Mind Games

Suppose I was a baptized Catholic, and suppose I had written "Popping the Pope" in 19th century Rome. What would the authorities have done with me?

First, I imagine I'd be denounced as a heretic. A letter, signed by the Pope, and perhaps the cardinal secretary of state and other members of the Curia would have been posted on church doors, read from pulpits and distributed to papal nuncios in all the Catholic European capitals.

A trial might follow, and by "trial," we mean only the tribulations of torture. My finger nails would be pried off. I'd suffer beatings, likely while suspended from the ceiling by my wrists. Other favored methods of torture, used to exact confessions during the Damascus Affair, for example, were strangulation and genital mutilation.

I would not recant, so execution would likely follow. In Rome, this usually meant decapitation, but an unrepentant heretic like me might be burned at the stake.

Afterwards, my wordly goods would be confiscated by the Church, and my family would be forced to live in shame and poverty.

We only allowed the first assualt (denouncment) to be inflicted on Nosson Slifkin, our own 21st century heretic, but when the authority of the Gedolim to deliver lashes and to execute is restored, some variety of the next three steps might follow.

This is something to think about as the disturbing trend of heresy- hunting and a remarkable constriction of what is considered “Torah true,” continues to dominate the discourse of 21st century Judaism