Do you agree with Aquinas?

[dmar198]

As far as I know, this is not condoned by St. Thomas Aquinas nor the Church and is a sin. As I said, it is possible that this was simply the misdeed of bad clergy. Is there a specific inquisition that you are referring to?

I don’t think the Inquisitors ever killed anyone or took part in any killings. Rather, I think they requested that the State NOT kill or harm heretics. Is that your understanding as well?

 

[Confiteor_Deo]

I don’t think the Inquisitors ever killed anyone or took part in any killings. Rather, I think they requested that the State NOT kill or harm heretics. Is that your understanding as well?

I have not read of any inquisitors that made that request. The inquisitions didn’t kill heretics themselves or even sentence them to death since that is beyond the authority of the Church, but it doesn’t seem that they were against the punishments that were executed by the state, including burning at the stake, since they still handed the heretics over knowing they were to be killed. The papal document that guided the Inquisition also seems to have supported the punishments of the state, including execution.

 

[Tomdstone]

I don’t think the Inquisitors ever killed anyone or took part in any killings.

I read that they tortured people who did not repent of their heresy.

 

[Confiteor_Deo]

I read that they tortured people who did not repent of their heresy.

They did occasionally torture people as a last resort to get the truth, but not as a form of punishment nor to make them repent.

 

[Tomdstone]

They did occasionally torture people as a last resort to get the truth, but not as a form of punishment nor to make them repent.

According to the Jewish virtual library:
“In 1481 the Inquisition started in Spain and ultimately surpassed the medieval Inquisition, in both scope and intensity. Conversos (Secret Jews) and New Christians were targeted because of their close relations to the Jewish community, many of whom were Jews in all but their name. …In 1483 Tomas de Torquemada became the inquisitor-general for most of Spain, he set tribunals in many cities. Also heading the Inquisition in Spain were two Dominican monks, Miguel de Morillo and Juan de San Martin.
First, they arrested Conversos and notable figures in Seville; in Seville more than 700 Conversos were burned at the stake and 5,000 repented. …” IOW, if you repented you were not burned at the stake.
jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Inquisition.html

 

[Confiteor_Deo]

According to the Jewish virtual library:
“In 1481 the Inquisition started in Spain and ultimately surpassed the medieval Inquisition, in both scope and intensity. Conversos (Secret Jews) and New Christians were targeted because of their close relations to the Jewish community, many of whom were Jews in all but their name. …In 1483 Tomas de Torquemada became the inquisitor-general for most of Spain, he set tribunals in many cities. Also heading the Inquisition in Spain were two Dominican monks, Miguel de Morillo and Juan de San Martin.
First, they arrested Conversos and notable figures in Seville; in Seville more than 700 Conversos were burned at the stake and 5,000 repented. …” IOW, if you repented you were not burned at the stake.
jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Inquisition.html

That is not a form of torture to make someone repent. Burning at the stake is execution.

 

[Gabriel_of_12]

According to the Jewish virtual library:

First, they** arrested Conversos and notable figures **in Seville; in Seville more than 700 Conversos were burned at the stake and 5,000 repented. …" IOW, if you repented you were not burned at the stake.
jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Inquisition.html

Question? If you were the Catholic King or Queen of Spain and sent religious men to seek out heretics who were infecting your people of heresy ,which under secular laws of the time was a crime of high treason against the ruling Royals and nobles. And you learn and find out that the rumors within your secular kingdom were true, that the Inquisitors located secret (learned, educated) Jews posing as Catholics, along with (learned and educated) Catholic public officials in a leading position could upset the balance of your kingdom with heretics and heresies (i.e Masons), not only against the King’s Catholic faith but the King’s political throne. What would you do to these confessed heretics?

Granted the Church is aware of how some of the historical secular royals abused the Inquisition to their favor by accusing their opponents of heresy and treason only to shift the balance of a questionable power in their favor. Some of the falsely accused escaped death from the assistance of the Inquisitors.

No one speaks of how the Inquisitors would (save many accused heretics) report to the Pope of their finding’s by political powers using the Inquisitors as an excuse for the royals to kill their rivals to the throne, just to give one example.

Thus it is wrong to mistakenly believe that the Catholic Church administered unlawful torture or burning heretics at the stake. When she never has the power to administer capital punishment upon non believers nor confessed (learned, educated, Catholics in a teaching or leading position of the people) heretics who refused to repent.

Viewing this history from a Jewish or Muslim faith who mixes their religion with secular powers, can give them the wrong impression that a Catholic secular King speaks or acts for the whole Catholic faith, and thereby make a false conclusion that the Catholic Church burned heretics and non believers at the stake.

I also noticed protestant writers and non Catholic Christian clergy also make this false interpretation of mixing the historical Caesars with what belongs to the Caesars with those things that belong to God, His Church.