The Inquisition: a show of power and weakness

After the  Council of Trent, during the counter reformation, the church decided to keep a lot of the old traditions and teachings they have held since the formation of the church. In doing so, the church could not remove these traditions in fear of losing influence and power they had built. By changing these things, the church would be implying that they were wrong, thus possibly allowing power to be diverted towards the the protestant sects of the church. The reason why the inquisition was a show of power and weakness was the fact that it showed a sort of fear from the church of losing power. By trying to quell the masses of "heresy", it can demonstrate the power it still held while instilling fear of questioning the church and all of its teachings.