For centuries, the Roman Catholic Church's Inquisition cast fear into the souls of men and women. The ruthless search for heresy led to jailings, torture and death.
The chapter has long been a cloud over the church, and Pope John Paul II has acknowledged its excesses. Now, the Vatican is opening up its secret Inquisition files to scholars.The Vatican organized a one-day conference Thursday to discuss what may come from the files, and to make known its efforts toward repairing the bad image.
Opening the files, said Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, displays "on the one hand a sincere and useful commitment by the church toward culture . . . and on the other the confidence it has in the face of any critical and serious investigation."
The Inquisition became the Holy Office in 1908 and was toned down and transformed by Pope Paul VI into the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Ratzinger is head of the office.
"This image of the black legend must be re-seen, revisited," said Bishop Tarcisio Bertone, the congregation's secretary. He acknowledged that opening up the archives, which already were available to scholars on a limited basis, was a way of repairing the bad image.
Scholars meeting at the National Academy of the Lincei said few bombshells were expected from the archives but speculated the 4,500 volumes of documents dating back more than 500 years would be invaluable to understanding church and theological history, and subjects such as witchcraft, relations with the Jews and the rise of Protestant groups.
The Inquisition, practiced on a local level for centuries until being established as a Vatican institution in 1542, rooted out heresies, moral infractions and challenges to church authority. Inquisitors had enormous powers, and their targets could be tortured or even put to death. They went after Protestants and witches, "false mystics" and scientists like Galileo.
The Vatican announced earlier this month that scholars will be given relative freedom to dig in the files.
Bertone on Thursday announced a series of limits that still give the congregation control of the information.
Those seeking access need Vatican permission and must be linked to a research institution. Files after 1903, for privacy reasons, are off limits, along with documents related to crimes against morality.
Much of the material, including most descriptions of trials, was destroyed over the centuries.
What remains includes decrees dating back to 1548; denunciations of supposedly heretical books; records of its internal rules and personnel; documents about theological controversies; and documents about relations with Jews.