Well, Mike, the primacy of conscience was covered quite extensively by Thomas Aquinas in the 1200s. It was in the Baltimore Catechism in the 1950s, and that was based on the Catechism of Trent from the 1570s.

Mind you, this is for assessing moral culpability. If a person does something in good conscience, then he is not morally culpable from a theological standpoint. And yes, I suppose that some of the judges of the Holy Inquisition, did what they did in good conscience - even though they were wrong from an objective standpoint. And no, the judges of the Spanish Inquisition of the 1490s did not respect the primacy of conscience, and certainly wouldn't give a damn if Cervantes and others believed that what they were doing was right. The inquisitors were far more interested in political expediency.

And no, I won't defend the Inquisition. Many people who faced the Inquisition, were later named saints.

-Joe-