The Catholic Defender: Truth of the Inquisition

Donald Hartley
Jul 25
4 min read

Updated: Jul 25

Some anti-Catholic polemicists exploit myths about the Inquisition in a spirit of fear, surprise, ruthless exaggeration, and an almost fanatical opposition to the pope

On page 87 of his book, Dr. Peters states: “The best estimate is that around 3000 death sentences were carried out in Spain by Inquisitorial verdict between 1550 and 1800, a far smaller number than that in comparable secular courts.” Likewise, Dr. Kamen states in his book:

Taking into account all the tribunals of Spain up to about 1530, it is unlikely that more than two thousand people were executed for heresy by the Inquisition. (p. 60). . . it is clear that for most of its existence that Inquisition was far from being a juggernaut of death either in intention or in capability. . . . it would seem that during the 16th and 17th centuries fewer than three people a year were executed in the whole of the Spanish monarchy from Sicily to Peru, certainly a lower rate than in any provincial court of justice in Spain or anywhere else in Europe. (p. 203)

The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church that focused on suppressing heresy. It began in the 12th century, with the earliest inquisitors working to counter the Cathar and Waldensian movements in southern France and northern Italy. Over the centuries, the Inquisition evolved, with varying degrees of papal and state involvement depending on the region.

The Spanish Inquisition investigated roughly 150,000 people for various offenses. 9 0ut of every 10 envestigated were aquited

over 300 years. It was the respective States, which carried out the executions, upon those whom the Inquisitions found guilty of heresy, blasphemy, sodomy, paedophilia

About 2.4% of all the accused were handed over to the State for the death sentence.

Portuguese Inquisition (including Goa) 1536 - 1821. Records say 1183 victims, but records in Goa are incomplete.

Italian Inquisition from 1542, about 1250 victims. (del Col)

For comparison in Protestant England, the Bloody Code around 1800 listed no less than 220 capital offences, many to protect the rich from the poor e.g. stealing a horse, forgery, stealing anything of more than one shilling in value.

Tyburn, London, c.1700 saw about 450 executions per decade in London alone. So about 4500 in the eighteenth century. In the rest of England, going by population, maybe five or ten times that number. Let's guess at a conservative figure: 20,000 ?

Obviously the English state was busy killing far far more people, for relatively minor crimes, than the Inquisition was.

During the fourteenth century, the bubonic plague or Black Death killed more than one third of Europe or 25 million people. Those afflicted died quickly and horribly from an unseen menace, spiking high fevers with suppurative buboes (swellings).

Estimates of deaths during the Spanish Inquisition range from a few thousand to tens of thousands. While some historical sources suggest around 3,000 to 5,000 executions, A more conservative estimate, focusing on documented cases, suggests around 1,700 executions,

The Spanish Inquisition was a period of religious persecution in Spain, beginning in 1478 and lasting for over 300 years. It was authorized by the papacy to investigate and punish heresy, primarily targeting those suspected of converting from Christianity to Judaism or Islam.

It involved the prosecution of individuals for various offenses, with a focus on religious deviation.

it must be noted that Protestants (including Luther, Calvin, the early English Protestants, Zwingli, Melanchthon et al.) have a very long and troubling list of “scandals” and “inquisitions” as well.

As just one example among many, Martin Luther and John Calvin both sanctioned the execution of Anabaptists due to their belief in adult baptism, which they considered to be “sedition.”

Thousands of Catholics in England and Ireland were executed (often in very hideous ways) simply for being Catholics and worshiping as their ancestors had done for 1500 years.

Thus, it is clear that the notion of the death penalty for heresy was largely a product of the Middle Ages, and the Protestants who came at the end of that period did not, for the most part, dissent from it at all. In fact, the execution of reputed “witches” was almost entirely a Protestant phenomenon (as in the famous Salem Witch trials). To utterly ignore these facts, while condemning the Catholic Church, is to engage in dishonest historical revisionism.

Branches: The most notable branches of the Inquisition include the Medieval, Spanish, Portuguese, and Roman Inquisitions. The Spanish Inquisition, established in 1478, was unique in its strong royal control and its focus on Jews and Muslims who had converted to Catholicism. The Roman Inquisition was established in 1542 to combat the Protestant Reformation.
Modern Day: The Inquisition, in its historical form, has ceased to exist, with the Spanish Inquisition ending in the 19th century. However, its successor, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (previously known as the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office and the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition), remains active in the Catholic Church today, focusing on upholding and defending Catholic doctrine.
The Inquisition's main goal was to identify and suppress heresy to protect the Church's authority and ensure the salvation of the faithful.
Initially, bishops investigated heresy, but Pope Gregory IX established the Papal Inquisition in 1231 to centralize and formalize the process by appointing specialized inquisitors, often drawn from the Dominican and Franciscan Orders.
These inquisitors followed a legal procedure based on inquiry (inquisitio) rather than accusation, gathering information and evidence to prove guilt or innocence.
Those accused of heresy were given a chance to confess and return to the Church, facing penance and reconciliation. If they refused to confess or recanted their confession, they were excommunicated and handed over to secular authorities for punishment, including execution.
Torture, while used by the Inquisition, was also a common practice in secular courts at the time and was subject to certain restrictions within the Inquisition, such as not causing bloodshed, mutilation, or death, and being performed only once for a limited duration.

The Spanish Inquisition and the Black Death are both historical events that caused immense suffering and upheaval, but they represent vastly different kinds of crises. The Inquisition was a period of religious persecution aimed at rooting out heresy, while the Black Death was a devastating pandemic that wiped out a significant portion of the European population. While some historians suggest the plague contributed to the Inquisition's severity by increasing fear and prejudice, the two events are distinct in their origins and nature.