Summary Of Death By Burning In The Papal States

In addition to this, the area in which I have been apprehended is within the Papal States, and as such, I have not only broken a religious law but also the law of the state. As I possess a book that the Church says is in direct contrast with the bible, I would be charged with heresy. Heresy is defined as denying or doubting the core doctrine of Christianity, and a charge of this during this time period would have given an offender no less than a sentence of life imprisonment and at most, death by burning at the stake (Wolfgang). Since the crime took place in the Papal States, and state law was broken, I most likely would be sentenced to death by burning at the stake. A possible precedent for this would be the execution of Giordano Bruno, a

He denied core Catholic beliefs such as the divinity of Christ and transubstantiation and wrote many articles in support of Copernicus’s theory. He was ultimately found guilty and sentenced to death by burning at the stake (Aquilecchia). While I acknowledge that my crimes are minimal in comparison to Bruno’s, the fact that this crime took place in a central part of the Papal States could be enough for the Inquisition to push for a death sentence to make an example out of me for those who are looking to go against the Catholic doctrine. As a revolution of scientific development was underway during this time, as evident in the cases of Bruno and Galileo, it is not foolish to believe that the Church would look for someone to punish in order to deter citizens from committing crimes against the Church. Since Cardinal Bellarmine was a main figure presiding over very high profile heresy trials at this time period, as evident in his role in the trials of Galileo and Bruno, there would be a good chance that Pope Paul V would appoint him to preside over my

But Cardinal Bellarmine could argue that the Index Librorum Prohibitorum is widely publicized in Rome, the city that I am traveling from. Rome is the capital of the Papal States and the residence of the pope, and as such, this publication would be widely circulated. So it is a possibility that ignorance will not be a good enough excuse for the magnitude of this crime. I will then argue that the bible calls for peace, as opposed to murder. I will cite Exodus 20:13 which states, “you shall not murder”, as the scripture that advocates for peace as opposed to execution (BibleGate).. This could be a weak argument, as the Inquisition could cite Romans 13:2 “Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment” (BibleGate). This passage could provide evidence that the bible advocates for appropriate judgment against those who go against the laws of the