Christian History Home > Issue 49 > Carrots and Sticks
Carrots and Sticks
How the Catholic Church responded to heresy
Bernard Hamilton is professor of crusading history at the University of Nottingham, England. He is author of "Religion in the Medieval West" (Edward Arnold). | posted 1/01/1996 12:00AM
The medieval Catholic church did not think toleration of doctrinal error a virtue, and it took decisive steps to correct heresy when it appeared.
Persuade Them to Remain
First, the church supported Christian groups that remained loyal to Rome while living out some radical practices of heretics, practices that were both biblical and effective at reforming the church (which was one concern of many dissenters).
Francis of Assisi (1182–1226), for example, shared many of Valdes’s ideals; Francis encouraged people to lead lives of Christian poverty and perfection. His friars were loyal Catholics, and in 1210 Pope Innocent III licensed them as a new religious order.
Francis was not centrally concerned about fighting heresy, but Dominic Guzman was. He founded the Dominicans, or the Friars Preacher, in 1217, specifically to deal with the Cathars, both by example (in a lifestyle of Christian poverty) and by teaching. A high proportion of Dominicans were university educated, and they evangelized cities ... To view this item, you must be a member of ChristianHistory.net.
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