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#GoaInquisition
The principle of the Inquisition was murderous ... The popes were not only murderers in the great style, but they also made murder a legal basis of the Christian Church and a condition for salvation.
Lord Acton (1834-1902)
The principle of the Inquisition was murderous ... The popes were not only murderers in the great style, but they also made murder a legal basis of the Christian Church and a condition for salvation.
Lord Acton (1834-1902)
Goan Inquisition
In the 15th century, the Portuguese had explored the sea route to India and Pope Nicholas V enacted the Papal bull Romanus pontifex.
In the 15th century, the Portuguese had explored the sea route to India and Pope Nicholas V enacted the Papal bull Romanus pontifex.
This granted the patronage of the propagation of the Christian faith in Asia to the Portuguese and rewarded them with a trade monopoly in newly discovered areas. Missionaries of the Society of Jesus were sent to Portuguese colonies,
where the government provided incentives for baptised Christians. They offered rice donations for the poor, good positions in the Portuguese colonies for the middle class and military support for local rulers.
We know from 'St.' #FrancisXavier's own letters that even before the Inquisition, missionaries were encouraging the destruction of Hindu temples and religious artefacts.
In a letter dated 1545 the Catholic missionary, Francis Xavier asked King John III of Portugal for an Catholic Inquisition to be established in Goa, in Portuguese India. The Goa Inquisition was established in 1560 with jurisdiction over Goa & the rest of Portuguese empire in Asia
"The fathers of the Church forbade the Hindus under terrible penalties the use of their own sacred books, and prevented them from all exercise of their religion. "
This is where #Dukhvardhan ban on #Diwali comes from.
This is where #Dukhvardhan ban on #Diwali comes from.
In the laws and prohibitions of the inquisition in 1736, over 42 Hindu practices were prohibited, including the wearing of ponytails, greeting people with Namaste, wearing sandals, and even removing one's slippers on entering a church.
Many restrictions were purely cultural, not religious. Traditional musical instruments and singing were prohibited, and were replaced by Western music. Hindus were renamed when they converted and were not permitted to use their original names.
Converts were expected to adopt western diets including pork and beef, and to drink alcohol.
Those who persistently refused to give up their ancient Hindu practices were declared apostates or heretics and condemned to death.
Those who persistently refused to give up their ancient Hindu practices were declared apostates or heretics and condemned to death.
Restrictions on the local language were also tightened. In 1812, the Arsebishop of Goa decreed that #Konkani should be restricted in schools. In 1847, this prohibition was extended to seminaries.
In 1869, Konkani was completely banned in schools. Konkani became the lingua de criados ("language of servants").
#Voltaire said of the #GoaInquisition, that "The Portuguese monks made us believe that the people worshiped the devil, and it is they who have served him".
Historian Alfredo de Mello describes the Christian orders of Goan inquisition as nefarious, fiendish, lustful, and corrupt, a view in line with the views of a number of European visitors to Goa between 1560 and 1812 who recorded their experience in books and letters.
