[General] Peter's pence

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to help to me to interpret the phrase in bold in the following sentence?

They would go to the stake if that were the alternative to paying Peter’s pence to the Scarlet Woman. (B.Shaw, “The Intelligent Woman,s Guide to the Socialism and Capitalism”

Peter’s pence = Peter’s mite = pope’s mite

Thanks for your efforts.

Regard,

V

 

[Tullia]

Peter's Pence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The modern day "Peter's Pence" is a form of tithe to the Vatican. It is carried out once a year and the proceeds are donated to charity.

I suspect in the context what they are saying is that "They would rather go to the stake than have their charitable donations used to support a scarlet woman."