Spanish Proclamation - full article

The Spanish Requerimiento

America’s lawmakers need to be mindful of the warnings contained in Herbert Hoover’s Inaugural Address of March 4, 1929 and be as concerned as he was regarding the public officials who failed to keep their obligation to uphold their oath of office to enforce laws and the negative impact their actions had on America.   Equally as dangerous were those who had disdain for the laws of the land and in effect, had a law unto themselves.

“Of the undoubted abuses which have grown up under the eighteenth amendment, part are due to the causes I have just mentioned; but part are due to the failure of some States to accept their share of responsibility for concurrent enforcement and to the failure of many State and local officials to accept the obligation under their oath of office zealously to enforce the laws.  With the failures from these many causes has come a dangerous expansion in the criminal elements who have found enlarged opportunities in dealing in illegal liquor. …  The duty of citizens to support the laws of the land is coequal with the duty of their Government to enforce the laws which exist. … The worst evil of disregard for some law is that it destroys respect for all law.  For our citizens to patronize the violation of a particular law on the ground that they are opposed to it is destructive of the very basis of all that protection of life, of homes and property which they rightly claim under other laws.” [1] (emphasis added)

Despite Hoover’s cogent arguments, today many of America’s lawmakers, public officials and citizens are not alarmed that illegal immigrants at the state and local levels are slowly but surely supplanting our laws and culture, draining local services and education budgets and contributing significantly to increases in crime rates and gang activities.  Worse, not only are many of our lawmakers refusing to enforce the laws that are being broken, they are criticizing those who want to enforce the laws of the land when violated by illegal immigrants.  Many of these same illegal immigrants have boldly stated that they have come to take back America. 

What these illegal immigrants have in common are that they are mostly from Spanish speaking countries and are predominantly Roman Catholic.  Supplanting our laws and culture is only part of a much larger picture to supplant Americans in other areas. 

The Spiritual Battle for America

The events that we are seeing in the natural realm are the manifestations of the battle going on in the spiritual realm.  To understand this spiritual battle we need to understand the mindset of Spain and the Spanish Conquistadors during the early 1500’s.  This in turn will help us to understand the mindset of their offspring who have come to America, both legally and illegally, to take back land that they believe the pope and Spanish monarchy gave to them as an inheritance through their forefathers.  Strangely enough, these same forefathers were the ones who supplanted the Native American Indians and in 1565, with genocide in mind, wiped out the French Huguenots who had established a French colony American soil that the Spanish claimed as their own. (See article on “Genocide in America: the French Huguenots”)

One aspect of this spiritual battle is to turn the spiritual battle into a political battle, which is already happening at both the state and federal level concerning the laws of the land.  The illegal immigrants believe that they are entitled to have laws passed that exclusively favor them and their children – and surprisingly many lawmakers agree.  

At the root of this spiritual battle is the curse spoken over America by our Spanish forefathers.   The “Spanish Requerimiento”, as it is called, was a curse that was repeatedly spoken on American soil as early as 1527 by the Spanish conquistadors, many of whom were Knights of Santiago.  Over four hundred years have passed and the effects of this curse are becoming more and more apparent, affecting Americans on a personal as well as a national level.  To understand the Spanish Requerimiento we need to understand how and why it came about.  This all started with the Holy Wars of the Roman Catholic Church that were fought on soil that is now known as America. 

Holy Wars of the Roman Catholic Church

Even though “Holy Wars” were fought in the name of the LORD, in reality they were “secular religious wars” initiated by the popes of the Roman Catholic Church to further their own personal agendas at the expense of others.  Sadly, these hostilities and confrontations initiated by the Roman Catholic Church were blindly accepted as true holy wars by the people because they were led to believe that this was God’s will.

Having faith in the many promises made by the popes and accepting as truth that all their sins would be forgiven if they fought in the holy wars, the popes found at their disposal thousands of men who were willing to take up arms to fight battles for the Roman Catholic Church.  Thus the many orders of knights were born – and evil knew no boundaries.

Marriage between the Roman Catholic Church and Spain

Over time, Spain’s will became subject to the goals, desires and bidding of the pope.  In Biblical times, the Sanhedrin manipulated the Roman government to join them in their cause to crucify Jesus Christ.  In a similar fashion, the Church of Rome manipulated the Spanish government in the sixteenth century to join them in what the Spanish Monarchy was led to believe was a common cause.  What Spain conquered, Spain conquered for the pope.  

The Pope was able to manipulate the Spanish Monarchy because of their deference and supposed religious obligation to the Roman Catholic Church.  Not to submit to the Church meant eternal damnation – or so they were led to believe.  For those reasons Spain entered into a union with the Roman Catholic Church and it was at that point that Spain subjected her will to the will of the pope, obligating herself to the requests and demands of the Church.    

The union between Spain and the Church required double allegiance from Spain’s subjects:  allegiance to the Monarchy and allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church.  What a Spaniard accomplished for the Monarchy he first and foremost accomplished for Rome. 

What was good for the Church was good for Spain – in that order.  For example, even though Christopher Columbus had already supposedly discovered the Americas, it was only after the Pope gave the Americas to the Spanish Monarchy as a gift that Spain was able to legally lay claim to what is now known as America.  In other words, it was the Pope and not the Spanish Monarchy that decided who had rights to explore and conquer land yet to be conquered.  Or at least that’s the deception that the Spanish Monarchy came under.

The Secular Religious Wars Came to America

On behalf of Spain’s Catholic king and the pope, the Spanish conquistadors, many of whom were also Knights of Santiago and Knights of Galicia, took the pope’s religious wars to the Americas.  It was at this time that a curse, in the form of a legal proclamation, was repeatedly spoken over America as ordered by the Spanish monarchy, defenders of the Catholic Church, on behalf of the pope and the Spanish crown.   The basis for this curse was the Roman Catholic Church’s claims of ecclesiastical authority to pronounce an anathema (a ban or curse accompanied by a prayer) on those identified by the Church.  It was this anathema, which was part of a general proclamation that the conquistadors and Knights of Santiago, being faithful to the pope and king, decreed over America. 

The Spanish Proclamation

The proclamation or Requerimiento as it was known was a formal “legal” document drawn up at the request of the Spanish monarchy.   It was given to the conquistadors to read to the Native American Indians they encountered in the presence of a notary.  This legal document informed the Native American Indians that the pope was the rightful owner of their land and that he had given Florida to Spain as a gift.  Florida, at the time, included all of North America.  On behalf of the Spanish monarchy and the pope, the conquistadors had come to claim and protect that ecclesiastical property. 

The Proclamation required the Native Americans to submit to:

·         the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church (The Church), and

·         the Defenders of the Catholic Church, the Spanish Monarchy (The State)

If the Native American Indians did not submit, the Spanish conquistadors were not only given authority, but were commanded to inflict war and every type of cruelty upon them.  Not surprisingly, the Proclamation was read to the Native Americans in either Spanish or Latin.  Not understanding Spanish or Latin, the Native American Indians could not submit even if they had wanted to.  Even though the Native American Indians didn’t understand what was being spoken, for some twisted reason the Roman Catholic Church, the Spanish monarchy and the conquistadors still justified the brutality they inflicted upon the Native American Indians with clear consciences. 

All conquistadors, not just those in command, were required to read the Requerimiento to the Native American Indians. The Requerimiento was read over a period of time, by more than one individual and in different parts of Florida as it was defined at that time.  As a result, an original copy of the Proclamation as it was actually spoken over Florida in 1527 by Pamfilo De Narvaez, Spain’s appointed Governor of Florida at that time, is in the archives of the Indies, in Seville, Spain.  That Pamfilo De Narvaez was the governor of Florida and that the Proclamation was a legal document are two very important facts.

Proclamation Pronounced over Florida

The following Proclamation as decreed over Florida by Pamfilo De Narvaez was translated from a copy of the original and reads as follows:

“IN behalf of the Catholic Caesarean Majesty of DON CARLOS, King of the Romans, and Emperor ever Augustus, and Dona JUANA, his mother, sovereigns of Leon and Castilla, defenders of the church, ever victors, never vanquished, and rulers of barbarous nations, I, PAMFILO DE NARVAEZ, his servant, messenger, and captain, notify and cause ye to know, in the best manner I can, that God, our Lord, one and eternal, created the heaven and the earth, and one man and one woman, of whom we and you and all men in the world have come, are descendants and the generation, as well will those be who shall come after us; but because of the infinity of offspring that followed in the five thousand years, and more since the world was created, it has become necessary that some men should go in one direction, and others in another, dividing into many kingdoms and provinces, since in a single one they could not be sustained or kept.

All these nations God, our Lord, gave in charge to one person called St. PETER, that he might be master and superior over mankind, to be obeyed and be head of all the human race, wheresoever they might live, and be of whatever law, sect, or belief, giving him the whole world for his kingdom, lordship, and jurisdiction. 

And he, commanded him to place his seat in Rome, as a point most suited whence to rule the world; so he likewise permitted him to have and place his seat on any part of the earth to judge and govern all people, Christians, Moors, Jews, Gentiles, and whatever creed beside they might be.  Him they call Papa, which means admirable, greatest father and preserver, since he is father and governor of all men.

This Saint PETER was obeyed and taken for King, Lord, and Superior of the universe by those who lived at that time, and so likewise have all the rest been held who to the Pontificate were afterwards elected; and thus has it continued until now, and will continue to the end of all things.

One of the popes who succeeded him to that seat of dignity of which I spake, as Lord of the world, made a gift of these islands and main of the ocean sea to the said Emperor and Queen, and their successors, our Lords in these kingdoms, with all that is in them, as is contained in certain writings that thereupon took place, which may be seen if you desire.  Thus are their Highnesses King and Queen of these islands and continent, and nearly all where they have been proclaimed have received their majesties, obeyed and served, and do serve them, as subjects should, with good will and no resistance, and immediately without delay, directly as they were informed, obeying the religious men whom their Highnesses sent to preach to them, and teach our holy faith of their entire free will and pleasure, without reward or condition whatsoever, becoming Christians, which they are; and their Highnesses received them joyfully and benignly, ordering them to be treated as their subjects and vassals were, and you are held and obliged to act as likewise.  Wherefore, as best as you can, I entreat and require you to understand this well which I have told you, taking the time for it that is just you should, to comprehend and reflect, and that you recognize the church as mistress and superior of the universe, and the high pontiff, called Papa, in its name, the King and Queen our masters, in their place as Lords Superiors and Sovereigns of these islands and the main, by virtue of said gift, and you consent and give opportunity that these fathers and religious men declare and preach to you as stated.  If you shall do so, you will do well in what you are held and obliged; and their Majesties, and I, in their royal name, will receive you with love and charity, relinquishing in freedom your women, children, and estates, without service, that with them and yourselves you may do with perfect liberty all you wish and may deem well; you shall not be required to become Christians except, when informed of the truth, you desire to be converted to our Holy Catholic faith, as nearly all the inhabitants of the other islands have done, and when his Highness will confer on you numerous privileges and instruction, with many favors. 

If you do not this, and of malice you are dilatory, I protest to you, that, with the help of our Lord, I will with force, making war upon you from all directions and in every manner that I may be able, when I will subject you to obedience to the church and the yoke of their Majesties and I will take the persons of yourselves, your wives, and your children to make slaves, sell and dispose of you, as their Majesties shall think fit; and I will take your goods, doing you all the evil and injury that I may be able; as to vassals who do not obey, but reject their master, resist and deny him; and I declare to you that the deaths and damages that arise therefrom will be your fault, and not that of his Majesty, nor mine, nor of these cavaliers who come with me.” [2]  (emphasis added)

While the Requerimiento was in accordance with Catholic doctrine, needless to say, it did not agree with the Word of God.

Even though the Native Americans didn’t understand the Proclamation or the curse that was attached to it, as they began to be able to communicate with the Spanish, many Native Americans willingly submitted to both the Spanish monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church, subsequently to reject both.  Normally, to agree with someone only to change your mind is not a major issue.    However, to change your mind with someone who has placed a curse on that agreement – then it does become a major issue. 

“As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.” (Proverbs 26:2, KJV)

Those who operate in the art of witchcraft understand they have to find a place for their curses to fall – a place meaning a sin.  Therefore they are very clever to create   circumstances to ensure that those they want to curse will transgress and give them the place they need.

Obviously, it is not sin to reject the false doctrine of Roman Catholicism.  However, deception and murder are sin and these gave a place for the Spanish curse to fall.  The Native Americans killed many of the Spanish conquistadors and priests as well as deceived the Spanish on numerous occasions – all openings for the curse spoken by the conquistadors to find a place to fall.  The curse spoken (Requerimiento) to take their lands, enslave them and do all the evil and injury to them that man can inflict explains one of the reasons why the Native Americans were treated so cruelly by the other nations who came to America after the Spanish.

A curse can also find a place to fall on those who call evil good – and good evil. 

“He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him” (Proverbs 24:24, KJV)

To honor Christopher Columbus is to call evil good.  To commemorate Columbus is to be in agreement with the evil he represented as well as pay tribute to those he acted on behalf of and the evil that they stood for (i.e., the Spanish monarch, Spanish conquistadors, and the Roman Catholic Church).  As a consequence, when America decreed a day for Columbus to be honored – we opened ourselves up to this curse as well. 

Why would America, a country that professes human rights and democracy and who so proudly claim that America is about “we the people” honor Columbus, a man who knowingly attained recognition, fame and wealth by conquering and exploiting people who were not at war with him or Spain?  By his own admission, Columbus described the Native Americans as a docile people – at least in the beginning – before the Native Americans realized that they were being exploited and defended themselves repaying evil with evil.  Nonetheless, Columbus was either directly or indirectly responsible for the murder of numerous Native Americans.  He also enslaved many more in addition to those that he took to Spain to be paraded before the Spanish court.  How can America honor a man who is said to have discovered America when that very land was already home to many thousands of people that Columbus helped displace?   

Not until after Columbus discovered the Americas and took reports of great wealth back to the King of Spain did the Pope claim ownership of all North America.  Interestingly, the Pope was not the first one to boast of such a claim – Columbus himself claimed possession of all the Americas as well as the right to give them to whomever he chose before the Pope claimed “ecclesiastical authority”.  Nonetheless, when it served his own purposes, Columbus accepted and supported the ideology of both the Spanish monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church.  

Even today Spain acknowledges that Columbus is a bond between Spain and America.  America does not understand that this bond is a spiritual cord.  Human traditions that call evil good, such as Columbus Day, are avenues through which Satan can operate as well. 

Columbus, as well as the Pope and Spain, all claimed North America for Spain and the Church of Rome, and from their actions, it seems that many of the Spanish speaking peoples in America today still believe America to be theirs.  For many years now the Spanish have made public statements that they have come to take back America.  Many of the American public as well as our politicians don’t seem to understand the significance of these words.

The curse spoken over America by the Spanish conquistadors is also becoming more and more apparent through illegal immigrants and their attitudes towards Americans and America’s laws.  The fear and evil that has been brought to America by the Spanish gangs is an evil more widespread and beyond the mindset of many American gangs.

Covenants and Curses

            To believe that the Requerimiento is nothing more than “just words” spoken over four hundred years ago and that curses are nothing more than part of mythology is contradictory to Scripture.  The on-going issues surrounding the illegal immigrants are not just happenstance.  According to Scripture, there is nothing in this world that is left to chance – God is in control of all circumstances.

Scripture is divinely inspired; therefore, what Scripture reveals about covenants and curses is authoritative.   As Christians, we need to understand that witchcraft is a way of life for many people, because those operating in witchcraft know from personal experience that witchcraft is a weapon to be used against Christians. 

Covenants are formal, solemn binding agreements.  Most people don’t understand that a curse is part of every covenant.  However, those operating in witchcraft understand this principle perfectly well.  Whether we are blessed or cursed depends upon whether we keep or break a covenant.

Yahweh is a covenant keeping God and when covenants are made in the name of the LORD, it can be thought of in terms of a “spiritual agreement”.  According to Scripture, we are required to keep covenants that we enter into, even to a man’s own hurt (Psalm 15:4), unless that covenant requires us to sin (see Mark 7:9-13 on Corban).   In other words, when someone violates a covenant there will be a consequence in the spiritual realm as well as in the natural realm.

Whether as a Christian under the New Covenant of Grace or as an unbeliever who is still under the Old Covenant of Law, we are all called to obedience.  In any covenant we are either “blessed” or “cursed”.  For example, Deuteronomy 28:1-14 speaks of “Blessings for Obedience” while verses 15-68 speaks of “Curses for Disobedience”.  In the New Testament, Paul told the Galatians,

“Do not be deceived:  God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows.  The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life”. (Gal 6:7-8, NIV)

In this context, breaking an oath provides the opening for the curse to fall and thereby we reap from what we have sown.  If we sow righteousness, we will reap righteousness; however, if a man sows unrighteousness, he will reap unrighteousness. 

The covenant between the Israelites and Gibeonites is a Scriptural example that can help us understand the spiritual principles of covenants and their relationship to curses and what happens when a covenant is broken – even years after those who made the covenant have died.  Unwisely, Israel broke a covenant they had made and in so doing, they gave a place for the offspring of the Gibeonites to respond by calling down a curse upon Israel.  This Scriptural example can also help us understand why America is still experiencing the consequences of the Spanish curse (Requerimiento), both on a personal and a national level, over four hundred years after it was last spoken. 

When entering and conquering the Promised Land, the LORD commanded the Israelites to wipe out all the inhabitants of Canaan, including the Gibeonites, a remnant of the Amorites.  The Gibeonites, however, heard of the victories that the Israelites were having and decided, in the interest of self-preservation, to trick the Israelites into sparing their lives. 

Relying upon deception and trickery, the Gibeonites devised a plan that resulted in a covenant between themselves and Israel (Joshua 9:4). The covenant, which allowed them to live, was ratified by an oath (Joshua 9:15).  Even though the Gibeonites used deception, the Israelites were required by Yahweh to uphold the covenant, even to their own hurt (Joshua 9:18-20)..

Joshua honored Israel’s covenant with the Gibeonites and the two nations lived at peace with one another.  However, centuries later when King Saul broke that same covenant, the entire nation of Israel experienced a three-year drought.  On a personal level, seven of Saul’s male offspring were delivered into the hands of the Gibeonites to be put to death in retribution (2Sam 21).  

It’s important to note that the consequence of this sin, a national drought, was not immediately apparent.  It occurred after Saul’s death during the reign of King David.  Sometimes the consequences of our national or personal sins are not felt to the fullest until years later, often affecting our offspring (Exodus 20:5).  The New Testament supports this concept as well: “Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!” (Matt 23:32, NIV)      

King David did not seek the LORD as to the cause of the drought for three years, indicating that at first, the drought was probably subtle and more than likely David thought the drought was only a natural occurrence.  This is often the same conclusion that many Christians wrongly draw.  In fact, most people are looking at the situation surrounding the illegal immigrants as just a natural occurrence.   

When David did seek the LORD, “The LORD said, ‘It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death’” (2Sam 21:1, NIV).   When King Saul violated the covenant of peace with the Gibeonites, the Gibeonites were able to call down a curse upon Israel.  Recognizing this, David asked the Gibeonites,

 “’What shall I do for you?  How shall I make amends so that you will bless the LORD’s inheritance?’  The Gibeonites answered David, ‘We have no right to demand silver or gold from Saul or his family, nor do we have the right to put anyone in Israel to death.’  ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ David asked.  They answered the king, ‘As for the man who destroyed us and plotted against us so that we have been decimated and have no place anywhere in Israel, let seven of his male descendants be given to us to be killed and exposed before the LORD at Gibeah of Saul  the LORD’s chosen one.’  So the king said, ‘I will give them to you’”. (2Sam 21:3-6, NIV)

Accordingly, David delivered seven of Saul’s male offspring into the hands of the Gibeonites.  It was after the Gibeonites killed them and they were buried that God answered prayer in behalf of the land. (2Sam 21:9-14)  

Understanding the importance of oaths, David was careful not to hand over any of Jonathan’s offspring to the Gibeonites.  To do so would have been in violation of the oath made between he Jonathan.  Therefore, none of Saul’s offspring that came through Jonathan’s line was given over to the Gibeonites. (2Sam 21:7 and 1Sam 20:12-17) 

Interestingly, Joshua placed a curse on the Gibeonites for deceiving him. 

“And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us?  Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.” (Joshua 9:22-23, KJV, emphasis added)

Scripture reveals that the Gibeonites did not rebel against being bondmen for Israel – they were faithful in serving the Israelites as household servants. As we can see, covenants can be quite complex even though they need not be!

Likewise, curses are quite multifaceted as well.  The Requerimiento is one type of a curse while an Anathema is another method of calling down a curse.  Both types of curses were at one time or other decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for purposes they alone justify.  For example, the Roman Catholic Church justifies decreeing anathemas over anyone they believe to be a heretic, including anyone who has left the Catholic Church.   

The author of the Requerimiento was Palacios Rubios, a renowned Spanish jurist and lawyer.  At the request of the Spanish Monarchy, Rubios drew up the Requerimiento to “legally” protect ecclesiastical property. [3]  Here again, the State was acting on behalf of the Church by authoring the very document of papal conquest.

The point I want to make is the connection between Church and State, and how the popes manipulated the State.   Since the secular authorities officially recognized the ecclesiastical authority of the Roman Catholic Church, then the church could appear to be lawful and aboveboard.  The popes, not wanting to dirty their hands with the blood of those that would not submit to their authority, had the government do their dirty work for them.  Like the Sanhedrin in ancient Jerusalem, the Roman Catholic Church was able to turn their spiritual battles into political battles. 

The Scriptural Background of Anathemas

The Scriptural basis for anathemas, which the Roman Catholic Church twisted for their own purposes, is found in Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians:

“If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.” (1Cor 16:22, KJV, emphasis added)

Anathema means:        a ban or curse  [4]

Maranatha means:       Our LORD has come … an exclamation of the approaching divine judgment [5]

As spoken by the Apostle Paul, anathema maranatha refers to those who do not believe in Jesus Christ and the coming divine judgment that they will face.  However, Paul never directed the anathema against anyone on a personal level, nor was it ever meant to be a curse formula. 

As Christians we are to bless and not curse.  “Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not” (Rom 12:14, KJV).  Scripture is clear that only those with an “untamed tongue” will curse men with the same mouth that they bless God:

“But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.  Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.  Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?”  (James 3:8-11, KJV)

Nonetheless, the Catholic Church has claimed ecclesiastical authority to use the anathema as a curse formula, and for centuries has pronounced bans and curses over individuals or groups of people believed to be heretics.  According to the Catholic Church, a heretic is anyone who is not a Catholic.  Consequently, over the centuries Lutherans, French Huguenots, Calvinists, Pilgrims and Protestants of all kinds as well as Catholics who differed with the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church have all been considered heretics. 

The Roman Catholic Church’s use of curses is nothing more than the practice of witchcraft – something strictly forbidden in Scripture.  For some insight into the early history of the Roman Catholic Church and their use of anathemas, we can turn to the alarming writings of a man Catholics consider to be a saint: Alphonsus Liguori.  Included among his false teachings, Liguori’s writings reveal that Pope Theodore claims to have signed an anathema with the blood of Jesus Christ. 

 Alphonsus Liguori, a Naples Jurist, who died in 1787, was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church in 1839 and was held in such high esteem that he received “unprecedented honours”, even by the standards of the Roman Catholic Church.  His opinions, according to a Decree of July 22, 1831, allowed “…confessors to follow any of St. Alphonsus’s own opinions without weighing the reasons on which they were based”. [6] 

So it is to Liguori’s writings, “The History of Heresies”, that we turn to find the most appallingly and disturbing details of the use of anathemas by the Roman Catholic Church.  Following are two such accounts. 

First account:  After Pyrrhus, a Catholic bishop, was condemned as a heretic, Pope Theodore decreed an anathema (curse) against him:

“When Pope Theodore heard of his [Pyrrhus] relapse, he convoked a partial Synod of bishops and the Roman clergy, and pronounced an anathema and sentence of deposition against him, and not only that, but he had the chalice with the consecrated blood of the Redeemer brought to him, dipped the pen in it, and thus signed the awful sentence with the precious Blood of Christ”. [7]

Second account:  John Wickliffe, one of the earliest men of the reformation movement, had the Bible translated into English for the everyday man and woman to read.  Needless to say, he was considered a heretic by the Roman Catholic Church.  In 1414 at the Council of Constance, when John Huss, a Catholic Priest who supported the truth spoken by Wickliffe, refused to “anathematize the errors of Wickliffe”, he was condemned by the Roman Catholic Church as a heretic and handed over to the secular powers to be burned at the stake.

“45…The appointed day at last arrived.  He was brought to the Church, in presence of the Council, and asked, if he would anathematize the errors of Wickliffe; he made a long speech, the upshot of which was that his conscience would not allow him to do so.  46. Sentence was now pronounced on him; he was declared obstinately guilty of heresy, and the Council degraded him from the priesthood, and handed him over to the secular power.  … Louis, Duke of Bavaria, then took him, and handed him over to the ministers of justice, who cut off his hair in the very place where the pile was prepared to burn him.  He was now tied to the stake, but before fire was put to the pile, the Duke of Bavaria again besought him to retract, but he answered, that the Scriptures tell us we should obey God, and not man.  The Duke then turned his back on him, and the executioner applied the torch; when the pile began to light, the hypocrite was heard to exclaim:  ‘Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me;’ …” [8] (emphasis added)

Even though Huss was condemned by the Catholic Church as a heretic, I want to point out that once again the Church had the secular authorities actually commit the murder for them.

As can be readily seen, there is a curse over America and it is having a profound effect on all of America today.  Until this curse is broken, circumstances are going to grow increasingly worse.  Whether this curse is broken or not, the remnant of the Church will need a clear understanding of the enemy’s wiles to be able to protect ourselves and our families from the many traps designed to ensnare us.

© Gwen Thomas, February, 2008

Bibliography:

French, B. F. ed. Historical Collections of Louisiana and Florida: Second Series, Historical Memoirs and Narratives, 1527-1702. Albert Mason: New York, 1875

Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States from George Washington 1789 to Richard Milhous Nixon 1969.  Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1969

Pagden, Anthony and Lawrance, Jeremy, ed. Francisco de Vitoria: Political Writings. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1991

Strong, James. The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995

Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume I (Robert Appleton, ©1907), Online Edition CD-ROM. Kevin Knight, 2003

Liguori, St. Alphonsus M. The History of Heresies, and their Refutation 2^nd Ed. trans. The Right Reverend Dr. Mullock.  Dublin: James Duffy, 1857 (reprinted Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock, 2004)

Endnotes