1688. Carta de Luís Álvares do Vale, padre, para José Correia Pinto Serrão.

Private letter from Luís Álvares do Vale, priest, to José Correia Pinto Serrão.

The author advises the recipient to take the utmost care regarding his correspondence with a priest.

The defendant in this process is Manuel de Barros, priest, son of Francisco Manuel Barreira, born in Soure and resident in Santarém, accused of impeding the right ministry of the Holy Office. On October 11, 1688, José Pinto Correia Serrão denounced him at the table of the Inquisition, claiming that the priest had tried to extort him 150,000 réis to prevent him from doing an alleged complaint that he had at hand. In his testimony, however, Manuel de Barros explained that, in the meeting that they had (arranged through the letters PSCR0333 and PSCR0334), he only had told José Pinto Correia Serrão that he had no money to accomplish the business he had asked him to, which was to provide his wedding to the niece of a friend. The letter PSCR0338 was written by Luís Álvares do Vale, accomplice of the defendant, and immediately turned over to the Inquisition. On November 7 of that same year, the defendant was reprimanded for lack of respect to the Holy Office and was required to pay the costs of the proceedings.