>Records are different from opinions. The primary source, the Bull itself,
>speaks for itself.
I hope so. Unfortunately, my Latin is a little rusty, so I'll have to
make do with a translation.
> You must give contemporary records a different weight
>that a précis based on those records deserves. A translation no matter the
>skill of the translator, lets the thoughts of the translator creep in.
I'm sure you'll do a good job translating it.
>The Roman Government demanded Temple Tax not belief. Death was a radical way
>to collect taxes. Inland Revenue thankfully has not yet learned this
>technique.
Interesting rationalization. However, the Romans at various times
also demanded religious rites at Roman temples, and that people
deny being members of certain religions.
> Philippe IV, le Bel, King of France pushed the Pope to the Council at
>Vienne. The King demanded judgement on the Knights Templars. The bishops
>refused to judge them without hearing the accused. The French Pope Clement
>V, pressured by his King decided "motu proprio"(by his own movement) the
>suppression if the Order, by the bull Vox in excelso. We desperately need
>the jury system to save us from the oppressions of a berserk executive.
The jury system is good.
>Guy Stair Sainty states
>"This rarely given distinction cannot strictly be characterized today as an
>Order of Knighthood, but more as an award of honor of the highest possible
>standing." This Order was last awarded in 1987. (Their) are no living
>Knights of the Papal Supreme Order of Christ.....
>The original foundation was actually a religious military Order under the
>rule of Saint Benedict, constituted in Portugal by King Denis I on 14 August
>1318, confirmed and granted statutory regulation by the Bull Ad ea ex
>quibus ...The Order's endowment was established with the surviving estates
>of the recently dissolved Order of the Temple, just as in Spain most of
>these estates were used to establish the Order of Montesa." End Quote
>
[ Excess quotations omitted. ]
That is the question, isn't it?
>Sinclair
John S. Quarterman <jsq@quarterman.org>