The third day of mysterious death and inscrutable mystery

Adso finally gives comment in this section on one of the things that has bothered my post-enlightenment equality-favoring worldview. He protests that referring to common people as "the simple," which even William does frequently, does not adequately account for those who may not be wealthy or powerful, but are nonetheless very knowledgeable, nor for those who do not have knowledge of Latin and the exalted theological knowledge of the church, yet are in influential positions. Thus Adso points out that the term "simple" is anything but simple. Through this Eco expresses the postmodern disdain for stereotypes, reflected in our generation's comfort with jokes about race, gender, etc, that reflect our shared assumption that all stereotypes have a large number of exceptions. (Thus, we can laugh freely at stereotypes without guilt, because we assume that everyone knows they aren't true.) The point, however, is that it's not safe to assume that such a vast group of people are all incapable of handling knowledge. The "intelligent" people who decided this in aristocratic Europe made a grave and foolish error.
Throughout his ensuing conversation with Salvatore, Adso continues the inner struggle to discern whether Salvatore and the heretical groups he has encountered and the vagabonds of society with which he could be lumped are truly filthy heretics. He perceives glimpses of ardent sincerity in the face of persecution on the part of the heretics, and recalls the widely varying responses of the crowds at the burning which he had personally witnessed. Some there viewed the man as a saint, others as corrupt man leading others astray. How could he be certain about these judgments? When he seeks help from Ubertino, he discovers that Ubertino is passionately emphatic about who has faith and who holds to heresy, yet for all his fervor is unable to explain the distinctions adequately to bring clarity. Thus William's decision to step down from the role of inquisitor appears more and more wise. When the truth about a persons actions and character is inscrutable, yet the powers-that-be demand a decision withlife-and-death consequences, perhaps the best decision is to refrain from judgment and allow others to risk taking innocent blood.
Then there's sex...sex, sex, sex. The great evil of the RCC takes on a soft, beautiful form here so that Adso can hardly discern between the feelings of spiritual ecstasy he has had in the past and the excitement of conjugal relations. He must fight with "reason" against some of the strongest passions he has ever experienced. He must resist beauty for the sake of religious restrictions. As the RCC framed sexual ethics (especially for clergy) there is no place for this senusal gift of God within a life of true devotion and piety.