RefutedSolid, positive evidence shows it is false.
No. The confessions were extracted under torture; it was Jews who had reported the discovery of the body; the pope's envoy doubted their guilt; and the Church abolished in 1965 the cult founded on this trial.
Assessment
Evidence for
- +The records contain detailed confessions.
Evidence against
- −The confessions were obtained under torture: they echo what the judges wanted to hear.
- −The Jews themselves reported the discovery of the body — a fact left out of the official summary of 1478–1479.
- −The papal commissioner has doubts; the 1478 bull makes no finding on the facts.
- −Abolition of Simon's cult in 1965.
Limits of the sources
- !The exact cause of Simon's death is not established.
Reasoning
A confession obtained under torture has no probative value. The elements independent of the prosecution's record (the accused's conduct, the papal commissioner's doubts) all point the same way.
- Confidence
- High
- Last reviewed
- 9 November 2026
Assessment history (1)
First published assessment (dossier version 1).
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