Summit Gist

THE TORTURES OF THE CHURCH Torture was introduced by Pope Innocent IV in the bull Ad extirpanda of 1252, during the Inquisition, as a tool to be used during trials to extract a confession. Ordinary ecclesiastical torture avoided causing blood to leak and therefore usually took place with the twisting of the limbs or the stretching of the body until the limbs dislocated or the muscles of the limbs were torn; only in exceptional cases could the local bishop or Rome authorize more invasive torture or the systematic breaking of bones The Church then applied the death penalty to anyone who had not publicly recanted after having confessed under torture or the penalty of life imprisonment with imprisonment in the cell of its fortress or a convent (sometimes with the door blocked up, sometimes instead the was accompanied by further deprivations or punishments, usually food restrictions), but sometimes also in a private home, although often a fine was sufficient for distinguished people. The mo...