Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1882-12-28
The INoUISITI0N.

Mr.. Thomas Z. Sherman, son of General
Wm. T. Sherman, lectured Tuesday night
al Loyola College before an intelligent
audience Oh The Inquistion." The speaker
displayed a thorough Knowlege of his sub
jcct. Mr. sherman gave sketch of the
lnQuisition or court of inquiry established
by the Catholic Church in Spain in the
thirteenth century for the suppression of
! ncreS.cs. The courts of inquiry were COM
! posed Of cicrics and laymen. whose duty it
was to try oilcnSes against the laws of the
! church. The principal offenders were the
| Albigenses and Manichacans The latter
scctaries believed in two principles of good
and cyl-ot equal power and sovereignty :
| hence they worshiped Lucfer as well as
the Lord, and yielded themselves to the
most lOathsomc cxccsses. These heretical
teachings were undermining the Church,
morality and social order. To arrest the
evil the Church instituted the Inqusition.
and the third council of Latern issued de-
cree authorisinG the clergy to assemble all
the people within their districts. and. aft cr
preaching Il sermon to them, to explain the
powers of the priesthood The faithful were
ordered to confess within an allotted time if
| they beld heretical principles or knew
others who did. All who failed to obey this
prccept were called to account.
The lecturer eXemplitied the right of the
Church to act in this manner by Il parable
| III which he portrayed q beautiful mansion
ornamentcd with all thatwas precious in the
sight Of man. This sublime structure had
dark, damp and dismal cellar in which some
OF the family persisted in living, while
the others resided above. In course of time
those in the cellar became sick and bred
contagious diseases, which threatened the
lives of the upper residents The obnox-
ious creatures, to obtain light, picked holes
in the wall which threatened to crumble
themselves. cast out their brethren below.
So it is with the Catholic Church. 1t had
the 1nquistiou to prevent the spreading of
hcretical disease. In America, where there
is so much said Of the court of inquiry, the
Puritans of New England burned people at
the stake and INDUCED in other horrible
butcheries. which the Inquisition did not.
The Catholic Church did not sanction all
the acts committed in that time, nordid the
lnqulsition order the executions. 1t SIM
ply tried the offenders and delivered
them to the civil authorities with their
vcrdct$ Every Government has the
right to protect itself. In this coun-
try the inquisition should not be iudg-
ed according TO our views and beliefs.
which are entirely different from those held
i'll the 18th century. We should look at
things as they existed, ana not as they are
now. Prescott. the accepted authority on
the inqniSition. followed Llorenne who was
an apostatc priest expelled from Spain be-
cause o.! his immortality and crimes. To
revenge himself, and bring the Spanish gov
crnment into disreputc, he wrote his his
tory Of the inquisiton, and fabricated things
which have since been diSproved by many.
Gibbon among the number.
The Catholic Church did not favor at all
the Spanish 1nquistion, which was differ
rent from that of the church. IorQuema-
das. who presided over the former was
three times summoned TO Rome by the Pope
10 answer for his atrocities but disobeycd
the orders,-BMtimorY Sun.