Page:Vol 3 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/145

Rh were unwilling to forsake their beloved bishop, while on the other they saw arrayed against him not only the Jesuits, whom they equally esteemed, but also the viceroy, the archbishop, and the religious orders. Each party forbade, under severe penalties, that the decrees of the other should be read or published. An essential matter had, however, not yet been disposed of—the notification of the sentence to the bishop and his vicar-general. The curate of the church of Mexico, Cristóbal Gutierrez de Medina, together with Miguel Ibarra, being commissioned to proceed to Puebla, for this purpose repaired to the Augustinian convent and there published the verdict. Simultaneously by order of the inquisition several persons were arrested and sent to Mexico with a view to maintain peace.

Aware of his great influence among the people, Palafox now proceeded to extreme measures. A tribune draped in black was erected in the cathedral; the bells were tolled during a whole night; and the next morning, accompanied by the greater part of the chapter, the bishop pronounced, according to the solemn ritual of the church, an anathema against the judges, the proctor, and several of the teachers of the society. At the same time Palafox himself delivered a stirring discourse on the lamentable fate of the excommunicated. The excitement became intense; and had it not been for some of the more prudent, who kept watch, the Jesuit colleges would have been burned that night by fanatics assembled in the streets of Puebla.

In order to secure the approval of the pope, on the 25th of May, 1647, Palafox wrote a long report to Innocent X., in which he complains bitterly of his offended dignity, and tells his sufferings of late sustained at the hands of the Jesuits, who not only strove to make themselves masters of the entire wealth of New Spain, but to undermine the authority of the church. He also defends his own policy and requests