Characters Of The Inquisition William Thomas Walsh by William Thomas Walsh instant download after payment.

THE very word “Inquisition,” which once enjoyed the connotation, as well as the meaning, of “inquiry,” has become almost synonymous in the modern world with “bigotry,” “intolerance,” “cruelty.” Men who are not quite sure what are the essentials of Christian belief are convinced that the burning of a human being for denying certain dogmas is not reconcilable with the teachings of Christ and the profession of a Christian. Men who cannot agree on a definition of the word “God,” and are doubtful whether they believe in a God, will declare without hesitation that there is nothing godly about inflicting personal injury, or even deprivation of liberty, on those who do not agree with us. And since the Inquisitors were Catholics, it is clear that the Catholic Church in the modern world has suffered much in reputation on their account; the more so because the histories of the Inquisition have generally been written and disseminated by her adversaries.

A young Catholic sometimes is puzzled not only to answer the accusations of those not of his Faith but to satisfy the questionings of his own heart. He knows some priests, and whatever faults they have as human beings, they are not bloodthirsty men, quite the contrary as a rule; he knows Protestants and Jews, and sees nothing in them deserving of torment, much less hideous death. Some have left the Catholic fold, alleging this reason; others, attracted to her, have been kept outside by this one obstacle. No one sees Catholics today burning unbelievers, even in Ireland and Portugal, where the population is almost entirely Catholic; nor does any man of sense foresee the likelihood of a future persecution involving Catholics—except, perhaps, as victims. Yet vast numbers of persons continue to associate the word “Inquisition” with vague notions of Catholic dogma; as though the thing were essentially and peculiarly Catholic, and began and ended in the Catholic Church.