5 Things Most Get Wrong About the Inquisition 

The more I learn about church history, the more I realize I have been lied to for years. Great video!

As an ordained (retired now) evangelical minister, I too am accountable for my theology and teaching. When I was ordained, I affirmed my belief in the doctrine of my church. If I ever were to change those beliefs, integrity would require that I notify my superiors and either transfer my ordination to a group conforming to my current beliefs, or relinquish my ordination. If I were to start teaching something that directly conflicts with the teaching of my denomination, I certainly would expect that those in authority over me would "inquire" into the situation. The first step would undoubtedly be to attempt to "correct" my beliefs. Failing that, if the difference in theology did not involve departing from the essentials of the faith, I likely would be given an opportunity to transfer to a compatible denomination. Failing that, I would be entitled to a trial, and if found guilty of heresy, would be expelled from the church and defrocked. While the violence is certainly unacceptable, other than that Protestant evangelicals certainly cannot criticize the Catholic Church for having a similar system.

Hi Father Casey, I was bored in class one day and checked out your wikipedia article. I was quite surprised to learn that you regularly attended mass at my local parish (though a little before my family did) and went to a high school which was the main rival of mine (again, separated by several years, go Catamounts). Small world!

I used to believe so many of the popular lies and propaganda against the church. But i am a history buff so i started reading and studying and the more i looked into things the more I realized even the worst errors of the church were often blown way out of proportion. Not that a little evil is any more acceptable than a great one but it does show the importance of independent study and CONTEXT

Very insightful, Father. Thank you. I always look forward to your videos. ❤

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition… was actually pretty tame

Please make a video on how to pray. 🙏

For people looking to research what Fr Casey just said they should read Henry Kamens book on the Spanish Inquisition as well as Edward Peters 1988 book on the Inquisition.

Christ is Lord

Thanks. Man, am I GLAD for the pathway afforded to ME for returning to the Faith.

I didn’t expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition

Watching in Spanish class rn because I'm bored

A small missing detail is that the expulsion and confiscation of land of Jews and Muslims in Spain came not as a result of the Inquisition per se but as a result of a coup attempt against the King plotted by wealthy Jews and supported by Muslims. Once the coup was defeated the king ordered them to convert to Christianity or leave the country. And many chose to leave.

Father Casey, I’m surprised that you know that movie History of the World with Mel Brooks. I remember watching that movie when it came out. It was very funny. The 1st movie was better than the 2nd one.

On the Cathars (1:03) most scholars today actually very much doubt the existence of Cathars as a sect. There were certainly people with strange religious ideas, but "Catharism" itself was mostly imagined by the Church.

Well, I didn't expect this video... 🤪

The only thing I slightly disagree with is your closing comment about modern disinformation. In the secular world at least, what is dismissed as "disinformation" often turns out to be true in the fullness of time.

Nobody expects them...

I didn’t expect this.

Thank you for this video, I found the section on the Roman Inquisition educational. I have to admit I am a bit disappointed in your interpretation of the Spanish Inquisition. I feel this is more of a party line defence rather than focusing on what is the origin of the matter: the grave sins carried out by the medieval papacy, which were incorrectly adopted by and carried on into both the pre-Vatican II Church and the world at large. The effects of the Inquisition remain a scar on the world today, and the violent tactics it inflicted on societies are still part of the playbook for brutal demagogues today. In its early years the SI was so violent that just by word of mouth Sixtus concluded it was out of control. He attempted to rein it in, but ultimately let to continue -- a purely political act by him to appease Isabella and Ferdinand, and not at all with salvation in mind. I wouldn't call it a move taken by the pontiff Pope Sixtus IV, but rather that of the man formerly known as Francisco della Rovere, abusing the instrument of the papacy for political ends. I felt you largely glanced over the torture, focusing primarily on emphasising a minimal body count. The body count isn't the point; the SI social cost generated an atmosphere of fear in its victims and belligerence in the populace. No, there were no late night no-knocks as you rightly point out. But the show of force by setting up publicly, as ordered by the crown, with the authorization by the church, with interrogations and tortures carried out by friars, gave every reactionary lord and peasant to engage in thuggery and mob rule against anyone perceived to be different or "impure" -- remember, victims included what we would today call queer people and single cat ladies. It was a purely about division, not communion. The Holy Child of La Guardia did not exist, but the lies spread about Jews, reinforced by Church authorities advocating replacement theology, led directly to the Alhambra Decree. This was learned behaviour by people, and they learned it from the church. Just as today's cynical players want you to believe Haitians are stealing and eating your pets as a pretext for mass deportations. The SI is not worth defending but rather something the church as well (as the Dominican Order, iykyk) owe a debt to humanity for. Where does defending such a task end up in the year 2024 and beyond? Indifference to today's secular persecutors? Hard supersessionism, despite of Vatican II? By falling short of the Church's role as God's representative on earth, past occupants of the See of Peter have indeed played a significant role in aiding unique evil in this world which is still being felt today. And it is okay to admit that it was wrong! It is okay to confess. It is okay to repent. It's all okay to do that. Dismissing it as a minor blemish on the surface rather than a gaping self-inflicted wound on the heart is not doing that. And that should be the guiding principle when approaching the Spanish Inquisition.

14 or so deaths a year is still a hunger games level amount of death for a small country to have. At less than 10 million people total and given year, that would be more like 140+ deaths in the US today

Was one of it that: someone actually expected it? 🤔

The “oh we weren’t responsible we just pointed the finger for others to commit murder in our name” argument is all I need to know. Repent of the inquisition and the sins committed, don’t make excuses for them and try to paint the blood soaked medieval history of the church as Christlike.

By listing them, we decree and declare that all the faithful of both sexes must regard them as condemned, reprobated, and rejected . . . We restrain all in the virtue of holy obedience and under the penalty of an automatic major excommunication… That heretics be burned is against the will of the Spirit. -Exsurge Domina

Yes Inquisitor. That’s the Word Bearer right there. (If you know, you know;) )

Where's the Goa Inquisition?

Waldensians…so Protestants?

Here’s something they won’t teach you in catholic school

Can you address the pope's comments that all religions and gods are the same?

Nobody expected this

Well this was unexpected

What are some books/resources one can look into for more information?

this is actually what I was told the church tried to bring order to the chaos of blames of heresy, though nowhere as fun or fantastical as the stories and ledgends, the church also limited how long torture could be used and what would be used, though since the church and the governance of a contry were close to one and other some may equate them as one in the same, though in the papal states they were rueled with the pope as leader under the church not unlike vatican city today,

Some of the best sources to go to for those folks who really have no idea of the history of inquisitions are Jewish sources. Netanyahu (sic) and Horowitz, who was on the Government of Spains 20th Century inquiry into the Spanish Inquisition. Was it a bed of roses? No, but nothing like some Protestants, atheists, and secularists imagine it to be. You want to see brutality in the name of religion, look no further than English Protestant persecution of Catholics and others during the reign of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. Misconceptions of the inquisitions rank right up there with misconceptions about The Crusades. Both suffer from what is known as "Presentism."

This was unexpected

Whatever it is the Catholic Church becoming an institution will muscle around when there is powerful political backing.

This is misinformation, "secular authorities were cruel, not the church". The church had the power to command or disallow anything.

New title: Five things the Pope doesn't want you to know about his Papist inquisition.

Inquisition: the wrong way to do the right thing.