To Columbus, Bishop of Numidia, on the Deacon Donadeus

Gregory to Columbus, and so on. [a]

Donadeus, the bearer of this letter, who describes himself as having been a deacon, makes a complaint so serious that it is intolerable even to hear. Your fraternity will see this from the petition he has presented, which is copied below. But since it has come to our ears that he was deposed for a sin of the body, let your love make full inquiry into this. If it is so, let him be put to penance, so that by tears he may free himself from the bond of the immorality of which he is guilty. If, however, he is proved innocent of any such transgression, everything his petition contains must be examined with diligent care by you, together with the primate of the council and others, our brothers and fellow bishops. And if his complaint is supported by the truth, let canonical discipline be brought to bear with such strictness on his bishop Victor, who has not shrunk from committing so great a wickedness against God and his own priestly profession, that he may understand the wickedness of what he has done. And let the man himself be restored to his order. For it is truly absurd, and plainly against the order of the church, that anyone whom his own fault or crime does not remove from the rank of the office he holds should be deprived of it invalidly, at the will of this or that person. [b]