Another Side of Catholicism

Mary Ann Collins, A Former Catholic Nun

Chapter 8

Augustine lived from 354 to 430 A.D. He had a vision of an ideal society, with the Roman Catholic Church at its center, governing all aspects of human life. His ideal society required conformity in belief and practice. Augustine taught that it was right and necessary for the Catholic Church to make this happen, even if it meant coercing people to comply. This laid the theological foundation for persecuting “heretics” and for the Inquisition.[1]

For over a thousand years, the Roman Catholic Church hunted down “heretics” and killed them. Some of these “heretics” were people with strange beliefs. However, as we shall see later, many of them were Bible-believing Christians.

Jesus predicted that true Christians would be rejected, persecuted, and killed. He told His disciples:

“...yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” (John 16:2)

For the Roman Catholic Church, “heresy” means to “obstinately” doubt or deny any official Catholic doctrine. This definition is given in Canon 751 of the “Code of Canon Law,” which is the body of laws used to govern the Catholic Church.[2]

Doctrines that have often been disputed include the authority of the Pope, Purgatory, indulgences, the veneration of Mary and the saints, and transubstantiation (the doctrine that the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ are literally and fully present in every fragment of consecrated bread and every drop of consecrated wine).

Some Catholic doctrines conflict with the plain meaning of Scripture. As a result, people who read the Bible for themselves are likely to doubt or dispute those doctrines. One way of solving that problem is to prevent laymen from reading the Bible. The Catholic Church took that approach for hundreds of years.

Starting about 1080, there were many incidents where scholars wanted to translate the Bible into the language of the common people, but it was forbidden by the Pope, Church councils, or individual bishops.[3]

William Tyndale was burned as a “heretic,” because he translated the Bible into English.[4] People were burned as “heretics” for owning or reading his translation.[5]

For centuries, Christians were forbidden to possess the Scriptures in any language, including Latin. Reading the Bible was considered to be proof that someone was a heretic. Men and women were burned at the stake for reading the Bible in Latin.[6]

With the Protestant Reformation, the Bible was translated into English, German, and other languages. With the invention of the printing press, Bibles became so plentiful that they could no longer be suppressed. That is why people like us, who are not Latin scholars, are able to read the Bible today.

Christian “Heretics”

Who were some of the Christian “heretics” who were persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church? I would like you to meet the Waldensians.

When “heretics” were hunted, their writings were confiscated and burned. What we read about their beliefs was written by their enemies. As a result, it is often difficult to know what they really did believe.[7]

We do know what the Waldensians believed. Some of their writings survived.

In some ways, the Waldensians were similar to the Franciscans. Both groups taught the value of poverty and simplicity. They both had poor, humble, itinerant preachers, who were barefoot and wore humble peasant clothing.[8]

As we shall see, the Pope examined the Waldensians and found no heresy in them. However, another Pope reversed that decision.

Who were these courageous men and women who endured centuries of persecution for their faith?

The Waldensians

The Waldensians are also known as Waldenses or Vaudois. Dr. Bill Jackson made an in-depth study of them in his book, “The Noble Army of ‘Heretics.’” He visited the valleys where the Waldensians lived, and he studied their original documents.

One of the most famous Waldensians was Peter Waldo (1140-1218), a wealthy merchant of Lyons, France. He asked a priest how to live like Jesus Christ. The priest told Waldo about a conversation that Jesus had with a rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-22). Jesus told the young man what to do, and Waldo guided his life by those words. Jesus said:

“If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give it to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.” (Matthew 19:21)

Waldo made financial provision for his family, gave the rest of his money to the poor, memorized Scripture, and began preaching.

There is strong evidence that the Waldensians began long before Peter was born, and that Peter was given the surname Waldo because of his association with them.[9]

The Waldensians traveled in pairs, preaching the Gospel. They were humble people who believed in “apostolic poverty.” They were barefoot, owning nothing, and they shared all things in common. Their teaching was orthodox, but they were considered to be a threat, because they set standards that made many members of the Catholic clergy look bad by comparison.[10]

The humility and voluntary poverty of the Waldensians were a striking contrast to the pride and luxury of the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. A prime example of this was Pope Innocent III. He reigned from 1198 to 1216, which was during Waldo’s lifetime. Innocent wore clothes covered with gold and jewels. He made kings and cardinals kiss his foot.[11] He said that the Pope is below God, but higher than the rest of mankind.[12]

Another example is Pope Boniface VIII, who reigned from 1294 to 1303. He said that he was Caesar, the Roman Emperor. His crown was covered with over 200 costly jewels.[13] Boniface declared that nobody could be saved unless he or she was subject to the Pope.[14]

Waldo’s beliefs were founded on the Bible, especially the Gospels. He believed that there was no need to interpret the Bible, because it spoke clearly for itself. All that was needed was to make the whole of Scripture available to the people. Waldo was French, so he commissioned two priests to translate the Bible into French, starting with the Gospels. As soon as the first Gospel (Matthew) had been translated, Waldo applied it to his life and began preaching it to the people.[15]

In 1179, Pope Alexander III found no evidence of heresy among the Waldensians. However, because they were laymen, he ordered them not to preach unless they were requested to do so by a bishop.

The Archbishop of Lyons ordered Waldo to stop preaching. Waldo replied: “We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29) He kept on preaching. The Archbishop excommunicated him. Then, in 1184, Pope Lucius III excommunicated Waldo and his followers.[16]

In 1211, more than 80 Waldensians were burned at the stake for “heresy.” This was followed by centuries of persecution.[17]

Because they were persecuted, the Waldensians went underground and spread to other countries, especially Italy, Switzerland, and Austria. The magnitude of their persecution is shown by the fact that in one year, in Italy alone, 9,000 Waldensians were killed, and another 12,000 were put into prison, where most of them died. In spite of this, somehow the itinerant Waldensian preachers were able to maintain links throughout Europe.[18]

In the sixteenth century, the Waldensians joined the Protestant Reformation. In 1848, the Italian government granted them emancipation. Finally, they were free from persecution (except for a brief period, when Mussolini persecuted them during World War II). In spite of everything, there are still Waldensian churches today.[19]

The Inquisition

One of the things that was used to try to suppress the Waldensians and other “heretics” was the Inquisition. It began in 1180, four years before Waldo and the Waldensians were excommunicated by the Pope.

From 1180 to 1230, the Catholic Church enacted legislation (Canon Law) against heresy. It created a permanent tribunal, staffed by Dominican friars, which became known as the Inquisition.

The Inquisition used procedures that were banned in regular secular courts. It used anonymous informers. People were allowed to accuse their personal enemies.

When men and women were accused of heresy, they were not allowed to know who their accusers were, or what crime they were accused of. They were not allowed to have anybody defend them. The Inquisitors used torture to get accused people to “confess.”

Once a person was accused, some kind of punishment was inevitable. If secular officials were reluctant to punish the victims, then the officials were accused of heresy, which meant that they also became victims of the system. In other words, they were blackmailed into doing the dirty work of the Inquisitors.[20]

Conclusion

There was a wide variety of Christian “heretics.” On the one hand, there were the Waldensians, who were simple, humble people. They were just trying to live according to Biblical principles. But when told not to preach, they continued preaching.

On the other hand, there were people like Wycliffe who said things that made the Pope angry. But did Jesus and his Disciples kill people for saying offensive things? They could have. Elijah called down fire on people. (Luke 9:54-55)

When thinking about the Inquisitors, we need to be careful not to “monsterize” them. These men believed that the Pope spoke for God. They were under a vow of obedience, and they believed that they had to do whatever they were told to do. From their point of view, they were doing their duty, and they were trying to protect the Catholic Church from being harmed by false teaching. Only God knows their hearts. Only God is capable of rightly judging the men who did those things.

During World War II, Corrie Ten Boom and her sister Betsy were sent to a Nazi death camp because they hid Jews in their home. At first, Corrie hated the Nazis. She saw them as monsters. But Betsy saw them as trapped, tormented men and women. She forgave them and she prayed for them, even when they were cruel to her and whipped her. She told Corrie to forgive them, and eventually Corrie was able to, by the grace of God.

Betsy died in that camp. Corrie was released due to a “clerical error” (i.e., God’s intervention). After the war, Corrie helped establish places for helping prisoners of the death camps. She also helped establish a place to help the Nazis. There was a Dutchman named Jan Vogel who betrayed Corrie’s family and many other Dutch people. He was caught and sentenced to death. When Corrie found out about it, she wrote to him, telling him that she forgave him, and telling him about God’s love and forgiveness. Jan Vogel became a Christian a week before he was executed.

Betsy Ten Boom saw the Nazis from God’s perspective. With God’s grace, we can do the same for other people who do harmful things, whether they be the Inquisitors of long ago, or people today. Jesus told us to love everybody, even our enemies. (Matthew 5:44) And He is able to enable us to do it. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. (Philippians 4:13)