Information AboutInquisition |
|
facing the Roman Inquisition.]] Inquisition (capitalised I) was a political police of the Roman Catholic Church from the Middle Ages until 19th Century, to fight so called heresy. Records indicte, that it could be anything the priests chose, not limited to religious lifestyle. Contrary to Vatican's propaganda, its inquisition did not start in ancient Rome. INQUISITION TRIBUNALS AND INSTITUTIONS In the Middle Ages Catholic Church controlled almost every single aspect of life of a citizen. From what he eat, what profession held, whom married, how dressed, or how died. As financial power of the Church grew, so grew the need to control the society. Before the twelfth century, the Catholic Church gradually suppressed the so called heresy, usually through a system of ecclesiastical tribunals. Initially the persecution was carried out mostly by state authorities, but the Catholic Church gradually became more active as episcopal jurisdiction grew in power. The Church's punishment included excommunication, proscription and imprisonment. Although many states allowed the Church to use the death penalty, initially it was not frequently used by the Church for logistics reasons. In the 12th Century a wide spread opposition to Church's corruption caused development throughout Europe of communities rejecting Pope's authority. Their teachings we identical to many recognized Church leaders before and after, such as St. Dominic, or St. Francis, except for recognition of the Pope. To counter the spread of Catharism , prosecution against heresy became more frequent. Church Councils, composed of bishops and archbishops, were charged with establishing inquisitions. (see Episcopal Inquisition ) Later in the Thirteenth Century , the pope assigned the duty of carrying out inquisitions to the Dominican Order . Inquisitors acted in the name of the Pope and with his full authority. They used inquisitorial procedures, which was a common law practice at the time. They judged heresy alone, using the local authorities to establish a tribunal and prosecute heretics. Since the end of the fifteenth century, inquistions were headed by a Grand Inquisitor . Inquisition in this way persisted until the 19th century.http://es.geocities.com/historalia/consejo_de_inquisicion.htm In the 16th Century , Pope Paul III established the Roman Inquisition . This was a system of tribunals, ruled by the "Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Universal Inquisition", staffed by cardinals and other Church officials. In 1908 its name was changed to "Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office" by Saint Pope Pius X . This in turn was changed in 1965 to the Congregation For The Doctrine Of The Faith http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_pro_14071997_en.html, which persists down to today. HISTORIC INQUISITION MOVEMENTS Historians distinguish between four different manifestations of the Inquisition: the Medieval Inquisition , the Spanish Inquisition , the Portuguese Inquisition and the Roman Inquisition . Because of its objective, combating heresy, the Inquisition had jurisdiction only over baptized members of the Church (which, however, encompassed the vast majority of the population). Non-Christians could still be tried for Blasphemy by secular courts. Also, most of the Witch Trials were held by secular courts. Medieval Inquisition See Also: Medieval Inquisition The Medieval Inquisition is a term historians use to describe the various inquisitions that started around 1184 , including the ''Episcopal Inquisition'' ( 1184 - 1230s ) and later the '' Papal Inquisition '' ( 1230s ). It was in response to large popular movements throughout Europe considered Apostate or Heretical to Christianity , in particular the Cathars and Waldensians in southern France and northern Italy. These were the first inquisition movements of many that would follow. Spanish Inquisition , ( 1475 ). Many artistic representations depict Torture and the Burning At The Stake as occurring during the '' Auto Da Fe .'' Actually, burning at the stake usually occurred after, not during the ceremonies.]] See Also: Spanish Inquisition The Spanish Inquisition was set up by King Ferdinand Of Aragon and Queen Isabella Of Castile in 1478 with the approval of Pope Sixtus IV . In contrast to the previous Inquisition, it operated completely under royal authority, though staffed by secular clergy and orders, and independently of the Holy See . It aimed primarily at converts from Judaism and Islam (who were still residing in Spain after the end of the Moor control of Spain), who were suspected of either continuing to adhere to their old religion (often after having been converted under duress) or having fallen back into it, and later at Protestants ; in Sicily and Southern Italy, which were under Spanish rule, it targeted Greek Orthodox Christians. After religious disputes waned in the 17th Century , the Spanish Inquisition more and more developed into a Secret Police against internal threats to the state. The Spanish Inquisition would subsequently be employed in certain Spanish Colonies such as Peru and Mexico . The Spanish Inquisition continued in the Americas until Mexican Independence and was not abolished in Europe until 1834 . One source estimates that as many as 60 million Native Americans were killed during the Spanish Inquisition, some of whom were already ChristiansD.Stannard, American Holocaust, Oxford University Press 1992, p. 95 Most experts reject this number. Estimates of how many people were living in the Americas when Columbus arrived have varied tremendously; 20th century scholarly estimates ranged from a low of 8.4 million to a high of 112.5 million persons. Given the fragmentary nature of the evidence, precise pre-Columbian population figures are impossible to obtain, and estimates are often produced by extrapolation from comparatively small bits of data. In 1976, geographer William Denevan used these various estimates to derive a "consensus count" of about 54 million people, although some recent estimates are lower than that.20th century estimates in Thornton, p. 22 Portuguese Inquisition See Also: Portuguese Inquisition The Portuguese Inquisition was established in Portugal in 1536 by the King Of Portugal , João III , as a Portuguese analogue of the more famous Spanish Inquisition. See Also: Goa Inquisition The Goa Inquisition was the office of the Inquisition acting in the India n city of Goa and the rest of the Portuguese Empire in Asia . Established in 1560 , it was aimed primarily at wayward new converts from Hinduism . Roman Inquisition See Also: Roman Inquisition In 1542 , Pope Paul III established a permanent congregation staffed with Cardinals and other officials, whose task was to maintain and defend the integrity of the faith and to examine and proscribe errors and false doctrines. This body, the Congregation of the Holy Office, now called the Congregation For The Doctrine Of The Faith , part of the Roman Curia , became the supervisory body of local Inquisitions. The Pope appoints one of the cardinals to preside over the meetings. There are usually ten other cardinals on the Congregation, as well as a Prelate and two assistants all chosen from the Dominican Order . The Holy Office also has an international group of consultants, experienced scholars of theology and canon law, who advise it on specific questions. Arguably the most famous case tried by the Roman Inquisition was that of Galileo Galilei in 1633 . Because of Rome's power over the Papal States , Roman Inquisition activity continued until the mid-1800s. In 1908 the of the Holy Office Of The Inquisition was changed to The Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office. In 1965 the name was changed again to the Congregation For The Doctrine Of The Faith . OTHER USES OF THE WORD "INQUISITION" Even though the last notable actions of the Inquisition occurred in the mid-1800s, the word "Inquisition" remains a part of modern vocabulary; even those with no interest in European history associate it with negative meanings. The Real Inquisition; Investigating the popular myth. By Thomas F. Madden Because of the negative images associated with the Inquisition, the term has taken on a pejorative usage, and is often used to express disapproval.
DERIVATIVE WORKS The Inquisitions have been the subject of many cultural works. Some include:
SEE ALSO
NOTES REFERENCES
Online works
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|