With the radically anti-church, grotesque-polemical play "The Love Council," the doctor and writer Oskar Panizza (1853-1921) caused an unprecedented cultural scandal in 1895: the action takes place in heaven, hell, and the court of the infamous Borgia Pope Alexander VI. In light of the orgies in the papal palace, the Father God, Jesus, and Mary, who are no longer capable of creative acts, strike a deal with the devil: with the help of the lust-murderess Salome, he will spread syphilis among people to punish them for their sinfulness. In return, the devil demands direct access to God, the architectural beautification of hell, and the right to spread his thoughts freely.