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How many "heretics" as defined by the "Church" were not guilty of any "crime" at all? How many "heretics" were mistakenly executed? Has the Pope found it necessary to apologize for those executions?

How many innocent persons today are wrongly executed?

Yes, I am saying it was never a "good" thing for the "Church" to decide who would be executed for "heresy".

The Church was deciding who was guilty of heresy and sentencing them.

You think that heresy can never be a crime under any circumstances.A "heretic" may be a criminal but the execution of a person for the "crime" of heresy is the product of a sick society.

Has it occured to you that heresy may be a symptom of such "sickness?" Heresy is not necessarily the same as dissent. Dissent stays with the bounds permitted by society, heresy does not, and has as its chief aim the transformation of social norms. Dangerous heretics are not content to hold their beliefs privately and promote schism. I am suggesting that heresy should be suppressed if it is likely to forment civil war.

Do you think it would be proper today for the RCC to declare who is a "heretic" and "dangerous to society"? Do you think it proper to execute these "heretics"?

It would not be proper today because we live in a very different society We observe, however, that even free speech and free exercise of religion in a civil society are limited, and that the limits are determined by the ideology of the elites of our society. Mormonism was literally proscribed by our government because it taught polygamy, and Utah was not accepted into the Union under the Mormons gave up that particular heresy. Polygamy was a crime and was defined as such by the Congress. But why was it considered to be wrong? Because the Christian churches--all of them--taught this. All we need do is to read the Reynolds case to see that your notion that the suppression of this heresy is not different in principle to the supression of Catharism. The difference is that the coersive power of the United States was strong enough to suppress this heresy without a "crusade "

Polygamy was a crime and was defined as such by the Congress. But why was it considered to be wrong? Because the Christian churches--all of them--taught this.

Actually polygamy was unconstitutional.

It fell under the "cruel and unsual punishment" clause. ;-)

The difference is that the coersive power of the United States was strong enough to suppress this heresy without a "crusade "

The difference is that the United States isn't controlled by a powerful, arrogant Church.

By your standards I am a heretic. Would you have me silenced?