Papal Inquisition
The papal inquisition was a crucial turning point for the Catholic Church. It was a steeping stone for the treatment of others with different beliefs from the Church. The papal inquisition was started by pope Gregory IX, set out to bring order and just action when dealing with heretics. Since mobs and townspeople killed alleged heretics without a trial, Pope Gregory IX tried to make a better way for dealing with and helping heretics.
Pope Gregory IX was born in 1170 as Ugolino di Conti. Pope Gregory IX was educated at the University of Paris and the University of Bologna. In 1198, Pope Gregory IX became Cardinal Deacon of the church of Sant'Eustachio by Pope Innocent III, his cousin. Eight years later in 1206 Pope Gregory IX was promoted to Cardinal Bishop of Ostia e Velletri. As Cardinal Bishop of Ostia e Velletri, Pope Gregory IX made many acquaintances including Isabella of Angoulême, the Queen of England. Pope Gregory IX then became the Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals in 1218. In 1220 Pope Honduras III appointed Pope Gregory IX the Cardinal Protector of the order of Franciscans, upon special request of Saint Francis.
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Gregory IX was hoisted to the papacy in 1227. He took the name Gregory because he formally occupied the papal office at the monastery of Saint Gregory ad Septem Solia. Pope
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Gregory IX’s Bull Parens Scientiarum of 1231, after the College of Paris strike of 1229, settled contrasts between the college scholars of Paris and the nearby authorities. His answer showed him as a follower Innocent III: he issued what is considered as the magna carta of the College, accepting direct control by broadening papal support: his Bull permitted future suspension of lectures over provocations such as enormous damage or offense. Frightened by the spread of heresy in Spain and France, and in addition the mobs activity against them, in 1233 Pope Gregory IX set up the Papal inquisition to regularize the process, however he did not approve the use of torture as a tool of investigation or for penance. One purpose behind Pope Gregory IX's formation of the Inquisition was to bring order to the way of managing blasphemy, since there had been tendencies by hordes of townspeople to kill heretics without a trial. Pope Gregory's unique aim for the Inquisition was to cleanse them of their heresy and to educate them in the Catholic Church. It was hoped that the heretics would see the deception of their beliefs and would come back to the Roman Catholic Church. On the off chance that they endured in their heresy, Pope Gregory, thinking that its important to shield the Catholic Church from contamination, would have suspects given over to civil authorities, since public heresy was a crime under common law and in Sabala 3 addition Church law. The non religious authorities, such as government officials, would apply their own means of discipline for civil rebellion which, at the time, included burning at the stake. Over hundreds of years the courts explored and eradicate different types of heresy, including witchcraft. Many heretics had suffered the wrath of the papal inquisitors. Papal inquisitors were mostly Franciscans and Dominicans. The Papal Inquisitors were mostly Franciscans and Dominicans because they are two preaching groups who strongly disapproved of heresy. Many Inquisitors were not so holy. There was a group of Franciscan inquisitors who took the heretic’s property and sold them absolutions which were releases from their punishment. These Inquisitors actions were eventually stopped by the pope himself. In 1231 Pope Gregory IX appointed many Papal inquisitors. Most of these inquisitors were Franciscans and Dominicans again. These inquisitors were mendicants which were people who lived of the pity of others. They would sit on the streets and take donations which they would live off of. Mendicants are used to travel which is good for an inquisitor because they need to travel in order to get to heretics. The Papal inquisition was systematic and organized in the sense that they kept very detailed records. Many powerful people with influence tried to eradicate heretics and their beliefs. Popes, Bishops, Kings, Princes, and many other authorities tried to eradicate heresy but to no prevail. The more inquisitors more the more corrupt they came and the more heretics there were. Sabala 4 The Papal Inquisition was a turning point for the church.
Pope Gregory IX was an educated man who moved up the religious hierarchy swiftly. This Papal Inquisiton, which was started by Pope Gregory IX, led to many other important events in the church. It showed how the church was corrupt but there was still good in it. It showed that even with good intentions, actions can have bad consequences. Those consequences are not foreseeable or predetermined. Pope Gregory IX tried to eradicate heresy but could not partly because his own followers and inquisitors. Some inquisitors were not looking to cleanse the church but
to make a profit off of it. Many sold forgiveness and took heretics property for wealth. The whole point of the Papal Inquisition was to cleanse the church of heresy and do so legally. Papal inquisitors were not intended to torture alleged heretics harshly they were intended to investigate them. The inquisitors were supposed investigate and find out if the alleged heretic was indeed one or not. If it was a heretic they would try to make him or her give up the belief of their heresy and come to the Catholic Church. If the person was a heretic and stuck with his or her belief, in order to not contaminate the church, they would be killed. This was an improvement to the old method which was mobs and townspeople killing alleged heretics without a trial. Even though it was an improvement it was still not as effective as it needed to be. Deane, Jennifer Kolpacoff. A History of Medieval Heresy and Inquisition. Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. Thomsett, Michael C. The Inquisition: a History. McFarland & Co., 2010. “Medieval Inquisition.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Feb. 2018, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_Inquisition.
Since heretics were a big problem according to the church, Pope Innocent III got involved. Pope Innocent III called a crusade on heretics which started a war. Pope Innocent III called the crusade on heretics because he believed they were too big of a threat to ignore. It was a 20 year, long, bloody battle against the heretics. The result of the war was that the war destroyed many towns and thousands of people were killed. The war took place in France. He and the church wanted the country to be heretic free. Almost all heretics were killed during the bloody 20 year war. (Burstein and Shek).
This caused a lot of deaths during the Reformation period because the Catholic church decided to prosecute people for following and listening to what Luther had taught them about the real Catholic Teachings. The Council of Trent was a way to stop the teachings of Catholic traditions and state clearly the renewal of the Catholic life. The work of the council was concerned with the organisation of the Church. A seminary was going to be set up for the education of priests in each diocese. During the reformation a Catechism which is a clear summary of Catholic beliefs was set out to help reform the order of Mass throughout the Catholic world which priests then helped educate and teach this understanding to Catholics. Indulgence selling was abolished which means that it was no longer a way for the Church to scavenge money and the infamous Inquisition was
Pope Urban II was sought by Alexius Comnenus, a Byzantine Emperor who wanted the papacy to help his army hold off the advancing Seljuk Turks in Asia Minor. The reason for Alexius Comnenus contacting the pope rather than another emperor or monarch wasn’t just the fact they were secular, but because the pope would have more power to persuade the people. The Gregorian movement in 1050-80 was ultimately was responsible for the new instilled power of the papacy’s position over nonreligious rulers. The pope agreed to aid the Byzantine emperor, but he also had his own agenda when it came to the military advances and the new power of his position. The papacy did not intend to only help the Byzantine Empire but to further save all of Christendom from being overrun.
As the Byzantine empire’s power began to lessen, ecclesiastical law flourished (Rautman). The Inquisition was entirely based around Roman Catholicism, and was commonly seen as needed in order to protect and defend the church from protestantism and sinners. It’s courts had judges called “inquisitors.” Inquisitors served lifelong terms and made decisions solely in the name of the Pope. While the only type of crime pursued and prosecuted by the Inquisition were crimes against the church, it was often accused of being a very biased institution, as all verdicts were made according to Catholic beliefs, regardless of the circumstance
Saint Gregory of Tours was born around the year 538 at Arverni, which is now Clermont-Ferrand. He belonged to the Gallo-Roman family, which was a very prestigious family. He was also related to the houses of Gaul. Gregory’s original name was Georgius Florentius. He took the name Gregory to honor his late grandfather who was named Gregory. His Grandfather was the Bishop of Langres. When Gregory was young, his father died and he went to live with his Uncle. His uncle, Gallus, was the Bishop of Clermont. Gallus educated him until his death in 554. Gregory’s mother left to live with friends in Burgandy and left her son to Avitus who became Bishop of Clermont after Gallus. Avitus taught Gregory all about the Scriptures. Gregory was not too impressed with the scriptures. Gregory got seriously ill and wasn’t supposed to recover. He did recover though and this made him more mindful of God and the scriptures. Gregory then became a friend with the Bishop of Tours whose name was Euphronius. Euphronius died in 573 and Gregory succeeded him as Bishop of Tours.
others on the greedy, false doctrine of indulgences. And the Pope at the time was Pope Leo X. Pope Leo reigned from 1513 to 1521 when he died. This was the act that started the Reformation and the stand that Martin Luther took to go against the Pope.
There are many factors leading up to the establishment of the Inquisition by the Catholic Church. One of the main factors is the beginning of the Middle Ages in Europe. A symbol of these emerging ages is Pope Gerbert of the year 1000. Although he was a Pope, he was learned in algebra, and because of his knowledge he was considered somewhat of a wizard. He once wrote to a friend in Italy asking for secular books written in Latin. He instructs the friend to make sure the books are "procured quietly." (Nickerson 12) . Nickerson feels that this makes Gerbert a symbol of his times because it is out of similar knowledge that the Medieval times arise. Around the same time, the Normans were conquering England, the Church begins to have a common purpose, and the First Crusade begins.
The word “inquisition” means to examine. Inquisitors would “examine” suspected Heretics, people whose ideas do not match those of the Roman Catholic Church, and punish them accordingly. This included torture and burning. The great inquisition movement that took place in Spain, or Hispania as it was called before Spain united. It was called The Spanish Inquisition. It took place for approximately five hundred years, from the late 15th century to mid 19th century. Many ironic elements were involved in the history of the Inquisition. The Spanish Inquisition lasted longer than any other preceding it, and was the most cruel, bloodthirsty, and festive of all. The objective of the inquisition, in its early state, was to convert all Jews into Christians, but later it mutated into an ugly machine who’s new objective was to rid the country of the newly converted Christians.
Joseph Pérez not only described the Spanish Inquisition by summarizing the contents of this “regime,” but also his main thesis and interpretation are based on criticizing the origins of anti-Semitism, how the Spanish Inquisition “defended the Catholic faith” against Jews, Muslims, Protestantism, and witchcraft. Also, Pérez continues his thesis and interpretations when he argued against the trials and organization of “the Holy Office”—the Inquisition. Finally, Pérez reinforced his main thesis by arguing and comparing the Spanish Inquisition with modern regimes, such as Nazi Germany and Communist regimes that used similar procedures of “torture” and “persecution” to those who opposed Nazism and Communism ideologies. Therefore, Pérez’s interpretation and explanation not only make sense, but they are well presented.
In order for an Inquisition to be issued the Holy Office, or the Pope, must grant permission (Bachrach 12). The Papacy instituted Inquisition in certain countries to counter any threat against Catholicism. An Inquisition was initially intended to prevent civil disruption, social corruption, and bloodshed (Bachrach 12). This, however, was not the case. The Church began to empower government officials called Inquisitors to essentially hunt down “unbelievers” and quietly question them about their faith
Why did the monarchs want an inquisition? Their reason was investigation of the allegations against the conversos as having secretly returned to the Jewish faith. When I did my research reading and summarize in my head, the monarchs wanted to make sure agreement of faith right
A very surprising fact is that it was under force from his father that Gregory became a priest. He did not feel that he was pure enough to be in such a sacred office, because he had not yet finished learning. Several times he took sanctuary in a monastery. He was eventually made into the Bishop of Nazianzus, but a larger position was offered to him as the Bishop of Constantinople. He accepted the role, but unfortunately could not keep it, since one cannot be Bishop of two places, and the original "bishopship" should be the position kept (Catholic Online).
... the Inquisition presented by scholars like Kagan and Dyer, Homza, and Kaman. As the case of María Gonzalez demonstrates, the movement acted with great secrecy, had a set of very organized procedures, and sometimes used torture. The Inquisition’s accusations were often questionable and it’s motives were at times more culturally than religiously based. While conversos were accused of being “crypto-jews” in reality, many like Pedro de Villegas were simply partaking in cultural practices that were not actually tied to their religion. The Inquisition, however, was not completely unsympathetic or unfair- it allowed victims the opportunity to provide evidence and witnesses to prove that they were loyal Christians. If a converso knew how to present themselves in an appealing way and provided powerful testimony, they could be absolved of the charges brought against them.
The Reformation was a decisive period in the history not only for the Catholic Church, but also for the entire world. The causes of this tumultuous point in history did not burst on the scene all at once, but slowly gained momentum like a boil that slowly festers through time before it finally bursts open. The Reformation of the Church was inevitable because of the abuses which the Church was suffering during this period. At the time of the Reformation, a segment of the Church had drifted away from its mission to bring Christ and salvation to the world. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Church had gradually become weaker because of abusive leadership, philosophical heresy, and a renewal of a form of the Pelagian heresy.
Perhaps no other event was as influential to the rise of papacy in Rome as the decline of the Roman empire. With the decline of the empire, the church became the last refuge of stability. Without the protection of the empire, Rome was subject to poverty, disrepair, and attack from enemies.1 The rise of the papacy was a response to this situation. It was further cemented by the leadership of such men as Leo I and Gregory I, the latter sometimes referred to as the father of the medieval papacy.2 Finally, the granting of lands and authority to the bishop of Rome greatly increased the power of the Roman church.3