We Owe a Debt to the Inquisition
The Inquisition & the Church
Very few people, when we look at the numbers, suffered the extreme penalty of death. This changes the complection of the Inquisition from that surmised by popular culture and hailed by anti-Catholics. Dr. O'Brien astutely observes:
Hence it is evident that the Inquisition marks a substantial advance in the administration of justice and therefore in the general civilization of mankind; it substituted court procedure for mob action and lynch law. Far from being a failure, the Inquisition succeeded in its gigantic task of stemming the Albigensian heresy which like a black plague was devastating Christendom. In spite of its shortcomings not only Christianity but also human civilization owe no small debt to the work of the Inquisition (p. 34).
Very few people, when we look at the numbers, suffered the extreme penalty of death. This changes the complection of the Inquisition from that surmised by popular culture and hailed by anti-Catholics. Dr. O'Brien astutely observes:
Hence it is evident that the Inquisition marks a substantial advance in the administration of justice and therefore in the general civilization of mankind; it substituted court procedure for mob action and lynch law. Far from being a failure, the Inquisition succeeded in its gigantic task of stemming the Albigensian heresy which like a black plague was devastating Christendom. In spite of its shortcomings not only Christianity but also human civilization owe no small debt to the work of the Inquisition (p. 34).
posted by Father Joe Jenkins at 1:06 PM
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