Things Get Out of Hand: The Spanish Inquisition
The Inquisition & the Church
Here the legacy of the Inquisition becomes a real mess. After a 780 year conflict with the Moors, Ferdinand and Isabella defeated the Saracens and in 1501 ordered them either to convert or to leave. Their Catholic faith and nationalism were focused into one reality. When many of the Moors apostatized or tainted Christianity with Moslem practices, the situation was ripe for the Inquisition. The Spanish people saw this as a means to cement their national identity. This also set the stage for terrible abuse. The Inquisition was established in 1480, but along royalist lines and not according to the Medieval form. Pope Sixtus IV became so concerned that he arrested the Spanish ambassador. Ferdinand retaliated in kind. Rome relented.
The Inquisition in Spain ignored Rome's protests, and did not hesitate to initiate proceedings against bishops and archbishops. Intimate with the crown, it even declared decisions of the Roman Congregation of the Index only to be valid if countersigned by Madrid's Holy Office. It even attacked Carranza, Archbishop of Toledo, placing his book on the Catechism of Trent, on the Spanish Index-- even though it had Rome's approval! It was only after Carranza had suffered eight years of imprisonment and a threat to excommunicate the monarch that he was released and sent to Rome. The Spanish Inquisition twice imprisoned St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. St. Theresa of Avila was denounced and one of her works, Concepts pf Divine Love, was placed on the Index. Fortunately, she was rescued by the personal influence of Philip II. Unfortunately, the state often unjustly manipulated and interfered with the Spanish Inquisition. Some would thus contend that it was a political and not an ecclesiastical institution. Others would insist that the Church was too involved here to be entirely absolved. Dr. O'Brien writes: "The Church must, therefore, bear her share of responsibility for the proceedings of this tribunal, so many of whose actions were marked by cruelty and savagery. They have left black stains on the pages of history and their somber shadow falls upon both crown and papacy and shows their occupants were the children of their day" (O'Brien, p. 41).
The Holy Father has the gift of infallibility regarding faith and morals (given certain parameters); however, he has no guarantee of perfection in the mechanics of running a government or insuring the absolute justice of earthly courts. Further, he is not impeccable; a point most important when we recall the abuses which result from sin and the poor decisions which are derived from human weakness. Further, his is a moral authority. As history shows, often this was not enough to move others to listen to him in acting with mercy and compassion. We can only hope that there has been a real development in our consciousness of religious liberty, the freedom of one's conscience, and the Gospel of Life.
Here the legacy of the Inquisition becomes a real mess. After a 780 year conflict with the Moors, Ferdinand and Isabella defeated the Saracens and in 1501 ordered them either to convert or to leave. Their Catholic faith and nationalism were focused into one reality. When many of the Moors apostatized or tainted Christianity with Moslem practices, the situation was ripe for the Inquisition. The Spanish people saw this as a means to cement their national identity. This also set the stage for terrible abuse. The Inquisition was established in 1480, but along royalist lines and not according to the Medieval form. Pope Sixtus IV became so concerned that he arrested the Spanish ambassador. Ferdinand retaliated in kind. Rome relented.
The Inquisition in Spain ignored Rome's protests, and did not hesitate to initiate proceedings against bishops and archbishops. Intimate with the crown, it even declared decisions of the Roman Congregation of the Index only to be valid if countersigned by Madrid's Holy Office. It even attacked Carranza, Archbishop of Toledo, placing his book on the Catechism of Trent, on the Spanish Index-- even though it had Rome's approval! It was only after Carranza had suffered eight years of imprisonment and a threat to excommunicate the monarch that he was released and sent to Rome. The Spanish Inquisition twice imprisoned St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. St. Theresa of Avila was denounced and one of her works, Concepts pf Divine Love, was placed on the Index. Fortunately, she was rescued by the personal influence of Philip II. Unfortunately, the state often unjustly manipulated and interfered with the Spanish Inquisition. Some would thus contend that it was a political and not an ecclesiastical institution. Others would insist that the Church was too involved here to be entirely absolved. Dr. O'Brien writes: "The Church must, therefore, bear her share of responsibility for the proceedings of this tribunal, so many of whose actions were marked by cruelty and savagery. They have left black stains on the pages of history and their somber shadow falls upon both crown and papacy and shows their occupants were the children of their day" (O'Brien, p. 41).
The Holy Father has the gift of infallibility regarding faith and morals (given certain parameters); however, he has no guarantee of perfection in the mechanics of running a government or insuring the absolute justice of earthly courts. Further, he is not impeccable; a point most important when we recall the abuses which result from sin and the poor decisions which are derived from human weakness. Further, his is a moral authority. As history shows, often this was not enough to move others to listen to him in acting with mercy and compassion. We can only hope that there has been a real development in our consciousness of religious liberty, the freedom of one's conscience, and the Gospel of Life.
posted by Father Joe Jenkins at 1:03 PM
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