The Catholic Confession

he mentions nothing at all regarding those atrocious and horrendous crimes, but condemns them on this name on this account alone only: that they had departed from the Roman Church and its worship and ceremonies. This is clearly shown in the letters of Peter de Vineis Peter de Vineis: Also known as Pier della Vigna (c. 1190–1249), the influential chancellor and secretary to Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II., Chancellor to the same Emperor, in book 1, chapters 25, 26, and 27. Especially memorable is the public testimony of innocence given to the Waldensians by the envoys of Louis XII, King of France. The Cardinals and Bishops were accusing the people of Mérindol and Cabrières Two significant Waldensian settlements in Provence, France.—the remnants of the Waldensians—before the King, charging them with heresy, sorcery, incest, and other crimes, thereby inflaming the King’s mind to undertake a war against them.

The people of Mérindol and Cabrières, having been informed of these bloody plans of the Cardinals and Bishops and the atrocious slanders by which they had been defamed before the King, decided to send envoys to the King. Through these representatives, they sought to defend their innocence and plead for the prevention of war. The Cardinals and Bishops attempted to block these envoys from accessing the King, seriously warning him not to admit the Waldensian legates to his sight or to conversation, since according to Canon Law The internal religious law governing the Catholic Church. all association with heretics is forbidden.

But the King manfully responded: Even if I had to undertake a war against the Turk or the Devil himself, I would still wish to hear them first; for to condemn and attack with war those who have not been heard is to abuse the scepter and the law. original Latin: "Etiamſi adverſus Turcam aut Diabolum mihi ſuſcipiendum eſſet bellum, eos tamen priùs audire vellem, inauditum enim damnare ac bello oppugnare, eſt ſceptro & jure abuti."

Therefore, he ordered the summoned envoys to be introduced. With due reverence, they explained that the people of Mérindol and Cabrières knew and embraced the Gospel, the Bible, the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Sacraments; however, they adhered to neither the Pope nor his doctrine; if the King should find the matter to be otherwise, they would refuse no kind of punishment.

Wishing to know whether these things were truly so or otherwise, the King sent Adam Fumée Adam Finnæus/Fumée (1430–1494), a high-ranking French official and physician., the Master of Requests, and a certain "Little Dominican" who was his confessor, to Mérindol and Cabrières. He tasked them to explore the entire matter more deeply by proposing specific questions to the inhabitants. Upon their return, they reported to the King: that in those places, people are baptized, the articles of faith...

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