The Inquisition
In 1233, a court system run by the church was established and named the Inquisition. It was full of officials whose job was to find and punish people who they thought were not obeying the church. They had to track down heretics. Heretics are people who committed heresy which is an action against the church or its beliefs. When accused, a heretic could chose to confess. If they confessed, they would be punished for going against the church. If they did not confess, they would be tortured until they confessed. Once you were accused, there was no escape. According to the church, these punishments were necessary to help these people. It they were not punished, the church believed, their souls would not be healed. In other words, the church believed they were doing the heretics a favor. Not only was the Inquisition cruel, but it caused the heretics to live in a life of fear.