The+Holy+Office+1542

The extensions and limitations of rights and liberties

Holy Office 1542 The Holy Office fits into the theme concerning the extensions and limitation of rights and liberties because it limited people’s rights and liberties on religion and thought. The Holy Office was established in 1542 by Pope Paul III as an instrument of the Catholic Counter Reformation. The Holy Office consisted of six Cardinals which had complete judicial authority over all Catholics as they had the power to arrest, torture, and execute those not operating under the Roman Law. the Holy Office did not have to inform the accused of the charges against them and the use of torture to extract confessions was also allowed. As part of the Catholic Counter Reformation, the Holy Office established the “Index of Prohibited Books”, which blacklisted books that were against the Catholic Church. Though the Holy Office was very effective within the Papal States it barely had any influence outside of it. MLA: McKay, John P. __History of Western society__. 7th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003.