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What church founded the 'Inquisition' to punish witches and heretics?
Question
#40821. Asked by vpham. (Nov 06 03 3:42 PM)
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mibmob
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The Inquisition was not technically set up to punish.
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Gnomon
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The Christian Church. It wasn't called Roman Catholic in those days, because that was before the beginning of Protestantism. There were no other brands of Christianity. (Well, there were briefly but the Inquisition soon put an end to them).
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Gnomon
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No, I'm wrong. The church would have been called the Roman Catholic to distinguish it from Greek Orthodox, which is also Christian.
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mibmob
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It would have been called the Cathoic church then as it refers to itself now.
Roman Catholic is a term used by Anglican protestants to distinguish it from the Anglo-Catholic Church as founded by Henry VIII
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Doug1230
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There were several inquisitions, the most infamous being the Spanish Inquisition of the late 15th century. This was not "founded" by the Catholic Church, although the Pope did grant approval of the investigation. The purpose of the inquisition was to root out non-Christians, namely Jews and Muslims, who would pose as priests and clerics for the purpose of gaining certain benefits and to attempt to destroy Church teachings from within. The Church did eventually condemn the inquisition. I know this may come as a surprise to those of you who base your entire understanding of the inquisition on Monty Python and Mel Brooks.
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mk2norwich
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I can't help myself; In reply to Gnomon:
The Roman Catholic church "put a stop" to other branches of Christianity, did it?
When I can find a single verse in the Bible that supports Roman Catholic doctrine, I'll call for an end to all other denominations too!
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lothruin
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Actually...
Pope Gregory IX not only authorized but INSTITUTED the papal inquisition in 1231 as a method of providing order to the capture and trial of any person considered heretical, and thereby, in the Church's eyes, a threat to society.
Originally, it was directed at several Christian sects, the Cathari and Waldenses, but later extended to "witches" and members of other non-christian religions.
Under Pope Gregory's law, heretics were tried by papal Inquisitors, and if they renounced their heresy, were returned to society after sometimes lengthy re-instruction in Catholic doctrine. However, if they did NOT renounce their heresy, they were handed over to civil authorities for punishment, as heresy was not only against Church law, but also civil law at the time. These authorities could deal with the subjects in any way they saw fit, which included burning at the stake.
The Spanish Inquisition is only a single event in the entire history of the papal inquisitions. It was begun by Ferdinand and Isabella and authorized by Pope Sixtus IV. The Church quickly lost control of the inquisition, which was brought about by the King and Queen to purify Spain, to unite it in Catholicism. It's primary targets were Jews and Protestants, and followers of sundry other faiths. It was NOT brought about because of fear that these people were infiltrating and destroying the Church from within, but simply because the King and Queen desired to make Spain strong in a single faith. The hope was that a country united in faith would also be united politically.
And for the record, I did not learn this from Monty Python. :-)
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