Translation:Exinct sincerae devotions affectus

by Sixtus IV

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Exigit Sincerae Devotionis Affectus

SIXTUS, BISHOP, SERVANT OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD, TO OUR DEAREST SON IN CHRIST, FERDINAND, AND TO OUR DEAREST DAUGHTER IN CHRIST, ISABEL, ILLUSTRIOUS KING AND QUEEN OF CASTILE AND LEÓN, APOSTOLIC GREETINGS AND BLESSINGS.

Ferdinand and Isabella, by the grace of God, King and Queen of Castile, of León, of Aragon, of Sicily, of Toledo, of Valencia, of Galicia, of Majorca, of Seville, of Sardinia, of Córdoba, of Murcia, of Jaén, of the Algarves, of Algeciras, of Gibraltar, Count and Countess of Barcelona, Lords of Biscay and Molina, Dukes of Athens and Neopatras, Counts of Roussillon and Cerdagne, Marquises of Oristano and of Goceano, to you, the Venerable Fathers Friar Juan de San Martín, Bachelor in Sacred Theology, Prior of the Monastery of San Pablo in the City of Burgos, and Friar Miguel de Morillo, Master in Sacred Theology, Vicar of the Order of Preachers, health and apostolic benediction.

Know that, in view of the fact that our Most Holy Father, considering that in many and diverse parts, cities, towns, and places of these our Kingdoms and dominions, there are and have been some wicked Christians, both men and women, apostates and heretics, who, although they were baptized and received the sacrament of holy baptism without reward or force, have taken on only the name and appearance of Christians, have converted and returned to the sect and superstition and perfidy of the Jews, observing their Jewish ceremonies, rites, and customs, and have departed and depart from the true belief and goodness of our holy Catholic faith and its articles, which every good and faithful Christian should hold and believe, and have, with little fear of God and in disregard of the holy Mother Church, incurred and are incurring the sentences and censures of excommunication and other penalties established by the Apostolic constitutions against such, which has resulted and results in not only their persistence in their blindness and heretical obstinacy but also in the infection and defilement of their sons and daughters and others associating with them in the same infidelity and heresies, and their number has not insignificantly increased; and their sins, and by the tolerance of the ecclesiastical prelates, as is piously believed, wars and bloodshed and other evils continue to increase in those same kingdoms, with God permitting, to the offense of divine Majesty, the contempt of the aforesaid faith, the danger of souls, and the scandal of many.

Therefore, you have humbly besought us to graciously eradicate this pernicious sect from your kingdoms and to employ suitable remedies, known to be opportune for the salvation of souls, through the benevolence of the Apostolic See.

We, taking into account your praiseworthy zeal for the faith and the salvation of souls, rejoice in the Lord and hope that not only will you completely eradicate this perfidy from your kingdoms but that you will also, in our times, subject the Kingdom of Granada and its adjacent territories, inhabited by infidels, to your rule and convert these infidels to the true faith, with divine clemency working effectively. You will accomplish this as predecessors have been hindered in various ways. This will result in the exaltation of the true faith, the salvation of souls, and to your perfect praise, along with the preservation of eternal beatitude. Desiring to accede to your requests and to employ suitable remedies for these matters, we are inclined to these supplications of yours and grant you that three bishops or superiors of your choosing, or other upright secular priests, or religious of mendicant or non-mendicant orders, surpassing the age of forty, of good conscience and laudable life, Masters or Bachelors in theology, Doctors of Canon Law, or at least Licentiates in Canon Law, God-fearing men, whom you shall choose according to the requirements of each city and diocese within the said Kingdoms, shall, for the time being, or at least two of them, exercise the same jurisdiction, authority, and propriety over those guilty of such crimes, their supporters and abettors, as is exercised by the Ordinary and inquisitors of heretical depravity by right or custom of the regions, without any contrary Apostolic ordinances, or if it has been granted by the Apostolic See in common or individually that they cannot be suspended, interdicted, or excommunicated by Apostolic letters, without making a full and express mention, verbatim, of the grant. We, by these present documents, grant you the authority to repeatedly appoint and dismiss such upright men as often as you deem necessary, and to appoint others in their place. Furthermore, we grant the same upright men, whom you shall appoint for the time being, the jurisdiction, authority, and propriety aforementioned for the use against those guilty of such crimes and their supporters and abettors. We hope that you shall strive to select and appoint such men as will bring about the desired fruits of the exaltation of the faith and the salvation of souls through their integrity, uprightness, and diligence.

Let no one, therefore, dare to infringe upon this page of our concession and will, or oppose it with reckless audacity. If anyone presumes to attempt this, let him know that he will incur the wrath of Almighty God and of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul.

Given at Rome at Saint Peter's, in the year of the Lord's Incarnation one thousand four hundred and seventy-eight, on the Kalends of November, in the eighth year of our Pontificate