Originally conceived by Pope Gregory IX in 1231 as an institutional procedure for the discovery and trial of heretics, under Pope Innocent IV in 1252 it became permitted to use torture to obtain confession. Thereafter mention of the Inquisition would strike fear into anyone whose thoughts directly or indirectly called Catholic doctrine into question: famous scientists, like Galileo and Descartes, who shared Copernicus's theory belief that the earth moves around the sun, found it necessary in 1615 to recant or withdraw their scientific opinions. The Inquisition was particularly active from the mid-1400s to the late seventeenth century, but continued as an office of the Catholic church until 1908. One of its major functions from a literary and political point of view was the maintenance of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum [Index of Prohibited Books] which at...
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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Catholic church establishes the Inquisition". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 February 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=4157, accessed 10 June 2026.]
