Note 105 — The Pardo Controversy

The bishop of Troya, Don Fray Gines Barrientos, who had been appointed governor of the archbishopric by his illustrious Lordship for this emergency, when he learned of the arrest of the archbishop immediately presented to the cabildo the document appointing him; but that body appealed to the royal Audiencia, and, with either their expressed or their tacit approval, took possession of the government of the archbishopric. They declared that the banishment of the archbishop must be construed as the vacation of his see, although their action might better be called a spiritual adultery—for, while the spouse of this church was still living, the cabildo intruded their presence in order to abuse her; and, although in reality they were but sons and subjects, they had the audacity to occupy their father’s marriage-bed. At the head of this action was the dean, who with dexterity and artifice lured on the rest to consent to this monstrous deed; and because one, a racionero, would not consent, they thrust him out of the chapter-room. Government by the cabildo having been declared, it was an easy thing for this same dean to cause them to appoint him as provisor; and in virtue of this fantastical jurisdiction he went on undoing what had been done, and making blunders—liberating all those who had been imprisoned by the [ecclesiastical] tribunal,105 giving permission to all the clerics to hear confessions, absolving ad cautelam the excommunicated (especially the executor [i.e., Ortega] who had been publicly posted), and promulgating an Octavian peace, like that of which the prophet says, Dicunt, “pax, pax,” et non erat pax.106