Catechism of the Catholic Church §2298 — excerpt
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.
This translation is under copyright, so only the cited words are quoted here. Follow the link for the full text. Translation: English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. (Libreria Editrice Vaticana), as posted at vatican.va.