Sixtus, servant of the Servants of God. To our venerable brother, Johannes bishop of Trent,
greetings and apostolic benediction. Divine piety has made us solicitous to provide for the
safety of souls and to ward off danger to the extent possible. Some time ago, the praetor1
of
your city of Trent, whose fame precedes him, opened an investigation against some Jews then
dwelling in your city who were said inhumanely to have murdered the Christian child named
Simon. He carried out the investigation as the gravity of the affair demanded, and as was
incumbent upon his office, and those found guilty he condemned to the ultimate penalty. But
many people began to complain loudly; and in various locales, they began to interpret the
matter with considerable suspicion. We, in order to remove all such suspicions, and in such a
manner properly to perform our pastoral duty, and so that the truth should be made known to
the faithful, have diligently had examined and inspected the closed2
transcript [of the trial]
held by this praetor against the Jews. This transcript, protected by our seal, was sent to us by
you and your [official]. The examination was carried out by a number of our venerable brothers
Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, and also archbishops, legal experts, and the auditor
of trials of our apostolic palace.3
They met frequently, and after examining with great care each
phase of the trial, they reported to our consistory that the trial itself had rightly and properly
been concluded. We, accordingly, sharing the sentiment of our brothers [just mentioned]
regarding the account [of the trial], commending as well the zeal and diligence of your
brotherhood in God [Hinderbach], nonetheless, wish and enjoin upon your brotherhood that
in the pious devotion now commenced, you do not allow, following the decree issued in the
General Council by our predecessor Pope Innocent III, of blessed memory, anything illicit to be
done that might result in injury to God or contempt of the Apostolic See, or which might be
perceived as potentially and inexcusably contravening canonical sanctions1
. And the
observance of this injunction we entrust to your conscience, concerning which we trust in God. You must carefully ascertain that no Christian, on the pretext of the foregoing matter [of
Simonino] or for any other pretext, barring the judgment of an earthly power, should presume
to kill, mutilate, wound, or unjustly extort monies from them [the Jews], or prevent them from
observing their rites, permitted by law. In addition, we wish and enjoin upon your authority,
that you apply all diligence, to restore the children of the condemned Jews, to their baptized
mothers, along with their mothers' dowries, wherever they may now be held. Those who
oppose this decree or rebel against it will feel the weight of ecclesiastical censure and other
[pertinent] laws. This letter is effective notwithstanding other apostolic letters or prescriptions
in contradiction. Dated at Rome, at St. Peter's, in the year of the Incarnation of the Lord, one
thousand and seventy eight, the twelfth of the Kalends of July, in the seventh year of our
pontificate.
