The Siena Controversy from the perspective of the Church: a booklet by cardinal Torquemada as an expression of catholic orthodoxy

Abstract

This article focuses on the pamphlet, currently unpublished, that cardinal Juan de Torquemada wrote as a response to the propositions that Alfonso de Madrigal presented in the city of Siena and that were censored by a commission of Church judges. The booklet contains the arguments that, according to its author, constitute the basis for condemning the aforementioned propositions, while at the same time exposing the ideas that, according to the teachings of the Church, are considered orthodox. Based on the text of the booklet, the article makes a summary and study of it. The main objective pursued is to disseminate the existence and content of the booklet, although this will also serve to deepen the knowledge of the theological controversy that was generated in Siena through the analysis of the perspective of the Church, which formed one of the two opposing axes in it, as well as serving to revalue Torquemada's role in the controversy, compared to those who have made a partisan interpretation of the Sienese episode, adopting a pejorative attitude towards this author.