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by Charles Carreon
1:51 pm, May 22, 2005
Back in the 15th Century the Pope was the
President of the Western World, and the Vatican was the Capitol.
He didn't need anyone's vote to adopt his version of the Patriot Act. It's
one scaaaary document, empowering “Henry Kramer and James Sprenger,
Professors of Theology, of the Order of Friars Preachers,” to do
absolutely any damn thing they wanted throughout all the Pope's realm,
“imprisoning, mulcting (imposing fines), and punishing” any persons they
chose to charge with witchcraft.
Like the Bush Gang, the Vatican Gangsters had to
invent terrors big enough to spook the populace out of their wits, so
witches were the terrorists of those days.
Their terrorist practices were disgusting. According to Pope “Innocent,”
these anti-God medieval sickos “abandoned themselves to devils, incubi and
succubi, and by their incantations, spells, conjurations, and other
accursed charms and crafts, enormities and horrid offences, have slain
infants yet in the mother's womb....”
Stopping at nothing in their war on God's
people, witches targeted natural resources and the backbone of the
medieval economy. They attacked livestock
and crops by “blast[ing] the produce of the earth, the grapes of the vine,
the fruits of the trees, nay, men and women, beasts of burthen,
herd-beasts, as well as animals of other kinds, vineyards, orchards,
meadows, pasture-land, corn, wheat, and all other cereals; these wretches
furthermore afflict and torment men and women, beasts of burthen,
herd-beasts, as well as animals of other kinds, with terrible and piteous
pains and sore diseases, both internal and external.” And apparently,
their aphrodisiacs weren't as good as Viagra, since these medieval
bio-terrorists could “hinder men from performing the sexual act and women
from conceiving, whence husbands cannot know their wives nor wives receive
their husbands.”
The stakes were high, and the Pope had to hit
back hard — it wouldn't take much crop blasting, or more than one
prolonged bout of impotence among the working class, to knock the medieval
economy from its knees to a state of complete prostration!
Harsh measures were required. Enter the Inquisitors. They're comin' to
your town soon, to ask a few questions, like — Was that you out there by
the airport taking pictures? Why do you need all these books, Mr. Carreon?
Do you know your babysitter is a Muslim? And somehow, they seem to know
all the answers and just want to hear yours. Oh, c'mon now, don't get all
nervous. I'm just kidding. Bush would never authorize anything like that.
"THE MALLEUS MALEFICARUM"
THE BULL OF INNOCENT VIII
Innocent, Bishop, Servant of the servants of God, for an eternal
remembrance.
DESIRING with the most hearfelt anxiety, even as Our
Apostleship requires, that the Catholic faith should especially in this
Our day increase and flourish everywhere, and that all heretical
depravity should be driven far from the frontiers and bournes of the
Faithful, We very gladly proclaim and even restate those particular
means and methods whereby Our pious desire may obtain its wished effect,
since when all errors are uprooted by Our diligent avocation as by the
hoe of a provident husbandman, a zeal for, and the regular observance
of, Our holy Faith will be all the more strongly impressed upon the
hearts of the faithful. It has indeed lately come to Our ears, not
without afflicting Us with bitter sorrow, that in some parts of Northern
Germany, as well as in the provinces, townships, territories, districts,
and dioceses of Mainz, Cologne, Tréves, Salzburg, and Bremen,
many persons of both sexes, unmindful of their own salvation
and straying from the Catholic Faith, have abandoned themselves
to devils, incubi and succubi, and by their incantations, spells,
conjurations, and other accursed charms and crafts, enormities and
horrid offences, have slain infants yet in the mother's womb, as also
the offspring of cattle, have blasted the produce of the earth, the
grapes of the vine, the fruits of the trees, nay, men and women, beasts
of burthen, herd-beasts, as well as animals of other kinds,
vineyards, orchards, meadows, pasture-land, corn, wheat, and all other
cereals; these wretches furthermore afflict and torment men and women,
beasts of burthen, herd-beasts, as well as animals of other kinds, with
terrible and piteous pains and sore diseases, both internal and
external; they hinder men from performing the sexual act and
women from conceiving, whence husbands cannot know their wives nor wives
receive their husbands; over and above this, they blasphemously
renounce that Faith which is theirs by the Sacrament of Baptism, and at
the instigation of the Enemy of Mankind they do not shrink from
committing and perpetrating the foulest abominations and filthiest
excesses to the deadly peril of their own souls, whereby they outrage
the Divine Majesty and are a cause of scandal and danger to very many.
And although Our dear sons Henry Kramer and James Sprenger,
Professors of Theology, of the Order of Friars Preachers, have been by
Letters Apostolic delegated as Inquisitors of these heretical
pravities, and still are Inquisitors, the first in the aforesaid parts
of Northern Germany, wherein are included those aforesaid townships,
districts, dioceses, and other specified localities, and the second in
certain territories which lie along the borders of the Rhine,
nevertheless not a few clerics and lay folk of those countries, seeking
too curiously to know more than concerns them, since in the
aforesaid delegatory letters there is no express and specific mention by
name of these provinces, townships, dioceses, and districts, and further
since the two delegates themselves and the abominations they are to
encounter are not designated in detailed and particular fashion, these
persons are not ashamed to contend with the most unblushing
effrontery that these enormities are not practised in these provinces,
and consequently the aforesaid Inquisitors have no legal right to
exercise their powers of inquisition in the provinces, townships,
dioceses, districts, and territories, which have been
rehearsed, and that the Inquisitors may not proceed to punish, imprison,
and penalize criminals convicted of the heinous offences and many
wickednesses which have been set forth. Accordingly in
the aforesaid provinces, townships, dioceses, and districts, the
abominations and enormities in question remain
unpunished not without open danger to the souls of many and
peril of eternal damnation.
Wherefore We,
as is Our duty, being wholly desirous of removing all hindrances
and obstacles by which the good work of the Inquisitorsmay be let and
tarded, (i.e., delayed) as also of applying potent remedies to
prevent the disease of heresy and other turpitudes diffusing their
poison to the destruction of many innocent souls, since Our zeal for the
Faith especially incites us, lest that the provinces, townships,
dioceses, districts, and territories of Germany, which We had specified,
be deprived of the benefits of the Holy Office thereto assigned, by the
tenor of these presents in virtue of Our Apostolic authority We
decree and enjoin that the aforesaid Inquisitors be empowered to proceed
to the just correction, imprisonment, and punishment of any persons,
without let or hindrance, in every way as if the provinces,
townships, dioceses, districts, territories, yea, even the persons and
their crimes in this kind were named and particularly designated in Our
letters. Moreover, for greater surety We extend these letters
deputing this authority to cover all the aforesaid provinces, townships,
dioceses, districts, territories, persons, and crimes newly rehearsed,
and We grant permission to the aforesaid Inquisitors, to one
separately or to both, as also to Our dear son John Gremper, priest of
the diocese of Constance, Master of Arts, their notary, or to any other
public notary, who shall be by them, or by one of them,
temporarily delegated to those provinces, townships, dioceses,
districts, and aforesaid territories, to proceed, according to
the regulations of the Inquisition, against any persons of whatsoever
rank and high estate, correcting, mulcting, imprisoning, punishing, as
their crimes merit, those whom they have found guilty, the penalty being
adapted to the offence. Moreover, they shall enjoy a
full and perfect faculty of expounding and preaching the word of God
to the faithful, so often as opportunity may offer and it may seem good
to them, in each and every parish church of the said provinces,
and they shall freely and lawfully perform any rites or execute any
business which may appear advisable in the aforesaid cases. By
Our supreme authority We grant them anew full and complete faculties.
At the same time by Letters Apostolic We require Our
venerable Brother, the Bishop of Strasburg (Albrecht
von Bayern, 1478-1506 - ed.), that he himself shall announce,
or by some other or others cause to be announced, the burthen if
Our Bull, which he shall solemnly publish when and so often as he deems
it necessary, or when he shall be requested so to do by the Inquisitors
or by one of them. Nor shall he suffer them in
disobedience to the tenor of these presents to be molested or
hindered by any authority whatsoever, but he shall threaten all
who endeavour to hinder or harass the Inquisitors, all who oppose them,
all rebels, of whatsoever rank, estate, position, pre-eminence, dignity,
or any condition they may be, or whatsoever privilege or exemption they
may claim, with excommunication, suspension, interdict, and yet more
terrible penalties, censures, and punishment, as may seem good
to him, and that without any right of appeal, and if he
will he may by Our authority aggravate and renew these penalties as
often as he list, calling in, if so please him, the help of the secular
arm.
Non obstantibus . . . Let no man therefore . . . But
if any dare to do so, which God forbid, let him know that upon him will
fall the wrath of Almighty God, and of the Blessed Apostles Peter and
Paul.
Given at Rome, at S. Peter's, on the 9
December of the Year of the Incarnation of Our Lord one thousand four
hundred and eighty-four, in the first year of Our Pontificate.
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