The menace., 1917-01-06


roma orders princes to enforce the full penal
mmieation. should they be remiss In enforcing
them. llG-The burning OF herettes hrst
made POSITIVE Law By Pedro II Of Ara
gon. l22o-Emperor Frederic ii preseribes out
lawry and con6scation against heretics.
70 enforce tSs law SS' SsS the snG5 fs% Italian Ia
cities which were disinclined to receive. 1t.
122t-Frederic II. going q step further.
promulgates In Lombardy law that hereties
should be burned, or should, at least, have
scribed In the papal registers By Gregory
TX, whose chief agent In enforcing 1t was
Guala, the Dominican bishop Of Brescia. 1891
Frederic II takes final step. In his famous
Sicilian constitutions, Of absolutely deereeing
death by fire for hereties. Shortly, afterward
whole empire. 1252-Innoeent Tvs bull,
commanding under threat Of excommunica.
ton that temporal rulers should enforce all
penalties against hereties within five days
from their conviction as such. l25i-lnnO-
cent Nv issues q bull incorporating the most
bloody laws Of Emperor Frederic ii. Inas-
much as this celebrated constitution Of limo
cent Nv, the Ad extirpanda, a. Ut 10 known,
became classic In inQuisitorial procedure, 1t
will be useful to set forth its leading enact
Italy. and provides; 1St. that any one may
seize heretlc and despoil him Of his prop
erty; End, that every magistrate shall ap-
point an inquisitorial commission whose sal
aries are to be paid by the state; srd. that
no lay may be passed interfering with ,,, these ss
confess their heresy shall be torturedi sth,
that the houses Of hsreties shall be demol.
ished; 9Th, that the cenhscatsd property Of
heretics shall be thus divided, one-third to
the inquisiters and the bishops. one-third to
the city, and one-third to those who aided In
the arrest and conviction. This. as we have
noted. was made statute law, and Innocent
gave particular instructions to the inquisitorg
10 enforce II, ~ well 90 the anh-heretteal
laws Of Frederic II. 80
Ad sItirp;ndsi Nicholas w does likswiss
q uuaItsr-esntury later. l2Ss-Alsxandsr
Nv Reissues the Ad sxtirpanda. 1906
Urban Nv makes universal the exeommunica-
tion Of civil authorities who impede or delay
the operation Of the Inquisition. This ID In
While considering this record Of papal
criminality that distinguishes this hey
day Of Roman power during the Middle
Ages, these crowning facts that dis.
tinguish or mark the mediaevalism 90 dear
to the modern prelates Of the Roman
church, II will be interesting to quote a
few lines from the Catholic Encyclo-
pedia, vol. s, PIP. so and "a:
The Catholic Encyclopedia Cited
CuriOusly enough. torture was not regarded
as = mode Of punishment but purely a. a
means Of eliciting The truth. Il was first
authorized BY Innocent ~ In his Bull, "Ad
Ntirpanda" Of May. Is, 1881, which was
confirmed by Alexander ~ on November 30,
iz5s, and by Clement Nv on November .,
In the Bull "Ad extirpanda" (l25a) In.
nocent ~ says: When those adjudgsd guilty
OF heresy have been given up to the civil
power by the bishop or his representative.
or the lnquisition. the podesta or chief mAgis-
trate OF the city shall take them at once
and shall within FIVE days at the most exc
cute the laws made against them.
Nor could any doubt remain a. to what
civil regulations were meant. for the pas.
sages which ordered the burning Of impsni.
dscrstals from the imperial constitutions
'''.' The civil authorities, therefore. were
enjoined By the popes. under pain Of exeom.
munication. to execute the legal sentence,
that condemned impenitent hersties to th,
stake. 1t Is to be noticed that excommuni
cation itself was no trihe, for, II the persor
excommunicated did not free himself from
accommodation within . year, he was hell
BY the legislation Of that period to be
heretic, and incurred all the penalties tha
affected heresy.
These words, II must be remembered
are taken from the Catholic Encyclopedias
and give q vivid and truthful picture Of
dominant papal legislation which mark
this period vhtch Cardtndl 0'Connel
pould 500 reimtroduccd as q remedy fo
the Ills Of modern democracy.
Papal Condemnation Of Magn;
Oharta
Eshibn No. 4. Here Ia another in
gredient that properly belongs to tn
cardinals "strong DOSE" It will b
remembered that in England the intoler
able oppression Of the throne, bulwarke
by the "divine right" idea promulgate,
by the pope, was SO grievous that it le,
to most notable struggle to regal
great basic popular rights and wide
need Of justice for the people. This grea
charter wrested from King John signale
the opening act in the Anglo-Saxo
mighty world-struggle for liberty fror
the oppression Of despotic authority tina
was well nigh invincible because the RI
man church claimed that those who rule
by grace Of tho pope WerS dipinely al
pointed. The barons voiced the aspire
tions Of the people. The Magma Chart
was an immortal document which like ou
Declaration of Independence marked
new era in civilization Is march and 90,
ernment history. But how did Rome r,
ceive this greatest popular victory Of th
periodi POPE INNOCENT II
PROMPTLY DECLARED THE GREA
CHARTER NULL AND V0ID. III
, barons who secured this priceless heritdS
from despotism uere communicated B
the head Of the Roman Catholic charc
and tho nobIe-minded Roman prelat
Q Stephen Langton, Archbishop of CGnte
bury, toas suspended from his see becau,
he braVely sustained the bdrons in the
, battle for freedom.
Pope Innocent III in declaring nu
and void the Magma Charta, excommul
| icating the bishop and depriving the pr
late Of his sec, was acting the consistel
course Of Rome from before that da
Q to tho present time, in the mighty 90
n flict of the people for a rider politicc
: social and intellectu0I life. From Il
/ days Of this papdl condemnation Of q
J, people 8 charter doWn to the days of L,
i XIII and Plus X, the last tUo popes, I
y find the papacy constantly ranging itse
9 on the side of despotism whenever I
g people have sought to be recognized
q the source Of government. Leo XIII al
!! Plus x sveepingly condemned that pop
4 lar sovereignty represented in the DE
e LARATI0N OF INDEPENDENC
and embodied in OUR CONSTITUTIO-
y With these facts in mind it is not ha
Y to see why a cardinal so subservient
!. papal autocracy, 60 loyal to the idea II