[RKV]

With respect the the activities of the Catholic Church you should read the "Catholic Encyclopedia" which clearly states that the Inquisition used torture on heretics as authorized by Pope Clement V and other popes and bishops. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08026a.htm

[jscd3]

While you are at it, your research would also show that the various Inquisitions were the fairest courts in the world at the time, far less likely to use torture or administer the death penalty than civil courts in Europe or any court in Asia.

You would also find that when the witch craze swept Europe in the 17th century, civil authorities were more likely to condemn people as witches then ecclesiastical authorites (Protestant or Catholic) and that those parts of Europe that were by far the least touched my the mania were those with an active Catholic Ecclestiastical court - Inquisition - because those courts required a far higher degree of evidence of guilt than other courts in Europe and were far less swayed by Emotion.

Obviously I'm not suggesting that the Church was perfect - it's made up of people, after all. However, it's judicial system was a lot fairer and more humane than the actual alternatives at the time.

[Bob Eimiller]

The Inquisition is a "blip" in time. Sure it happened but it's insignificant in the totality of Catholic History... A history full of human frailty.

So I have to say in response to your comment....."Big Deal"

[Antoninus]

With respect the the activities of the Catholic Church you should read the "Catholic Encyclopedia" which clearly states that the Inquisition used torture on heretics as authorized by Pope Clement V and other popes and bishops.

Out of context much? Find me one judicial institution in the Middle Ages (and even into the Renaissance and beyond) that didn't use torture as a matter of course when trying to extract a confession.

You'll be looking a long time...