The Inquisition

We are fortunate in the United States to have the Bill of Rights, which includes, among other things, guarantees of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and protections for those accused of a crime, such as the right to counsel, the right to a public trial, the right to cross-examine witnesses, the right against self-incrimination, and the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishments.

Our forefathers incorporated these guarantees into our Constitution because they were familiar with European practices which were often unfair and oppressive, such as those used by England’s Star Chamber and by the infamous Inquisition. Here is an excerpt from Chapter 11 of my most recent book, Christ’s Faithful Servants (copyright 2023), talking about the Inquisition:

Inquisitorial Procedures. Inquisitors were drawn primarily from the ranks of Dominican monks. In 1231, Gregory IX made heresy punishable by death under Church law (bringing it into line with civil law in many countries). Another step toward brutality and injustice occurred in 1252 when Pope Innocent IV authorized the Inquisitors to use torture.^[1] Initially, torture was used only when the accused’s guilt was certain, was used only once, and had to stop short of serious injury or death. However, such limitations were soon discarded by the Inquisitors, who found them inconvenient.

The accused person was required to give evidence under oath, and they had no right of silence. Torture was used to obtain confessions, which then had to be reaffirmed three hours after the torture ceased; if the confession was recanted the torture could resume. Torture was also used to induce witnesses and confessed heretics to implicate others. The methods of torture included, among others, flogging, burning, the rack, solitary confinement in small and dark cells, and denial of food or sleep. By these methods, some people lost the use of arms or legs, and others died from torture. Some of the worst horrors of the Inquisition occurred in dark dungeons, where people were confined—and often died—in inhumane conditions.

An order by Pope Nicholas III in 1280 decreed excommunication for anyone who failed to inform Church authorities of known or suspected heretics, who helped or defended a heretic, or who gave a heretic a Christian burial. The order also forbid laymen to discuss matters of faith, upon pain of excommunication.

Modern judicial procedures were unknown to the Inquisition. A suspected heretic could be tried even if he were absent or dead. At least two accusing witnesses were usually required for condemnation, but the suspect was not allowed to know the names of his accusers. Family members could testify against the accused, but not in his favor. A suspected heretic was required to prove his innocence; however, convincing evidence of heresy was usually required, and acquittals were not unknown.

Inquisitorial Punishments. Condemnation by the Church as a heretic usually meant death or lengthy imprisonment. Those who refused to confess and were later convicted, and those who relapsed into heresy after confessing and repenting, were subject to life imprisonment or death. However, the Church rarely carried out the sentence—that was left to civil authorities, to whom the Church delivered the convicted heretic. The Church sanctimoniously instructed these authorities to avoid “all bloodshed and all danger of death.” From the time of Gregory IX, Church and State agreed that this warning was not to be taken literally, but meant only that the heretic’s blood was not to be shed. Thus, the conventional method of execution was burning at the stake. Mercy was sometimes extended by strangling the victim to death before his body was burned. Pope Leo X, in 1521, decreed the penalty of excommunication upon any civil official who refused to carry out the sentence of the Inquisitors.

You can read the beginning of Chapter 11 here, and you can find a list of contents and additional excerpts from the book here. (Or click on Don’s Books, at the top of this page.) If you want to read the whole book, it is available on Amazon.com as either a print book or an e-book.

[1]. In fairness, the primary motivation for the use of torture was not sadism. Most Inquisitors used torture only when the guilt of the accused had substantial support, so torture was viewed as an effort to save the accused’s immortal soul by inducing him to confess. Confession allowed him to receive absolution—forgiveness from a priest—without which, according to Church doctrine, he would be condemned to Hell. With these presuppositions, Church officials generally viewed such torture as “merciful.”