There's an urban legend that a pope in the the 13th century issued a papal bull or an official decree telling people to exterminate cats because of their association with the devil and witchcraft.

Today we take a quick look at the history of the relationship between witchcraft, cats, and lots of popes to find out what really happened in the 13th century.

Hear the full story on today's episode of Facts-Chology!

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Sources
https://www.history.com/news/how-medieval-churches-used-witch-hunts-to-gain-more-followers

https://www.academia.edu/1061079/LUFF_R_M_MORENO_GARC%C3%8DA_M_1995_Killing_cats_in_the_Medieval_Period_An_unusual_episode_in_the_history_of_Cambridge_England_Archaeofauna_4_93_114

https://museumhack.com/black-cats-black-death/

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ritualistic-cat-torture-was-once-a-form-of-town-fun

https://allthatsinteresting.com/pope-massacred-cats

http://self.gutenberg.org/articles/Vox_in_Rama

https://www.interesly.com/great-cat-massacre-middle-ages/

https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2019/11/05/were-cats-really-killed-en-masse-during-the-middle-ages/

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