by pope innocents side was father giovanni, his trusted secretary. the priest's ink-stained fingers hovered over a smaller piece of parchment, ready to transcribe each word as dictated. the gravity of the moment was unmistakable. the words they were about to set down would alter the course of history. they were not merely lines of ink on paper, but the fire that would soon ignite the witch hunts across europe. pope innocent lifted the quill from its inkwell, its tip glistening with dark ink. his voice, quiet yet resolute, broke the silence as he began to dictate the first lines of the "summis desiderantes affectibus", a bull that would address the rampant witchcraft kramer had warned about in his homeland of germany. > "many persons of both sexes, unmindful of their own salvation and straying from the catholic faith, have abandoned themselves to devils, incubi and succubi his hand moved with deliberate care, each stroke of the quill slow and precise. the ink bled into the parchment, immortalizing the accusations against those who, in the churchs view, had forsaken their souls and given themselves to darkness. kramers breath quickened. he had been fighting for this momentpetitioning the pope for monthsbegging for explicit authority to proceed against witches. his words had not fallen on deaf ears. the rhine valley, kramer had warned, was infected with sorcery. women, men, entire villages, had been consumed by black magic, and the local clergy had refused to take decisive action. but now, through this papal bull, the full force of the inquisition would be unleashed.
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