Quote from Letter 6,26 to his most beloved sons, the clergy and nobles living in Salona. January 596
Heaven forbid the mind of a priest should be aroused by private passion in any sort of case! But I both care for your Beloved selves, and greatly fear the Judgment of almighty God on my soul, and so I desire to inquire very carefully into the case of the same Maximus, whether he is trying to reach the priestly office free of any crimes, which are a bar to holy orders, and whether it is not through the heresy of simony, that is, by bribing people to elect him. He will only be a free intercessor on your behalf before our Lord if he comes to the place of intercession without being obliged to anyone.
Heaven forbid the mind of a priest should be aroused by private passion in any sort of case! But I both care for your Beloved selves, and greatly fear the Judgment of almighty God on my soul, and so I desire to inquire very carefully into the case of the same Maximus, whether he is trying to reach the priestly office free of any crimes, which are a bar to holy orders, and whether it is not through the heresy of simony, that is, by bribing people to elect him. He will only be a free intercessor on your behalf before our Lord if he comes to the place of intercession without being obliged to anyone.
Cited from: The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn (Toronto: PIMS, 2004), II, 421
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