The Sinfulness of Interpretation

Here's a footnote from the new LW 69 that points how how the sinful mind works to justify whatever it wants to:

Judicial torture, a feature of Roman law, had been reintroduced in canon law by the 1252 bull Ad exstirpanda of Innocent IV (d. 1254).

The Catholic Encyclopedia also provides a some information. The CE points out, "Torture was to be applied only once, and not then unless the accused were uncertain in his statements, and seemed already virtually convicted by manifold and weighty proofs."

Like any document, Ad exstirpanda needed to be interpreted. The CE states,

"The general rule ran that torture was to be resorted to only once. But this was sometimes circumvented — first, by assuming that with every new piece of evidence the rack could be utilized afresh, and secondly, by imposing fresh torments on the poor victim (often on different days), not by way of repetition, but as a continuation."

I spent about an hour yesterday going through a section of Roman Catholic apologetics dedicated to Biblically defending the immaculate conception. The arguments put forth reminded me very much of the interpreters of Ad exstirpanda: one will find what one needs to in any document. For instance, the document I read argued if the translation of Luke 1:28 is "highly favored," Mary could have become highly favored at her conception in her mother's womb. Or, if one uses the translation "full of grace," there's nothing in the Bible that contradicts the notion that Mary became "full of grace" at her conception:

"If Mary is “full of grace,” as the Catholic translation says, then the question is: When did she become full of grace? One can make the argument that it was at the moment of her conception that she became full of grace and there is nothing in Scripture to contradict that argument."

"Or, if she was “highly favored,” then at what point did she become highly favored by God? Could it not have been at her conception?" [source]

Let us always be careful not to use argumentation that stretches a document to accommodate what we want it to.