 However, the Cathars were the first mass organization in the second millennium that posed a serious threat to the authority of the Church.This article covers only these early inquisitions, not the Roman Inquisition of the 16th century onwards, or the somewhat different phenomenon of the Spanish Inquisition of the late 15th century, which was under the control of the Spanish monarchy using local clergy.The Portuguese Inquisition of the 16th century and various colonial branches followed the same pattern.