The Black Legend of the Spanish Inquisition Put to Rest
Ron Westernik/Phillip Mericle
It
never fails to amaze me how ignorant the general population, especially
Catholics, regarding what so called historians have perpetuated as
facts pertaining to the Spanish Inquisition. Notwithstanding my
references in the past to a 1994 BBC documentary on the subject which
illustrates quite clearly the myths established as facts regarding The
Inquisition, but also details the methods and means used by the
inquisition courts which were much more merciful and lenient than the
"King's" or civil court. Below is an excellent review of the BBC
documentary with a youtube link to the documentary itself. IMHO, the
review and the documentary put to rest the BS promoted by the
Protestants (to this day) regarding what the Spanish Inquisition was. --
Ron
The Myth of the Spanish Inquisition
reviewed by Phillip Mericle
In the years I’ve been a Catholic I’ve noticed that one subject frequently brought up about the “evils” of the Church is the “infamy” of the Spanish Inquisition. How many movies and television shows have we seen that depict the Inquisition of Spain as a bloodthirsty and tyrannical tribunal determined to cow the world with fear as it slaughters without concern for law or evidence?
Many Catholics I’ve met even apologize for the Spanish Inquisition, as if it were a black mark in the History of the Church that must be swept under the carpet, like the Crusades. Protestants cite it as the cruel reality of Roman tyranny, while atheists sneer at it as the inevitable product of religious belief.
The impartial analysis of Inquisition archives, like the one in Salamanca above, destroys the Black Myth
The Myth of the Spanish Inquisition (BBC 1994)
This 46-minute film, produced in 1994,
outlines the history and facts of the Spanish Inquisition, basing its
information on a systematic study of the private official records of the
Inquisition. Although the archives are massive and exhaustive, even the
beginning phases of research showed a very different image than that of
a cruel and sadistic Catholic tribunal. Instead, what we get is an
image of one of the fairest and most levelheaded tribunals of Europe. In
this film the Black Myth of the Spanish Inquisition is denounced by the
disinterested third party of the BBC.
The argument that this film makes rests on several points. First, the
archives that were meticulously kept by the Inquisition were intended
only for the Inquisition's use. Thus it cannot be said that they were
colored to present a favorable image for the public eye.
The Inquisition rule book strictly forbade the forms of torture Protestants pretend were applied
But what of the information itself? The data derived from these archives
show us a tribunal that was fair, level-headed, restrained, reluctant
to resort to execution and even more reluctant to resort to torture.
Many forms of torture, such as the wheel and iron maiden, were never
used by the Inquisition at all.
Inquisitors came from the ranks of university lawyers and based their
inquiries on law. According to the BBC’s research, one district of the
Inquisition would not even consider cases where women were accused of
witchcraft. Such accusations were so lacking in solid evidence that the
Inquisition declared the inquiries to be the result of superstition.
Inquisition courts and prisons were the envy of the land, and criminals
would actually blaspheme in secular courts in the hope that they would
be brought before the Holy Inquisition instead. The sentences of the
Spanish Inquisition were much more lenient than those of the courts of
France, England, the Holy Roman Empire, and other European countries.
The Inquisition did not have immense power in the temporal sphere, as
the Protestants would pretend. In the major cities of Spain, the
aristocracy, secular institutions and even other Church institutions all
competed for power and royal favor, leaving the Inquisition with little
influence. Their weight was even less in the countryside where the
territories were vast and the peasants uncooperative.
In an era where travel was difficult two inquisitors could be
responsible for thousands of square miles. Additionally, the peasantry
were so ignorant that some priests would simply instruct their
parishioners to respond to the inquisition with silence to prevent them
from saying something superstitious that might oblige an investigation.
For the university educated inquisitors, questioning such rustic and
uncooperative people was an unpleasant waste of time, and many
Inquisitors shirked their duty rather than make such fruitless visits.
But how did the Black Myth of an unjust and cruel Spanish Inquisition spread? Where did it originate and how?
Protestants resorted to calumnies spread by the printing press after being defeated
The historical information presented in this documentary points straight
to the Protestants. Defeated on the battlefield by the Catholic armies
of the Habsburg Empire, the Protestants resorted to the printing press
to spread calumnies against the Church, focusing on Spain as the
superpower of the day in much the same way that the United States is
viewed as the epitome of Western evil by many Muslims today.
The Holy Spanish Inquisition, not to mention the personal character of
the Spanish Kings, became the target of the Protestant pen. The Catholic
countries, loathe to resort to such low combat as calumny and printed
lies, did not respond adequately to what historians are now discovering
to be the forgeries and falsified evidence left by resentful
Protestants. Fabrications about the supposed torture and cruelties of
the Inquisition spread like wildfire among those ready to pounce at the
slightest pretense to defame Spain or Holy Mother Church. It is this
Black Myth that continues to be spread by partisans of the French
Revolution, Freemasons, and Hollywood film makers today. This is why to
this day those initial falsities continue to live in the public’s mind.
Although this video adopts a secular perspective, such as its
presumption that Devil worship and witchcraft were bogus from the start
or when it puts the Catholic military in a bad light, I believe it
offers a predominantly unbiased response to the many false accusations
leveled at the History of the Catholic Church. I encourage our readers
to watch and spread this video and information to those they know, thus
helping in at least some small way to repair the damage done to the
reputation of the Church and her holy institutions.
The Inquisition rule book strictly forbade the forms of torture Protestants pretend were applied
Protestants resorted to calumnies spread by the printing press after being defeated