Solicitant

Solicitant, one who, abusing the privacy of the confessional, tempts women to a violation of chastity. This kind of solicitation became so common in Spain that pope Paul IV promulgated a bull against solicitants. Nor was this custom confined to Spain; it was rife in Portugal, England, France, and Germany. A German council held A.D. 1225 charged the priests with unchastity, voluptuousness, and obscenity. Gregory XV issued a bull on this accursed practice in 1622, bearing the title Universi Domini, which was confirmed by Benedict XIV, June, 1741. Another bull was also issued by the same pontiff in 1745.