FAQ ABOUT THE ISSUES IN RABID

Q. Does the Inquisition still exist?

A. Yes.

The name Inquisition is derived from the Latin verb inquiro (inquire into). In 1231, Pope Gregory IX established the first papal inquisition to bring order and legality to the process of dealing with heresy, since at the time, mobs of townspeople burned alleged heretics at the stake without a trial. Pope Gregory IX published a decree that called for life imprisonment with salutary penance for a heretic who confessed and repented and capital punishment for those who persisted. Although the Inquisition was created to combat the heretical Cathari and Waldenses, the Inquisition later extended its activity to include witches, diviners, blasphemers, and other sacrilegious persons.

In 1478, Pope Sixtus IV authorized the infamous Spanish Inquisition to be autonomous of Rome due to jurisdictional problems between the Roman Inquisitors and the Inquisitors authorized by the Spanish throne. The Spanish Inquisition's dealings with converted Muslims, Jews, and illuminists and notorious autos-da-fé are often confused with the Roman Inquisition's activities, but these two organizations are historically distinct.

In 1542, Pope Paul III established a permanent congregation to maintain and defend the integrity of the faith and to examine and proscribe errors and false doctrines. This body, the Congregation of the Holy Office (now called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, part of the Roman Curia) became the supervisory body of local Inquisitions. The Pope himself is the titular prefect, but he appoints a cardinal to head the Congregation. The Holy Office in the sixteenth century was concerned with academic orthodoxy, especially as it appeared in the writings of theologians. Cardinal Carafa, a head of the Holy Office, became Pope Paul IV in 1555 and immediately urged a vigorous pursuit of "suspects" of heresy. His snare included bishops and even cardinals. In 1559, Pope Paul IV charged the congregation to draw up a list of books that offended faith or morals. This resulted in the Index of Forbidden Books. Copernicus's De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium was listed on the Index, and Galileo was arrested and tried for Copernicanism in 1633.

From the Vatican's website (www.vatican.va): "Pope St. Pius X in 1908 changed the name to the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office. It received its current name in 1965 with Pope Paul VI. Today, according to Article 48 of the Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia, "Pastor Bonus", promulgated by the Holy Father John Paul II on June 28, 1988, 'the duty proper to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is to promote and safeguard the doctrine on the faith and morals throughout the Catholic world: for this reason everything which in any way touches such matter falls within its competence.' Congregation work is divided into four distinct sections: the doctrinal office, the disciplinary office, the matrimonial office and that for priests."

The CDF has been charged with investigating pedophile priests, since it safeguards morals and has a section for the discipline of priests.

Until recently, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was the head of the CDF. Cardinal Ratzinger was recently elected to the Papacy and is the current Pope Benedict the Sixteenth. The "Panzer Pope" is also an Inquisitor.

Q. Is the Inquisition killing pedophile priests?

A. Probably not.

Several priests accused and convicted in secular courts or accused and probably guilty have died under mysterious circumstances. The most well-known of these cases is that of defrocked priest John Geoghan, who was killed by Joseph Druce in prison on August 23, 2003. Geoghan was sentenced to serve nine-to-ten years in prison for fondling a boy but was accused of molesting 150 children or more.

Adding fuel to this fire, a 1962 Vatican document promulgated by Pope John XXIII (23) recently came to light, the Crimen Sollicitationis, which demands that priest sexual abuse cases be dealt with in secrecy and are subject to the secrecy of the confessional.

Recently, the Catholic Church allowed the resignation of or defrocked over 300 priests suspected of pedophile crimes.

It is regrettable that the Church is not adequately dealing with the problem of pedophile priests. While their extermination and the rationale for it in Rabid is my own modest proposal to solve the problem of predatory priests, leaving them in place to abuse and rape children is a far more heinous proposition.

My mother suggests that castrating pedophile priests with a rusty knife and then dumping them on an island to fight it out would solve the problem. This scenario should also given careful consideration when the Vatican finally, finally, finally does something to stop the continuing rape of children.

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