That is precisely why I rejoined the church in June. Once all the wrong ideas were identified, I saw how little I knew about the faith to which I was technically born. And when I actually put effort into getting to know Catholicism, I learned that just about everything I encountered, had very sound reasoning behind it. Sometimes, the reasons were modern insofar as only in modern times we can explain the benefits scientifically. But the benefits were always right there for us to enjoy if only we wanted to accept the gift.
What he fails to mention is the fact, that the inquisition hadn't to kill so many heretics, because if the church had to deal with a large group of heretics, the popes choosed to use crusades. When the crusaders captured Béziers they killed EVERYONE. "Let God choose his own.". It is also deeply troubling to me, that he makes a seperation between the church and the state. The pope was considered to hold both spiritual and temporal power.
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
@@Justanotherconsumer No. Most of the stuff people think the Catholic Church did, it didn't and that which it did do is either misunderstood or not looked at in context. Take child abuse. One case is too many. Absolutely. However there is more abuse outside the Catholic Church than in it.
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.
Sure they can. They just have to criticize themselves too. Repenting is nothing new - recognizing that we have been sinners and we have to reject who we were, not make excuses for it and love our own failings.
@@Justanotherconsumer I ***think*** you misunderstood my point. I was not talking about failings or heresy - I was talking about the fact that both Catholics and evangelical Protestants have systems in place to deal with people who stray from the theological positions held by their respective churches. Logically, neither can criticize the other for having such systems.
@@vincewardethose systems, both Catholic and not, often have the same problems. Check out the work of Saint Nicholas Owen, for some context of non-Catholics behaving badly in their systems of enforcing doctrine, for example.
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!
@davethesid8960 no, I'm just saying all someone has do to find who this guy is and where he lives is significantly less than the avg person because of this comment.
As a Catholic, I feel a great shame That the heroes of old put everything on the line for the truth, devoted their lives to correcting heresy, and receive scorn from the world hundreds of years later and I don’t even have the guts or knowledge to defend my faith at my job. Thank you again Father Casey for emphasizing truth over the historical narrative of darkness.
That we don’t praise the thought police enough? OK, well, you’re entitled to your opinion, but don’t share that one outside of an anonymous forum like RUclips, it won’t go well.
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.
And you have evidence of that; do you know how First Nation peoples in the Americas were treated if they refused to convert. Why do Christian just make up stuff
It's also worth noting. Kings, Lords and Judges are not necessarily Theologians, so a lot of them would accidently convict people of heresy, for things that were simple diversity of opinion, Even the Spanish Inquisition was incredibly merciful for the time because at the very least you were less likely to be mistakenly convicted of formal heresy because you had an actual theologian like a Dominican Thomist judging rather than a secular authority
I appreciate this video and its timing. I'm in the Inquiry process as a cradle Protestant, and en route to the Rite of Welcome. This, the history of the witch trials, and the crusades have kinda been my last holdouts on Roman Catholicism. Your videos have been an exceptional help to getting past my barriers to entry throughout this process and helping me to better understand what Catholicism is actually about.
The witch trials were mostly a protestant thing. Catholics were forbidden to believe in witchcraft at all. The often quoted Book The Witch Hammer, was written by a catholic priest yes, but he was Exiled for heresy for it.
Your top priority hold-out should be the lie concerning the "real presence" of Christ in the Eucharist. He himself said his "real, physical presence" was GOING AWAY, no less than 10 times; therefore he is NOT physically present in an every crumb of bread and every molecular drop of wine. THAT, I will have you know, is science fiction. Care to respond?
When I walked away from my faith in my 20s and 30s, I bought into many of the myths surrounding the Inquisition. Unfortunately, I was all too content to confirm my own biases by grounding my cursory understanding of Church history in the lore and hyperbolic claims of its secular detractors. I am thankful that we now have knowledgeable sources, like Father Casey, who can provide a very accessible refutation to the propaganda that has disparaged our Church for far too long.
Thank you for this video Father Casey, however, I have some responses. First, there is a lack of understanding about how a small number of violent attacks against a particular persecuted group affect the group as a whole. I would point, for example, to the experience of black Americans during Jim Crow.the number of lynching and mass attacks was relatively small compared to the overall black population but the terror those events induced was very large.
The thing with the Spanish inquisition to to keep in mind, Spain was conquered and occupied for many many years and finally got their land back, so of course they’re gonna be suspicious of sympathizers to the other side
@@Justanotherconsumer so what was the church supposed to do just bow down and take it? That’s one thing that I love and respect about our Muslim brothers and sisters is they will stand up and fight for something where I believe Christianity is too soft at times. To put it in a modern day perspective if you wear a T-shirt that says Jesus is gay for example and you walk around a Christian area. Nobody will do anything. People might not like it, but people will just look the other way. On the same token if you were that same, Jesus is gay and a Muslim neighborhood or area. They’ll beat you up in public. They won’t put up with it. It’s not gonna happen. So sometimes I would argue that Muslim stand up and defend Jesus more than many of us Christians do
Uhm... you think Jesus, who gave his life, turned in the other cheek and healed the ear Peter cut of the soldier would Felt "stood up for" if you beat someone up for him?
You can calculate that if you lived during the time of the Inquisition, you had more than ten times higher chances to get struck by lightning than to be executed by the Inquisition. Yet interestingly, the myth of people not even being able to even sneeze without being dragged away by the inquisition, is spread by people who do agree with certain modern ideologies which did exactly that to tens of millions of people.
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.
@@chilenobarruciaallowing others to use the authority of the church involves the church. If there was evidence the church objected to it that would definitely help the case.
I think the anti Cathar crusade deserves more attention in your video. It was a particularly bloody affair carried out by northern French knights who fought a war against the Cathars with the Church's and the King of Frances's blessing. Most of the blood spilt was by secular authorities/ private armies of course but the Church does bear moral responsibility. This sad affair was carried out over several decades as a religious crusade where I understand knights could win indulgences / land for slaughtering heretics. Needless to say this had predictable outcomes. The Spanish Inquisition whilst cruel and mostly a political affair was a stroll in the park by comparison
I am totally happy that my country - The United States of America - has separation of church and state. You can follow what ever religion you want so long as you do not impose it on others.
Even Christians should want this. Having a state religion is just asking for denominations to use it as a stick against eachother, let alone other religions or lack thereof
I'm afraid the U.S. is nowhere near as separate in that regards, given whats going on with the Republican Party/Christian Nationalists/MAGA and the Supreme Court, as most of the rest of the Western World.
What happened to Jews who converted to Christianity under duress ( Ferdinand & Isabella), but felt compelled to resume the religion of their birth, which placed them in the hands of the Inquisitors. Jews who refused to convert were expelled from Spain. Fr. Casey might also consider the crypto-Jews in the New World - outwardly Catholic but continuing to practice some Jewish rituals to this day. The whole business is a blot on Church history.
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."
@@Justanotherconsumer you said that, not me. I pointed out how Protestants, with little or no historical knowledge of inquisitions, have selective memory of Protestantism’s role in all of this. A cursory study of Elizabethan England and the Geneva of Calvin show those religious movements had their own inquisitions. In other words one should not be so quick to judge.
@@custisstandish1961Elizabethans bad too doesn’t make anyone good, Protestant or otherwise. The Inquisition’s use of torture was evil, full stop no further qualification. Other people did horrible things, and continue to do them, and I have every sympathy and prayer for Catholics currently living under the threat of the one we call Winnie the Pooh because of censorship. That doesn’t make the Inquisition any less wrong.
@@Justanotherconsumer But we have to know what it was to know what was wrong. The truth matters. The historical facts about what actually happened matter. That way we repent for the wrongs we actually did.
@1:48 You ever take a selfie and realize "dang, this is not a good look"? Imagine this guy having to wait for the painter to be finished and he looks at the portrait, then goes "wait, my beard looks like THAT?? Ugh, TFW..."
Rodney Stark's Bearing False Witness has a chapter debunking myths about the Inquisition. His book God's Battalions specifically on the crusades is also excellent.
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.
Yes. The inquisition was not that bloody. Other instruments of the Catholic church were. I am glad you mentioned Waldensians. They were massacred by armies that the pope promised full forgivness for sins for killing them all. During the mentioned reformation some of the Catholic armies were lead by cardinals too. The church is directly responsible for killing done because of it's orders. On the other hand a different video should talk about that. I just feel that this should be mentioned here somehow, so that we know where the church killed, and where it did not when adressing the issues mentioned in the video.
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,
Yet they are proud of it, rather than repenting and rejecting who they were, and that is a far greater problem now than what happened then. The refusal to admit it was wrong is where it becomes problematic.
@@Justanotherconsumer yes we all have problems, and in our arrogance hubris and pride will not acknowlage something even if the fact will litteraly smack them across the face like an angry cat and its anger is denied or something is on fire but they wont say it yet its inches from their face. some however are litteraly not taught right from wrong they are amoral, having no systom of right or wrong to guide them and do what ever they can as an oppratunist of the worst caliber. we all have problems and I know I have some but am too afraid to take the next step and what it entails, carrying that cross.
@@manga12does the Catholic Church have a system of right and wrong? This video rejects that claim, because they are did things they know are wrong and they are still making excuses rather than calling them wrong. Follow Christ, not Christians.
@@Justanotherconsumer No he admits they are wrong. He just clarifies what we actually did. If someone claims you killed 80 million people (an actual claim put forward by some historians in the past), but that isn't true, then we've got a problem here. Is the fact that 3000-5000 people were killed in the inquisition a bad thing? Of course it is, no one should have been killed, and we should always repent of the wrongs we did. But we have to repent of the wrongs we committed, not the wrongs we didn't.
@@XYGamingRemedyGcomedy often plays with expectations. That said, no one would expect them in the 20th century UK given the time, the place, and the Church of England’s… less than Christlike approach to their Catholic colleagues.
Hi, I'm your local anti-Catholic locked in my parents basement and I'm just shocked and outraged that this video puts some truth and context next to the centuries ago "INQUISITION" [cue Vader music], I mean come-on, I hate the church because like many centuries ago, it did stuff....on the other side of the world and you know, taking my 4th Phd in History and Theology, I came to appreciate more the cruel impact this had on my own life....because...ohh heck, there's another gaming tournament about to start...later.....
Either way people still died. Whether by Civil or Religous Authority, people who may have believed that Jesus is Lord and Savior still suffered. Waldensians were forced hide for so long, almost decimated. The Huguenots in France were massacred.
Yes, you would think at least Christians might protest even a little, perhaps ex-communicate serial offenders. Instead they praised the worst offenders. Thomas Aquinas demanded the death penalty for folk who praised Jesus in a slightly different way: he didn't care at all for Jews, Muslims and women. They could be killed without even pretext of a trial. Mind you the them Pope denounced the Christians who sacked Constantinople as he had only called for Muslim cities to be razed.
"They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service." John 16:2 1) Claiming that Spain and the Church weren't basically the same, to claim that multiple sources say the deaths were highly overestimated is rather... interesting. The Civil Power could not cross the Religious Power, so they would likely have similar numbers. Were they accurate? Others say no. It would be like using only Nazi records hundreds of years after the Holocaust to count "actual" Jewish deaths. 2) This ignores the many that were killed in Crusades. Sure, you may be technically right about those burned the stake, but what about the many that were killed in the field and mass slaughtered without the benefit of a trial? These weren't just soldiers, but women and children in their villages. Those soldiers were granted absolution for going into combat and the Church either gave a blind eye or directly condoned the violence. 3) What are going on about right thinking? The Church was wrong about at least a few provable things. (Views on Science are the easiest to point out since we can't prove things not seen.) You're basically providing Atheists with a logical reason to use violence to suppress those they don't like. 4) The Church took as policy to use fear and violence to achieve their goals. This seeped into every aspect of society. It's kinda rich pointing out the supposedly low numbers executed. How many lived under constant fear? How many were captured and tortured? One has to assume the majority of people would have a hard time standing up in the face of torture not only of themselves but the ones they loved. What's fascinating is seeing how the Church teamed up with the Civil Power to suppress their own Templar Order, basically setting up Kangaroo Courts and killing off every single member they could find. If they could be that brutal against some of their champions, just imagine how much worse they could be against those they considered worse!
Tell that to the 1200 men women and children tortured to death in Spain alone: as Father Casey acknowledge. We haven't touched on 60,000 killings about witchcraft, pogroms against Jews and the heinous wars between Protestants and Roman Catholics in France
I hate to say this to you father Casey The inquisition was introduced in Mesoamérica after 1492. I know that because I lived in Guatemala for 41 years and their history is very clear about what the Catholic Church did against the Maya Indians. Ye I am Catholic, the way I look at it that it was not the church it’s el that did such horrendous things but the 5:32 people in the church. That gave the church a bad name. The truth is that what Jesus Chist had for his church was no other thing but justice and love
Nope. The Leyes Nuevas legal corpus emitted by the Spanish crown in the early 16th century strictly forbade this, recognizing that freshly baptized indigenous people were gullible and inexperienced Christians.
That was an awful quick mention of the Cathars in France and you somewhat glossed over how they were killed. And then the idea that somehow the Church at the time of the Spanish Inquisition was not political? Really? The fact was that in early Europe, the Church was literally in bed with the governments, the distinction was very unclear. Is it reasonable to simply say the bad parts are all just political, those true to religion in the clergy had nothing to do with it? I am sure there are some who were more reasonable and others less, but what you are doing here is similar to saying, on the topic of abuse from clergy, that there are bad apples in the Church but the church itself is not to blame. As many see it, including some in the Church, the Church's very structure is to a large extent responsible for ignoring or even empowering abuse.
Funny,I learned much of this in Church History a my Catholic high-school. It was a requirement to graduate. Possibly not as thoroughly as Fr. Casey told it here.
@@gabem4208 sure, the catechism includes 1100 texts; up from 700 when my wife was a child. But the Bible has 80 Books; 81 for the Ethiopians and over 70,000 words I would contend that reading selective texts to support particular attitudes is hardly studying the Bible. For example; my wife and her entire family and her mother was a Catholic school principal would not have known such basic information as how many books they had, let alone their names. They certainly would not know the gospel's stories, tales from OT. They even thought there were 3 wise men - that came from a Christmas coral, not the Bible. I confide that as an atheist; I have fun with things like their inability to name more than 3 or 4 disciples and they would include John. They did not know there was no list of 10 Commandments in the Bible or the fun ones about burning witches, 13 Tribes of Israel (levy is a tribe) Noah getting drunk, the first line of The Bible (to be honest almost all Christians get that wrong as the Hebrew is mistranslated) I am used to Christians knowing sod all about their own Faith. I am sure you have experienced the same matter with fellow parishioners. It isn't that hard to read and doesn't even take that long.
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
May I ask what your sources? What books or sources? I'd like to read more about the issue. I ask this especially since nothing you said makes me believe the inquisitions weren't horrible. I understand that I live in a country that at least claims to support religious freedom, an important context. However, ONE person being tortured or being handed over and executed for having wrong beliefs is too many. Thousands is unacceptable. I understand that state and religion had a very different relationship back then. I believe it only goes to show that individual conscience should be respected on a federal level when it comes to faith. Excommunicate a heretic, sure. Encourage repentance, sure. But to rehabilitate the inquisitions is similar in my opinion to saying the Salem witch trials weren't so bad, or arguing Mary Dyer deserved to be hung at Boston Commons. Final note, when it comes to the morality of church sins, "everyone else at the time was as bad" isn't going to cut it for me. The Church is called to be in the world but not of it. We should have higher standards for her.
Yes,i would also like to see hes sources,real original books or materials ,and how he researched this subject..Dont believe anyone until they show you real proof.
Halu good day/night, i am recommending for you to read noli me tangere and el felibusterismo it will give you insights how roman catholic church operate in my country in the late centuries, It was written by our national hero, and if possible will you give a review on it, if its true ir not.
@@javihernandez6040this is a propagandistic video. I mean, can’t blame the guy, he’s working for an organization that racked people and had them offed for disagreeing. Not safe to say anything but the approved line - still the same church, after all, and proud of their heritage.
@@Justanotherconsumer You should go with facts to vatican and debate with them maybe if you have evidence. More people have outside of europe than in Europe but i haven't seen them bitching like the jews have.
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
Though not entirely analogous, the rate of executions for formal obstinate heresy in Spain (14/yr) is basically the same as how many today are put to death on death row in the US in recent years (18 last year and 13 so far this year); however we see probably 15,000+ executions in US history (from 1608-1991 according to the Epsy File). Keep in mind that heresy was a capital crime in a Catholic medieval nation, largely because it harms the public order, but understandably the US death sentence is based more on violent crime than heresy, and I imagine Spain had harsh methods with penalizing violent crime as well.
The strange fruit of the South were also technically rare. That the state is going to off you with full endorsement from the people who claim to be the source of righteousness is very effective intimidation.
@@Justanotherconsumer I'm not sure I'd compare lynching (had to look up what "strange fruit" meant) to executing obstinate heretics. The problem with public heretics (in particular those who teach heresy) is that they can seriously disrupt public order in a catholic nation, potentially causing civil conflict because it can start a movement that is disobedient to the ruling authority (also heresy was considered spiritual murder); so catholic nations that want to maintain order have to do something about it. They didn't have the means to imprison for life and "rehab" evidently didn't work in the case of obstinate heretics (if they repented they wouldn't be executed). Objectively, public execution has an intimidating effect, which a medieval nation might want to do to deter others from causing problems. If it's an execution by fire, I've heard the reasoning there is that they wanted the heretic to taste the fires of hell as one last chance to repent. I think this is all reasonable in context. All that being said, I understand this is not palatable to a secular nation that has the capacity to imprison for life (if need be), and I'm glad we don't execute heretics anymore. I'm glad to take the approach of proposing the faith rather than imposing it.
@@kreatillion1718it’s exactly the same tactic - broadly publicized acts of violence used to demonstrate authority - following through on threats makes the threats real. Private Eddie Slovik is also similar (he unsuccessfully tried to prove the US Army wouldn’t execute for desertion). The South also wanted to maintain order - they wanted to make it clear that the plantation owners were still unquestionably in charge even if they didn’t technically “own” anyone.
That's simply, not accurate at all. The Spanish Kingdom had way more power and influence than their current geographical limits back then. The 14 deaths per year were no where near "hunger games" levels, not even close, that's just wishful thinking, the same kind of misconception [to not say blatant lie] that the people that started the myths about the inquisition, out of spite, not facts, did.
The power backing the Catholic Church is God. It is the one true church Jesus Christ established in 33AD. Modern secular society is very much against the church.
Hi Friar Casey, I usually love your videos and have watched almost all of them. But I think you missed the mark with this one, friend. As a friar, I understand you have a particular point of view, and that’s totally fine. But I feel some of the points you raised in this video focused on shifting blame to secular authorities and off of the church when in those days, there was essentially no separation. For example, saying those convicted by the church were “turned over to secular authorities who would decide the punishment” strikes me as particularly off base when church leaders would have absolutely known exactly what punishments were awaiting the convicted…and this after torturing them to extract information. Keep making your videos! I love your style! But I feel one of your strengths is also being honest about when the Catholic Church has simply strayed from Christ’s teachings and given in to human corruptibility.
I found that comment of church authorities turning people over to the secular authorities disturbing because it’s very similar to the relationship between the Wehrmacht and the SS.
@@mmmail1969 I really didn't. I mostly know about that because of people debunking the "Clean Wehrmacht" myth. And I like Casey, I most certainly am not looking for a reason to not like him, but the way he framed that as a defense unsettles me for the reason stated above.
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.
I think you have to look at this in light of the Reconquista, and the Muslims living across the Mediterranean. I'm sure it was not an era of social justice so much as an era of not losing ground in the West all over again, especially with the Mongol invasions almost wiping out the North and East of Christendom, and then the Turks taking Constantinople and going all the way to the Adriatic. And then the Protestant Reformation threatening from within, as well as the Spanish question of whether the people remaining after the Jewish and Muslim exile were even Christian or just Jewish/Muslim saboteurs against the Crown. Not an easy time to live in, and not an easy time to rule, and not an era where you would expect prisoner's rights and charitable treatment to be the first priority. I'm not saying that was right or wrong, I'm just saying it's easy to judge that society from our present one, where we have guaranteed religious freedom and citizen's rights upheld by the constitutional foundation of our democratic republic, and a level of security for our lifestyle unparalleled in human history.
I had the same reaction. "Oh it wasn't soooo bad. Just a few *thousand* were executed and we need no count on who was tortured". Call a spade a spade. It was reign of terror socially. This doesn't mean I think the whole medieval Church was cruel and corrupt, but I think it couldn't have helped but lay down some pavers for Protestantism.
@@jgw5491 Truth matters. When historians claim, as they did for hundreds of years, that the Catholic Church executed MILLIONS of people and it is false it must be called out. Is it it good that 3-5000 people were killed by the Spanish Inquisition? Of course not, no one should have been killed. It is VERY important we have the truth, however. Most of what we believe about the Inquisition is blatant myth and falsehood. We cannot repent for sins we didn't commit, it is unfair to ask someone to apologize for something they did not do. When we have clarity about what actually happened, we can apologize for the reality instead of for falsehoods and myths.
Friar Casey, I know you are far too young for this, but when Monty Python first aired on PBS, They did a skit called The Spanish Inquisition. When the Pythons show up at this elderly woman’s house, one of them proclaims let’s give her the rack! We have no rack! They tie a kitchen dish rack to her! It looks so foolish. Then they yell “We are the Spanish Inquisition” - this may not be funny today. The dish rack was over the top in the 70’s. Hope this gives some of you laugh. Once again, I learned something new. Peace be with all of you,
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.
No it's not alright. But if you think that STILL doesn't happen today by so called freedom loving upright democratic secular governments in the West as well, you have another think coming. At least people back then had the excuse of not copping on to the fact that information drawn from torture *isn't* reliable. Not much excuse for that now.
"In the 14th century, Dominican and Franciscan priests called on Christians to expel the Jews from Spain, blaming Jews for social problems and stirring the Christian majority to destroy synagogues, burn Jews alive, and impose forced conversion. Jews would be forced to attend sermons and have Christian preachers outline what the Christians viewed as the errors of their ways.[3] " Is this true?
The message of this video should have been one of admission of guilty, dispite the common misrepresentation of the inquisition. In Portugal alone, it's estimated that 1175 people were burned at the stake and around 30000 were attributed some kind of punishment. Many were beaten, many were arrested, some died in prison, many had their possesions "confiscated", many were forced to renounce their faith. The majority of the portuguese inquisitions leaders were clergy members, some were even cardinals. Also jesuits were important agents of inquisition, especially in the colonies. Church and state were equally responsible and persued a common goal. This video fails to recognize the church's direct envolvement. It was a very dark period in church history which should not be excused or downplayed in the slightest.
Yes, what response can there be than contrition for the Roman Catholic churches involvment in even one death because folk had different religious beliefs.
@@russellmiles2861don’t have to be that contrite, it was a long time ago and a small thing in the history of the world. Gaslighting people into thinking it was a good thing is the problem. It was not good. It honestly wasn’t that bad but it was unambiguously bad. Hiding from that, lying about it, trying to shift blame - these are not how any Christian denomination teaches us to handle our own sins.
@@Justanotherconsumer that doesn't mean we can't be contrite about our forebears conduct; just as we honour the greatest they achieved We are very selective in our remembrances
Maybe you haven't come across the lies that this video is seeking to address. It is commonly reported that the Spanish Inquisition killed 5 million people. Did the Inquisition cause harm? Yes. Unequivocally. But that isn't an excuse for people to exaggerate it into the "Burning Times." If anything, exaggerating numbers, as some people do, is detrimental to the cause of recognising real acts of evil that don't meet the cinematic requirements of TikTok.
Astonishing, this young priest makes no personal assessment of the many thousands that suffered and died resulting from religious inquisitions, glossing over the massive injustices inflicted on so many. As though it's sort of "OK" that it happened, totally heartless.
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.
I would argue in the light of a lot of the disinformation floating around and used deliberate by certain political parties, that actualy the VAST amount of it is blatant lies and propaganda used to demonise and inflame hatred.
Over 350 years? Just to give you context, roughly 170,000 people die every single day in our world. Roughly one death a month is not a particularly significant number.
Strange that often those who wish to hold today's Christians responsible for 3000-5000 deaths over more than 350 years, happening 500 years ago, have no problem defending ideologies which killed tens of millions of people within the last century. Or support the "Enlightenment" which executed ten times more people in a single year than the inquisition in over 350 years.
The more I learn about church history, the more I realize I have been lied to for years. Great video!
That is precisely why I rejoined the church in June. Once all the wrong ideas were identified, I saw how little I knew about the faith to which I was technically born.
And when I actually put effort into getting to know Catholicism, I learned that just about everything I encountered, had very sound reasoning behind it. Sometimes, the reasons were modern insofar as only in modern times we can explain the benefits scientifically. But the benefits were always right there for us to enjoy if only we wanted to accept the gift.
The same happened to me. I am still learning though and sometimes I need more time to process everything that I've been taught through my whole life ❤
What he fails to mention is the fact, that the inquisition hadn't to kill so many heretics, because if the church had to deal with a large group of heretics, the popes choosed to use crusades. When the crusaders captured Béziers they killed EVERYONE. "Let God choose his own.". It is also deeply troubling to me, that he makes a seperation between the church and the state. The pope was considered to hold both spiritual and temporal power.
You are still being lied to.
Really: it is Church History that teaches me the truth: God as He is is really a devil; due to their embrace of immorality as objectively good!
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 much so. People just love to bash the Catholic Church.
What were some of the worst lies and errors in which you feel are the most prolific?
OK. Your church has paid out more than $3 billion in compensation to itś victims. Can you put that in context for me?
@@BensWorkshopthat bashing has been earned.
Few organizations have the audacity to claim to be “holy” after doing the kinds of things Rome has.
@@Justanotherconsumer No. Most of the stuff people think the Catholic Church did, it didn't and that which it did do is either misunderstood or not looked at in context.
Take child abuse. One case is too many. Absolutely. However there is more abuse outside the Catholic Church than in it.
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.
Sure they can.
They just have to criticize themselves too.
Repenting is nothing new - recognizing that we have been sinners and we have to reject who we were, not make excuses for it and love our own failings.
@@Justanotherconsumer I ***think*** you misunderstood my point. I was not talking about failings or heresy - I was talking about the fact that both Catholics and evangelical Protestants have systems in place to deal with people who stray from the theological positions held by their respective churches. Logically, neither can criticize the other for having such systems.
@@vincewardethose systems, both Catholic and not, often have the same problems.
Check out the work of Saint Nicholas Owen, for some context of non-Catholics behaving badly in their systems of enforcing doctrine, for example.
@vincewarde, I am Catholic and I laud you for your intellectual honesty. Kudos!🎉🎉🎉
As for what your God feels about violence; I might suggest you read your Bible, perhaps Hosea 13:16.
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!
Sir, you may have doxxed yourself.
@@jameshowse300 Was his intention bad? Is this that personal and sensitive information?
@davethesid8960 no, I'm just saying all someone has do to find who this guy is and where he lives is significantly less than the avg person because of this comment.
@@jameshowse300 If someone has that intention and enough resources or connections, they can easily find anyone nowadays in this digital culture.
@@jameshowse300 Yes I am sure many people will want to find him and listen to some more of his fascinating life stories. Yawn.
As a Catholic, I feel a great shame
That the heroes of old put everything on the line for the truth, devoted their lives to correcting heresy, and receive scorn from the world hundreds of years later and I don’t even have the guts or knowledge to defend my faith at my job.
Thank you again Father Casey for emphasizing truth over the historical narrative of darkness.
That we don’t praise the thought police enough?
OK, well, you’re entitled to your opinion, but don’t share that one outside of an anonymous forum like RUclips, it won’t go well.
@@Justanotherconsumer You do not scare me.
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.
Clearly a lot of hard work went into the making of this video that well articulates the Truth. Bravo and thank you for a hard job well done.
Thanks Fr. for this, very informative and educative. Unfortunately most people today still believe the stereotypes and false history.
During some of the Inquisition folks would prefer the church inquisitor over the local sheriff of balif. Knowing they would get a more fair trial.
And you have evidence of that; do you know how First Nation peoples in the Americas were treated if they refused to convert.
Why do Christian just make up stuff
Very insightful, Father. Thank you. I always look forward to your videos. ❤
It's also worth noting. Kings, Lords and Judges are not necessarily Theologians, so a lot of them would accidently convict people of heresy, for things that were simple diversity of opinion, Even the Spanish Inquisition was incredibly merciful for the time because at the very least you were less likely to be mistakenly convicted of formal heresy because you had an actual theologian like a Dominican Thomist judging rather than a secular authority
Let’s face it, you can’t Torquemada anything!
Please make a video on how to pray. 🙏
Have you read Time For God yet? Also The Power of Silence
Thanks. Man, am I GLAD for the pathway afforded to ME for returning to the Faith.
Inquisition first legally innovated arrest and search warrants which was unheard of during historic times.
I have read a great deal about the inquisition. History’s mysteries did a good series on it back in the 90s.
I appreciate this video and its timing. I'm in the Inquiry process as a cradle Protestant, and en route to the Rite of Welcome. This, the history of the witch trials, and the crusades have kinda been my last holdouts on Roman Catholicism. Your videos have been an exceptional help to getting past my barriers to entry throughout this process and helping me to better understand what Catholicism is actually about.
The witch trials were mostly a protestant thing. Catholics were forbidden to believe in witchcraft at all. The often quoted Book The Witch Hammer, was written by a catholic priest yes, but he was Exiled for heresy for it.
Your top priority hold-out should be the lie concerning the "real presence" of Christ in the Eucharist. He himself said his "real, physical presence" was GOING AWAY, no less than 10 times; therefore he is NOT physically present in an every crumb of bread and every molecular drop of wine.
THAT, I will have you know, is science fiction.
Care to respond?
When I walked away from my faith in my 20s and 30s, I bought into many of the myths surrounding the Inquisition. Unfortunately, I was all too content to confirm my own biases by grounding my cursory understanding of Church history in the lore and hyperbolic claims of its secular detractors. I am thankful that we now have knowledgeable sources, like Father Casey, who can provide a very accessible refutation to the propaganda that has disparaged our Church for far too long.
Watching in Spanish class rn because I'm bored
Tengo ojos pero no puedo ver.
Thank you for this video Father Casey, however, I have some responses. First, there is a lack of understanding about how a small number of violent attacks against a particular persecuted group affect the group as a whole. I would point, for example, to the experience of black Americans during Jim Crow.the number of lynching and mass attacks was relatively small compared to the overall black population but the terror those events induced was very large.
So well said. What an excellent explanation!
I certainly wasn’t expecting this video
The thing with the Spanish inquisition to to keep in mind, Spain was conquered and occupied for many many years and finally got their land back, so of course they’re gonna be suspicious of sympathizers to the other side
Which is inevitably going to lead to government abuses.
That the church was willing to be used to assist is… not so good.
@@Justanotherconsumer so what was the church supposed to do just bow down and take it?
That’s one thing that I love and respect about our Muslim brothers and sisters is they will stand up and fight for something where I believe Christianity is too soft at times.
To put it in a modern day perspective if you wear a T-shirt that says Jesus is gay for example and you walk around a Christian area. Nobody will do anything. People might not like it, but people will just look the other way.
On the same token if you were that same, Jesus is gay and a Muslim neighborhood or area. They’ll beat you up in public. They won’t put up with it. It’s not gonna happen.
So sometimes I would argue that Muslim stand up and defend Jesus more than many of us Christians do
Uhm... you think Jesus, who gave his life, turned in the other cheek and healed the ear Peter cut of the soldier would Felt "stood up for" if you beat someone up for him?
Christ is Lord
Lord Jesus Christ son of God have mercy on all of us sinners.
Viva Cristo Rey !!!!!
Amen
Amen
You can calculate that if you lived during the time of the Inquisition, you had more than ten times higher chances to get struck by lightning than to be executed by the Inquisition. Yet interestingly, the myth of people not even being able to even sneeze without being dragged away by the inquisition, is spread by people who do agree with certain modern ideologies which did exactly that to tens of millions of people.
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.
I seem to remember that many of the Jews went to the Papal States. Which rather contradicts the myth that Catholics were always horrible.
So the church allowed itself to be used as an excuse to oppress others.
Not exactly Christlike.
@@Justanotherconsumer don't understand your reasoning that involves the Church
@@chilenobarruciaallowing others to use the authority of the church involves the church.
If there was evidence the church objected to it that would definitely help the case.
@@Justanotherconsumer Where is the authority of the Church being used?
Thank you, Fa🎉her Casey, once again, for your clear presentation.
You always cover these tough topics excellently father.
God Bless you
I think the anti Cathar crusade deserves more attention in your video. It was a particularly bloody affair carried out by northern French knights who fought a war against the Cathars with the Church's and the King of Frances's blessing. Most of the blood spilt was by secular authorities/ private armies of course but the Church does bear moral responsibility. This sad affair was carried out over several decades as a religious crusade where I understand knights could win indulgences / land for slaughtering heretics. Needless to say this had predictable outcomes.
The Spanish Inquisition whilst cruel and mostly a political affair was a stroll in the park by comparison
Well done video!
I certainly didn't expect Misconception 4, so I guess it holds true. 😂😂
Thank you, Father, thank you.
Yes Inquisitor. That’s the Word Bearer right there. (If you know, you know;) )
I was just thinking about the inquisition today then I found your video padre. 😅
I didn’t expect this.
No one does! 😊
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition
Moral authority does not allow torture, regardless of the Church's position.
I am totally happy that my country - The United States of America - has separation of church and state. You can follow what ever religion you want so long as you do not impose it on others.
Most Western countries are like that nowadays
Even Christians should want this. Having a state religion is just asking for denominations to use it as a stick against eachother, let alone other religions or lack thereof
I'm afraid the U.S. is nowhere near as separate in that regards, given whats going on with the Republican Party/Christian Nationalists/MAGA and the Supreme Court, as most of the rest of the Western World.
I'd love to see your references on the "torture" performed by the church in the Spanish Inquisition.
The first victim of any matter is the truth. Yes what happened was a sad affair, it also means facing wrongs is important.
I didn’t expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition
" NO ONE expects the Spanish Inquisition ! Our weapons are fear, surprise, and a fanatical
loyalty to the Pope ! "
Where can one enlist to be a member of the dicastery?
Well, I didn't expect this video... 🤪
Nobody ever does.
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition
Nobody expects them...
What happened to Jews who converted to Christianity under duress ( Ferdinand & Isabella), but felt compelled to resume the religion of their birth, which placed them in the hands of the Inquisitors. Jews who refused to convert were expelled from Spain. Fr. Casey might also consider the crypto-Jews in the New World - outwardly Catholic but continuing to practice some Jewish rituals to this day. The whole business is a blot on Church history.
They became Freemasons?
False conversions of Jews is not the fault of the Church.
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."
Whataboutism, check.
Just because others were bad doesn’t make the Inquisition OK.
Inquisitions, really, there were a fair number.
Other people bad too doesn’t make the inquisitions good.
@@Justanotherconsumer you said that, not me. I pointed out how Protestants, with little or no historical knowledge of inquisitions, have selective memory of Protestantism’s role in all of this. A cursory study of Elizabethan England and the Geneva of Calvin show those religious movements had their own inquisitions. In other words one should not be so quick to judge.
@@custisstandish1961Elizabethans bad too doesn’t make anyone good, Protestant or otherwise.
The Inquisition’s use of torture was evil, full stop no further qualification.
Other people did horrible things, and continue to do them, and I have every sympathy and prayer for Catholics currently living under the threat of the one we call Winnie the Pooh because of censorship.
That doesn’t make the Inquisition any less wrong.
@@Justanotherconsumer But we have to know what it was to know what was wrong. The truth matters. The historical facts about what actually happened matter. That way we repent for the wrongs we actually did.
5:19 - My question is - are you still morally defending the events of these inquisitions?
Franciscans Fray Diego de Landa and Cardinal Cisneros were two real swell guys.
@1:48 You ever take a selfie and realize "dang, this is not a good look"? Imagine this guy having to wait for the painter to be finished and he looks at the portrait, then goes "wait, my beard looks like THAT?? Ugh, TFW..."
What are some books/resources one can look into for more information?
Rodney Stark's Bearing False Witness has a chapter debunking myths about the Inquisition. His book God's Battalions specifically on the crusades is also excellent.
Some people did expect the Spanish Inquisition to
_Nobody_ expects the Spanish Inquisition.
@@jeffcoat1959I could never imagine expecting it
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.
Yep. Too much power...
Yes. The inquisition was not that bloody. Other instruments of the Catholic church were. I am glad you mentioned Waldensians. They were massacred by armies that the pope promised full forgivness for sins for killing them all. During the mentioned reformation some of the Catholic armies were lead by cardinals too. The church is directly responsible for killing done because of it's orders. On the other hand a different video should talk about that. I just feel that this should be mentioned here somehow, so that we know where the church killed, and where it did not when adressing the issues mentioned in the video.
Nobody expected this
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,
Yet they are proud of it, rather than repenting and rejecting who they were, and that is a far greater problem now than what happened then.
The refusal to admit it was wrong is where it becomes problematic.
@@Justanotherconsumer yes we all have problems, and in our arrogance hubris and pride will not acknowlage something even if the fact will litteraly smack them across the face like an angry cat and its anger is denied or something is on fire but they wont say it yet its inches from their face.
some however are litteraly not taught right from wrong they are amoral, having no systom of right or wrong to guide them and do what ever they can as an oppratunist of the worst caliber.
we all have problems and I know I have some but am too afraid to take the next step and what it entails, carrying that cross.
@@manga12does the Catholic Church have a system of right and wrong?
This video rejects that claim, because they are did things they know are wrong and they are still making excuses rather than calling them wrong.
Follow Christ, not Christians.
@@Justanotherconsumer "remains problematic"
@@Justanotherconsumer No he admits they are wrong. He just clarifies what we actually did. If someone claims you killed 80 million people (an actual claim put forward by some historians in the past), but that isn't true, then we've got a problem here. Is the fact that 3000-5000 people were killed in the inquisition a bad thing? Of course it is, no one should have been killed, and we should always repent of the wrongs we did. But we have to repent of the wrongs we committed, not the wrongs we didn't.
Turned them over to secular authorities, therefore neatly sidestepping responsibility
3.5 rothmans not good but not bad
Wait...is this a Chernobyl reference? Or am I losing my mind? XD
@@kpaxian6044 Yes, I may not quoted it perfectly
Where's the Goa Inquisition?
Marvin Gaye wrote a song about it -- " What's Goan' On "
The Portuguese Inquisition followed the Spanish Inquisition with the same intention so they are together referred to as Spanish Inquisition by some
Was one of it that: someone actually expected it? 🤔
Everyone expected it.
Terror tactics work on the expectation of consequences more than the consequences themselves.
@@Justanotherconsumer now it makes me wonder where the phrase "no one expects the Spanish inquisition" comes from. 🤔
@@XYGamingRemedyGcomedy often plays with expectations.
That said, no one would expect them in the 20th century UK given the time, the place, and the Church of England’s… less than Christlike approach to their Catholic colleagues.
Well this was unexpected
Hi, I'm your local anti-Catholic locked in my parents basement and I'm just shocked and outraged that this video puts some truth and context next to the centuries ago "INQUISITION" [cue Vader music], I mean come-on, I hate the church because like many centuries ago, it did stuff....on the other side of the world and you know, taking my 4th Phd in History and Theology, I came to appreciate more the cruel impact this had on my own life....because...ohh heck, there's another gaming tournament about to start...later.....
Either way people still died. Whether by Civil or Religous Authority, people who may have believed that Jesus is Lord and Savior still suffered. Waldensians were forced hide for so long, almost decimated. The Huguenots in France were massacred.
Yes, you would think at least Christians might protest even a little, perhaps ex-communicate serial offenders.
Instead they praised the worst offenders.
Thomas Aquinas demanded the death penalty for folk who praised Jesus in a slightly different way: he didn't care at all for Jews, Muslims and women. They could be killed without even pretext of a trial.
Mind you the them Pope denounced the Christians who sacked Constantinople as he had only called for Muslim cities to be razed.
This was unexpected
So, thank God for Dignitatis Humanæ and the rest of Vatican II?
"They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service." John 16:2
1) Claiming that Spain and the Church weren't basically the same, to claim that multiple sources say the deaths were highly overestimated is rather... interesting. The Civil Power could not cross the Religious Power, so they would likely have similar numbers. Were they accurate? Others say no. It would be like using only Nazi records hundreds of years after the Holocaust to count "actual" Jewish deaths.
2) This ignores the many that were killed in Crusades. Sure, you may be technically right about those burned the stake, but what about the many that were killed in the field and mass slaughtered without the benefit of a trial? These weren't just soldiers, but women and children in their villages. Those soldiers were granted absolution for going into combat and the Church either gave a blind eye or directly condoned the violence.
3) What are going on about right thinking? The Church was wrong about at least a few provable things. (Views on Science are the easiest to point out since we can't prove things not seen.) You're basically providing Atheists with a logical reason to use violence to suppress those they don't like.
4) The Church took as policy to use fear and violence to achieve their goals. This seeped into every aspect of society. It's kinda rich pointing out the supposedly low numbers executed. How many lived under constant fear? How many were captured and tortured? One has to assume the majority of people would have a hard time standing up in the face of torture not only of themselves but the ones they loved.
What's fascinating is seeing how the Church teamed up with the Civil Power to suppress their own Templar Order, basically setting up Kangaroo Courts and killing off every single member they could find. If they could be that brutal against some of their champions, just imagine how much worse they could be against those they considered worse!
Waldensians…so Protestants?
Just going to gloss over the Albigensian Crusade?
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition… was actually pretty tame
Tell that to the 1200 men women and children tortured to death in Spain alone: as Father Casey acknowledge. We haven't touched on 60,000 killings about witchcraft, pogroms against Jews and the heinous wars between Protestants and Roman Catholics in France
❤
I hate to say this to you father Casey
The inquisition was introduced in Mesoamérica after 1492. I know that because I lived in Guatemala for 41 years and their history is very clear about what the Catholic Church did against the Maya Indians. Ye I am Catholic, the way I look at it that it was not the church it’s el that did such horrendous things but the
5:32 people in the church. That gave the church a bad name. The truth is that what Jesus Chist had for his church was no other thing but justice and love
Nope. The Leyes Nuevas legal corpus emitted by the Spanish crown in the early 16th century strictly forbade this, recognizing that freshly baptized indigenous people were gullible and inexperienced Christians.
That was an awful quick mention of the Cathars in France and you somewhat glossed over how they were killed. And then the idea that somehow the Church at the time of the Spanish Inquisition was not political? Really? The fact was that in early Europe, the Church was literally in bed with the governments, the distinction was very unclear. Is it reasonable to simply say the bad parts are all just political, those true to religion in the clergy had nothing to do with it? I am sure there are some who were more reasonable and others less, but what you are doing here is similar to saying, on the topic of abuse from clergy, that there are bad apples in the Church but the church itself is not to blame. As many see it, including some in the Church, the Church's very structure is to a large extent responsible for ignoring or even empowering abuse.
Here’s something they won’t teach you in catholic school
Funny,I learned much of this in Church History a my Catholic high-school. It was a requirement to graduate. Possibly not as thoroughly as Fr. Casey told it here.
@@m_d1905 I’m glad to hear that, sadly I had almost no church history when I was in catholic school
If my late wife was someone to go on: they don't even teach much about the Bible in Catholic churches
@@russellmiles2861 not sure what Catholic Churches she was going to, seeing as every mass has multiple readings from scripture
@@gabem4208 sure, the catechism includes 1100 texts; up from 700 when my wife was a child.
But the Bible has 80 Books; 81 for the Ethiopians and over 70,000 words
I would contend that reading selective texts to support particular attitudes is hardly studying the Bible.
For example; my wife and her entire family and her mother was a Catholic school principal would not have known such basic information as how many books they had, let alone their names. They certainly would not know the gospel's stories, tales from OT. They even thought there were 3 wise men - that came from a Christmas coral, not the Bible.
I confide that as an atheist; I have fun with things like their inability to name more than 3 or 4 disciples and they would include John. They did not know there was no list of 10 Commandments in the Bible or the fun ones about burning witches, 13 Tribes of Israel (levy is a tribe) Noah getting drunk, the first line of The Bible (to be honest almost all Christians get that wrong as the Hebrew is mistranslated)
I am used to Christians knowing sod all about their own Faith. I am sure you have experienced the same matter with fellow parishioners. It isn't that hard to read and doesn't even take that long.
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
you have remained very silent on Pope Francis comments 🤔
thank you for informing us correctly!
Didn’t expect this video
May I ask what your sources? What books or sources? I'd like to read more about the issue.
I ask this especially since nothing you said makes me believe the inquisitions weren't horrible. I understand that I live in a country that at least claims to support religious freedom, an important context. However, ONE person being tortured or being handed over and executed for having wrong beliefs is too many. Thousands is unacceptable. I understand that state and religion had a very different relationship back then. I believe it only goes to show that individual conscience should be respected on a federal level when it comes to faith. Excommunicate a heretic, sure. Encourage repentance, sure. But to rehabilitate the inquisitions is similar in my opinion to saying the Salem witch trials weren't so bad, or arguing Mary Dyer deserved to be hung at Boston Commons.
Final note, when it comes to the morality of church sins, "everyone else at the time was as bad" isn't going to cut it for me. The Church is called to be in the world but not of it. We should have higher standards for her.
Yes,i would also like to see hes sources,real original books or materials ,and how he researched this subject..Dont believe anyone until they show you real proof.
Halu good day/night, i am recommending for you to read noli me tangere and el felibusterismo it will give you insights how roman catholic church operate in my country in the late centuries, It was written by our national hero, and if possible will you give a review on it, if its true ir not.
What a show!
As a Jew it is very humiliating and sad that a nice priest like you should try to minimise the horror of the inquisition.
Very disappointing.
You wanted a propagandistic videos and are angry because he referred to facts?
@@javihernandez6040this is a propagandistic video.
I mean, can’t blame the guy, he’s working for an organization that racked people and had them offed for disagreeing.
Not safe to say anything but the approved line - still the same church, after all, and proud of their heritage.
@@Justanotherconsumer You should go with facts to vatican and debate with them maybe if you have evidence. More people have outside of europe than in Europe but i haven't seen them bitching like the jews have.
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
Though not entirely analogous, the rate of executions for formal obstinate heresy in Spain (14/yr) is basically the same as how many today are put to death on death row in the US in recent years (18 last year and 13 so far this year); however we see probably 15,000+ executions in US history (from 1608-1991 according to the Epsy File). Keep in mind that heresy was a capital crime in a Catholic medieval nation, largely because it harms the public order, but understandably the US death sentence is based more on violent crime than heresy, and I imagine Spain had harsh methods with penalizing violent crime as well.
The strange fruit of the South were also technically rare.
That the state is going to off you with full endorsement from the people who claim to be the source of righteousness is very effective intimidation.
@@Justanotherconsumer I'm not sure I'd compare lynching (had to look up what "strange fruit" meant) to executing obstinate heretics.
The problem with public heretics (in particular those who teach heresy) is that they can seriously disrupt public order in a catholic nation, potentially causing civil conflict because it can start a movement that is disobedient to the ruling authority (also heresy was considered spiritual murder); so catholic nations that want to maintain order have to do something about it. They didn't have the means to imprison for life and "rehab" evidently didn't work in the case of obstinate heretics (if they repented they wouldn't be executed). Objectively, public execution has an intimidating effect, which a medieval nation might want to do to deter others from causing problems. If it's an execution by fire, I've heard the reasoning there is that they wanted the heretic to taste the fires of hell as one last chance to repent. I think this is all reasonable in context.
All that being said, I understand this is not palatable to a secular nation that has the capacity to imprison for life (if need be), and I'm glad we don't execute heretics anymore. I'm glad to take the approach of proposing the faith rather than imposing it.
@@kreatillion1718it’s exactly the same tactic - broadly publicized acts of violence used to demonstrate authority - following through on threats makes the threats real. Private Eddie Slovik is also similar (he unsuccessfully tried to prove the US Army wouldn’t execute for desertion).
The South also wanted to maintain order - they wanted to make it clear that the plantation owners were still unquestionably in charge even if they didn’t technically “own” anyone.
That's simply, not accurate at all. The Spanish Kingdom had way more power and influence than their current geographical limits back then.
The 14 deaths per year were no where near "hunger games" levels, not even close, that's just wishful thinking, the same kind of misconception [to not say blatant lie] that the people that started the myths about the inquisition, out of spite, not facts, did.
Inquisition: the wrong way to do the right thing.
Whatever it is the Catholic Church becoming an institution will muscle around when there is powerful political backing.
The power backing the Catholic Church is God. It is the one true church Jesus Christ established in 33AD. Modern secular society is very much against the church.
As it should for we are the Kingdom of Christ on earth
Hi Friar Casey, I usually love your videos and have watched almost all of them. But I think you missed the mark with this one, friend.
As a friar, I understand you have a particular point of view, and that’s totally fine. But I feel some of the points you raised in this video focused on shifting blame to secular authorities and off of the church when in those days, there was essentially no separation.
For example, saying those convicted by the church were “turned over to secular authorities who would decide the punishment” strikes me as particularly off base when church leaders would have absolutely known exactly what punishments were awaiting the convicted…and this after torturing them to extract information.
Keep making your videos! I love your style! But I feel one of your strengths is also being honest about when the Catholic Church has simply strayed from Christ’s teachings and given in to human corruptibility.
I found that comment of church authorities turning people over to the secular authorities disturbing because it’s very similar to the relationship between the Wehrmacht and the SS.
@@Colddirector you went looking for that one....hope no-one you've walked in the same street us ever calls the local "crime hotline"!
@@mmmail1969 I really didn't. I mostly know about that because of people debunking the "Clean Wehrmacht" myth.
And I like Casey, I most certainly am not looking for a reason to not like him, but the way he framed that as a defense unsettles me for the reason stated above.
You video on the elections was to weak. Abortion is more than immigration. It should have been said more forcefully.
The video was simply expressing the teaching of the USCCB. At no point did I share my own personal opinion.
Still embarrassingly messy situations, but thank you for digging at source materials to give us a clearer picture of what actually happened.
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.
I think you have to look at this in light of the Reconquista, and the Muslims living across the Mediterranean. I'm sure it was not an era of social justice so much as an era of not losing ground in the West all over again, especially with the Mongol invasions almost wiping out the North and East of Christendom, and then the Turks taking Constantinople and going all the way to the Adriatic. And then the Protestant Reformation threatening from within, as well as the Spanish question of whether the people remaining after the Jewish and Muslim exile were even Christian or just Jewish/Muslim saboteurs against the Crown. Not an easy time to live in, and not an easy time to rule, and not an era where you would expect prisoner's rights and charitable treatment to be the first priority.
I'm not saying that was right or wrong, I'm just saying it's easy to judge that society from our present one, where we have guaranteed religious freedom and citizen's rights upheld by the constitutional foundation of our democratic republic, and a level of security for our lifestyle unparalleled in human history.
I had the same reaction. "Oh it wasn't soooo bad. Just a few *thousand* were executed and we need no count on who was tortured". Call a spade a spade. It was reign of terror socially. This doesn't mean I think the whole medieval Church was cruel and corrupt, but I think it couldn't have helped but lay down some pavers for Protestantism.
Well said. Can you provide sources to this Roman inquisition educational you are referencing from? Thanks
@@jgw5491 Truth matters. When historians claim, as they did for hundreds of years, that the Catholic Church executed MILLIONS of people and it is false it must be called out. Is it it good that 3-5000 people were killed by the Spanish Inquisition? Of course not, no one should have been killed. It is VERY important we have the truth, however. Most of what we believe about the Inquisition is blatant myth and falsehood. We cannot repent for sins we didn't commit, it is unfair to ask someone to apologize for something they did not do. When we have clarity about what actually happened, we can apologize for the reality instead of for falsehoods and myths.
Very well said
Friar Casey,
I know you are far too young for this, but when Monty Python first aired on PBS, They did a skit called The Spanish Inquisition. When the Pythons show up at this elderly woman’s house, one of them proclaims let’s give her the rack! We have no rack! They tie a kitchen dish rack to her! It looks so foolish.
Then they yell “We are the Spanish Inquisition” - this may not be funny today. The dish rack was over the top in the 70’s.
Hope this gives some of you laugh.
Once again, I learned something new.
Peace be with all of you,
It's ti !me to bring back the dreaded " Comfy Chair " !
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.
"Only torture a person once, and then only to extract information, not as a punishment" oh thats alright then! 🙄
People who are so ignorant of the past that they are scandalised when they learn it isn't like today shouldn't be allowed to comment on history.
No it's not alright. But if you think that STILL doesn't happen today by so called freedom loving upright democratic secular governments in the West as well, you have another think coming. At least people back then had the excuse of not copping on to the fact that information drawn from torture *isn't* reliable. Not much excuse for that now.
Your local police force TODAY, engages in much the same type of thinking and actions! So don't get too smug little one.....
"In the 14th century, Dominican and Franciscan priests called on Christians to expel the Jews from Spain, blaming Jews for social problems and stirring the Christian majority to destroy synagogues, burn Jews alive, and impose forced conversion. Jews would be forced to attend sermons and have Christian preachers outline what the Christians viewed as the errors of their ways.[3] "
Is this true?
As councel for the defence that is okay,but the jury are still out!
The message of this video should have been one of admission of guilty, dispite the common misrepresentation of the inquisition. In Portugal alone, it's estimated that 1175 people were burned at the stake and around 30000 were attributed some kind of punishment. Many were beaten, many were arrested, some died in prison, many had their possesions "confiscated", many were forced to renounce their faith. The majority of the portuguese inquisitions leaders were clergy members, some were even cardinals. Also jesuits were important agents of inquisition, especially in the colonies. Church and state were equally responsible and persued a common goal. This video fails to recognize the church's direct envolvement. It was a very dark period in church history which should not be excused or downplayed in the slightest.
Yes, what response can there be than contrition for the Roman Catholic churches involvment in even one death because folk had different religious beliefs.
@@russellmiles2861don’t have to be that contrite, it was a long time ago and a small thing in the history of the world.
Gaslighting people into thinking it was a good thing is the problem. It was not good. It honestly wasn’t that bad but it was unambiguously bad.
Hiding from that, lying about it, trying to shift blame - these are not how any Christian denomination teaches us to handle our own sins.
@@Justanotherconsumer that doesn't mean we can't be contrite about our forebears conduct; just as we honour the greatest they achieved
We are very selective in our remembrances
Maybe you haven't come across the lies that this video is seeking to address. It is commonly reported that the Spanish Inquisition killed 5 million people. Did the Inquisition cause harm? Yes. Unequivocally. But that isn't an excuse for people to exaggerate it into the "Burning Times." If anything, exaggerating numbers, as some people do, is detrimental to the cause of recognising real acts of evil that don't meet the cinematic requirements of TikTok.
... oh, there were MORE than one inquisition. Thanks, man, this vid made me hate it all more. LoL
While washing cruelty
Astonishing, this young priest makes no personal assessment of the many thousands that suffered and died resulting from religious inquisitions, glossing over the massive injustices inflicted on so many. As though it's sort of "OK" that it happened, totally heartless.
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.
And as they they say "and that's a good thing!" 😉
I would argue in the light of a lot of the disinformation floating around and used deliberate by certain political parties, that actualy the VAST amount of it is blatant lies and propaganda used to demonise and inflame hatred.
Not sure if 3,000-5,000 deaths is something we should make light of.
Over 350 years? Just to give you context, roughly 170,000 people die every single day in our world. Roughly one death a month is not a particularly significant number.
Strange that often those who wish to hold today's Christians responsible for 3000-5000 deaths over more than 350 years, happening 500 years ago, have no problem defending ideologies which killed tens of millions of people within the last century. Or support the "Enlightenment" which executed ten times more people in a single year than the inquisition in over 350 years.
Can you address the pope's comments that all religions and gods are the same?
Catholics believe in ONE God who manifests to us in THREE forms, ergo any worship of God is to the ONE God.
@@whatsup3270 That is not saying all religions are the same though. Shiva worship is in no way a worship of Yahweh the one God.
@@whatsup3270the words you used are usually interpreted as heresy
@@m_d1905 Correct, other religions are consider (more) flawed attempts to worship God.
@@yoofij4724 "um so what other God is there.