English
The Book of Apocalypse is the last book of the New Testament of the Bible that reveals the Seven Seals. Although many people are controversial to the Catholic Church´s doctrines, it is worth knowing its dogmas to take a position for or against it. In fact, it is necessary to say that The Apocalypse has been one of the most studied literary works of the mankind history thanks to its great quantity of symbols and its exclusively prophetic character. It lists the Seven Seals of human history from a Catholic point of view, equivalent to seven prophecies, respectively: wars, famine, disease, chaos … until with the Seventh Seal comes the End.
The First Seal is represented through the first horseman of the Apocalypse, riding a white horse. This prophecy speaks of false preachers, false Christs and false prophets who deceive the masses. The truth is that the Catholic Church has been and is one of the most powerful institutions in the world. There have been times when the Word of God was the only provision valid and anyone who rebelled against the Catholic doctrines would be punished with the death. The Inquisition was brought about in 1184. It was the institution in charge of suppressing any heresy that arose against Catholic dogmas. It spread for centuries and to multiple territories, and it was not until 1965 that it completely went out.
The Inquisition was the most terrible scourge of the Catholic Church. This one was silenced for centuries, since the historical ignorance and the weight of the Church as a social and political institution managed to silence the masses. Many scholars were silenced by the Inquisition, which fought against all science that refuted their beliefs. Thus, Galileo Galilei was forced by the Inquisition to testify that his heliocentric theory – which holds that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun rather than the earth was the center of the universe, was just a hypothesis. But Galileo, the father of experimental physics and of the modern science was not the only scientist who was persecuted by the Church. Centuries ago, Hypatia of Alexandria died in pursuit of her scientific theories accused of witchcraft and heresy.
The Pope John Paul II apologized for all the mistakes made in the name of the Church throughout history: burning heretics at the stake, witch-hunting, the threat of torture to scientists and free minded thinkers, carrying out killings in the New World in the name of God, to support fascist regimes… But Joseph Ratzinger, in 1990, while he still was a cardinal, declared that in the Galileo time the Church was much more faithful to the reason that the own scientist and that the process taken against him was reasonable because he could not prove with authentic information his theory. So, some people today still maintain that the charges against the Inquisition were exaggerated, as the Church claims that Galileo was not convicted for being a scientist, but for being a bad theologian, so they had right to defend their selves.
Anyway, today the Church continues enjoying a crushing burden in many sectors of the society, but many people confessed agnostic or atheist. Whatever religion you profess, you should know that the city of Rome is one of the places where Christianity has been more entrenched. Its monuments, its ruins and the Vatican City will leave you speechless. Rent Apartments in Rome to enjoy the best possible accommodation and enjoy a few relaxed days.
