O manuscrito contra os protestantes do Padre João Baptista de Castro (1756)

Abstract

The complete inventory of Portuguese documents regarding the Reformation and Portuguese perceptions of the lives of Protestant nations remains to be done. This paper aims to contribute to that inventory with a study of a manuscript from the Évora Public Library (codex CXII/2-13, on folio 51). The Discurso sobre Vários Pontos da Religião contra os Hereges Protestantes by Father João Baptista de Castro (1700-1775) lists, from a Catholic point of view, the prejudices Protestants had about the rites of Roman Catholicism. This text, dated February 2, 1756, also reveals Baptista de Castro’s extensive knowledge of Anglican authors little known in Portugal, such as Bishop Edward Stillingfleet (1635-1699) and the publicist Joseph Addison (1672-1719), founder of The Spectator. Baptista de Castro, better known for his popular works, in which he sometimes used the pseudonym Custodio Jesam Baratta (e.g., Recreaçam Proveytosa, 1728), does not rise above the level of anecdote. Figures like Luther and Henry VIII are belittled in his view as authors of erroneous interpretations of religious texts. He refuses, therefore, to attribute any merit to the Reformation movement. The paper concludes with a reflection on the enduring value of documents like this Discourse.