The INQUISITION is Born
The Inquisition & the Church
Dr. O'Brien tells us the following:
During the first three decades of the thirteenth century the Inquisition, as an institution, was not yet in existence. Up to 1224 there was no imperial law ordering, or pre-supposing as legal, the burning of heretics. The rescript for Lombardy of 1224 is the first law in which death by fire is expressly stipulated as the unqualified punishment.
There is no evidence that Pope Honorius III had any hand in drafting that ordinance; the burning of heretics in Germany was no longer rare and the ancient Roman Law that punished high treason with death, and Manicheism in particular with the stake, was not unknown to the emperor, Frederick II. The imperial rescripts of 1220 and 1224 were adopted into ecclesiastical criminal law in 1231 and were soon applied at Rome. It was then the Inquisition of the Middle Ages came into being. It was probable, as Lea conjectures, that Gregory had no intention of establishing a permanent tribunal but was simply taking measures to meet an emergency" (O'Brien, p. 24).
The institution of the Inquisition headed off the growing encroachment of Frederick II into Church affairs. It would also give the Church some hand in controlling situations where there was a history of abuse and incompetence. Special and permanent judges were appointed to deal in the Pope's name with offenses against faith. Established rules of canonical conduct with set penalties were to be followed. The rule of law was to be imposed upon the madness of the mob. The task of this Inquisition was not simply to hold secret interrogations and then to make charges; nor were they fanatics to implement torture, something which would not be allowed for many decades; nor were they to render wholesale sanctions, imprisonment, the confiscation of assets, or to impose the stake-- they were simply papal judges who were commissioned to seek out heretics and to reconcile them, if possible; or to pronounce the usual spiritual penalties if stubborn, and deliver them over to the secular power.
Gregory IX turned to the Franciscans and the Dominicans to supply theologically competent and holy men for this role. They worked closely with the bishops and had to submit their findings to them for approbation. Many times the popes warned them against being overzealous and severe. Innocent IV in 1254 renewed the prohibition against perpetual incarceration or death at the stake without consent of the bishops. Boniface VIII and Clement V declared all judgments without episcopal approval to be null and void.
The inquisitor would preach a solemn sermon of faith. Assisted by the local faithful of varying status, those suspected of heresy would be summoned. The would be required to promise total obedience to the commands of the Church; otherwise, they would stand prosecution under the given statutes. Dr. O'Brien lists these features of the inquisitorial procedure (pp. 27-28):
. . . the time of grace, the denunciation of suspects, the trial, the imposing of sentence upon repentant heretics and the abandonment of the recalcitrant ones to the secular arm. During the time of grace all who freely confessed and abandoned their errors were either dispensed from all penalties or were given only a secret and very light penance; those whose heresy had been openly manifested were exempted from the penalties of perpetual imprisonment and death. This time should not, however, exceed one month; after that began the Inquisition. When the heresy was considered to be stamped out, the inquisitors moved on to another locality.
The use of an advisory board of laymen and priests were often used to insure a fair and impartial verdict. A council of other standing judges assisted, too. Unfortunately, and it must be admitted, many of the safeguards for the protection of the rights of the accused, which we cherish today, had not yet evolved.
Dr. O'Brien tells us the following:
During the first three decades of the thirteenth century the Inquisition, as an institution, was not yet in existence. Up to 1224 there was no imperial law ordering, or pre-supposing as legal, the burning of heretics. The rescript for Lombardy of 1224 is the first law in which death by fire is expressly stipulated as the unqualified punishment.
There is no evidence that Pope Honorius III had any hand in drafting that ordinance; the burning of heretics in Germany was no longer rare and the ancient Roman Law that punished high treason with death, and Manicheism in particular with the stake, was not unknown to the emperor, Frederick II. The imperial rescripts of 1220 and 1224 were adopted into ecclesiastical criminal law in 1231 and were soon applied at Rome. It was then the Inquisition of the Middle Ages came into being. It was probable, as Lea conjectures, that Gregory had no intention of establishing a permanent tribunal but was simply taking measures to meet an emergency" (O'Brien, p. 24).
The institution of the Inquisition headed off the growing encroachment of Frederick II into Church affairs. It would also give the Church some hand in controlling situations where there was a history of abuse and incompetence. Special and permanent judges were appointed to deal in the Pope's name with offenses against faith. Established rules of canonical conduct with set penalties were to be followed. The rule of law was to be imposed upon the madness of the mob. The task of this Inquisition was not simply to hold secret interrogations and then to make charges; nor were they fanatics to implement torture, something which would not be allowed for many decades; nor were they to render wholesale sanctions, imprisonment, the confiscation of assets, or to impose the stake-- they were simply papal judges who were commissioned to seek out heretics and to reconcile them, if possible; or to pronounce the usual spiritual penalties if stubborn, and deliver them over to the secular power.
Gregory IX turned to the Franciscans and the Dominicans to supply theologically competent and holy men for this role. They worked closely with the bishops and had to submit their findings to them for approbation. Many times the popes warned them against being overzealous and severe. Innocent IV in 1254 renewed the prohibition against perpetual incarceration or death at the stake without consent of the bishops. Boniface VIII and Clement V declared all judgments without episcopal approval to be null and void.
The inquisitor would preach a solemn sermon of faith. Assisted by the local faithful of varying status, those suspected of heresy would be summoned. The would be required to promise total obedience to the commands of the Church; otherwise, they would stand prosecution under the given statutes. Dr. O'Brien lists these features of the inquisitorial procedure (pp. 27-28):
. . . the time of grace, the denunciation of suspects, the trial, the imposing of sentence upon repentant heretics and the abandonment of the recalcitrant ones to the secular arm. During the time of grace all who freely confessed and abandoned their errors were either dispensed from all penalties or were given only a secret and very light penance; those whose heresy had been openly manifested were exempted from the penalties of perpetual imprisonment and death. This time should not, however, exceed one month; after that began the Inquisition. When the heresy was considered to be stamped out, the inquisitors moved on to another locality.
The use of an advisory board of laymen and priests were often used to insure a fair and impartial verdict. A council of other standing judges assisted, too. Unfortunately, and it must be admitted, many of the safeguards for the protection of the rights of the accused, which we cherish today, had not yet evolved.
posted by Father Joe Jenkins at 1:10 PM
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