Il processo inquisitoriale del Cardinal Giovanni Morone. Edizione Critica. Volume VI: Appendice II: Summarium processus originalis; Documenti ed. by Massimo Firpo and Dario Marcatto (review)

BOOK REVIEWS719 7/ processo inquisitoriale del Cardinal Giovanni Morone. Edizione Critica. Volume VI: Appendice II: Summarium processus originalis; Documenti. Edited by Massimo Ftfpo and Dario Marcatto. (Rome: Istituto storico italiano per l'età moderna e contemporánea. 1995. Pp. 459. Lire 70.000 paperback .) This is the sixth volume in the pubUcation of the records concerning the heresy trial of Cardinal Giovanni Morone, papal diplomat and bishop of Modem . It wUl be recaUed that Morone was arrested and tried for heresy by the Inquisition in Rome during the pontificate of Paul IV (Carafa), 1555-1559. After Carafa's death, Pius IV (1559- 1 565) released Morone from prison, restored him to his dignities, and made him one of the three papal legates at the concluding sessions of the CouncU of Trent. This volume deals with what happened after Pius rV's death Ln late December, 1565. The editors begin with a one-hundred-page narrative. Morone entered the conclave of December, 1565-January, 1566 with the support of Carlo Borromeo , the approval of PhUip II, and twenty-nine votes, five short of election. But the lingering suspicion of heresy, fanned by Cardinal Michèle GhisUeri, Paul IV's inquisitor, defeated his candidacy. After a long conclave, the cardinals settled on GhisUeri, a ß?fG?ße choice. In the view of Firpo and Marcatto, PiusV set about recreating the regime of Paul IV Although this is an exaggeration, Pius V did rehabiUtate some of the Carafa, and he pursued heretics vigorously. The bulk of the narrative is devoted to documenting that, under Pius V the Roman Inquisition assiduously sought evidence against Morone Ui the expectation that a new trial against him might be launched. Accused heretics Ui Rome and elsewhere were questioned about Morone. The corridors buzzed with the news that the pope intended to rearrest him. In the winter of 1569-70 the Roman Inquisition asked a group of eleven canon and civU jurisconsults and theologians at Bologna about the views of Morone. The Inquisition sent them a copy of Morone's Apologia, but lacking the cardinal's name, written on the eve of his arrest Ui 1557, and asked the jurisconsults and theologians whether it contained heretical statements. The answers were inconclusive. The majority of the jurists and theologians found heretical and suspect material in the Apologia ,but others did not. This probably concluded the attempt to gather evidence against Morone. Pius V never arrested him. Ftfpo and Marcatto speculate that the pope desisted because a new trial might be seen as discrediting the CouncU ofTrent. How could one cite Trent as the authority for Catholic renewal if one of its leaders was accused of heresy? Morone eventually died an apparently holy death in 1 580. The most important document (250 pages long) Ui this volume is a Summarium processus originalis, a series of summaries and excerpts deemed relevant to the investigation of Morone from interrogations of various individuals between 1557 and 1570. Firpo and Marcatto published in Volume II a copy of this Summarium which omitted names (substituting "N"). The original Ui- 720BOOK REVIEWS eludes names and marginaUa; it permits the editors to clarify some points and to make or correct identifications. Next foUow four short new documents (47 pp.): a Ust of the books and writings taken from Morone and then restored to IUm (1559); a Ust of the writings that the inquisitors sought from Morone (1559); an anonymous theological opinion on the trial of Morone (1559); and a summary of accusations of aUeged heresy against Vittoria Colonna, Marcantonio Flaminio,Alvise PriuU, Pietro Carnesecchi, and Reginald Pole (ca. 1570). The Summarium and the other documents come from the Archives of the Congregation for the Doctrine ofthe Faith. This is an encouraging sign, but far short of unrestricted scholarly access to the whole archives. The poUcy of denying access continues to be foolish and damaging to the reputation of theVatican. One can only praise Firpo and Marcatto for this latest volume in an admirable series. The narrative and the documents are carefully presented and copiously annotated. WhUe the reviewer cannot check the transcription, he would be very sufrised to find any mistakes. AU students of sixteenth-century Italian religious...