The Inquisitions

For several centuries throughout the Middle Ages, several inquisitions were initiated by the Catholic Church in union with the state in several countries in Europe. The purpose of the inquisitions was to locate, punish and prevent many heresies that were causing disturbances among society. The most well-known inquisitions took place in three countries; France, Italy, and Spain and did not take place in other countries. While the Inquisitions were intended to better society, in many cases they lead to abuses which has lead to controversy and speculation about the Catholic Church by some. Below we quickly summarize the three Inquisitions in France, Italy, and Spain and then present some conclusions.

France (1229)

Started by Pope Gregory IX, this inquisition was called particularly to fight the Albigensian heresies in Southern France and to uphold the truth for secular and ecclesiastical justice. This inquisition was known to eventually become cruel and unreasonable and was eventually abolished.

Italy (Rome) (1542)

The Roman Inquisition was started by Pope Paul III for the whole world to safeguard faith and morals. This Inquisition was noted to be more lenient than the other two Inquisitions.

Spain (1400's - 1700's)

This inquisition was started by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella and empowered by Pope Sixtus IV. This Inquisition was erected to proceed against Judaism, crypto-Jews and other apostates whose secret activities were dangerous to church and state. It was also extended to the Christian Moors who were in danger of apostasy at the time and was also used to defend against the uprise of Protestantism. Defending against polygamy, bigamy, perjury, forgery, shamming revelations and masquerading as priests were some of the primary goals of this inquisition. This inquisition was known to become the most cruel and unjust of the three and was very influenced by civil power and often in defiance of the Holy See.

Abuses of the Inquisitions

There is no doubt that the abuses that took place during the Inquisitions were absolutely wrong. However there are several points which must also be considered.

First, it is a well-known fact that many cruelties and unjust punishments were a general character of medieval times. For example, consider some of these cruelties unrelated to the inquisitions during medieval times:

We must also note that during medieval times the state normally considered the teachings of the Church necessary for the well-being of society. Since many anti-social sects menaced the state, the interests of both church and state were often the same. Hence the reason for the agreement between church and state to work together during the inquisitions and why the condemned were handed over to secular authorities for judgment.

It also must be made clear that once these inquisitions started to turn to unjust punishment and abuse, the Popes who started the inquisitions were not in favor of the abuse and called for a stop to it. Since the inquisitions were heavily influenced by the state, it was not as simple as a protest from the Pope that would put a stop to the abuse quickly. So the unjust punishments that occurred during the Inquisitions were not approved by the Popes and it took quite some time for the Inquisitions to be abolished because of the states involvement.

Conclusions

Again we reiterate that the abuses and unjust punishments that took place during the Inquisitions were absolutely wrong. The abuses that took place during those days were cruel and unjust not because they were Catholic, but because they were medieval.

To those anti-Catholics who consistently bring up the subject of the Inquisitions as an argument against the Catholic Church, we ask, what exactly do the Inquisitions prove and what point are you trying to make? There is nothing in the history of the Inquisitions that invalidates the Catholic Church or makes it false. The Catholic Church has always been exposed to human frailties and history clearly shows that the Catholic Church has not been protected from the mistakes and sins of its members. So the sins of members of the Church during the Inquisitions have no effect on the validity of the Church just as the sins during other times in history did not. If members of church or state were guilty of unjust or cruel punishments during the Inquisitions, that is between those individuals and God and has nothing to do with the Church itself.

In Scripture we clearly see that the true Church of Christ is guided by the Holy Ghost and will never cease to exist. No matter what took place during the Inquisitions, the Catholic Church will always remain because Scripture tells us so.