Every human being merits respect. Torture is an abuse of human dignity that damages the perpetrator even more than the victim. If we ourselves torture, we do great moral damage to ourselves. Torture is an evil and you must not do something evil to achieve something good. A good end never justifies evil means.

But didn't the Church itself condone torture? What do you call the Inquisition? Friendly persuasion? Torture was a common staple of the judicial system of ancient Rome. Early Christian authorities (Tertullian, c.200, and Saint Augustine, c.400) weighed in against it, and in 866, during what may have been the most violent century the West has ever seen, Pope Nicholas I, the last of the three popes to be called "the Great," condemned the use of the rack and torture as a means of extorting evidence from the accused. What brought torture back into vogue (and into the Inquisition) was the growing influence of Roman law after the 11th century. Here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say about that unfortunate development:

"In times past, cruel practices were commonly used by legitimate governments to maintain law and order, often without protest from the Pastors of the Church, who themselves adopted in their own tribunals the prescriptions of Roman law concerning torture. Regrettable as these facts are, the Church always taught the duty of clemency and mercy. She forbade clerics to shed blood. In recent times it has become evident that these cruel practices were neither necessary for public order, nor in conformity with the legitimate rights of the human person. On the contrary, these practices led to ones even more degrading. It is necessary to work for their abolition. We must pray for the victims and their tormentors. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2298)"