The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-01-24

the Intervention OF ecclesiastical
judges. for they alone were competent
TO Judge Of matters or faith. and TO
discriminate between the Catholic and
heretieai doctrines. Those who find
fault with this plan as carried out In
Catholic Spain are compelled by the
logic or facts 10 admit one or other OF
the following erroneous propositions:
I'D That the state, whose citizens IN
an overwhelming majority, profess the
same Catholic faith, should profess no
religion whatever, and consequently be
atheistic
CD That such a state may not con-
seientiously profess the Catholic reli-
giou.
I'D That If it were to adopt Catholi-
cism as the state religion. IL could not
conscientsously protect It.
(D That. when 1t should happen to
defend the adopted faith against its as
sailants. the settlement of religious
matters in dispute could be left to In
competent judges.
It IS plain that this last proceeding
would be In direct opposition to the
judicial practice of all civilizations,
whose courts Of justice are wont 10
base their Judgment, in some special
cases. on the testimony of professional
experts in matters of science and art
As the old saying has IL, "Credendun
est in arte peritis.''
This Ecclesiastical Induisition always
had for It's purpose to preserve the
Catholic people from the poison OF
heresy. and the state from the revolts.
which were its usual consequence. The
duty OF the Inquisitor was generally
confided 10 legates or delegates, among
whom were distinguished in the first
rank the SONS of St Dominic, but only
from the. year 1928. that Ii TO sal-,
twelve years after the death of their
founder, which does not prevent the
enemies Of the Church from transform
ing this Saint into a. Grand Inquisitor.
Instituted by the mother Of all the
Churches successfully introduced into
nearly all the parts of the Christian
world. the Ecclesiastical Inquisition
was undoubtedly the work of the ROM
an Pontiffs, who never regretted hav-
ing established it
Quite different was the Spanish In
QUESTION, founded by Ferdinand and
Isabella in 14s1, TO preserve, with the
Christian faith, the Spanish nation
from the conspiracies Of the Jews and
Moors, who feigned to be Christians In
order 70 carry out their wicked designs
against the Church as well as against
the state. In this tribunal there exist
ed two distinct jurisdictions, one OF
which depended upon the Church the
other upon the State. But in Spain
the civil power had SO great q pre-
nonderance that many historians,
though far from favorable to Catholi-
cisu, consider the Spanish Inq&isition
as more a political than a religious in
stitution-
We admit that Sfxtus ". did ap-
prove the first project OF the Spanish
Inquisition, and that he sanctioned its
fundamental statute. It was from the
Holy See the Ecclesiastical Inquisitors
received their jurisdiction and all their
spiritual power The King however,
had obtained from the Pope the power
to nominate them for the Office.
In this connection II Is well TO re-
member who were the chief ard first
movers for its establishment The peo-
ME and the Cortes or Parliament. de-
rnanded ii from the King as the only
remedy to the desperate political
evils of their unhappy country teerning
with conspirators against the throne
as well as against the altar And u
was precisely in compliance with such
urgent petitions that Ferdinand and
Isabella earnestly solicited ii from the
Roman Pontfff. As q matter on raci
the inauisition has never been esfap-
lsshed in any country without the &C
tuaI conr.ivance and consent OF its tenn
porai rulers
All discussion concerning the In1a
s5tion NAV be reduced TO the two 70
lowing questions. which are altogether
distinct from each other