mo4ch:>Witch hunt legacy: German city still pays Church to settle debt to ‘warlock’ burned centuries ago | Mo4ch News

In a somewhat bizarre tradition, the authorities of the western German city of Trier pay hundreds of euro to a local parish as interest on a centuries-old debt they owe to a man burned by the inquisition.The custom that forces the city authorities to pay annually more than €360 (US$405) out of the municipal purse to the local parish of Liebfrauen goes back to the 16th century and is rooted in the deeds of a man named Dietrich Flade, according to Bild daily.Flade was no ordinary townsman, as the 55-year-old was a doctor of law, a judge at the Imperial Court of Appeals, as well as Rector of Trier University. He was also responsible for levying taxes on the locals. However, his brilliant career did not shield him from accusations of witchcraft, and he was eventually strangled and burned at the stake.The bitter irony is that as a judge, Flade himself led numerous court proceedings against suspected ‘witches’, and did not hesitate to issue condemnatory judgement. It seems that karma eventu…