“PALAVRAS QUE PROVOCARAM DESONESTIDADES”

"Words that provoked dishonesties": The requesting priests and the Recolhimento de Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Macaúbas

Abstract

The inquisitorial offense of solicitation occurred when a confessor, at the place of confession, sexually or lovingly harassed the penitents. Church and Inquisition treated the Sacrament of Penance with great diligence and gave him part of the responsibility of inculcating virtuous models of behavior that was so valuable to the Tridentine intents. The request was understood as a way to taint the sacrament of confession, so it was part of the inquisitorial jurisdiction. Two priests, prosecuted and sentenced by request, committed the crime in Recolhimento de Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Macaúbas, an important institution composed of retirees, pensioners and schoolgirls, place of elite women. Unlike the convents, the gathering accepted blacks, Indians, mestizos and illegitimate daughters.