Torture, burning at the stake and other punishment for the faithful condemned as witches or heretics by church tribunals during the Inquisition was not as widespread as commonly believed, the Vatican ...

Under Pope Francis' leadership, the Catholic Church continues the struggle to rid itself of its past images of triumphalism and war as it seeks to become the church of the poor. The battle is to stop ...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican's doctrine office, once responsible for the Inquisition, the Index of Prohibited Books and famous for its centuries of secrecy, is reminding scholars that it's actually ...

Established almost 500 years ago, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is no longer "the Inquisition" — rather, its main focus is handing down the teachings of the apostles, said the ...

IF you are inquisitive about the Inquisition, a rare public glimpse of centuries-old Vatican documents will leave you wanting more. There are no heresy trial transcripts or descriptions of torture ...

Dropping to his knees before the 10 cardinals of the Inquisition, dressed in the white shirt of penitence, Galileo Galilei was forced to retract his “heretic” theory that the Earth moved around the ...

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in ...