Transcript The Inquisition - St John Brebeuf

by: chris kazun
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Not only from outside the faith
 Islam and the crusades
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Threats perceived as coming from within the
faith itself
Christianity seen as a stabilizing force in
society
Any threats became dealt with severely
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Reaction to
Albigensian/Cathar “heresy”
 Mix of Gnosticism and
Manichaeism
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Two Gods
 Spiritual – good
 Physical – evil
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All things in physical world
are evil and dangerous
 Jesus only appeared to have a
human body
 Rejected mass, church
buildings, sacraments,
marriage, sex, allowed
homosexuality and suicide
 Men and women were equal
 Did not recognize secular
authority
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Tolerated or ignored for over 50 years
Pope Innocent III followed a traditional policy:
 “Heretics are to be overcome by reasoning, not by
force.”
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Changed when papal legate was killed by a
Cathar/Albigensian follower
 Innocent III called for military crusade – Albigensian
Crusade
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Thousands of Cathars were killed (burning at
stake was popular), lands were seized
Lasted 20 years; unable to wipe out Cathars
 Survived underground, like early Christians
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Secular rulers became increasingly involved
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Begun by Pope Gregory
IX (in 1231)
 Keep secular rulers from
usurping Church’s
authority
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The Inquisition was
meant to detect and
purge heresy
Instituted special judges
(representatives of
pope) – inquisitors
 Functioned independent
from civil authorities
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 Worked in civil system
 Had papal authority
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Examined and judged
religious opinions and
moral conduct of
suspicious people
Dominicans and
Franciscans
 Chosen because:
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 Less likely to be swayed
by worldly motives
 Less likely to be pressured
by secular authorities
 Well educated in
theological and spiritual
knowledge
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The Church looked for men who:
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possessed qualities of a good judge
Were determined to protect and promote faith
Desire salvation of souls and ending heresy
Never yield to anger or passion
Meet hostility fearlessly, but not encourage it
Not yield to threats, but not be heartless
Would be merciful in giving penalties
Would listen to counsel of others, not trust his own
opinion to greatly
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Begins with month long “term of grace”
 Chance for people of area to confess sins to
inquisitor
 Those confessing of own free will received
suitable penance (pilgrimage, fasting, paying a
fine, being flogged)
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inhabitants then invited to accuse anyone
suspected of being a heretic
 Could there be issues with this system?
Trial before inquisitor
Swore their innocence
on the 4 Gospels
 Person had chance to
prove their innocence
(not the case in civil
trials)
 Names of accusers and
witnesses were kept
secret
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Fear of punishment
 more lenient sentence for confession and those who
recanted
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close confinement (with possible curtailment of
food)
visits of tried men (tried to get confession
through friendly persuasion)
Torture.
 Very last resort
 Okayed by Pope Innocent IV
 Remained controversial
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Punishments were largely
humane for those who
confessed and recanted
Refusing to recant =
severe punishment (life
imprisonment or burning
at the stake)
 Few people were actually
executed
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Sentence was public, as
was execution
From 1249-57, of 306
recorded penalties, only
21 were burnings
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Begun by Ferdinand and
Isabella
used by state to promote
Spanish unity under
Catholicism
Began as a papal
inquisition
 By 1480, Spanish
authorities had taken over
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Papal sanction, but
functioned
independently of papacy
Main targets were Jews
and Muslims
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Lawyers defended accused
If accusations were proven
 Those admitting to accusations offered public
reconciliation
 Those denying proven accusations were tortured
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Those who refused to recant were burned at
the stake
False accusers and false witnesses were
severely punished or executed
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methods used definitely violate human rights
Must be careful about placing our values on
medieval society
 remember heresy was seen as a serious threat
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Truly believed they were protecting the
church
While we see punishments and torture as
harsh, these were normal in this society
 Civil authorities were more harsh in most cases
dealing with heresy
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How do people in your society and or your
school tend to treat people who have
“unorthodox” views (religious, social, or other
kinds of views)?
Relate this to the mindset during the
inquisition?