Delitos de los clérigos / Crimes of the clergy (DCH)

No. 2026-02

English Abstract: 

This article analyzes crimes committed by clergymen based on theological and legal literature during the early modern period in colonial Spanish America. Violations of ecclesiastical discipline were punished by deprivation or suspension of the exercise of priestly ministry. Penalties ranged from prohibition from performing certain religious or administrative acts to expulsion from the clerical state or archiepiscopal territory, depending on the severity of the offense and the specific circumstances of each case. Clerical delinquency took various forms: clergymen who hunted, who violently hit others, and who committed crimes in the process of ordination (e.g. per saltum), among others. The excesses of superiors and subordinates, especially in their interaction with local communities, were regulated through measures ranging from severity to moderation. The article concludes with a historiographical overview of the pertinent literature.