The Spanish Inquistion has become a colloquilism for anyone who “supresses freedoms,” and is controlling. It has become a politicsl term synoynous with calling someone a Nazi, esepcially because both the Spanish Inquisition and Third Reich persecuted Jews. The Spanish Inquisition it might surprise people to learn started as an outreach or mission to the Jewish People in Spain. St. Domnic, the founder of the Dominicans, a medicant order of friars wanted to preach the gospel to the Hebrews, and so a forum (The Inquistion in its infancy) was created so that Spanish Jews couod learn about Christianity. How stark was this first spark from what would become the pyre of persecution and pogroms. The Inquistion began wit the “best intentions,” to open a dislogue with the Jews in Spain, but it quickly altered into vehical of forced conversion, suspicion, and intolerance. Indeed St. Bernard of Clairvaux summed up the good intentions of the Spanish Inquistion, “the best intentions pave the way fo hell.” The Spanish Inquistion would become a occupying force in Spain, much like the Teutons (Teutonic Knights) in The Baltic regions. The Inquistion would hear confession of two or more witnesses that a good Catholic was practicing heresy or a former religious rite and bring the guilty before the Council of Inquisitors. Justice was not “innocent tell proven guilty,” but “guilty until proven innocent.” Neighbors who coveted land and possessions could accuse a neighbor and take them before the Inquisition on false testimony that the innocent neighbor was worshipping baphomet, saying prayers to a different god, or practicing witchcraft. If the accused was a good Catholic he had to prove his innocence (sometimes under torture), but if he of she was already of another faith such as Judaism or Islam, the accuser was considered to be giving true testimony and was awarded monies or even properties. To safeguard against accusation, Jews would convert to Catholicism, being called conversos and Muslims would do the same, being called moriscos. The problem however, is the Inquistion then began to question the authenticity of the comversions; was it genuine piety or to escape accusation? So the Inquistors began interrogating and torturing conversos and moriscos, to test their faith. This is where the adage, “you are condemned if you do, condemned if you don’t”; if a unbeliever did not comvert they could be accused, if they did convert their conversion could be questioned and they be subjected to torture. There are lessons to learn from this dark chapter of Church History. What are they? Some may be obvious, others more opaque. Please feel free to add your own lnowledge of this dark chapter of Church History. Sources: Spanish Inquisition, 1478-1614: An Anthology of Sources, Lu Ann Homza Church History in Plain Language, Bruce Shelley, 4th Ed. Church History Made Easy, Timothy Paul Jones The Church in History, B.K. Kruper