Dotre Dame Di5ce-Q)Vasi-5Emper-\/Ictvyi5\/S- Vive-Qvasj-Cras-Tmoieiturvs
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^•fl-G^ Cb Dotre Dame Di5ce-q)VASi-5empeR-\/icTvyi5\/s- vive-qvASJ-cRAS-tMOieiTURvs- VOL. XLVII. NOTRE. DAME, INDIANA, MARCH 28, 1914- No. 22. sanctioned, and approved by the Church: The Sixth Station. We distinguish three stages in the develop ment of the Inquisition,—Episcopal, Xegatal, : THEY tore Him with their leaden whips. and Monastic or Papal Inquisition. By virtue With thorns thej' crowned His head. of his office the bishop is the inquisitor in his The .dark blood crimsoned all the ground, diocese. This right the bishop has exercised The snowy rose blushed red; from the veiy first centuries of the Church. And with cursed glee the soldiery It is known as Episcopal Inquisition and is Reviled Him as He bled. as old as the Church. In the iith centurv'", . error seemed to be making way in spite of They drove Him from the sunshine day episcopal vigilance, and the pope named special Along the death-dim road, legates to reinforce the bishops in their efforts With twisted ropes they lashed His flesh. to stamp out heresy. These'were called Legatal And pierced Him with the goad. Inquisitors. But when Gregory IX. saw the And like demons all they cursed His fall immense power wielded by the Dominican Beneath His heavy load. Order against heresy, he reorganized the Ihquisi- • But in the throng one heart beat true. tion with modifications necessary to meet the Her eyes dimmed at the sight, needs of the hour, and put it in the hands of Veronica her kerchief gave the Dominicans. Oi this tribunal, known as the Monastic or Papal Inquisition, we shall now deaL To Jesus in His plight. The Monastic Inquisition was an ecclesiastical And He left the trace of His sacred face court established by Gregory IX, 1232, cont Upon the linen white. posed of a judge who was to be- a priest of honor, And so we give our hearts each day 40 years of age (Decree of Gregory IX), and As she her kerchief gave, a jury of "conscientious" men who: took.an We care not for the jeers of men .oath "to judge fairly." The nimiber varied. Or how the wicked rave.. We have on record one such body composed And His image white, the God of light. of nine canonists and twenty-seven laymen; Doth on our souls engrave. but a smaller number .was commonly used. The-judge, or-Grand Inquisitor, as he was' The Inquisition. named, called upon each bishop to denounce- . those heretics^ residing in the diocese who-were 'HIS paper is not an apology' or dangerous to the faith. In the Law of the- an excuse 'for the Inquisition. Empire-formal heresy was pronounced to be . Neither is it a defense, of that one form of high treason, and even a graver -" inquisitorial tribunal used by crime than treason as we- understand the word: :; Spanish princes, nor a justification The judicial procedure and the penalty used-; of individual actions perpetrated by the state against treason was employed by inquisitors in open violation of the Church's against heresy. In the case of treason" eyer\' laws. The purpose of this paper is simply to citizen was obliged to inform on an offender. vXhe f present in a historical way, and to pass judg same appHed to heresy. Testimony that sprang^^- ment -upon the Inquisition as' established, •from malice alone-was rejected (Council Narb.). J 550 CHE NOTRK DAME SCHOLASTL All accused were admonished and. given a not be empluj^'ed unless both the bishop of the time of grace to repent and make profession diocese and the Inquisitor consented (Decree of faith. If they repented a light penance such of Clement V). The torture could be used only as the Way of the_ Cross was given them. If they once (Decree of Innocent IV), while in civil did not repent the}' stood trial. The accusers courts there was no limit. The severe forms of one charged with treason were unknown to of torture could not be used until the milder the accused. In the case of heresy also the fornis had failed (Decree of Innocent IV). The accuser's name was kept secret when danger severity must have regard to the strength of the to the one accusing was feared. The accused, accused, fasting for the delicate was the equiv however, might name his enemies, and these alent of the rack for the robust, etc. (Consti were not allowed to testify. Two accusers tution of Clement V). A cleric could not use were necessary for valid denunciation. And the torture or at one time look at one being these two accusers had to be approved by honest tortured without incurring irregularity. men of standing versed in the law. The point PRIA^CIPLES. on which the accused was charged was read Lawful authority has the right to protect and the accused asked to defend himself. The its own existence. The Church has lawful Grand Inquisitor conducted the trial; the jury authority over all baptized persons, her subjects. gave sentence. If there was doubt, lack of The Church has the right to protect her sub evidence, or proof of innocence, he- was set free, jects in their faith and in the fulfillment of the principle being "it were better that a crime their religious duties, therefore .to resist the remain unpunished than that an innocent false preaching and scandal of.^-those outside person be condemned" (Alexander III: S3'^nod the faith, and when the attacK comes from her of Narbonne). If convicted of heresy he was own subjects she has the right to punish them not turned over to the secular power imme with the necessar}'" punishment. If corporal diately, but received repeated admonitions to punishment is necessar}'-, she has the right to repent. If he confessed that he was guilty use corporal punishment (S^dlabus of Pius IX). of the sentence and repented he received a The Church has the right to use corporal penance of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, or else punishment, for the Church is not simply a some temporal imprisonment. If he refused spiritual body with merety spiritual power, to repent still, he was turned over to the sec but a perfect societ}'- with power not only over ular power. As the punishment of the state souls but oyer men in relation to their salvation. for high treason was death by fire, the punish In. order that punishment be justly inflicted ment for obstinate heretics was the same, - two things are necessary. First, there must be unless one repented. Repentance even at the proportion between the offense and the penalty. -vQxj last moment saved from the punishment Secondly, it must be inflicted by one having of death. And it must be borne in mind power and jurisdiction (Suarez). No one can throughout this discussion that the punish doubt that the sin of heresy is sufficiently' ment of death was never inflicted by the Church, grave to merit corporal punishment,. since the and not even pronounced by her, but b}'- the soul which it kills is more excellent than tlie secular power who declared heresy to be a body Avhich is killed by murder. St. Thomas capital crime—treason. The Church's sentence sa3'^s in this connection that it is a graver thing in.^ that case was to hand over to the secular to corrupt thellife of the soul by heresy than arm the guilt3'" person as the state commanded. to subvert the social order by coining counter But she did so imploring the state to be mer feit money (a crime punished with death in ciful and not to inflict the death penalty. the middle ages). The Church is the only power In. the criminal courts of the time, torture that can judge heres}'-, for the gift of infalli -was employed. The majority of judges bility was given to her to distinguish the false used it even against .thieves. The Inquisition from the true. To judge the faith of her sub used the same means but under- vaQ.nj re jects is the undisputed right of the Church. strictions and limitations. If . circumstantial She ha.s power and jurisdiction over her sub e\adence. pointed to the guilt of an accused jects and can therefore inflict corporal punish persdn, torture might .be used with a view to ment "..w^hen necessary'- (S3^11abus Pius IX). completing the e\'idence hy a full, confession "In extreme cases.the Church has the right (Decree of Innocent IV). But toxture; could to pronounce a sentence to which the penalt}'^ THE NOTRE DAME SCHOLASTIC 551 of death is affixed by the state, and to deliver countr}'-), for example, agree that the bishops the one condemned over to the state." shall constitute a court to try^ divorce cases, "If malefactors can be put to death justly we could not blame the bishops because certain by secular princes," says St. Thomas, "so penalties of the state followed their decisions. those convicted of heresy can not only be ex^ The judge is the occasion not the cause of communicated but can be put to death." He death. It was the duty of the Church to take quotes the retractations of St. Augustine in into account the fact that the state punished support of this position, and also the famous heresy. When the Church found- a man passage of St. Jerome regarding Arius: "Arius guilty of heresy and the state said heresy is at first was only a little spark, but because that treason, what could the Church do but deliver him spark was not put out it kindled a flame that to the state.