Inquisition

Inquisition (or Holy Office) An ecclesiastical court established c.1232 for the detection and punishment of heretics, at a time when sectarian groups were threatening not only the orthodoxy of the Catholic religion but the stability of contemporary society. The Inquisition came into being when FREDERICK II issued an edict entrusting the hunting-out of heretics to state inquisitors; Pope Gregory IX claimed it as a papal responsibility and appointed inquisitors, mostly drawn from the Franciscan and Dominican orders. He had previously ordered the Dominicans to crush the ALBIGENSIANS (1223). Those accused of heresy who refused to confess were tried before an inquisitor and jury and punishments were harsh, including confiscation of goods, torture, and death. The Index (a list of books condemned by the Church) was issued by the Congregation of the Inquisition in 1557. The SPANISH INQUISITION was a separate organization established in 1479 by the Spanish monarchy with papal approval. In 1965 the Holy Office was renamed the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.