The Danger in Mexico

The Holy See quickly received a response from the French Diocese. The French Diocese that it was the Holy See's responsibility to determine whether a religious sect was heretical, and they had no objection to this.

This means the France have given the Holy See the green light to label "Revolutionary Theology" as heresy. While it's somewhat shameful that the Holy See, when exercising its theoretically independent power, still has to consider the opinions of the French Diocese, this isn't the first time the Holy See has done this, especially in matters concerning France. Remember the Knights Templar heresy case? Wasn't it simply that whoever the France king declared a heretic, the Holy See reciprocated?

Therefore, upon receiving the reply from the French Diocese, the Holy See did not feel much humiliation; on the contrary, it was very pleased, because this meant they were free to make a ruling according to their own interests.

The Roman Inquisition immediately launched an investigation into the incident, and the truth soon became clear: this "Revolutionary Theology" discovered in Spain had originated from the Americas.

"What Mexican Inquisition doing! They failed to detect this kind of thing and took no action. You know, when such heretical ideas cross the Atlantic Ocean and reach the Old World, it's definitely not just one or two problems on the New World. It's like if you find one cockroach in a room, there won't just be one cockroach in the room, but cockroaches everywhere." Cardinal Domingo himself was Spain, and he certainly understood what a threat such ideas posed to Spain in the Americas.

Cardinal Domingo immediately proposed to the Pope that "Liberation Theology" be declared heresy and that special envoys be dispatched to all dioceses to urge them to investigate related heresies in order to protect "God's flock." In particular, special envoys should be sent immediately to Americas and to the Mexican Inquisition, otherwise, there might be serious problems there.

Besides its headquarters in Rome, the Inquisition had two crucial branches. In fact, these two branches predate the Rome Inquisition itself.

The first branch was the Spanish Inquisition. It was established during the reign of Queen Isabella, and with Her Majesty's support, the Spanish Inquisition and Her Majesty worked together to, for the first time in history, recolor a greened area.

Another branch was the Mexican Inquisition. Its history is equally long, predating even the Rome Inquisition. Spain and the Mexican Inquisition played a significant role in the Catholicism conquest of the Americas.

In a sense, the interests of the Holy See and Spain were deeply intertwined, especially after the upheavals of the France Revolution.

Therefore, Domingo Domingo's suggestion was immediately adopted, and the Holy See swiftly passed a resolution declaring "Revolutionary Theology" a "cursed heresy" and immediately dispatched special envoys to various dioceses.

The most important of these envoys were those sent to the Americas. This was because other dioceses either didn't seem to have many such heretics, or even if they did, it wouldn't be the Holy See's place to intervene.

The special envoy sent to the Americas was Bishop Carlos, the nephew of Cardinal Domingo. Born into a Spain noble family, he had previously worked in a diocese in Mexico and was relatively familiar with the situation there.

After receiving the mission, Bishop Carlos consulted with Cardinal Domingo and immediately set off for Mexico. He knew that the fastest way to get to the Americas was not by Americas from Spain, but by finding a cargo ship in France willing to take people.

So he went directly to Le Havre, where he could find clipper ships bound for Americas.

For most people, clipper ships are unsuitable for travel because they rock so violently. However, the Holy See was deeply concerned about the significant losses caused by heresy in the Americas and demanded that Bishop Carlos arrive as soon as possible. Bishop Carlos himself also hoped to gain a higher position for himself and his family through this mission, so he was willing to endure hardship. Furthermore, having been to sea many times, he was capable of handling the conditions on his own and devised this solution.

However, while there are many clipper ships heading to the Americas, finding a reliable and suitable one still takes time. If you're not careful and end up on a less-than-reliable pirate ship, then the vast ocean might be your downfall...

However, Bishop Carlos easily found a reliable ship. It was a clipper ship belonging to Stephen Girard. This ship regularly traveled between France and Mexico and was relatively reliable. More importantly, Carlos knew the ship's captain Lopez.

Captain Lopez's ship wouldn't set sail for another two days, so Bishop Carlos had to wait. Taking this opportunity, Bishop Carlos chatted with Captain Lopez about current events in North America. During their conversation, Bishop Carlos mentioned "Revolutionary Theology."

"Ah, I know about this," said Captain Lopez. "It was created by those lunatics in Louisiana. Well, Father, you may not know, France passed some kind of 'Homestead Law' to develop Louisiana. Any man who can speak French—well, the standard for 'speaking' is so low that everyone on my ship can be considered to speak French—and is willing to swear allegiance to France, can apply to the France government for a piece of land in Louisiana. It's a fairly large piece of land, over a hundred acres! After cultivating it for a few years, or paying a small sum upfront, he can obtain ownership."

It is said that the France gave prisoners a choice: go to Louisiana to be farmers or feed rats in prison. As a result, many criminals of various kinds were sent to Louisiana. I heard that some extreme Jacobin were also exiled there.

They came up with this 'Revolutionary Theology' over there. And supposedly, there are quite a few lunatics who believe in this 'Revolutionary Theology.' They gathered together in northern Louisiana, bought a large piece of land, and established their own village. I heard that they established their own church organization there, called something like 'The God's Tabernacle.' That means 'God's tabernacle will be built on earth.'

Their practices there were quite similar to those of the early apostles as recorded in the Bible. All of them donated all their possessions to the church. Within the cities they founded, it's said that food and everything else were free, distributed entirely by the church. And the church members were democratically elected. Hmm, these guys really knew how to have fun."

"Are there many people joining them?" Bishop Carlos asked.

"No, not many. Everyone can get land from the government, why would anyone give up their personal property to join them?" Captain Lopez shook his head. "Who in their right mind would trust them? But I've heard they've brought a lot of people from the Old World. Besides, some Mexico who are struggling financially are also willing to go there. They can teach them to speak French, then arrange for them to pass tests and swear allegiance..."

"And then you bring the land and join them?" Bishop Carlos laughed.

"Not necessarily, it depends on their willingness," Captain Lopez said. "As far as I know, not many are voluntary. But there are some. Because compared to those who work alone, they do have some advantages. For example, they can pool their money to do things that other lone wolves can't. For instance, their irrigation systems are top-notch. Hmm, when I came here, I also heard that they were planning to build a power plant, which might be the first power plant in all of North America. In addition, I also heard that they have a lot of dealings with those Native Americans and have made a lot of money. I heard from others that they are living quite well."

"These damned heretics!" Carlos thought to himself.

"Captain, are these men going out to preach?"

"Of course. Have you ever seen a church that doesn't preach? But in Louisiana, not many people are willing to listen to them. However, I've heard that in Mexico, quite a few Native Americans and poor people are willing to listen to them."

Upon hearing this, Carlos's heart skipped a beat. He then asked, "Then the Inquisition doesn't care about them?"

The Inquisition mentioned here refers to the Mexico Inquisition. Compared to the inquisitions in Europe, which had been forced to become more civilized, the Mexican Inquisition still possessed considerable coercive power. In the Americas, Spain rule was inseparable from Catholicism, and Catholicism, through the Spain authorities, gained a status that was impossible to achieve in Europe. Although, theoretically, the Mexico Inquisition had become more civilized and no longer had the power to directly sentence people to imprisonment or even death, just as Calvin in Geneva did not rely on the religious court but rather on the municipal authorities to burn Servetus at the stake, the Mexico Inquisition also had the means to influence secular courts, allowing them to deal with heretics and infidels according to their own will.

"The Mexico Inquisition? What can they do to the France?" Captain Lopez sneered. "Although those 'God's Tabernacle' fellows are disliked in France, they are still France. What can the Inquisition do to them? At most, they'll target those who listen to these France's proselytizing. But how effective will that be?"