Sacraments
are not to be denied to such offenders.
And when she
has received these Sacraments, and been well disposed by
these men to salvation; after two or three days during
which they have strengthened her in the Catholic faith
and induced her to repentance, the Bishop or Judge of
that place shall notify the bailiff of the place or the
authorities of the secular Court, that on such a day at
such an hour (not a Feast Day) he should be with his
attendants in such a square or place (but it must be
outside a church) to receive from their Court a certain
backslider whom the Bishop and Judge will hand over to
him.
And on the
morning of the day fixed, or on the day before, it shall
be publicly proclaimed throughout the city of place in
those towns and villages where such proclamations are
customary, that on such a day at such an hour in such a
place there will be a sermon preached in defence of the
Faith, and that the Bishop and other Judges will condemn
a certain person who has relapsed into the sin of
heresy, delivering her up to secular justice.
But here it
must be considered that, if he who has so relapsed
should have been ordained in any Holy Orders, or should
be a priest or a religious of any Order, before he is
handed over he is to be degraded and stripped of the
privileges of his ecclesiastic order. And so, when he
has been degraded from all ecclesiastical office, let
him be handed over to secular justice to receive his due
punishment.
When,
therefore, such a one is to be degraded from his orders
and handed over to the secular Court, let the Bishop
summon together all the prelates and religious men of
his Diocese. For in this case, though not in others,
only the Bishop together with the other prelates and
religious and learned men of his diocese can degrade one
who has received Holy Orders when he is to be delivered
to the secular Court, or is to be imprisoned for life
for the sin of heresy.
On the day
appointed for the degrading of the backslider and the
handing of him over to the secular Court, if he be a
cleric, or, if he be a layman, for leaving him to hear
his definitive sentence, the people shall gather
together in some square or open place outside the
church, and the Inquisitor shall preach a sermon, and
the prisoner shall be set on a high place in the
presence of the secular authorities. And if the prisoner
be a cleric who is to be degraded, the Bishop shall don
his Pontifical robes, together with the other prelates
of his Diocese in their vestments and copes, and the
prisoner shall be clothed and robed as if he were to
minister his office; and the Bishop shall degrade him
from his order, beginning from the higher and proceeding
to the lowest. And just as in conferring Holy Orders the
Bishop uses the words ordained by the Church, so in
degrading him he shall take off his chasuble and stole,
and so with the other vestments, using words of a
directly opposite meaning.
When this
degradation has been accomplished, the proceedings must
continue in the legal and accustomed manner, and the
Notary or religious or clerk shall be bidden to read the
sentence, which shall be after the following manner,
whether the prisoner be a layman or a degraded cleric:
We, N., by
the mercy of the God Bishop of such city, and Judge in
the territories of such Prince, seeing that we are
legitimately informed that you, N., of such a place in
such a Diocese, have been before us (or before such
Bishop and Judges) accused of such heresy or heresies
(naming them), of which you were lawfully convicted by
your own confession and by witnesses, and that you had
obstinately persisted in them for so long, but
afterwards, listening to better advice, publicly in such
a place abjured, renounced and revoked those heresies in
the form provided by the Church, on which account the
said Bishop and Inquisitor, believing that you had truly
returned to the bosom of the Holy Church of God, did
absolve you from the sentence of excommunication by
which you were bound, enjoining upon you a salutary
penance if with true heart and faith unfeigned you had
returned to the unity of the Holy Church; but whereas
after all the aforesaid and the lapse of so many years
you are again accused before us and have again fallen
into such heresies which you had abjured (naming them),
and though it was sore grief to us to hear such things
of you, yet we were by justice compelled to investigate
the matter, to examine the witnesses, and to summon and
question you on oath, proceeding in each and every way
as we are bidden by the canonical institutions.
And since we
wished to conclude this case without any doubt, we
convened in solemn council learned men of the
Theological faculty and men skilled in the Canon and the
Civil Law, and in consultation with them maturely and
carefully examined all and singular which had been done,
said and seen in the process and diligently discussed
each circumstance, weighing all equally in the balance
as it behoved us; and we find both by the legitimate
evidence of witnesses and by your own confession
received in Court that you have fallen into the heresies
which you had abjured. For we find that you have said or
done such and such (let all be named), on account of
which, with the concurrence of the said learned men, we
have judged and now judge that you are a backslider,
according tot he canonical institutions, to which we
refer in grief and grieve to refer.
But since it
has come to the knowledge of Us and of many honest
Catholic men that, by the inspiration of Divine grade,
you have once more returned to the bosom of the Church
and to the truth of the faith detesting the aforesaid
errors and heresies and with true orthodoxy unfeigned
believing and protesting the Catholic faith, we have
admitted you to receive the Church's Sacraments of
Penance and the Holy Eucharist at your humble request.
But since the Church of God has no more which it can do
in respect of you, seeing that it has acted so
mercifully towards you in the manner we have said, and
you have abused that mercy by falling back into the
heresies which you had abjured: therefore We the said
Bishop and Judges, sitting in tribunal as Judges
judging, having before us the Holy Gospels that our
judgement may proceed as from the countenance of God and
our eyes see with equity, and having before our eyes
only God and the irrefragable truth of the Holy Faith
and the extirpation of the plague of heresy; against
you, N., in this place on the day and at the hour before
assigned to you for the hearing of your definitive
sentence, we pronounce in sentence that you have truly
fallen back into the sin of heresy, although you are
penitent; and as one truly so relapsed we cast you forth
from this our ecclesiastical Court, and leave you to be
delivered to the secular arm. But we earnestly pray that
the said secular Court may temper its justice with
mercy, and that there be no bloodshed or danger of
death.
And here the
Bishop and his assessors shall withdraw, and the secular
Court shall perform its office.
It is to be
noted that, although the Bishop and Inquisitor ought to
use their utmost diligence, both by their own efforts
and those of others, to induce the prisoner to repent
and return to the Catholic faith; yet, after he has
repented and it has been decided in council that, though
he is penitent, he is nevertheless truly a backslider
and as such to be handed over in person to the secular
Court, they ought not to inform him of such sentence and
punishment. therefore from that time, neither before nor
after the sentence should they present themselves before
him, that he be not moved in his spirit against them, a
thing which is very carefully to be avoided in death of
this sort. But, as we have said, let them send to him
some honest men, especially those in religious orders,
or clerics, in whom he has confidence; and let them
inform him of the sentence to come and of his death, and
strengthen him in the faith, exhorting him to have
patience; and let them visit him after the sentence, and
console him and pray with him, and not leave him until
he has rendered his spirit to his Creator.
Let them,
therefore, beware and be on their guard not to do or say
anything which may enable the prisoner to anticipate his
death, or place themselves in an irregular position.
And, as they have burdened themselves with the care of
his soul, let them then share also in his punishment and
guilt.
It must also
be remarked that such a sentence which delivers up a
person to the secular Court ought not to be pronounced
on a Festival or Solemn Day, nor in a church, but
outside in some open space. For it is a sentence which
leads to death; and it is more decent that it should be
delivered on an ordinary day and outside the church; for
a Feast Day and the church are dedicated to God.
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