ACHILLI, GIACINTO. — A Dominican from Viterbo who, during the Roman Republic (Feb.–July 1849), became a propagator of Protestantism in Italy. When the republic fell, he was imprisoned. Father Theiner, an Oratorian, tried in vain to dissuade him from his error. Having escaped from prison and taken refuge in London, he began spreading calumnies against the Church, the Inquisition, and the Pope. Cardinal Wiseman unmasked him in a hasty article in The Dublin Review. The A., without in the least concerning himself with this, went to repeat his calumnies in Birmingham, where Newman was rector of the local Oratory of St Philip. Newman rose up and, in turn, reaffirmed the accusations already made by Cardinal Wiseman, revealing, with precise details, the A.’s far from edifying life.
The A.’s supporters persuaded him to bring a legal action, and thus began (March 1851) a judicial affair in which all the anti-Catholic passions were stirred up against the promoter of the “Oxford movement.” Pusey called that trial “the greatest event since the Reformation.”
Having gone to London for the trial, Newman was able to write: “As I am about to appear before my judges, I know that ten thousand Catholic hearts are accompanying me to the threshold of the court; nor do I feel any anxiety, uneasiness, or fear of any kind about what may happen to me.” 21–22 January 1852 was the date set for the trial. Five lawyers pleaded Newman’s case. Judge Coleridge, unable to free himself from sectarian prejudice, while acknowledging “Newman’s talents, ardent piety, and holy life,” nevertheless found him guilty of libel, imposing a fine of 100 pounds sterling. Proof that Newman’s innocence and veracity were acknowledged by all was provided by the fact that, on 2 February 1853, the daily newspaper Morning Chronicle disavowed the A., affirming that he had no connection whatsoever with Anglicanism.
The A. later died as a member of the Swedenborgian sect.