Pity, but not compassion? Interesting.
Holy Inquisiton? I always thought it was just the Spanish Inquisition. So killing all those innocent people was Holy?
The Holy Inquisition is an ecclesial court set up by the Pope to sort out heresies in the Catholic Church. There have been many instances of such courts. The Spanish Inquisition is just the most well-known. The same office in the Vatican is now called Defense of the Doctrines of the Faith; the current Holy Father, Benedict XVI, used to head it as cardinal Ratzinger.
The Inquisition was charged of discovery of heresies. Its worst punishment was excommunication. If crimes have been discovered, the convict was passed over to the king's court. Often, heresy was also a crime of treason against the state, and so the state punished the convicts, in extreme cases, by the stake.
The modern analogy of the Holy Inquisition of the past would be to locate and excommunicate the pederast priests that have infiltrated the Church, and then hand them over th the DA to persecute for crimes, if pedohpilia was committed. One wishes the Church was more forceful with the inquisatory tactics when the scandals hit the Church. It is ironic how the same people most vocal in ridiculing the Church for the homosexuality scandal are the same poeple who have knee jerk reactions to the word "inquisition".
A History of The Inquisition
The New Inquisition: Spanish Inquisition does not live up to reputation of injustice