A simple, *Yeah, that sure was wrong. It’s unfortunate that it happened. Good thing we’ve moved in from there.* would be nice to hear.
I’d hazard a guess that it would also effectively shut down any further opportunity for further accusations by those pushing the issue.
But it comes across as denial when the first reaction is *Yeah? So? Well, what about this, that, or you guys?* sounds like you’re defending the actions and not taking it as seriously as it warrants.
And there are some Catholics who I’ve never seen condemn the Inquisition. It’s almost like if they admit that it was wrong, that they are betraying their faith or being disloyal to Catholicism. What it comes across as is telling people that nothing has really changed in the Catholic church in that regard; that if the opportunity presented itself, it would happen again because nobody seems to see anything wrong with it.
A little good solid condemnation of evil even if it’s within your own ranks, can go a long way. Others see it for what it is. Admitting it is only going to come across as being more honest to a world looking on.
Just letting you know the impression it gives to non-Catholics.
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This issue has been discussed ad nauseum for years and years. Catholics have offered dismay and concern about the past, even though neither side has clean hands. I ask you again, how many times must this issue be addressed by the same Protestants, over and over and over again? The impression it gives to non-Catholics? Like those who claim to be former Catholics?
Will it ever be enough?
In your first reply, you asked about *another* Protestant.
The same ones should be given the same answer. They need not belabor the point. However, if someone new comes along, the same response will suffice.
It’s short, concise, to the point. Then you can change the subject.
I do recognize that both sides are guilty. Anyone who employs those kinds of draconian measures to ensure compliance to any belief system are working for the wrong side. It’s nothing Christ would ever condone and those who call themselves Christians and engage in that kind of behavior are liars.
The cold hard truth is that the world was a VERY DIFFERENT place several hundred years ago. Laws that we would consider barbaric today were the norm then. Stealing was a capital offense regardless of the amount, torture of prisoners was routine and Christians believed that heretics should die.
The Inquisition in Spain grew out of the Reconquista when the Iberian Peninsula was recaptured from the Muslims after nearly eight centuries. Yes, it got out of hand, but the death toll varies considerably depending on who wrote the history. Was it a tragedy? Certainly, but so were the Peasant Wars in Germany, the trials and executions in Geneva and later in England, Scotland and the American colonies (keep in mind that it was the secularists in post-Revolutionary America that first made an issue about the Salem Witch Trials).
The bottom line is that all of Christianity handled religious disputes horribly for over a thousand years and the biggest victims were the Jews. Catholics and Protestants may pretend that they were doing God’s Will during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, but the truth is that their actions were hardly more civilized than the modern Taliban.