The Battle Between The Vatican And Cats : Pope Gregory IX Declared a War On Cats

You must have heard from your grandmother or your mother tell you to stay away from cats – they bring bad energy in the house, their purring is like a bad omen etc. and many other stereotypical beliefs, especially when it’s a black cat.

Have you ever wondered, what is wrong with such fluffy cute creatures that the majority of people in the world don’t like them?

Well, peoples hatred towards cats is not anything new and it actually dates back to the 13th century or probably even earlier.  So let’s go back to the 13th century and try to find out, what grave mistake these innocent creatures made that they are treated with so much contempt even today.

In the 13th century, Pope Gregory IX, who was head of the catholic church from 1227 to 1241, believed that cats were satans companions and Lucifer himself resided in cats. But what made the Pope come to this bizarre conclusion about cats? A Spanish Inquisitor from Conard of Marburg played a major role in this. For those who don’t know, an Inquisitor is a person or you can say an officer who makes an Inquiry or looks into something and is known for being excessively harsh in their investigation.

There was a Spanish Inquisitor, who travelled across Spain and searched for heretics and witches. He ardently believed that cats were evil creatures and had some connection to Satan. To prove his point to Pope Gregory IX, he would brutally torture people to confess their allegiance to Satan, how they worship Lucifer and black cats, their rituals, etc.  He gathered all the information and confessions made by different people through his barbaric methods and showed them to Gregory IX. He claimed that during his investigation, people confessed that they take part in black masses to worship Satan and have no allegiance to the Catholic church.

The inquisitor eventually wore Pope Gregory IX down, who considered all this information as reliable evidence and issued a papal decree, on June 13th,1233. It was called the Vox in Rama and in this decree, he declared that Satan was half cat and mentioned all the rituals performed by the worshippers of Satan.

This decree created a huge uproar in the community, especially because people very religious and trusted the Catholic Church greatly. The decree related cats with Satan but it didn’t tell people to wipe out cats. But as you know, it was the 13th-century and people who had blind faith in the Catholic Church were convinced. It filled people’s hearts and heads with hatred for cats. People started killing cats, especially the black ones – they killed every feline that entered in their area. As a result of Gregory IX declaration, people not only in Europe but all over the world started hating cats and considering them evil, which resulted in unimaginable cat slaughter.

You’ll be shocked to know that during this time not only the innocent cats were killed but many people who were, accused of being a witch or worshippers of Satan, were tortured and killed brutally. In many places, people were forced to prove their loyalty to the Catholic church and Gregory IX.

Summary

Gregory IX was the head of the Catholic Church from 1227 to 1241. He believed that cats were evil creatures because they were related to Satan. On June 13, 1233, he issued a papal decree, Vox in Rama, based on bogus evidence provided by a Spanish Inquisitor. In the decree, he declared that Satan is half cat and claimed that there were many rites and rituals performed by people who worshipped Satan and the black cats.

Upon hearing this people went crazy with fear and hatred for cats – they started slaughtering every cat they saw, especially black cats. Not only cats but many people also became the victim of this lunacy. Those who were accused of being a witch or worshipper of Satan were killed. The blind faith of people in their Pope led them astray and convinced them to brutally kill cats and human beings. It was a truly tragic incident in the history of humanity.