Pietro Dusina

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Pietro Dusina (also Petrus Dusina ; * in Brescia ; † September 6, 1581 ) was an Italian Roman Catholic clergyman, apostolic visitor and inquisitor in Malta .

Life

Vicar General in Naples

The first mentions of Dusina can be found in process summaries and verdicts of the Roman Inquisition of February and March 1572. After the sea ​​battle of Lepanto (1571), numerous Central and Southern Europeans enslaved by the Ottomans were brought back, who had converted to Islam and as galley slaves in the Turkish Fleet were used. The freed rowers were taken to Naples after the battle , where Pietro Dusina was vicar of Archbishop Mario Carafa and apostolic protonotary . Together with Archbishop Carafa, he formed the Inquisition Tribunal , which questioned those affected and had to rule on their possible heresy . There is no known case in which the tribunal had denied the galley slaves the "reconciliation" (reconciliation) with the Catholic Church; all were allowed to either return to their homeland or start a new life as Christians. Furthermore, it is reported in the baptismal registers of Naples that Pietro Dusina personally baptized seven Muslims in 1572.

Inquisitor in Malta

On July 3, 1574, Pietro Dusina was appointed inquisitor in Malta. After his arrival in 1574, the Grand Master of the Order of Malta, Jean de la Cassière , offered him the former courthouse in Birgu , which had been abandoned in 1572, as his residence. This was the official seat of the Inquisitors until 1798 and has been called the Inquisitor's Palace since then . In 1575 Pietro Dusina made a comprehensive visit to the churches of Malta , his report on it has been preserved. On June 12, 1575, he left the Maltese islands and returned to Rome.

His report shows that although he found signs of witchcraft , especially in Naxxar ; Dusina's only action, however, was to forbid priests from reading mass when a number of candles determined to be superstitious were burning. They were also not allowed to give candles and holy water to anyone suspected of superstitious practices.

Further work

Around 1580, Petrus Dusina found himself an assessor at the Roman Inquisition Court. In this capacity he wrote that the principles of the witch's hammer had "not been accepted by the Inquisition Tribunal".

literature

  • Herman H. Schwedt : The Beginnings of the Roman Inquisition. Cardinals and consultors 1542 to 1600. Herder, Freiburg 2013, pp. 122–123.
  • AP Vella: La missione di Pietro Dusina a Malta nel 1574 . In: Melita Historica . tape 5 , no. 2 , 1969, p. 165-184 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Stefan Hanß: The material culture of the sea battle of Lepanto (1571) . Ergon Verlag, Würzburg 2017, ISBN 978-3-95650-264-4 , p. 508-513 .
  2. ^ J. Cassar-Pullicino: Maltese Customs and Beliefs in 1575. In: A. Cremona: Folklore. Volume 34, 1923, Issue 4, pp. 398–404, here p. 398
personal data
SURNAME Dusina, Pietro
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dusina, Peter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian Roman Catholic clergyman, apostolic visitor and inquisitor in Malta
DATE OF BIRTH 16th Century
PLACE OF BIRTH Brescia
DATE OF DEATH September 6, 1581