Furthermore, the BBC production does an excellent job of explaining how the myth of the Spanish Inquisition arose in the first place. Anti-Spanish Protestants, mostly Lutherans, were master propagandists, printed and distributed copies of fabricated first-person accounts of Spanish Inquisition trials, and thus effectively whipped up sentiment against the Spanish crown. These propaganda pieces were the primary evidence that historians later used in constucting their accounts of the Inquisition (and most of those historians were Protestant). It was not until the late 1970's that the Vatican released the actual depositions from the Spanish Inquisitorial proceedings, and secular historians were literally SHOCKED by what they found. Strict, fair, and balanced procedures (relative to other courts of the day). Little use of torture, rarely were people handed over to criminal courts, and even more rarely did the state execute them for heresy(clerics have never executed or sentenced to execution, the purpose of the inquisition was to serve findings on heresy and blasphemy to civil courts to convict and sentence).
It is also important to remember differences between Continental and Anglo judicial practices. The English system is adversarial -- prosecutor, defense, neutral judge and jury. That is what we are accustomed to, but this sort of trial was never customary on the Continent. The Continental system, descending from Roman practices, was inquisitorial. The judge was investigator and prosecutor. Whence the practices of grace periods, investigations, etc. This was common stuff throughout the continent in secular affairs as well. It is foreign to English and Americans, but not obviously therefore unjust.
The conclusion of contemporary, historical research, carried out by secularists, is roughly this: the Spanish Inquisition was the most enlightened legal proceeding in Europe at the time.
These historians also openly admit that they really do not WANT to come to this conclusion. It shatters their image of an "oppressive medieval Church" from which Luther and Reason "set us free". The whole secularist, Enlightenment, historical self-conception is at stake in this research.
It would also be interesting to find out what some of the non-Catholic posters have to say about this BBC investigation.
These historians also openly admit that they really do not WANT to come to this conclusion. It shatters their image of an "oppressive medieval Church" from which Luther and Reason "set us free". The whole secularist, Enlightenment, historical self-conception is at stake in this research.
An indication of the success of this propaganda is the fact that most Catholics are unaware of the truth regarding the Inquisition.
It's also interesting to note that this information is difficult if not impossible to find on the BBC website. I went to their site and did a search on the Inquisition and what did I find? Stories including the usual propaganda. But I couldn't find the program containing scholarly information. I'm shocked. Shocked!
Maybe NPR will do a program soon that will set the record straight...
This should make headlines everywhere! < holding breath>