1805. Carta de Manuel Pereira Graça, médico, para Bernardo de Vasconcelos.

Request letter from Manuel Pereira Graça, a physician, to Bernardo de Vasconcelos, a member of the Inquisition.

The author complaints about a judge who mistreated his case and wants the addressee to intercede for him. He explains that he has too many enemies and fears an inquisitorial persecution.

Manuel Pereira da Graça was a physician who had studied Medicine in the University of Coimbra after having traveled in France. He was prosecuted for heresy. Although he recognized that he spoke frequently against the Church, he explained his reasoning to the Inquisition: he thought that there were too many priests, that they often abused young girls in confession and that miracles were hard to prove. But he only wanted to try the soundness of the priests’ arguments, that was all. He received a light sentence.