Joan of Arc?

Question

Why did the Catholic church reject Joan of Arc?

Why was she burned?

Answer 1

I think none of the previous answers really got it right, though a few came close. First of all, Joan of Arc was not a general. Officially, she acted more as a standard-bearer. As for being a "de facto" general -- Joan's gift for military strategy was vastly overstated during the Trial of Rehabilitation (even more outrageously rigged than the Trial of Condemnation, as the Valois king desperately needed to legitimize himself through legitimizing Joan) and by the flag-waivers making the case to Rome for Joan's canonization in the heyday of nationalism in the early 20th century.

What Joan was -- rather than a military leader per se -- was a fiery populist and a competent agitator, who pioneered the use of religion to justify a political cause.

The Catholic Church tried Joan of Arc a total of 3 times -- twice during her life and once posthumously. It confirmed the divine origin of her visions in the first trial, condemned her for heresy in the second, and rehabilitated her in the third. Each of those trials was mostly a political affair, with the church leaders acting as the agents of the Dauphin or the English, respectively. The *official* reason for her condemnation was, first and foremost, that she rejected the authority of the Church as the sole source of information regarding G-d's will (she persisted in relying on her visions instead), and that she cross-dressed. The cross-dressing was a *pretext* for finally executing her (in fact, her dress was taken away from her while she slept, and she was given a man's clothes in order to force her to "relapse"); but her act of overstepping the boundaries of her gender wasn't the real reason behind her fate.

She also was never convicted of witchcraft. Under canonical law, a virgin could not be a witch, and a physician confirmed Joan's virginity to the court. Some men were dispatched with orders to rape Joan in order to facilitate her conviction of witchcraft -- standard procedure in ecclesiastical trials where the accused happened to be a virgin -- but were unable to perform the act (prompting speculation among historians about Joan's anatomy and even her gender). With this impediment to the witchcraft conviction remaining, Joan was convicted only of heresy.

Answer 2

Joan of Arc was burned at the stake when she was only 19. She is considered the greatest national heroine of France. She led the resistance to the English and Burgandians in the second period of the Hundred Years' war. She was the "visionary" daughter of a plowman who led French armies to victory over the English at Orleans in 1429, and opened the way for the coronation of Charles VII at Reims. She was condemned as a heretic by an English-dominated church court in 1431 and burned. Officially rehabilitated later in the same century, she was declared a saint by Pope Benedict XV in 1920.

Answer 3

Joan of Arc was put on trial by the part of the Catholic Church controlled by the English who wished to discredit her and kill her. The English handpicked the judges who participated and paid all of the costs. Totally political like most injustices in history.

Learn more about it here:
http://www.maidofheaven.com/joanofarc_long_biography.asp#trial

Answer 4

All organized churches fail in following the precepts of their own religions.
Why did the Catholic chruch fail to accept Joan of Arc? A lot of it had to do with the French king, who was weak and unwilling to assume his position at the head of his armies. People often feel sorry for France, but England was about 1/10th the population of France. France was corrupted politically and weak. Joan had visions wherein God told her things to do. This was a threat to the church and they conspired with the English to have Joan imprisoned. They took away her clothes, replacing them with men's clothes. She was forced to wear men's clothes, meaning she was a witch, so she was treated as a witch, as a heretic. Witches were burned at the stake at that time, a rather common experience. The mob rule, pack instincts of humans man it a grandiose event.
Read books about Joan; she was very brave, and routed the British in many a battle before the church brought about her downfall.

Answer 5

The Catholic Church didn't reject her, which is why ultimately it made her Saint Joan of Arc.

Basically, she was burned on account of politics. She was a general for one side in the Hundred Years War, the other side captured her, and given that 1) she was a captured general, and 2) she was a threat to the status quo of women-as-chattel, they drummed up charges of witchcraft, convicted her, and burned her as a witch.

Answer 6

The English rejected her, not the Catholic Church. She was burned at the stake by English authorities. She was later made a saint by the Catholic Church.

Answer 7

Oh, bubbles, please !

The Catholic Church DID NOT reject Joan D'Arc . It was a traitor bishop, Cauchon ( in French it means pig ), that was paid by the English and said that Joan was guilty of heresy

Later, Joan was exonerated by the Church and made Saint protector of France