The term Inquisition can apply to any one of several institutions charged with trying and convicting heretics (or other offenders against canon law) within the Catholic Church. It may also reference:
Before the 12th century, the Catholic Church already suppressed what it saw as heresy, usually through a system of ecclesiastical proscription or imprisonment, but rarely directly resorting to torture or executions — this form of punishment had many ...
more
The term Inquisition can apply to any one of several institutions charged with trying and convicting heretics (or other offenders against canon law) within the Catholic Church. It may also reference:
Before the 12th century, the Catholic Church already suppressed what it saw as heresy, usually through a system of ecclesiastical proscription or imprisonment, but rarely directly resorting to torture or executions — this form of punishment had many ecclesiastical opponents, although some non-secular countries punished heresy with the death penalty.
In the 12th century, in order to counter the spread of Catharism, prosecution of heretics became more frequent. The Church charged councils composed of bishops and archbishops with establishing inquisitions (see Episcopal Inquisition).
In the 13th century, Pope Gregory IX (reigned 1227–1241) assigned the duty of carrying out inquisitions to the Dominican Order. Inquisitors acted in the name of the Pope and with his full authority. They used...
less
