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The Directory for Confessors, 1585: Implementing the Catholic Reformation in New Spain

2020; Duke University Press; Volume: 100; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1215/00182168-8178413

1527-1900

Lisa Sousa,

Early Modern Women Writers

The Third Mexican Provincial Council of 1585 sought to restructure the local church in order to implement the policies and positions of the Catholic Reformation and the Council of Trent. Bishops of the Third Mexican Provincial Council identified confession as an effective means of influencing their parishioners' religious attitudes and practices. In order to advance their objectives, the bishops supported the writing of a text, or directory, that described the educational and personal qualifications of confessors and provided priests who would work with Spanish parishioners in Mexican parishes with “a compendium of moral and sacramental theology, canon law, and pastoral practice” (p. 5).Stafford Poole's The Directory for Confessors, 1585: Implementing the Catholic Reformation in New Spain makes available a scholarly and erudite English translation of this manual for priests. The original source was written in Spanish and then translated to Latin. Today there are only five extant copies of the directory. Poole's excellent and approachable translation offers a rare and critically important text of the sixteenth-century Mexican church. Abundant footnotes provide useful explanations of theological debates and concepts as well as translations and explications of Latin texts that appear in the handbook. In addition, Poole's introductory essay discusses the political and social concerns of the church as it implemented Tridentine reforms and lucidly explains doctrinal concepts that distinguished the church of the late sixteenth century. John Schwaller contributes an outstanding chapter that provides historical context for the Third Mexican Provincial Council, including the demographic decline of the native population, local political turmoil, labor practices, and continuing wars against indigenous peoples of New Spain's northern frontier.As leading authorities on colonial Mexican church history, Poole and Schwaller are well situated to address this complex text. Poole is particularly well qualified to undertake the translation of the manual and to provide commentary on its significance. He has written extensively on the church and on prominent figures in New Spain, including Pedro Moya de Contreras, the archbishop who convened and presided over the Third Mexican Provincial Council. Poole has also published translations of foundational religious texts written in Latin, Spanish, and Nahuatl.The Directory for Confessors is a fascinating source that sheds light on a broad range of issues, including the education of confessors, popular religious attitudes and practices, and the treatment of native peoples. The directory begins by discussing the examination of candidates for confessor as well as the requirements for the position. The text reveals the great importance that the church placed on the background, knowledge, and training of confessors, as well as the church's concern that confessors know how to properly perform the sacrament, in order to ensure that the confession was valid and lawful and to assign appropriate forms of penance for various transgressions. The manual explains the theological philosophy behind the seven sacraments: baptism, confirmation, communion, penance, extreme unction, holy orders, and marriage. In addition, the directory provides instruction on sacraments in general with some particular cases, including cases of conscience (casos de conciencia), which provided examples of how a confessor should assess specific actions within the framework of Catholic moral teachings.The directory sheds light on popular beliefs and behaviors that violated church teachings, including idolatry and superstition, as well as offenses deemed “serious cases,” such as murder, adultery, and concubinage. The manual also shows how the confessional was a place to confront abusive practices in moneylending, buying and selling property, and the sale of certain goods and even transgressions associated with popular pastimes such as gambling. Specific questions and case studies included in the directory pertaining to status, office, age, and occupation further underscore the church's efforts to regulate morality at all levels of society. Of particular concern were injustices committed against Indians, including abuses of power by colonial officials and economic and labor exploitation.Poole's The Directory for Confessors is an important text of the post-Trent, Catholic Reformation era that provides insight into the Mexican church's attempt to regulate social and religious beliefs through the act of confession. The book is packed with information on a wide variety of topics related to religious, social, and cultural history. This work will be required reading for students and historians of the Catholic Church and will be of great interest to scholars of colonial Latin America in general.