THE INQUISITION: A Study in Absolute Catholic Power

[francisdesales]

I will keep you in prayer francis.

Michael,

Though we disagree on interpretation of Scripture and so forth, I do appreciate your prayers - and I will keep you in mine. I hope you are not being sarcastic, as I do need prayers.

May God bless you and save you from your rebellion.

Ditto.

Joe

 

[Solo]

Michael,

Though we disagree on interpretation of Scripture and so forth, I do appreciate your prayers - and I will keep you in mine. I hope you are not being sarcastic, as I do need prayers.

Joe

Joe,

I was pretty sarcastic in high school some 30 plus years ago, but time has softened me much. Just think what a turd I used to be.

Michael

 

[francisdesales]

Joe,

I was pretty sarcastic in high school some 30 plus years ago, but time has softened me much. Just think what a turd I used to be.

Michael

Michael,

Again, ditto - except my high school was 25 years ago... :

I was commenting to a friend of mine a few days ago how my weekends are so busy doing things with friends that I know through church, and how that had changed - noting I wasn't so busy before my church days. Then it dawned on me the reason - I was not a pleasure to be around!

Praise be to God

Joe

 

[D46]

I remember when I first started getting interested in what Catholicism was all about, I was totally appalled at what information I found on Roman persecutions throughout history. As I began to read some of those history books, I recall audible saying to myself, "Surely, this can't be true!". As I began to research other areas, the same things kept popping up and I'd have to walk away-stuned at what I had read. This was the first encounter I had with learning of the RCC and how it set my feelings and understanding about just how blood thirsty they were...why, I'll never know. Tjos sure wasn't the gospel that Christ taught nor were the Apostles conductive to this kind of "forcible conversion. They were even rebuked by the Lord in Luke...

Luke 9:54-55 (KJV) And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.

Here are some documented historical evidence of Rome's bloody past-some not so far back. I hope it's not too long as it's very interesting reading.

The First Persecution, Under Nero, A.D. 67
The first persecution of the Church took place in the year 67, under Nero, the sixth emperor of Rome. He ordered that the city of Rome should be set on fire and while the imperial city was in flames, he went up to the tower of Macaenas, played his harp, sung the song of the burning of Troy. This continued nine days until Nero, discovered that he was criticized and held responsible. Determined to lay the blame upon the Christians, he designed the most cruel punishments. He had some sewed up in skins of wild beasts, and then attacked by dogs until they died; and others dressed in shirts made of wax, and set on fire in his gardens, to provide light for his gardens. Peter and Paul were martyred under this persecution.

The Second Persecution, Under Domitian, A.D. 81
The emperor Domitian, first killed his brother, and then started the second persecution against the Christians. He also killed some of the Roman senators, through malice or to confiscate their property. He then ordered that the Jews be put to death. Among the martyrs was John, who was boiled in oil, and then banished to Patmos. All famine, pestilence, or earthquakes was blamed on the Christians and caused more persecution. Through bribery and rewards, many Christians were put to death with lies. Christians had to renounce their religion to be exempted from punishment.

The Third Persecution, Under Trajan, A.D. 108
This persecution was started by Trajan and then continued by his successor Adrian. Christians were thrown to wild beasts, crucified, crowned with thorns and had spears run through their sides.

The Fourth Persecution, Under Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, A.D. 162
Christians were beheaded, clubbed to death, thrown from precipices, brains crushed, red hot metal plates were placed on the most sensitive parts of their bodies, burnt at the stake, pressed to death with weights, attacked by wild animals, severely beaten until their bines showed. Some were made to walk, with their already wounded feet, over thorns, nails, sharp shells, and other sharp objects upon their points,

The Fifth Persecution, Commencing with Severus, A.D. 192
The progress of Christianity alarmed the pagans and this brought about this round of persecutions. Once again Christians were beheaded, had tar poured on their bodies, burnt alive, gored by wild bulls, forced to run the gauntlet, exposed to wild beasts in the amphitheaters and placed in baths of scalding water.

The Sixth Persecution, Under Maximus, A.D. 235
During this persecution, many Christians were killed without trial, and buried in heaps others were dragged behind wild horses until they were killed.

The Seventh Persecution, Under Decius, A.D. 249
This was caused partly by the hatred he had for his predecessor Philip, who was a Christian, and was partly by his jealousy concerning the amazing increase of Christianity. The heathen temples were being forsaken, and the Christian churches thrived. Unfortunately for the Gospel, many errors had creeped in around this time. Christians were at variance with each other, self-interest and pride divided them into many factions.

Christians were decapitated, stretched upon a wheel, until the bones were broken, one was even put into a leather bag, together with a number of serpents and scorpions, and then thrown into the sea. Others were stoned to death, stretched on a rack, torn with hooks, burnt alive, starved to death, forced to work in brothels, imprisoned, tortured, hanged all for their faith.

The Eighth Persecution, Under Valerian, A.D. 257
Began under Valerian, in April 257, and continued for three years and six months. The martyrs that fell in this persecution were many, and they suffered various painful tortures. Neither rank, sex, nor age were regarded. One martyr was tied to the tail of a bull who was driven down the steps of a temple. His brains were smashed in the process. Three hundred Christians were burned at once in a pit for not sacrificing to the god Jupiter.

The Ninth Persecution Under Aurelian, A.D. 274
Tortured, beheaded, 666 Christian soldiers were cut to pieced by the sword, some were broiled upon a gridiron. A Christian named Quintin was stretched with pulleys until his joints were dislocated; his body was then torn with wire scourges, and boiling oil and pitch poured on his naked flesh; lighted torches were applied to his sides and armpits; and after he had been thus tortured, he was remanded back to prison, and died of the barbarities he had suffered, October 31, A.D. 287. His body was sunk in the Somme.

The Tenth Persecution, Under Diocletian, A.D. 303 - 313 A.D.
This persecution, which lasted for 10 years, started with the destruction of all Christian churches and books and an order to declare Christians as outlaws. All the Christians were apprehended and imprisoned; and Galerius (the step son of Diocletian) privately ordered the imperial palace to be set on fire, so that the Christians might be blamed. This would give a reason for carrying on the persecution. Many houses were set on fire, and whole Christian families perished in the flames; and others had stones fastened about their necks, tied together were thrown into the sea. Racks, scourges, swords, daggers, crosses, poison, and famine, were used to kill the Christians. A city of Phrygia, consisting entirely of Christians, was burnt, and all the inhabitants perished in the flames. Tired with slaughter, the Romans devised ways to make their lives miserable. Their ears cut off, noses slit, right eyes put out, limbs made useless by dreadful dislocations, and their flesh seared in tender places with red-hot irons. Crushed to death in a mill, dragged through the streets, tortured, strangled, broiled slowly on a gridiron, eyes goughed out with red hot irons, starved to death, The persecutions ended when Constantine became ruler and there were no general persecutions for the next 1000 years until the time of John Wycliffe.

Papal Persecutions - Persecution by the Church
It is estimated that between 50 - 100 million people died cruel deaths during the reign of the church.

Why does the church persecute? And why such cruelty? I could quote many popes from the past, but you might say that the church has changed. So let me quote from the present, to show why this method of control will always be an option for the church.

• Pope Innocent III's (1198-1216 AD) Deliberatio claimed the right to dispose kings. He ordered the extermination of heretics, the massacre of Albigensians, condemned the Magna Charta, and forbade Bible reading in the common language.
• The Inquisition of heretics established (1229) under Gregory IX. (1227-1241)
• Pope Innocent IV, in his instruction for the guidance of the Inquisition in Tuscany and Lombardy, ordered the civil magistrates to force a confession of guilt from all heretics by torture, and a betrayal of all their accomplices, in the Papal Bull Ad Extirpanda de Medio Populi Christiani Pravitatis Zizania, dated May 15, 1252.
• Pope Clement V (1305-1314) rebukes England's King Edward II for not torturing heretics and orders him to do so.

Papal Persecutions - The Crusades

The crusades was a series of expeditions, sanctioned by the pope, against heathens and heretics. They were generally called by the church, headed by Holy Roman Emperors and were used to get back the Holy Land from the Muslims and later to persecute heretics in Europe. Most crusades were against the Turks, Muslims who occupied the Holy Land. Other crusades were against Christians who opposed the papacy, threatened Catholic unity and had their own doctrine.
Except for the first crusade, the campaign against the Muslims was largely a failure.

November 27, 1095, The First Crusade
In 1095 Pope Urban II declared a holy war, a Crusade, against the Muslims to make the Holy Land Christian again. He also ordered all heretics to be tortured and killed. With Urban's call and the Church's support, thousands of towns people found a direction for their frustration and hate, and they raped and murdered their way to Jerusalem.

The First Holocaust - Jews of the Rhineland. Godfrey of Bouillon, a respected knight, determined not to leave his country for the Holy Land until he had avenged the crucifixion by spilling a Jew's blood with his own hands. Mobs formed intending to march to the Holy Land and kill the enemies of Christ, but before they went to the Holy land they turned against the Jews of the Rhineland, tried to force them to convert to Christianity and eventually killing a total of 12,000 in 1096. In one month alone, between May and June, 10,000 lives were taken.

The Conquest of the Holy Land. In 1099 they had arrived by boat in Lebanon they captured Jerusalem by July 15, 1099 and killed 20,000 men, women and children in the process.

In June 1099, the crusaders laid siege to Jerusalem, by July 15 they broke through the Northern Wall slaughtering men, women and children all day and night. 6,000 Jews had fled to the synagogue for refuge - it was torched and they were burned alive. Surviving Muslims fled to the mosque of al Aqsa, 30,000 were killed when the crusaders broke down the door.
They did not stop until there was no one else around to be killed. They took some of the men and the prettier women captive, and then they headed off to systematically conquer each city in the country. They conquered many towns and built more than 250 full Crusader fortresses over 50 years in Caesarea, Jaffa, Akko, Montfort, Yehi Am, Tiberius, Nimrod, Belvoir. They also conquered Haifa, Beirut, Sidon, Jericho, Bethlehem, Ashkelon, Eilat and Ramleh.
They also built large shrines at:

* Church of the Holy Sepulchre (the official site where Jesus was killed, anointed, and buried)
* Church of the Cross (the official site of the tree which provided Jesus' cross)
* King David's tomb
* Jesus' official birth site in Bethlehem. They built huge Templar Halls in Akko, Ramleh, and Jerusalem.

By 1146, the Muslims, led by a brilliant young general named Saladin, began a successful reconquering of the land in 1146. This led to the Second Crusade.

 

[D46]

The Second Crusade (1147-49)
A Second Crusade was proclaimed by Pope Eugene III when the news reached Europe in 1146 that a Muslim Saracen named Saladin had begun to reconquer the Holy Land from the Crusaders and that Edessa had fallen to the Turks.

The mobs, once again turned toward the Jewish quarters to start another blood bath. But fewer than 200 were killed after the Jews paid large bribes to the bishops and noblemen and a Christian, Bernard of Clairvaux, wrote letters to the Christian communities appealing to them not to harm Jews. These efforts avoided another bloodbath.

The crusade was led by Holy Roman Emperor Conrad III, King Louis VII of France. They took Ashkelon, Tiberius and various other coastal towns. However, they lost the war due to the unique military tactics of Saladin and by 1187 they were soundly defeated in a decisive battle just west of the Sea of Kinneret at a place called Hattin.
The Second Crusade thus ended in total defeat; the Muslims controlled the entire country.

When the European Christians heard of the defeat of the Crusaders, they once again tried to slaughter the Jews in their frustration, but the intervention of Frederick 1 of Prussia saved them.

The Third Crusade (1189-1192)
The Third Crusade was called by Pope Gregory VIII following the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin in 1187 and the defeat of Guy of Lusignan, Reginald of Ch�tillon, and Raymond of Tripoli at Hattin. The leaders were Richard 1 of England, Philip II of France, and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I.
Frederick died (1190) in Cilicia, and only part of his forces went on to the Holy Land. Richard and Philip, arrived at Acre in 1191. Philip left by July of that year. In 1192 Richard made a three year truce with Saladin and left. The Christians retained Jaffa with a narrow strip of coast with the right of free access to the Holy Sepulcher, but their main objective to capture Jerusalem failed, but Antioch and Tripoli were still in the hands of Christians.

The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204)
Pope Innocent III launched the Fourth Crusade but the crusaders never made it to Palestine. Instead it was totally diverted from its original course.
The Crusaders, led mostly by French and Flemish nobles, attacked Constantinople and drove out the Byzantine Emperor Alexius III and set up the Latin empire of Constantinople. Alexius (later Alexius IV), son of the deposed Byzantine emperor Isaac II and brother-in-law of Philip of Swabia, a sponsor of the crusade, joined the army at Zara and persuaded the leaders to help him depose his uncle, Alexius III. In exchange, he promised large sums of money, aid to the Crusaders in conquering Egypt, and the union of the Roman and the Eastern churches.

The Children's Crusade (1212)
The Children's Crusade, 1212 was led by a visionary French peasant boy, Stephen of Cloyes. Children embarked at Marseilles, hoping they would succeed in the cause that their elders had betrayed. Most of them perished of hunger and disease or were sold into slavery.

The Fifth Crusade (1217-1221)
Soon afterward, Innocent III and his successor Honorius III, began to preach the Fifth Crusade. King Andrew II of Hungary, Duke Leopold VI of Austria, John of Brienne, and the papal legate Pelasius were among the leaders of the expedition, which was aimed at Egypt, the center of Muslim strength. Damietta (Dumyat) was taken in 1219 but had to be evacuated again after the defeat (1221) of an expedition against Cairo.

The Sixth Crusade (1228-29)
The Sixth Crusade, was undertaken by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II he made a truce with the Muslims, securing the partial surrender of Jerusalem and other holy places and crowned himself king of Jerusalem. The Muslims later reoccupied the city.
Thibaut IV of Navarre and Champagne, started the war again in 1239 and the struggle was continued by Richard, Earl of Cornwall. They were unable to compose the quarrels between the Knights Hospitalers and Knights Templars. In 1244 the Templars, made a treaty and an alliance with the sultan of Damascus rather than with Egypt. A treaty (1244) with Damascus restored Palestine to the Christians

The Seventh Crusade (1248-1254)
The Seventh Crusade was due to Louis IX of France. It was called after the Egyptian Muslims and their Turkish allies took Jerusalem and utterly defeated the Christians at Gaza. Again, Egypt was the object of attack. Damietta fell again in 1249 but in 1250 Louis was captured on an expedition to Cairo. After his release from captivity, he spent four years improving the fortifications left to the Christians in the Holy Land.

The Eighth Crusade (1270)
The fall of Jaffa and Antioch to the Muslims in 1268 caused Louis IX to undertake the Eighth Crusade in 1270, which was cut short by his death in Tunisia.

The Ninth Crusade (1271 - 1272)
The Ninth Crusade, was led by Prince Edward (later Edward 1 of England). He landed at Acre but retired after concluding a truce. In 1289, Tripoli fell to the Muslims, and in 1291 the last Christian stronghold in Acre also fell.

Papal Persecutions - Hussites
Protestants
Map of Protestant Distribution
The Hussites in Bohemia and Moravia were followers of Jan Huss who was burned at the stake in 1415 for heresy. This was a complex religious, political and social struggle that aligned these forces:

* Roman Catholic Church against the Protestants.
* Germans against the Czechs.
* Civil war between Upper class and the peasants.

After the death of Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia in 1419, the Hussites took up arms to prevent Emperor Sigismund from succeeding to the throne. They were without a king between 1429 and 1436. While this War of Succession was going on, the crusades against the Hussites began. The crusades against the Czech Hussites were mostly a failure until the Council of Basil in 1433. At this time, moderate Hussites recanted their heresy and went back to the Catholic Church. This caused disagreement and the civil war broke out between the Utraquists and the Taborites (lower class).
In Bohemia, a country with a population of four million by the year 1600, 3.2 million of which were Protestants, only the population of 800,000 Catholics were left alive by the time the Hapsburgs and Jesuits were through. 2,400,000 Protestants were cruelly murdered.

Papal Persecutions - Waldensians (1147-1658)

The Waldenses or Vaudois were French Protestants in the Piedmont Valley region of southern France and northern Italy. By the middle ages, the church was filled with darkness and superstition. Around the year 1000, some people, notably Berengarius, boldly preached the primitive gospel truths and separated themselves from the Roman church. He was succeeded by Peer Bruis who wrote a book called Antichrist.

By the year 1140, there was a large number in the reformed movement, and their popularity alarmed the pope, prompting him to gather scholars to write against their doctrines and to ask several princes to banish them from their dominions.

By 1147 Peter Waldo of Lyons became a popular preacher among the reformed and they came to be known as Waldensians. Pope Alexander III excommunicated Waldo and his followers and asked the Bishop of Lyons to exterminate them from the face of the earth. So the persecution of the Waldensians began. This was the first time that the system of the Inquisition was used. Any open or anonymous accusation was sufficient evidence of guilt. The Dominician Order was formed from a monk named Dominic who was tasked with debating the Waldensians out of their beliefs. The Dominicans had been principally responsible for being the inquisitors in all future inquisitions.

No one of any race, gender, wealth or rank was spared from the inquisition. To be rich was automatically a proof of being a heretic. People's property was confiscated. Their heirs were robbed of their inheritance. Some were sent to the Holy land and the Dominicans took possession of their property and pretended not to know them when they returned. Others could not visit their loved ones in jail, give them fresh straw to sleep on or give them a cup of water, nor could any lawyer plead for their cause because they would be prosecuted for favoring a heretic.
Their malice went so deep that even after death, anyone accused of heresy had their bones dug up and publicly burned.

So the church not only used this inquisition to accuse people of heresy, they also used it as an opportunity to rob the rich of their property.

Papal Persecutions - Albigensians
The Albigenses or Carthari were French Protestants in southern France, northern Italy and northern Spain, a people of the reformed religion, who inhabited the country of Albi. The Albigensian hetetics were also known as Cathari or Cathars. Pope Alexander III condemned the religion in the Council of Lateran, but their numbers still increased. The Albigenses were members of the reformed church who believed in dualism, they believe God created Christ and the Holy Spirit. They did not believe in purgatory, resurrection, the priesthood, veneration of images, sacraments or the Nicene Trinity.

In 1208, Pope Innocent II asked King Philip II to eradicate the heresy and called the crusade to combat the heresies. In the crusading Bull, the pope promised paradise and the land of the defeated was promised to the victors. So a land rush began. An inquisition was also called against the people - those who did not recant were burned, those who did were forced to wear yellow crosses.

This struggle against the Christians of Southern France lasted 20 years. In one battle alone, an estimated 60,000 were slaughtered by Pope Innocent II in the siege of the city of Beziers, France in 1209.

King Luis VIII again lead the crusade to exterminate the Albigenses in 1226.
Many were beaten, racked, scourged, and burnt to death. At the height of the crusade a hundred were burned at the stake at a time.

Papal Persecutions - Huguenots (1562 -1598)
"Une foi, un loi, un roi," (one faith, one law, one king) was the motto of the French. The French wars of religion was caused by growth of Calvinism, noble factionalism, and weak royal government. From 1550's Calvinist or Huguenot numbers increased, fostered by missionary activities in Geneva. Noble factions of Bourbons, Guise, and Montmorency were split by religion as well as by family interests. Civil wars were encouraged by Philip II's support of Catholic Guise faction and by Elizabeth I's aid to Huguenots (French Protestants). The wars of religion started with the Massacre at Vassy in 1592 when servants of the Duc de Guise fired on the unarmed Huguenot and set the church on fire.
The most notable incidents of these wars were the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre and the slaughter of the Protestants under Louis XIV. Pope Pius V decreed the extermination of Huguenots and asked all loyal Catholics to help hunt them down.

Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre of Huguenots in France (August 24, 1572)
Catherine de Medici, the mother of the King of France arranged a fake wedding between her daughter, Margot de Valois, and Henri de Navarre who was a Protestant leader. The marriage was publicly conducted on August 17 and was attended by the Cardinal of Bourbon.
Four days later with a prearranged signal at midnight the homes of Protestants were entered. Admiral de Coligny, the chief military leader of the Huguenots, was stabbed by an assassin, in the chest with a sword in his own bedroom. Then they threw him out of a window into the street, cut off his head and sent it to the pope. Then they cut off his arms and private members, dragged him through the streets for three days, and hung him by the heels outside the city.

For many days they killed as many Protestants as they could, starting with the upper class. In the first 3 days 10,000 were killed and their bodies thrown into the river. The bloodbath spread from Paris to other parts of the country and in a week over 100,000 Protestants were killed across the kingdom. Some priests, holding up a crucifix in one hand, and a dagger in the other, ran to the chiefs of the murderers, and strongly exhorted them to spare neither relatives nor friends

Many who gave great sums of money for their ransom were immediately slain; and several towns, which were under the king's promise of protection and safety, were cut off as soon as they delivered themselves up, on those promises, to his generals or captains.

 

[D46]

...and finally...
Rome Celebrates the Massacre

* Pope Gregory XIII had a medal created to celebrate the bloody event. A Catholic web site states that the medal was not created to celebrate the massacre. It was created to celebrate the fact that the king was not killed. I would believe that except for these outstanding facts which show that the medal which was supposed to honor the king, did not even mention his name or France.
1. The king was never in danger. There was no war that endangered the life of the king. In fact the plot was designed to make the Protestants feel secure. The Protestants were ambushed without the possibility of defending themselves.
Therefore, the medal could only be designed to celebrate the success of this plot - the massacre of the people represented on the back of the medal.
2. The design on the back of the medal clearly shows the angel of the Christian church with a sword and a cross, slaughtering people.
And it says: UGONOTTORUM STRAGES 1572 . Huguenots Slaughtered 1572
3. If I remember my Latin correctly, the front of the medal honors Pope Gregory XIII. Both sides of the medal do not mention the king. It mentions the slaughter and has a picture of the slaughter.
* The massacres on St. Bartholomew's Day are painted in the royal saloon of the Vatican at Rome, with the following Latin inscription:
Pontifex, Coligny necem probat which means - The pope approves of Coligny's death.
* At Rome the horrid joy was so great, that they appointed a day of high festival, and a jubilee, with great indulgence to all who kept it and showed any expression of gladness they could devise! and the man who first carried the news received 1000 crowns from the cardinal of Lorraine for his ungodly message.

In France, the king also commanded the day to be kept with every demonstration of joy, believing that the whole race of Huguenots was now extinct.

The Persecution of the Vaudois (1686).
Next, Louis XIV forced the Duke of Savoy, Victor Amadeus, to murder the Waldenses (Vaudois) in the Piedmont Valleys. He sent an ambassador to tell the duke that he should deal with the Vaudois in the same way that he was dealing with the Huguenot. The Duke was unwilling to do this because they were such loyal subjects who had recently helped him in battle. He had just sent them a letter of gratitude.
Louis made this request three times before he threatened to send an army of 14,000 men to do the job. So, on January 31, 1686 the edict was pronounced. It had the same terms as the Edict of Nantes and it removed all their rights. And it lead to their slaughter.

The Inquisition
The word inquisition means "to inquire into". By the middle ages when the church heretics came to be regarded as enemies of the state and persecution of the heretics was still mostly unorganized. The inquisition was an attempt to organize and bring order and legality to the process. By this time the state and the church were unified and people felt that heresy threatened the order of society. So heresy was both a crime against church and civil law.

The church sought out those accused of the crime and first tried to instruct them in the Catholic doctrine. If the person insisted in their belief, then they were handed over to the state for punishment - usually burning at the stake. By the end of all three official inquisitions over 68,000,000 Protestants were murdered.

The Papal Inquisition (1231)
This Inquisition was called to combat the heresies of the Albigensians and Waldenses. It was later extended to include witches, blasphemers, diviners and other unorthodox practices. Over 900,000 Protestants were killed as a result of the inquisition against the Waldenses alone. Many more were tortured and imprisoned.

The Spanish Inquisition (1480-1834)
Organized by Pope Sextus IV, King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella against Jews and Muslims. 95% of its victims were Jews. The LaGuardia trial unleashed the Inquisition in its complete fury, culminating in the expulsion of all Jews from Spain in 1492, the same year that Granada was taken from the Moors completing the Christian Reconquest. After the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile , the larger part of Christian Spain was united under a strong Spanish monarchy. Eventually, Spanish nationalism and Catholicism became intimately interwoven and Catholic orthodoxy and patriotism were viewed by Spaniards as being essentially the same and there came a call for pure white Christian blood. It started in earnest with a famous show trial - the LaGuardia trial - in 1490. Eight Jews and Conversos were accused of crucifying a Christian child. They confessed after being tortured and were burned at the stake - despite the fact that no victim was identified and no body was found. It subsided with the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 and the capture of Granads from the Muslim Moors in the south. It did not officially end until 1834. At that time, Spain had the largest population of Jews in Europe, many were Conversos, they had converted to Christianity to avoid earlier persecution.

The Inquisition started with the goal of eliminating heresy and enforcing church law. Inquisitorial methods included: Use of tortured informants, torture driven confessions, confiscation of property, lengthy secret imprisonment, secret trials, and death by burning.

The Spanish Inquisition Persecution Tests
Tests were devised to detect secret Jews. An acceptable evidence of guilt included the following:

* Religious Test The slightest deviation from strict Catholic practice
* Refusal to eat pork
* Not affirming that the Virgin herself can cause cures
* Not affirming that the image of the Virgin can also cause cures

Sabbath Test. One set of guidelines for detecting Jews listed the following:
* If you see that your neighbors are wearing clean and fancy clothes on Saturdays.
* If they clean their houses on Fridays and light candles earlier than usual on that night.
* If they eat unleavened bread and begin their meal with celery and lettuce during Holy Week.
* If they say prayers facing a wall, bowing back and forth.

Legal and Social Tactics
* The Inquisition acted on the presumption that the accused was guilty until he could establish his innocence.
* People were encouraged to inform on one another.
* Secrecy was a primary feature of inquisitorial procedure.
* After imprisonment the accused was deprived of all visitation.
* Papers bearing upon his case were kept from him.
* He was not even informed of the names of his accusers or those who gave testimony against him.
* Torture of the accused was permissible in order to extract confessions and information on accomplices and to provide a deterrent to others who might be inclined to heresy.

The modes of torture mostly in use were:
* The water ordeal
* The garruche

Various penalties were given to those convicted by the Inquisition. These included confiscation of goods and property, imprisonment, public scourging, the galleys, exile, and death. The accused received their sentence at a public ceremony known as "auto de fe" ("act of faith"). These spectacles were treated as public holidays. On that day the prisoners were led in a procession by priests and Inquisitorial officials to a public square. There a sermon was preached, an oath was taken of the people and rulers to support the Inquisition, and sentences were pronounced. Because Inquisitorial officials were forbidden to pass the death sentence, prisoners were turned over to the civil officers for punishment. Church officials even asked the civil officers to exercise mercy and spill no blood. However, this was an empty formality, for everyone knew the serious offenders were to be burned at the stake. They were still killed whether or not they accepted Christianity in full. If the accused recanted, they were burned with a quick-burning seasoned wood. If not, they were burned with slow-burning green wood.

It is estimated that in the years 1480-1524, 14,344 were burnt alive, 1,368 were burnt in effigy, and 195,937 condemned to other penalties or released as penitents.

The Roman Inquisition (1559)
Pope Paul II organized this inquisition to combat the spread of Protestantism and largely focused on the writings of theologians. So in 1559, an Index of Forbidden Books was created - these were said to offend faith and morals. Oh yes, and many reformers and leaders and converts were burned with their offensive books. By the way, one of these offensive books was the Bible in the language of the people.

The Modern Office of Inquisition
The office of Inquisition was a system to remove heresy, it has had three name changes:

1. 1542-1908. Sacred Congregation of the Universal Inquisition.
2. 1908-1988. Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office.
3. 1988-Present. Sacred Congregation for the doctrine of the faith.

Damasus I (366-83) issued the first heresy bull. Anyone convicted of disagreeing with the teachings of the Council of Nicea (325) could be executed as an enemy of the faith. Most of the torturing ordered by Innocent IV was performed by members of the Dominican order, whose monks were called the "black friars".
Heresy laws had the following provisions that allowed you to be accused without knowing the charges or who made these accusations.

* The accused never learned the names of those who brought the charges
* The accused was not informed of the nature of the charges brought against him or her.
* The testimonies of two witnesses was needed to bring a charge against an accused.

The office of Inquisition still exists in the Vatican. Due to protests, it has been renamed as the office of sacred congregation for the doctrine of the faith since 1988.

Sorry for the length of this but, I found it was necessary to incorporate the history of Rome and her bloody past. This doesn't even include the "Croation Inquisition" during the time of the Nazi rule under the Ustasha and Catholic, Ante Pavelic, who under the acknowledgment of Pius XII, systematically murdered over 700,00 Serbs, Gypsies and Jews who wouldn't convert to Catholicism.

http://www.teachinghearts.org/dre04hist ... aldensians

http://www.srpska-mreza.com/library/facts/pavelic.html

http://www.srpska-mreza.com/library/fac ... tican.html

 

[francisdesales]

I remember when I first started getting interested in what Catholicism was all about, I was totally appalled at what information I found on Roman persecutions throughout history. As I began to read some of those history books, I recall audible saying to myself, "Surely, this can't be true!". As I began to research other areas, the same things kept popping up and I'd have to walk away-stuned at what I had read. This was the first encounter I had with learning of the RCC and how it set my feelings and understanding about just how blood thirsty they were...why, I'll never know. Tjos sure wasn't the gospel that Christ taught nor were the Apostles conductive to this kind of "forcible conversion.

Here are some documented historical evidence of Rome's bloody past-some not so far back. I hope it's not too long as it's very interesting reading.

The First Persecution, Under Nero, A.D. 67
The first persecution of the Church took place in the year 67, under Nero, the sixth emperor of Rome. He ordered that the city of Rome should be set on fire and while the imperial city was in flames, he went up to the tower of Macaenas, played his harp, sung the song of the burning of Troy. This continued nine days until Nero, discovered that he was criticized and held responsible. Determined to lay the blame upon the Christians, he designed the most cruel punishments. He had some sewed up in skins of wild beasts, and then attacked by dogs until they died; and others dressed in shirts made of wax, and set on fire in his gardens, to provide light for his gardens. Peter and Paul were martyred under this persecution.

Well, that just goes to prove you don't know what you are talking about. Imperial Rome has NOTHING to do with the Catholic Church before 312 AD. The SAME Catholic Church was persecuted by the Imperial Roman Emperors. Catholicism was an illegal religion as noted by Rome!!! If you can't figure that out, the rest of your "history" is highly suspect. Desperate minds will believe or say anything, I suppose.

Regards

 

[D46]

francis, no desperation here. Just documenting the attributes of Rome's past, both pagan and papal. There was no Catholic Church in the 1st century for them to be persecuted and the sooner you see this, the better off you'll be.

 

[francisdesales]

francis, no desperation here. Just documenting the attributes of Rome's past, both pagan and papal. There was no Catholic Church in the 1st century for them to be persecuted and the sooner you see this, the better off you'll be.

Oh boy... :roll:

There WAS a Catholic Church in the first century.


"The Church of God which sojourns at Smyrna, to the Church of God sojourning in Philomelium, and to all the congregations of the Holy and Catholic Church in every place: Mercy, peace, and love from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, be multiplied."

Opening statement, St. Ignatius of Antioch, the epistle of the Church at Smyrna concerning the martyrdom of the Holy Polycarp, c. 110 AD


And who was Polycarp?

I have clipped a relatively large portion of Polycarp's martyrdom, so you can see his religious "affiliation and how the Catholic Church was NOT part of the Roman Empire and that it DID exist, coming from Christ's Apostles...


CHAP. VIII.--POLYCARP IS BROUGHT INTO THE CITY.

Now, as soon as he had ceased praying, having made mention of all that had at any time come in contact with him, both small and great, illustrious and obscure, as well as the whole Catholic Church throughout the world, the time of his departure having arrived, they set him upon an ass, and conducted him into the city, the day being that of the great Sabbath. And the Irenarch Herod, accompanied by his father Nicetes (both riding in a chariot), met him, and taking him up into the chariot, they seated themselves beside him, and endeavoured to persuade him, saying, "What harm is there in saying, Lord Caesar, and in sacrificing, with the other ceremonies observed on such occasions, and so make sure of safety?" But he at first gave them no answer; and when they continued to urge him, he said, "I shall not do as you advise me." So they, having no hope of persuading him, began to speak bitter words unto him, and cast him with violence out of the chariot, insomuch that, in getting down from the carriage, he dislocated his leg [by the fall]. But without being disturbed, and as if suffering nothing, he went eagerly forward with all haste, and was conducted to the stadium, where the tumult was so great, that there was no possibility of being heard.

CHAP. IX.--POLYCARP REFUSES TO REVILE CHRIST.

Now, as Polycarp was entering into the stadium, there came to him a voice from heaven, saying, "Be strong, and show thyself a man, O Polycarp !" No one saw who it was that spoke to him; but those of our brethren who were present heard the voice. And as he was brought forward, the tumult became great when they heard that Polycarp was taken. And when he came near, the proconsul asked him whether he was Polycarp. On his confessing that he was, [the proconsul] sought to persuade him to deny [Christ], saying, "Have respect to thy old age," and other similar things, according to their custom, [such as]," Swear by the fortune of Caesar; repent, and say, Away with the Atheists." But Polycarp, gazing with a stern countenance on all the multitude of the wicked heathen then in the stadium, and waving his hand towards them, while with groans he looked up to heaven, said, "Away with the Atheists." Then, the proconsul urging him, and saying, "Swear, and I will set thee at liberty, reproach Christ;" Polycarp declared, "Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?"

CHAP. X.--POLYCARP CONFESSES HIMSELF A CHRISTIAN.

And when the proconsul yet again pressed him, and said, "Swear by the fortune of Caesar," he answered, "Since thou art vainly urgent that, as thou sayest, I should swear by the fortune of Caesar, and pretendest not to know who and what I am, hear me declare with boldness, I am a Christian. And if you wish to learn what the doctrines of Christianity are, appoint me a day, and thou shalt hear them." The proconsul replied, "Persuade the people." But Polycarp said, "To thee I have thought it right to offer an account [of my faith]; for we are taught to give all due honour (which entails no injury upon ourselves) to the powers and authorities which are ordained of God. But as for these, I do not deem them worthy of receiving any account from me."

Chapter 8-10, EPISTLE OF THE CHURCH AT SMYRNA CONCERNING THE MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY POLYCARP by St. Ignatius of Antioch, c. 110 AD.


Here is another example...

"Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude[of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful without the bishop either to baptize or to celebrate a love-feast; but whatsoever he shall approve of, that is also pleasing to God, so that everything that is done may be secure and valid."

Chapter 8, St. Ignatius of Antioch, the epistle to Smyrnaeans, c. 110 AD


Your faulty theories of history notwithstanding, the Catholic Church has been in existence for 2000 years, long before Catholicism became a legal religion after the Edict of Milan.

Regards

 

[D46]

Your faulty theories of history notwithstanding, the Catholic Church has been in existence for 2000 years, long before Catholicism became a legal religion after the Edict of Milan.

francis-I'm just the bearer of historical documentation. This wasn't posted to put down anyone -only to document. I thought the Catholic Church and Catholicism were synonomous are they not? The CC couldn't have existed 2000 years ago if that's the case in that the Edict of Milan wasn't until about 315 AD. If it became "legal" at that point how can you claim the CC has been around that long? There were still Emperors then and no Popes to run the church.

 

[francisdesales]

francis-I'm just the bearer of historical documentation. This wasn't posted to put down anyone -only to document.

Listen, D46, I don't blame you personally - perhaps you really believe that stuff. However, your data is woefully inaccurate. I have shown you that the Catholic Church existed long before the Edict of Milan and that the Roman Emperors had nothing to do with the Catholic Church. You history attempts to link the Catholic Church with Rome's persecution - this is the most idiotic notion I have heard of in anti-Catholic literature!!!

Take a step back and try to be unbiased about this. Do you really think that the Catholic Church of Ignatius of Antioch was throwing one of their best bishops to the wolves? Do you get any indication of that by reading the martyrdom of Polycarp or Ignatius? No, it was secular Rome whom attacked the Catholic Church.

I thought the Catholic Church and Catholicism were synonomous are they not? The CC couldn't have existed 2000 years ago if that's the case in that the Edict of Milan wasn't until about 315 AD. If it became "legal" at that point how can you claim the CC has been around that long? There were still Emperors then and no Popes to run the church.

The Edict of Milan, brother, enabled Catholics to worship without fear of being thrown to the lions. The worst of the persecutions ended only five years or so earlier! The Edict of Milan is a miraculous thing, when you read the circumstances behind the conversion of Constantine and his decision to allow Catholics to worship without fear of being killed. There WERE Popes before the Edict of Milan - and EVERY ONE OF THEM was a martyr, killed by the Roman Emperors! Would you like me to list them all? Go do a "google" on "list of Popes" or something like that, and see that they begin well before the Edict of Milan...

Don't believe me, if you want. Read the writings of these first Christians preceding the Edict of Milan and you ascertain whether their Catholic doctrines existed well before 315 AD. Such things as the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, prayers for the dead, veneration of Mary, and so forth... The Catholic Church existed in the first century.

Regards

 

[golfjack]

reply

Wasn't it at Antioch that the disciples called themselves Christians? Therefore, How did they come to the place where they called themselves Catholics? Could it be that there was a split at the Council of Jerusalem, and Polycarp was part of that slip that rebelled against Paul? The Catholic Church has many of the old laws that they practice as a result of Judiasm. Many old Jewish rites and feasts are practiced in the Catholic Church. Did you ever study the woe's that Christ prophised?


May God bless, golfjack

 

[francisdesales]

Re: reply

Wasn't it at Antioch that the disciples called themselves Christians? Therefore, How did they come to the place where they called themselves Catholics? Could it be that there was a split at the Council of Jerusalem, and Polycarp was part of that slip that rebelled against Paul? The Catholic Church has many of the old laws that they practice as a result of Judiasm. Many old Jewish rites and feasts are practiced in the Catholic Church. Did you ever study the woe's that Christ prophised?


May God bless, golfjack

Interesting theory, brother, and certainly feasible on the surface... However, if you read these writings, they show "Christians" and "Catholics" as synonymous. Polycarp and Ignatius call themselves Christians and write to the Catholic Church throughout the world. These saints being thrown to the lions interchangeably use the term "Catholic" and "Christian". This is clear from the little I posted on the Martyrdom of Polycarp. It appears that "Catholic" is another word used to represent that Church that Christ told to spead throughout the world in Mat 28 and that Church described at the end of the Acts of the Apostles. (thus, the term "catholic", which means universal)

Have I studied the woes that Christ prophised? Probably not in as much depth as you have. I do not get caught up in such things, as they are not meant for someone as unwise as myself. I do note, however, that many people throughout the ages have tried to tie these prophesies to nearly everything under the sun. It is unlikely that we will know in advance what these prophesies refer to.

Regards

 

[golfjack]

reply

Thanks for the answer Fran. It is nice to see such politeness on this forum. However, I don't agree with Catholic Thelogy. My friend, I guess you will know when you get to heaven.



May God bless, golfjack

 

[Solo]

Re: reply

Thanks for the answer Fran. It is nice to see such politeness on this forum. However, I don't agree with Catholic Thelogy. My friend, I guess you will know when you get to heaven.



May God bless, golfjack

Let's hope he gets to heaven. If he misses a mass or a sacrament or a confession he may not make it according to Roman Catholic teachings; not to mention the Roman Catholic teaching of salvation by baptism.

 

[francisdesales]

Re: reply

Thanks for the answer Fran. It is nice to see such politeness on this forum. However, I don't agree with Catholic Thelogy. My friend, I guess you will know when you get to heaven.



May God bless, golfjack

Fair enough. I merely ask others to hear what Catholicism ACTUALLY teaches, rather than some distorted version of it. With this information, they can more properly judge the truth claims of Catholicism, as they are indeed bold claims.

It would be sad to enter the presence of Christ and find out that Catholicism IS the true religion and being asked "So why didn't you pursue the claims made by the Catholic Church? No one else makes such claims to be my Church... Why didn't you search to see whether they were true or not?" I think most people don't do an honest study of whether they are indeed the Church of Christ.

Regards

 

[francisdesales]

Re: reply

Let's hope he gets to heaven. If he misses a mass or a sacrament or a confession he may not make it according to Roman Catholic teachings; not to mention the Roman Catholic teaching of salvation by baptism.

Thank you for your concern (even if sarcastic) for my eternal destiny...

I will not be kept out of heaven for "missing a mass", unless I willfully refuse to go to Mass, knowing it is a serious offense. I do not forsee me making such a stance against Christ. And thank you, I have already been baptized...

Regards

 

[Solo]

Re: reply

Thank you for your concern (even if sarcastic) for my eternal destiny...

I will not be kept out of heaven for "missing a mass", unless I willfully refuse to go to Mass, knowing it is a serious offense. I do not forsee me making such a stance against Christ. And thank you, I have already been baptized...

Regards

Where in scripture does it say that willfully missing a mass is a sin? I have not read that anywhere. This must be a Roman Catholic canon law without the backing of scripture.

 

[francisdesales]

Re: reply

Where in scripture does it say that willfully missing a mass is a sin? I have not read that anywhere. This must be a Roman Catholic canon law without the backing of scripture.

Christianity considers Sunday to be the day of the Sabbath now. You be the judge whether there is any precedent in the Bible for attending worship on the Sabbath...

Regards

 

[Solo]

Re: reply

Christianity considers Sunday to be the day of the Sabbath now. You be the judge whether there is any precedent in the Bible for attending worship on the Sabbath...

Regards

Christianity does not consider Sunday to be the day of the Sabbath. The Roman Catholic church may assume so, but the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, not the first.