Inquisitions and legal mechanisms in the investigation of the conduct of bishops in Portuguese America (17th-18th centuries)

Abstract

The decrees of the Council of Trent (1545-1563) established the primacy of the pontiff in the scrutiny and judgment of bishops in “criminal causes”, but in practice, the inquiries followed different paths. This article will therefore examine the legal mechanisms and instruments used by the royal and ecclesiastical courts to investigate and judge the proceedings of bishops in Portuguese America based on three cases, those of the Rio de Janeiro bishops D. José de Barros de Alarcão (1680-1700) and D. Frei João da Cruz (1740-1745) and of the bishop of Olinda D. Frei Luís de Santa Teresa (1738-1754). Furthermore, we will try to understand how the different circumstances and diplomatic issues between Portugal and the Roman Curia influenced the outcome of each situation.