Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Minutes of the International Symposium 'The Inquisition' (1988)
Facts of the Inquisition
Pope John Paul II: "the Church should become more fully conscious of the sinfulness of her children"
The following are a collection of recent articles from ZENIT regarding the historical facts of the Inquisition, and the theological implications for the Church, with the view of living the spirit of penance and purification of memory. Included is a letter from the Pope on the occasion of the publication of the Minutes of the International Symposium 'The Inquisition'.
Much is to be regretted for the injustices done, whereever they were committed. Nevertheless, the Church needs to know the true facts of history so as to be able to truly ask for forgiveness for the sins of her children. As contemporary historians are showing us, the "black legend" has grossly been exaggerated.
Crucial to Have the Facts About Inquisition, Says Pope
Writes a Letter for the Publication of Minutes of 1998 Congress
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 15, 2004 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II reiterated the importance of historical research so that the Church can purify her memory of the sins of her children, in particular, the Inquisition.
The Pope explained this in a letter sent to Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, former president of the Committee for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, on the occasion of the publication of the "Minutes of the International Symposium 'The Inquisition,'" held in October 1998.
"It is appropriate that ... the Church should become more fully conscious of the sinfulness of her children, recalling all those times in history when they departed from the spirit of Christ and his Gospel," the papal letters affirms, read today by the cardinal when presenting the volume to the press in the Vatican.
"Instead of offering to the world the witness of a life inspired by the values of faith," the Pope continued, Christians on occasion "indulged in ways of thinking and acting which were truly forms of counter-witness and scandal."
John Paul II had asked the Historical-Theological Commission of the Committee of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 to hold a congress on the Inquisition to prepare for the Day of Forgiveness of the Holy Year, on March 12, 2000. On that day, the Pontiff asked for forgiveness for the errors committed in the service of truth.
"The truth cannot impose itself except by virtue of its own truth, as it wins over the mind with both gentleness and power," the Holy Father said in his new letter, quoting from the Second Vatican Council declaration on religious freedom, "Dignitatis Humanae."
The minutes of the symposium were presented in the Vatican press office by Cardinals Etchegaray; Jean-Louis Tauran, archivist and librarian of the Holy Roman Church; and Georges Cottier, Papal Household theologian; as well as by historian Agostino Borromeo, an expert on the Inquisition and coordinator of the volume.
The 783-page book publishes the addresses in the languages in which they were delivered at the symposium. The congress was attended by historians "whose scientific competence is universally recognized," as the Pope had requested, without taking into consideration their religious confession.
The book is now a reference for historians, Cardinal Etchegaray said.
Borromeo explained that Pope Gregory IX (1227-1241) was the first to establish "inquisitors," "delegates of the Apostolic See with the task of combating heresy in certain areas."
In time, the papacy created a stable organization until the last tribunal of these characteristics was abolished in Spain in 1834, Borromeo added.
Cardinal Cottier explained that this historical study is useful for theologians to be able to answer questions such as "What is the meaning of the paradox: Holy Church embraces sinners to her bosom? What is the meaning of the evangelical testimony as a dimension of Christian life and of the antithetical behavior of counter-witness and scandal?"
"Obviously, a request for forgiveness can only affect real and objectively recognized events. Forgiveness is not asked for images spread by public opinion, which are part of a myth and do not correspond to reality," he said.
Cardinal Cottier said that the minutes have been published after a long delay due to a series of health problems affecting the scholars.
ZE04061509
Writes a Letter for the Publication of Minutes of 1998 Congress
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 15, 2004 (Zenit.org).- John Paul II reiterated the importance of historical research so that the Church can purify her memory of the sins of her children, in particular, the Inquisition.
The Pope explained this in a letter sent to Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, former president of the Committee for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, on the occasion of the publication of the "Minutes of the International Symposium 'The Inquisition,'" held in October 1998.
"It is appropriate that ... the Church should become more fully conscious of the sinfulness of her children, recalling all those times in history when they departed from the spirit of Christ and his Gospel," the papal letters affirms, read today by the cardinal when presenting the volume to the press in the Vatican.
"Instead of offering to the world the witness of a life inspired by the values of faith," the Pope continued, Christians on occasion "indulged in ways of thinking and acting which were truly forms of counter-witness and scandal."
John Paul II had asked the Historical-Theological Commission of the Committee of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 to hold a congress on the Inquisition to prepare for the Day of Forgiveness of the Holy Year, on March 12, 2000. On that day, the Pontiff asked for forgiveness for the errors committed in the service of truth.
"The truth cannot impose itself except by virtue of its own truth, as it wins over the mind with both gentleness and power," the Holy Father said in his new letter, quoting from the Second Vatican Council declaration on religious freedom, "Dignitatis Humanae."
The minutes of the symposium were presented in the Vatican press office by Cardinals Etchegaray; Jean-Louis Tauran, archivist and librarian of the Holy Roman Church; and Georges Cottier, Papal Household theologian; as well as by historian Agostino Borromeo, an expert on the Inquisition and coordinator of the volume.
The 783-page book publishes the addresses in the languages in which they were delivered at the symposium. The congress was attended by historians "whose scientific competence is universally recognized," as the Pope had requested, without taking into consideration their religious confession.
The book is now a reference for historians, Cardinal Etchegaray said.
Borromeo explained that Pope Gregory IX (1227-1241) was the first to establish "inquisitors," "delegates of the Apostolic See with the task of combating heresy in certain areas."
In time, the papacy created a stable organization until the last tribunal of these characteristics was abolished in Spain in 1834, Borromeo added.
Cardinal Cottier explained that this historical study is useful for theologians to be able to answer questions such as "What is the meaning of the paradox: Holy Church embraces sinners to her bosom? What is the meaning of the evangelical testimony as a dimension of Christian life and of the antithetical behavior of counter-witness and scandal?"
"Obviously, a request for forgiveness can only affect real and objectively recognized events. Forgiveness is not asked for images spread by public opinion, which are part of a myth and do not correspond to reality," he said.
Cardinal Cottier said that the minutes have been published after a long delay due to a series of health problems affecting the scholars.
ZE04061509
John Paul II Letter on Inquisition Symposium
On Publication of the Minutes of 1998 Conference
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 15, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Here is the letter John Paul II addressed to Cardinal Roger Etchegaray on the occasion of the publication of the "Minutes of the International Symposium 'The Inquisition.'"
* * *
To the Venerable Brother
Lord Cardinal Roger Etchegaray
Former President of the Committee for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000
1. I have received with profound appreciation the volume that gathers the "Minutes" of the International Symposium on the Inquisition, organized in the Vatican from Oct. 29-31, 1998, by the Historical Theological Commission of the Committee for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000.
The symposium was in response to the desire I expressed in the apostolic letter "Tertio Millennio Adveniente": "It is appropriate that ... the Church should become more fully conscious of the sinfulness of her children, recalling all those times in history when they departed from the spirit of Christ and his Gospel and, instead of offering to the world the witness of a life inspired by the values of faith, indulged in ways of thinking and acting which were truly forms of counter-witness and scandal" (No. 33).
Before public opinion the image of the Inquisition represents in some form the symbol of this counter-witness and scandal. In what measure is this image faithful to the reality? Before asking for forgiveness it is necessary to know the facts exactly and to acknowledge the deficiencies in regard to evangelical exigencies in cases in which it is so. This is the reason why the Committee asked for the consultation of historians, whose scientific competence is universally recognized.
2. The historians' irreplaceable contribution constitutes for theologians an invitation to reflect on the conditions of life of the People of God in their historical journey.
A distinction should guide the theologians' critical reflection: the distinction between the authentic "sensus fidei" and the prevailing mentality in a determined period, which might have influenced their opinion.
One must appeal to the "sensus fidei" to find the criteria for a just judgment on the past of the life of the Church.
3. This discernment is possible precisely because with the passage of time the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, perceives with ever more profound awareness the exigencies of her conformation with the Spouse. In this way, the Second Vatican Council wished to express the "Golden Rule" that orients the defense of truth, a task that corresponds to the mission of the magisterium: "The truth cannot impose itself except by virtue of its own truth, as it wins over the mind with both gentleness and power" ("Dignitatis Humanae," 1; the statement is quoted in "Tertio Millennio Adveniente," No. 35).
The institution of the Inquisition has been abolished. As I said to the participants in the symposium, the children of the Church must revise with a spirit of repentance "the acquiescence manifested, especially in some centuries, with methods of intolerance and even violence in the service of truth" ("Insegnamenti," XXI/2 [1998/2], p. 899; see "Tertio Millennio Adveniente," No. 35).
This spirit of repentance clearly implies the firm determination to seek in the future paths of evangelical testimony of the truth.
4. On March 12, 2000, on the occasion of the liturgical celebration that characterized the Day of Forgiveness, forgiveness was asked for the errors committed in the service of truth, taking recourse to non-evangelical methods. The Church must carry out this service imitating her Lord, meek and humble of heart.
The prayer I then addressed to God contains the reasons for the petition for forgiveness, which is valid both for the dramas linked to the Inquisition as well as for the wounds they have caused in the memory: "Lord, God of all men, in some periods of history Christians have yielded to methods of intolerance and have not followed the great commandment of love, thus disfiguring the countenance of the Church, your Bride. Have mercy on your sinful children and accept our determination to seek and promote truth in the gentleness of charity, conscious that the truth only imposes itself with the force of truth itself. Through Christ our Lord."
The beautiful volume of the symposium's "Minutes" is in keeping with the spirit of this petition for forgiveness. In thanking all the participants, I invoke upon them the divine blessing.
Vatican, June 15, 2004
JOANNES PAULUS II
[Translation by ZENIT]
ZE04061503
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On Publication of the Minutes of 1998 Conference
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 15, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Here is the letter John Paul II addressed to Cardinal Roger Etchegaray on the occasion of the publication of the "Minutes of the International Symposium 'The Inquisition.'"
* * *
To the Venerable Brother
Lord Cardinal Roger Etchegaray
Former President of the Committee for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000
1. I have received with profound appreciation the volume that gathers the "Minutes" of the International Symposium on the Inquisition, organized in the Vatican from Oct. 29-31, 1998, by the Historical Theological Commission of the Committee for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000.
The symposium was in response to the desire I expressed in the apostolic letter "Tertio Millennio Adveniente": "It is appropriate that ... the Church should become more fully conscious of the sinfulness of her children, recalling all those times in history when they departed from the spirit of Christ and his Gospel and, instead of offering to the world the witness of a life inspired by the values of faith, indulged in ways of thinking and acting which were truly forms of counter-witness and scandal" (No. 33).
Before public opinion the image of the Inquisition represents in some form the symbol of this counter-witness and scandal. In what measure is this image faithful to the reality? Before asking for forgiveness it is necessary to know the facts exactly and to acknowledge the deficiencies in regard to evangelical exigencies in cases in which it is so. This is the reason why the Committee asked for the consultation of historians, whose scientific competence is universally recognized.
2. The historians' irreplaceable contribution constitutes for theologians an invitation to reflect on the conditions of life of the People of God in their historical journey.
A distinction should guide the theologians' critical reflection: the distinction between the authentic "sensus fidei" and the prevailing mentality in a determined period, which might have influenced their opinion.
One must appeal to the "sensus fidei" to find the criteria for a just judgment on the past of the life of the Church.
3. This discernment is possible precisely because with the passage of time the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, perceives with ever more profound awareness the exigencies of her conformation with the Spouse. In this way, the Second Vatican Council wished to express the "Golden Rule" that orients the defense of truth, a task that corresponds to the mission of the magisterium: "The truth cannot impose itself except by virtue of its own truth, as it wins over the mind with both gentleness and power" ("Dignitatis Humanae," 1; the statement is quoted in "Tertio Millennio Adveniente," No. 35).
The institution of the Inquisition has been abolished. As I said to the participants in the symposium, the children of the Church must revise with a spirit of repentance "the acquiescence manifested, especially in some centuries, with methods of intolerance and even violence in the service of truth" ("Insegnamenti," XXI/2 [1998/2], p. 899; see "Tertio Millennio Adveniente," No. 35).
This spirit of repentance clearly implies the firm determination to seek in the future paths of evangelical testimony of the truth.
4. On March 12, 2000, on the occasion of the liturgical celebration that characterized the Day of Forgiveness, forgiveness was asked for the errors committed in the service of truth, taking recourse to non-evangelical methods. The Church must carry out this service imitating her Lord, meek and humble of heart.
The prayer I then addressed to God contains the reasons for the petition for forgiveness, which is valid both for the dramas linked to the Inquisition as well as for the wounds they have caused in the memory: "Lord, God of all men, in some periods of history Christians have yielded to methods of intolerance and have not followed the great commandment of love, thus disfiguring the countenance of the Church, your Bride. Have mercy on your sinful children and accept our determination to seek and promote truth in the gentleness of charity, conscious that the truth only imposes itself with the force of truth itself. Through Christ our Lord."
The beautiful volume of the symposium's "Minutes" is in keeping with the spirit of this petition for forgiveness. In thanking all the participants, I invoke upon them the divine blessing.
Vatican, June 15, 2004
JOANNES PAULUS II
[Translation by ZENIT]
ZE04061503
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Papal Household Theologian at Presentation on Inquisition Symposium
"No Accident That the Commission Was Called Historical-Theological"
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 15, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Cardinal Georges Cottier delivered today when presenting to the press the "Minutes of the International Symposium 'The Inquisition.'" The symposium was held in 1998.
* * *
When preparing for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, the Historical-Theological Commission of the Jubilee Committee understood the importance of numbers 33 and 36 of the apostolic letter "Tertio Millennio Adveniente" (1994).
The letter reads: "Hence it is appropriate that, as the Second Millennium of Christianity draws to a close, the Church should become more fully conscious of the sinfulness of her children, recalling all those times in history when they departed from the spirit of Christ and his Gospel and, instead of offering to the world the witness of a life inspired by the values of faith, indulged in ways of thinking and acting which were truly forms of counter-witness and scandal.
"Although she is holy because of her incorporation into Christ, the Church does not tire of doing penance: before God and man she always acknowledges as her own her sinful sons and daughters. As 'Lumen Gentium' affirms: 'The Church, embracing sinners to her bosom, is at the same time holy and always in need of being purified, and incessantly pursues the path of penance and renewal.'"
This message caused so much surprise because of its novelty and boldness that many were disconcerted. It calls for theological reflection.
What is the meaning of the paradox: Holy Church embraces sinners to her bosom? What is the meaning of the evangelical testimony as a dimension of Christian life and of the antithetical behavior of counter-witness and scandal?
To answer these questions, it is opportune to find out what constitutes a real scandal and where it is found. The researchers were given an ample field of study, being part of the context that the Holy Father called "purification of the memory," as the historical memory or image we have of the past, is not lacking in distortions and prejudices.
Obviously, a request for forgiveness can only affect real and objectively recognized events. Forgiveness is not asked for images spread by public opinion, which are part of a myth and do not correspond to reality.
It is no accident that the commission was called Historical-Theological. The contribution of historians was, indeed, indispensable.
A first symposium addressed the issue of the "Roots of Anti-Judaism in the Christian Environment" (1997). Based on a serious historical foundation, it constituted an examination of conscience and a reflection by theologians on a theology of Israel. The minutes were published in the year 2000.
The volume we now present contains the minutes of the second international symposium, held in the Vatican from October 29-31, 1998, on the Inquisition.
It was essentially a colloquium among historians, chosen in virtue of their scientific competence, and ensuring the international character of the participants.
A scientific committee, composed of Professors Father Guy Bedouella, O.P., Agostino Borromeo and Jean-Pierre Dedieu, helped with the selection of guests.
Professor Borromeo, for whose work I am grateful, was responsible for the publication of the minutes. We regret the delay in the publication of this volume. There is a rumor going around that the publication was halted because of the objection of an individual. I wish to denied this categorically. The delay was due to a series of health problems.
I am especially grateful to the Vatican Apostolic Library, represented by His Eminence Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, His Holiness' librarian, and by Don Farina, prefect, for having published these minutes in the prestigious collection "Studi e Testi" (Studies and Texts).
Moreover, I am also grateful to all the participants in the symposium, and to those who contributed to its success, in particular to Mrs. Pierrette Rombis, who was a decisive collaborator in the presentation of the symposium and its ordered development.
Lastly, the fact that the Holy Father sent the message read at the opening of this session, is one more proof of the interest he has in this initiative and the importance he attaches to it. The symposium, in fact, was in the framework of the preparation of the important event of the liturgical celebration of the petition for forgiveness, of March 12, 2000.
[Translation by ZENIT]
ZE04061508
Balanced History of the Inquisition Is Possible, Says Expert
Editor of the Minutes of International Symposium
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 16, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Researchers now have the necessary materials to write a history of the Inquisition without falling into negative prejudices or propagandist apologetics, says an expert historian.
Agostino Borromeo, the coordinator of the book "Minutes of the International Symposium 'The Inquisition,'" gave that assessment Tuesday during a press conference to present the book.
In the volume, Borromeo gathers the addresses of a 1998 congress, which brought together renowned historians from around the world.
"Historians no longer use the topic of the Inquisition as an instrument to defend or attack the Church," said Borromeo, a professor at Rome's La Sapienza University. "The debate has moved to the historical level, with serious statistics."
Borromeo said that the "black legend" begun in Protestant countries against the Inquisition was opposed by a propagandist Catholic apologetics that failed to obtain an objective view.
He said a "great step forward" was made, in part, with the opening of the secret archives of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the former Holy Office, ordered by John Paul II in 1998. Borromeo illustrated some of the data found in the "Minutes of the International Symposium 'The Inquisition.'"
Referring to the best-known tribunal, the Inquisition in Spain, Borromeo explained that between 1540 and 1700 it held 44,674 trials.
The accused who were condemned to death comprised 1.8%, including 1.7% condemned in "contumacy," that is, they could not be executed as their whereabouts were unknown. In their stead, dummies were burned or hanged.
In regard to the famous "witch hunts," the historian said that the ecclesiastical tribunals were much more indulgent than the civil. In the 125,000 trials held in the Spanish Inquisition's history, 59 "witches" were condemned to death. In Italy, there were 36, and in Portugal 4, he added.
"If we add up this data, we do not even reach 100 cases, as opposed to the 50,000 people condemned to the stake, the majority by civil courts, out of a total of some 100,000 trials held in the whole of Europe during the modern age," Borromeo said.
Proportionally, the most numerous killings of witches took place in Switzerland (4,000 were burned out of a population of about 1 million); Poland-Lithuania (some 10,000 out of a population of 4.4 million); Germany (25,000 out of a population of 16 million); and Denmark-Norway (some 1,350 out of a population of 970,000).
Borromeo explained that the term "Inquisition" was applied to the group of ecclesiastical tribunals that by express papal delegation had jurisdiction to judge the crime of heresy.
The first Inquisitors were appointed by Pope Gregory IX (1227-1241) to combat heresies in specific areas.
"Gradually, with the passing of time, the papacy endowed this institution with its own organization, bureaucracy and norms, which gave a specific face to the Inquisition," Borromeo said.
"Particularly active in the 13th and 14th centuries to combat the medieval heretical movements, especially the Cathars and Waldensians, the Inquisition would experience a decline in its activity in the 15th century," he added.
"But it would experience a resumption of activity in the 16th and 17th centuries with the establishment of the new tribunals in the Iberian peninsula -- whose action was directed primarily against pseudo-converts from Judaism and Islam and with the creation of the Roman Holy Office, first conceived as an instrument of struggle against the spread of Protestantism," Borromeo said.
"The tribunals were eliminated between the second half of the 18th century and first decades of the 19th century," he said. "The last tribunal to disappear was the Spanish one, abolished in 1834."
John Paul II sent a message for the presentation of the "Minutes," in which he underlined the need for the Church to ask for forgiveness for the sins committed by her children in the course of history.
At the same time, the Holy Father clarified that "before asking for forgiveness, it is necessary to know the facts exactly and to recognize the deficiencies in regard to evangelical exigencies in the cases where it is so."
ZE04061604
Editor of the Minutes of International Symposium
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 16, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Researchers now have the necessary materials to write a history of the Inquisition without falling into negative prejudices or propagandist apologetics, says an expert historian.
Agostino Borromeo, the coordinator of the book "Minutes of the International Symposium 'The Inquisition,'" gave that assessment Tuesday during a press conference to present the book.
In the volume, Borromeo gathers the addresses of a 1998 congress, which brought together renowned historians from around the world.
"Historians no longer use the topic of the Inquisition as an instrument to defend or attack the Church," said Borromeo, a professor at Rome's La Sapienza University. "The debate has moved to the historical level, with serious statistics."
Borromeo said that the "black legend" begun in Protestant countries against the Inquisition was opposed by a propagandist Catholic apologetics that failed to obtain an objective view.
He said a "great step forward" was made, in part, with the opening of the secret archives of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the former Holy Office, ordered by John Paul II in 1998. Borromeo illustrated some of the data found in the "Minutes of the International Symposium 'The Inquisition.'"
Referring to the best-known tribunal, the Inquisition in Spain, Borromeo explained that between 1540 and 1700 it held 44,674 trials.
The accused who were condemned to death comprised 1.8%, including 1.7% condemned in "contumacy," that is, they could not be executed as their whereabouts were unknown. In their stead, dummies were burned or hanged.
In regard to the famous "witch hunts," the historian said that the ecclesiastical tribunals were much more indulgent than the civil. In the 125,000 trials held in the Spanish Inquisition's history, 59 "witches" were condemned to death. In Italy, there were 36, and in Portugal 4, he added.
"If we add up this data, we do not even reach 100 cases, as opposed to the 50,000 people condemned to the stake, the majority by civil courts, out of a total of some 100,000 trials held in the whole of Europe during the modern age," Borromeo said.
Proportionally, the most numerous killings of witches took place in Switzerland (4,000 were burned out of a population of about 1 million); Poland-Lithuania (some 10,000 out of a population of 4.4 million); Germany (25,000 out of a population of 16 million); and Denmark-Norway (some 1,350 out of a population of 970,000).
Borromeo explained that the term "Inquisition" was applied to the group of ecclesiastical tribunals that by express papal delegation had jurisdiction to judge the crime of heresy.
The first Inquisitors were appointed by Pope Gregory IX (1227-1241) to combat heresies in specific areas.
"Gradually, with the passing of time, the papacy endowed this institution with its own organization, bureaucracy and norms, which gave a specific face to the Inquisition," Borromeo said.
"Particularly active in the 13th and 14th centuries to combat the medieval heretical movements, especially the Cathars and Waldensians, the Inquisition would experience a decline in its activity in the 15th century," he added.
"But it would experience a resumption of activity in the 16th and 17th centuries with the establishment of the new tribunals in the Iberian peninsula -- whose action was directed primarily against pseudo-converts from Judaism and Islam and with the creation of the Roman Holy Office, first conceived as an instrument of struggle against the spread of Protestantism," Borromeo said.
"The tribunals were eliminated between the second half of the 18th century and first decades of the 19th century," he said. "The last tribunal to disappear was the Spanish one, abolished in 1834."
John Paul II sent a message for the presentation of the "Minutes," in which he underlined the need for the Church to ask for forgiveness for the sins committed by her children in the course of history.
At the same time, the Holy Father clarified that "before asking for forgiveness, it is necessary to know the facts exactly and to recognize the deficiencies in regard to evangelical exigencies in the cases where it is so."
ZE04061604
Scrutinizing the Inquisition; ...
Volume Doesn't Spare Popes
By Delia Gallagher
ROME, JUNE 24, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Those who claim the Vatican tries to hide behind a veil of secrecy should read its newly published 783-page book on the Inquisition.
The "Minutes of the International Symposium 'The Inquisition'" is a remarkably candid exposé of the tortures and injustices committed by various national Inquisitions (in England, Portugal, Spain, France, Goa) and the Roman one, under the guidance of several Popes and the auspices of the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas. The symposium was held in October 1998.
It is a tribute to the visionary leadership of Pope John Paul II that the Church opened up its archives on this period to Catholic and non-Catholic historians and published their findings. The findings do not shy away from strong criticism of Catholic leadership of the time.
Consider these excerpts:
"In 1559, on express desire of Paul IV, in a systematic and detailed way, all Christians who went to confess their sins were first interrogated about their criminal offences, or their knowledge of crimes of heresy or reading of prohibited books; and if something emerged, they were sent to the tribunal of the inquisition to make a formal denouncement ... if the violence of torture and the gallows broke the body, the moral violence exercised by the subordination of confession to the inquisition broke consciences ... the profound effects of this choice still need to be evaluated in full" (p. 761).
"The largest spurt in executions by the Roman Inquisition occurred shortly after the Council of Trent, during the pontificate of an ex-Inquisitor General. Because of the Roman Inquisition, Pius V has more legal murders staining his record than any other 16th century pope, including Paul IV and Sixtus V. Nevertheless, he has become the only one of this group to be canonized, while the other two remain bywords for bigoted ferocity" (p. 545).
"That the wisest and saintliest among the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, through their personal authority, gave credence to this 'communal doctrine' [of torture and death] to the point of seeming to imbue it with a quasi-Magisterial authority, necessitates that the authentic Magisterium of the Church make honorable amends" (p. 767).
Not a few at the Vatican were concerned that the publication of such details would give ammunition to those who wished to attack the Church.
Yet the Pope insisted on this research as part of his Jubilee Year "purification of memory," which required a scholarly investigation into the truth of what happened during the Inquisition -- not simply to set the record straight, but to ask for forgiveness for the injustices that occurred.
Now it is a tricky theological question how, and indeed why, one can ask for forgiveness on behalf of Popes who have been canonized, and doctors and saints of the Church whose teachings encouraged injustice.
I spoke to the theologian of the Papal Household, Cardinal Georges Cottier, who headed the commission that published the work on the Inquisition.
"The Church does not ask forgiveness for the Inquisition as a whole," Cardinal Cottier clarified. "She asks forgiveness for the fact of the violence employed during the Inquisition."
"The individual guilt of saints or Popes involved in the Inquisition is not judged by the Church; it is a secret of God," he said.
In any moral act, the cardinal explained, there are different levels of responsibility. So, for example, the use of drugs may mitigate the responsibility of an individual who sins under their effect.
Likewise, given the mentality of the age of the Inquisition, when the use of torture and burning was widely accepted, the responsibility of those involved must be considered in this light.
So while the conscience of say, St. Pius V, may have been deficient, it must be considered against the "communal conscience" of the time, said Cardinal Cottier.
"Communal conscience evolves," the cardinal said. "What was considered acceptable for a certain time, may be seen later as unjust."
The cardinal cited the death penalty as a modern example of the evolution of communal conscience.
And just as there can be a progression of conscience, so can there be a regression of communal conscience, as is the case with abortion, said the cardinal.
Readers may contact Delia Gallagher at delia@zenit.org.
Volume Doesn't Spare Popes
By Delia Gallagher
ROME, JUNE 24, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Those who claim the Vatican tries to hide behind a veil of secrecy should read its newly published 783-page book on the Inquisition.
The "Minutes of the International Symposium 'The Inquisition'" is a remarkably candid exposé of the tortures and injustices committed by various national Inquisitions (in England, Portugal, Spain, France, Goa) and the Roman one, under the guidance of several Popes and the auspices of the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas. The symposium was held in October 1998.
It is a tribute to the visionary leadership of Pope John Paul II that the Church opened up its archives on this period to Catholic and non-Catholic historians and published their findings. The findings do not shy away from strong criticism of Catholic leadership of the time.
Consider these excerpts:
"In 1559, on express desire of Paul IV, in a systematic and detailed way, all Christians who went to confess their sins were first interrogated about their criminal offences, or their knowledge of crimes of heresy or reading of prohibited books; and if something emerged, they were sent to the tribunal of the inquisition to make a formal denouncement ... if the violence of torture and the gallows broke the body, the moral violence exercised by the subordination of confession to the inquisition broke consciences ... the profound effects of this choice still need to be evaluated in full" (p. 761).
"The largest spurt in executions by the Roman Inquisition occurred shortly after the Council of Trent, during the pontificate of an ex-Inquisitor General. Because of the Roman Inquisition, Pius V has more legal murders staining his record than any other 16th century pope, including Paul IV and Sixtus V. Nevertheless, he has become the only one of this group to be canonized, while the other two remain bywords for bigoted ferocity" (p. 545).
"That the wisest and saintliest among the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, through their personal authority, gave credence to this 'communal doctrine' [of torture and death] to the point of seeming to imbue it with a quasi-Magisterial authority, necessitates that the authentic Magisterium of the Church make honorable amends" (p. 767).
Not a few at the Vatican were concerned that the publication of such details would give ammunition to those who wished to attack the Church.
Yet the Pope insisted on this research as part of his Jubilee Year "purification of memory," which required a scholarly investigation into the truth of what happened during the Inquisition -- not simply to set the record straight, but to ask for forgiveness for the injustices that occurred.
Now it is a tricky theological question how, and indeed why, one can ask for forgiveness on behalf of Popes who have been canonized, and doctors and saints of the Church whose teachings encouraged injustice.
I spoke to the theologian of the Papal Household, Cardinal Georges Cottier, who headed the commission that published the work on the Inquisition.
"The Church does not ask forgiveness for the Inquisition as a whole," Cardinal Cottier clarified. "She asks forgiveness for the fact of the violence employed during the Inquisition."
"The individual guilt of saints or Popes involved in the Inquisition is not judged by the Church; it is a secret of God," he said.
In any moral act, the cardinal explained, there are different levels of responsibility. So, for example, the use of drugs may mitigate the responsibility of an individual who sins under their effect.
Likewise, given the mentality of the age of the Inquisition, when the use of torture and burning was widely accepted, the responsibility of those involved must be considered in this light.
So while the conscience of say, St. Pius V, may have been deficient, it must be considered against the "communal conscience" of the time, said Cardinal Cottier.
"Communal conscience evolves," the cardinal said. "What was considered acceptable for a certain time, may be seen later as unjust."
The cardinal cited the death penalty as a modern example of the evolution of communal conscience.
And just as there can be a progression of conscience, so can there be a regression of communal conscience, as is the case with abortion, said the cardinal.
Readers may contact Delia Gallagher at delia@zenit.org.
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