Withholding sacraments and clerical offices from specific people or territories to enforce obedience is called

• A. Inquisition
• B. Magna Carta
• C. Interdict
• D. Primogeniture

Answer: (C)

An interdict is a church sanction that withholds sacraments and clerical offices from a region or group to enforce obedience. In medieval Christendom, sacraments—like baptism, communion, marriage, and funerals—were central to religious life and believed essential for salvation. When the pope or a church authority placed an interdict on a territory, priests wouldn’t celebrate Mass or administer rites, churches could be closed, and the faithful were deprived of access to the rites that connected them to the church. This created social and political pressure on rulers to submit to church demands without resorting to personal excommunication. The other terms refer to different concepts: an Inquisition is a court-like process to root out heresy; Magna Carta is a political charter limiting royal power; primogeniture is an inheritance rule.