Text: Page 138

In 1487, the Dominican Father Inquisitor, Heinrich Krammer, wrote the Malleus Maleficarum, meaning “The Hammer of Witches.” It was endorsed by the Pope and was the horrifying process for the extermination of witches. Women and individuals with mental illness were especially suspect and appeared more susceptible to “the sin of witchcraft”. References in the Bible were often used to link witchcraft to evil and the devil. Biblical verses were used to justify the burning of heretics and witches on a stake that was “a burning cross,” symbolizing how Jesus died on the cross to overcome sin and evil.