Martignoni: The Catholic Church killed millions? Is that true?

BY JOHN MARTIGNONI

Question:
My brother, who left the Church several years ago, has recently started accusing the Catholic Church of genocide because of what the Church did during the Inquisition.  He said the Church killed millions of people during the Inquisition.  Is that true?

Answer:
I have had people say to me that the Catholic Church killed as many as 63 million people during the Inquisition.  The problem is, the entire population of Europe at any given time during the 15th and 16th centuries, when the Inquisition was the most active, is estimated to have been around 30-35 million people.  So, did the Inquisition kill the entire population of Europe twice over?  I don’t think so.   

There are many myths about the Inquisition, particularly the Spanish Inquisition, that got started with some very good Protestant propaganda written in the late 16th century when things between Catholics and Protestants were not very pleasant, to say the least, and relations between Protestant England and Catholic Spain were rather hostile.  Unfortunately, those myths have been perpetuated for hundreds of years down to our day and age, so that the average person, including many Catholics, swallow them hook, line, and sinker.  

Now, I don’t want to whitewash what occurred during the Inquisition, since in any such endeavor that involves human beings there will be mistakes made, sins committed, and evils perpetrated, but I do want to set some of the facts straight so that the Inquisition can be properly judged within its historical context.

Not too long ago, I believe it was in the 90’s, the Vatican released literally thousands of records pertaining to Inquisition cases that had never before been studied by scholars.  Those historical documents have changed the view of many in regards to the Inquisition.  For example, when most people think of the Inquisition, they think of torture and executions.  The Vatican records, however, which are the actual records of the court cases that were made at the time, show that torture was very seldom used.  Compared with the frequency of torture in the civil courts of those centuries, the Inquisition courts were a few hundred years ahead of their time.  

Over the approximately 450 year history of the Inquisition, in several different countries, it is now estimated that somewhere around 5000 people who went through Inquisition courts wound up being executed by the civil authorities.  A much lower number than most people have in their minds when they think of the Inquisition, and certainly not 63 million.  One might say, “Fine, but 5000 people killed for heresy is 5000 too many.”  Indeed, but you need to take into account the times they were in.  Heresy was not just a religious crime, it was usually a crime against the state as well, and that was true throughout Europe – Catholic and Protestant Europe.  Just think of all the Catholic martyrs there were in England, for example.  Heresy and treason were pretty much considered one and the same crime.  

Also, the Inquisition courts were superior to the civil courts of the time in terms of the burden of proof that was required to convict and in terms of the legal representation that was given to the accused.  The prisons of the Inquisition were also far more humane than the prisons of the secular authorities.  Scholars have found instances of prisoners in secular criminal courts blaspheming in order to get into the Inquisition prison.  

Again, all of this is not to say that there were no wrongs done during the Inquisition, but rather to make sure the history of the Inquisition is accurate and is considered in its proper context.  Were people put to death for heresy in the Inquisition courts?  Yes.  But, in England at the time, you could be put to death for things such as damaging the shrubbery in a common garden.  In France you could be disemboweled for sheep stealing.  And, in all of those countries, and even in our country today, you could be put to death for treason which, as I’ve already mentioned, was what heresy was often viewed as.  

Also, it needs to be mentioned, that the Inquisition courts, in the Catholic countries where they operated, quite often prevented a number of “witches” from being burned at the stake.  There was no such restraint in the Protestant countries of the time.  

Finally, one needs to consider that over a period of 450 years, in medieval Europe, approximately 5000 people who were tried in Inquisition courts received the death penalty.  Over a period of 38 years, since the Roe v. Wade court case, in the modern day United States of America, approximately 50 million people, who were never given a trial, have received the death penalty.  Who should be judging whom?

About John Martignoni John Martignoni is the Director of Evangelization for the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama and also the President of the Bible Christian Society. John's column, Apologetics 101, appears regularly in the diocesan newspaper, the One Voice.  If you have a question about the Catholic Faith, please send an email to: jmartignoni@bhmdiocese.org.  And check out John's free audio and written apologetics materials at: www.biblechristiansociety.com.