The Church and their Inquisition

Hyphen: Journal of Melitensia and the Humanities, 1990

Carmel Cassar T HE Bull Licet ab initio, is~~~d on 21 July 1542 b~ Po~e Paul Ill, created a totally reformed InqulSltlOn. It was clearly InspIred by the recent success of the Spanish IJ;lquisition, which in turn had been set up to suit the particular needs of the new and growing nation-empire that was Spain. This new Tribunal, more commonly known as the Holy Office, was mainly intended to oppose the doctrines of Luther and the other flourishing Protestant sects. The Holy Supreme Congregation, under Cardinal Giovanni Pietro Caraffa (later Pope Paul IV), gained among its many privileges that of creating Inquisitors who were to be given the appropriate number of staff to help them in any town, province, or place. The first attempt was also made to compile an Index of prohibited books deemed likely to propagate false teachings.] The memoirs of Mgr. Salviati, himself Inquisitor of Malta (1754-59), complement the local Inquisition Archives and throw light on the establishment of this new Tribunal in Malta. Salviati relates how before 1530 there existed a tribunal of the old Medieval Inquisition, under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Palermo, and which was no different from that of other Sicilian towns. 2 When the Bull was published (1542), Malta had been ruled by the Order of St John for only twelve years and the Tribunal was itself still in a period of transition. A few months later Domenico Cubelles was elected Bishop of Malta, a position he held until 1566. The years of Cubelles' bishopric can be divided into two: the first, 1542-1561, when he functioned solely as Bishop of Malta; and the second, 1562-1566, when he also carried out the duties of Pro-Inquisitor to the Maltese Islands. Hence, prior to 1562, the Bishop could deal with cases against heresy through his own episcopal court so that the Camera Secreta and its appropriate staff did not need to exist.

Choice Reviews Online, 2010

The Inquisition was the most powerful disciplinary institution in the early modern world, responsible for 300,000 trials and over 1.5 million denunciations. How did it root itself in different social and ethnic environments? Why did it last for three centuries? What cultural, social and political changes led to its abolition? In this first global comparative study, Francisco Bethencourt examines the Inquisition's activities in Spain, Italy, Portugal and overseas Iberian colonies. He demonstrates that the Inquisition played a crucial role in the Catholic Reformation, imposing its own members in papal elections, reshaping ecclesiastical hierarchy, defining orthodoxy, controlling information and knowledge, influencing politics and framing daily life. He challenges both traditionalist and revisionist perceptions of the tribunal. Bethencourt shows the Inquisition as an ever evolving body, eager to enlarge jurisdiction and obtain political support to implement its system of values, but also vulnerable to manipulation by rulers, cardinals, and local social elites. f ra n c i sc o be t he n co u r t is Charles Boxer Professor of History at King's College London. His previous publications include (as co-editor)

2008

An historiographical global overview of the research on the Spanish Inquisition from 1998 to 2008. The paper laments the fact that the Spanish research failed to take into account the groundbreaking conclusions of recent Italian historiography.

BRILL eBooks, 2019

Medievalia, 2017

Th e Spanish Inquisition encompasses the long period of history of the Iberian Peninsula; established after the unifi cation of the Kingdoms of Aragon and Castile by the marriage union of the "Catholic monarchs", Ferdinand and Isabella, in 1469. Even thought considered as a ecclesial organization, who would address the issue of the "Jewish threat", actually it was a tool of the monarchy to consolidate its power and it has been remembered in history by its ostensibly cruel methods. In this historical frame had lived and worked Pere Miquel Carbonell (1434-1517) a Catalan historian, poet, humanist, notary and royal archivist in Th e General Archive of Th e Crown of Aragon from 1476 until his death. He wrote books inspired by the Spanish Inquisition, such as Super facto expulsionis hereticorum and Liber descriptionis reconsiliationisque, purgationis et condemnationis hereticorum which will be the starting point of this investigation. Th is manuscript which is kept in Th e General Archive of Th e Crown of Aragon contains records about the Spanish Inquisition from 1487 until 1507 and describes reconciliations, justifi cations and condemnations of heretics. In this manuscript exists two documents holding the same title Pensio assignata Inquisitori hereticae pravitatis from 1357 and 1358 and therefore outside of the described historical period. Th ese records originated in Zaragoza and Barcelona was written by King Peter IV of Aragon and afterwards copied by Carbonell will be the start point of this paper and will take into consideration its administrative regulations and information such as bureaucratic structure of the Sanctum Offi cium's members and their obligations. Th e Spanish Inquisition, Pere Miquel Carbonell, Liber descriptionis reconsi liationisque, purgationis et condemmnationis hereticorum ALIAS de Gestis Hereticorum, Peter IV of Aragon, Pensio assignata Inquisitori hereticae pravitatis.

Christianity and Culture in the Middle Ages: Essays to Honor John Van Engen (ed. David C. Mengel and Lisa Wolverton), 2014

THE INQUISITION, THE DARK SIDE OF THE CHURCH, 2025

intend it, but the bibliography you bring, and its constant use to substantiate your purpose gives off some solvent and fresh air that blows through the pages of the book. Very brave. I see you speak bluntly to conclude each historical event you analyze. I see that freedom is the supreme value that flows through each paragraph, from the start, with the appointment of Don Quixote, to the end. And it is for the sake of that freedom that you, occasionally, get the whip, leaving work on the edge of a species of essay, with biting gusts, that will fuel the reader's attention. It is perhaps this last aspect, and from this left shore, where we can put some small objections to your book: It seems that your admiration for many of the victims is so strong that you would like your meat to be "relaxed" as well. Anyway, it is praiseworthy your profound empathy for the Cathars, Wickliffe, Huss, Servetus or Bruno when you present them challenging with their lives the omnipotence of the institutional Church, questioning with their doctrines the current dogmas of that unique culture, and that, with their deaths at the stake, wounds (vulnera) that you consider incurable. We agree with you that the more clarity and accuracy we place in every nook and cranny of history the closest we will be to that freedom you present in the introduction. That freedom that took over the Grand Inquisitor. That freedom that you, in your book, try to steal from him to give it to the readers. Be welcome your interest and hope that everyone knows how to release from such slaveries. But this remains a very complex issue. In the end, we all as feudal serfs will swallow what they impose on the churches in turn. The church of the moment is the shift to consumerism and uninteresting values. The church in turn are the economic powers that lead us to work for somebody like productive ants. The church in turn are many political figures full of wordy goodness, or the cocky ones, in many cases uneducated but who run perfectly the art of the sum. And in front of them all, the church of the manipulation of information, the "mass media", driven by large speculators with their unbridled pursuit of profit, able to disrupt the world economy as is happening these last weeks: May-June 2010. Amid such dislocations, not far worse than those of the dark times, one thinks that the Catholic Church in turn still suffers a heavy burden, but it still has some capacity for renewal which is not seen in other institutions, increasingly arrogant and petulant. This church, with all its counter-values, remains a repository of some values hard to overcome by any of the best NGOs. It is interesting to maintain a critical attitude towards the church of the Inquisition and most institutions. Your book will help people to become more critical of all of them, they cannot be left asleep in their pedestal. If we give up criticism, we will be slaves. This is what those in power will never understand. I leave Primitivo. Thanks for sending me the book before editing it. I wish you luck. A hug. Miguel Gijón, June 2010. Freedom, Sancho, is the most precious gift given to men by the heavens. Miguel de Cervantes Fyodor M. Dostoevsky himself was a deep believer. As a writer, he opens a huge range of possibilities for his diverse characters. In The Brothers Karamazov, Alyosha represents the mystical belief in transcendence, while his brother Ivan, who denies any divine fullness, and embodies a bitter and disillusioned skepticism. In Book V, Chapter V, Ivan presents the famous story of "The Grand Inquisitor". Christ returns to earth. It does so without warning, without announcing it, for a brief moment. He has arrived to Seville, where, the day before, the Cardinal Grand Inquisitor, in the presence of the King, courtiers, knights, monks, cardinals and many very beautiful ladies of the court and before the large population of all Seville, had made to burn a little less than a hundred people, infected with the heretical depravity, in a solemn auto-da-fé, for the greater glory of God. The air still accumulates the smell of burning flesh mixed with that of orange blossom, and the embers in the fireplaces of the Inquisition are still crackling. He tries, as one more, to walk unnoticed, but his charisma and the magnetism of his personality give him away and the crowd, once discovered, clustered round him. It is an invincible force of attraction that captivates the seduced crowd. From his eyes and his presence flows the truth and the light, but the priests do not celebrate his return. The Grand Inquisitor threatens to burn him as a heretic unless he abandons all hope in humanity. He reproaches him for his failure in understanding human nature. He, who raised Lazarus, spreads freedom, but this is a burden too heavy. So the Inquisitor threw this in his face: "Instead of restricting human freedom, "So great is my grief and felling at this sad and rigorous imprisonment… Sonnet inscribed by a prisoner in a prison wall of the Inquisition of Cuenca. Probably in the seventeenth century." you opened the levees, forgetting no doubt that, to freedom of choosing between good and evil, man prefers peace, even the peace of death '. Dostoevsky, through shimmering poetic imagery, directly makes psychology of old Inquisitor and of Jesus in his brief return and appearance among men, through his silence in the inquisitorial prison, and at the same time he makes sociology of the Inquisition. The subject of freedom and happiness is at the heart of the monologuedialogue between the philosopher-inquisitor and Jesus, the patient prisoner who answers with his transparent, tender, and without-reproach eyes. Jesus and the Inquisitor are projected as two antithetical figures. Jesus had promised freedom to human beings by offering him the truth: "The truth shall make you free," he had said. Truth and freedom are graded at the top of the scale of Christian values. The Inquisitor, however, offers human happiness in exchange for freedom. Freedom is for the weak, simple, and depraved nature of man, who is not even able to conceive that freedom, a real torment. First, the torment of discriminating between good and evil, and, secondly, the heavy responsibility to make decisions, with the usual fear of being wrong. Nothing is indeed more seductive for man than his freedom of conscience, but there is nothing more tantalizing. That's why they will put their freedom at our feet -says the old Inquisitor-and they'll tell us: "Better that you enslave us but feed us." They will reveal their secrets to us, they will pass their sins to us and we will charge them before God. And like a flock, we will drive them. So they will be happy. The love of Jesus, however, condemns human beings, free by birth, to the torture of having to choose between good and evil. Happiness and freedom are compatible and inseparable. The Inquisitor, in honor of a hypothetical happiness, eliminates the freedom and consummates the happiness of the person at the stake. The old Inquisitor offers a highly revealing statement: "Because, who is going to overpower people but those who master the consciences of men and have the bread in their hands?" We have corrected your work, but let us, in our way, consummate it. "We took the sword of Caesar and, in doing so, of course we rejected you, and went after him." Jesus preached the kingdom of God. The Pope governs an earthly empire, with purple robe and the sword of Caesar. The Inquisitors are quick to consummate the work, to strengthen the perfect society of the Church. "We are not with you, but with him", with the Pope, and that from many centuries ago. The Inquisitor's fidelity to the Pope is absolute to make the Christianity without Christ, the fastest way possible, devoid of patience and evangelical methods. The suffering Inquisitor neither is Christian nor loves Jesus and says, "Get angry, I do not want your love, because neither I love you". Nor is sincere and honest with his vassals, even more, he is an incredulous trickster: "Behind the grave, they will find nothing, but death. And we shall preserve the secret and for their happiness we will captivate them with the prize of heaven and eternal life. For though there were something in the other world, it, of course, would not be for men like them". An enigmatic and disconcerting kiss of Jesus closes the scene, while he leaves without uttering a word. Some writers and poets have a special feeling to see things that not always the scientist detects, as is the case of Dostoevsky who knows how to penetrate things poetically and describe them with skill. Human beings are always perceived as limited, contingent, fragile and ignorant, that's what we are. Children after all, they seek for explanations, they need emotional and existential support to walk through life and find an explanation to their surroundings and even death. So with their imagination and fantasy were creating myths, gods that would give meaning to their lives and early responses to their endless doubts, achieving so a rational scheme of life instead of confusion and unanswered questions. Religion, no doubt, is a complex and deep phenomenon, with many variables, made of thin warps and wefts, aware of some, the least, unconscious of most. Religion is anchored more in sentiment than in reason, in ignorance rather than in the illustration, in the fear of uncertainty more than in the risk of the adult to take a false step, to make mistakes. So we thought we needed kind parents, omnipotent and provident, who could only be in the mystery of the beyond, since they are not feasible in the near side, we know. And when we hit the fact of death, it is therapeutic to find the immortality that only the gods, hypothetically, can bestow. Religion is atavistic, it is embedded in the culture, in the tradition, "the ancestors have so prescribed", as the air, and it envelops and surrounds us. The religious atmosphere is stifling...

In the 1970s and 1980s, there was an important revisionist moment in the historical study of the Spanish Inquisition. Now, in the early twenty-first century, scholars are beginning to revise and add nuance to these now classic surveys of inquisitorial history. New historical studies have used Inquisition sources to revise depictions of the converso and morisco communities of early modern Spain; they have mined them on questions of gender. In addition, with the proliferation of Anglophone scholarship on the Spanish Inquisition, historians are uprooting the last vestiges of the Black Legend.

This paper discusses the place that the Inquisition stands in the world, and discusses how it should be a more studied topic.