Interesting Popes
Papal coronation of King Charles VII of France in Reims
The popes are heads of the Roman Catholic Church and according to Catholic doctrine, the tradition of having popes began with St Peter, the apostle of Jesus Christ, and has continued into the modern era. This article is by no means a criticism of the Catholic Church or its belief system, but a truthful account of the some of the most notorious popes throughout history.
Roman Emperor Constantine
During the early history of the Church, the pontiffs of Rome held no temporal power until the time of Roman Emperor Constantine in the 3rd Century CE. After the fall of Rome and the beginning of the Middle Ages in 476 CE, the popes had fallen under the sway of the powerful sovereigns of the Italian Peninsula. This time became known as the periods of the Ostrogothic Papacy, the Byzantine Papacy and the Frankish Papacy. In time, the papacy held dominion over a section of the Italian peninsula that was henceforth known as the Papal States. This also marked the transition of power from ruling monarchs to powerful Roman families – the Crescentii family and the Tusculum counts – that controlled the papacy during what is called the Saeculum Obscurum or the Dark Ages.
Between 1048-1257 CE, the papacy suffered tremendous strife. Conflict arose between the Catholic churches and the monarchs of both the Holy Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire. This became known as the East-West Schism that culminated with the division of the Western Church which became the Roman Catholic Church, and the Eastern Church which became the Orthodox Church. From 1257-1377 CE, the popes of that period resided in Viterbo, Orvieto, Perugia and Avignon. After Avignon, the pope returned to Rome and this was followed by an internal power struggle known as the Western Schism. This schism caused the Church to be torn into two, and for a period of time included three claimants to the papal throne.
St Peter’s Basilica, the mother church of the Catholic Church right in the heart of the Vatican City.
After this came the Renaissance Papacy that was known for its rich patronage of grand architecture and the fine arts. They also made headway at consolidating their influence within European power circles, during a period when the popes were bombarded with various theological challenges, threatening their leadership. These hurdles began with the Protestant Reformation, and continued later as the Baroque Popes had to steer the Catholic Church through the Counter-Reformation as well. The Age of Revolution brought about the largest state confiscations of Church wealth during the French Revolution, and its reverberations which swept through Europe. During the Italian Unification, the curtailing of papal power and influence would become known as the Roman Question. These events culminated with the formation of the Vatican City, which is now synonymous with the Roman Catholic Church.
Through these periods of history the Church was led by the various popes, some of whom led interesting or even notorious lives. Below are accounts of some of these figures.
Pope Stephen VI – Immortalised by His Grudge
Jean-Paul Laurens’s recreates the Cadaver Synod in this painting
Stephen VI became pontiff in 896 CE and remained in power for only a year. He is considered notorious for holding a tremendous grudge against his predecessor, Pope Formosus. This grudge came to a climax when he ordered Pope Formosus’ rotting corpse to be exhumed, and placed on trial in January 897 CE. This gruesome event has come to be known as the “Cadaver Synod”.
During the trial, he placed the rotting corpse of the previous pontiff on the throne, complete with sacred vestments, and appointed a deacon to answer on behalf of the deceased. The corpse of Pope Formosus was charged with continuing to perform the function of a bishop of Rome, even though he had been deposed; for holding the office of pope while he was actually the bishop of Porto instead of Rome; and many other trumped up charges.
Naturally, the corpse was found to be guilty and stripped of its sacred vestments. A sentence was passed to chop three fingers off the corpse’s right hand, which are typically used by a pope to bestow blessings. The corpse was then clad in the clothes of layman and quickly buried. It was then re-exhumed once again and thrown in the Tiber River. Subsequently, it was declared that all ordinations performed by Pope Formosus were annulled. This infamous trial created a serious uproar throughout the Church.
The actual instigators of this macabre deed may actually have been one of the many enemies that Pope Formosus had, such the House of Spoleto, especially Guy IV of Spoleto. This family had regained the control of Rome at the beginning of 897 CE, by renouncing their border claims in central Italy. However, this whole episode came to an abrupt end with Pope Stephen VI’s imprisonment, after which he was sentenced to death by strangulation that summer.
Pope Benedict IX – Grand Seller of the Papal Office
Benedict IX was pontiff from 1032 to 1044 CE, and then he became pontiff again in 1045 CE, and finally from 1047 to 1048 CE. He is the only man to have served as Pope for three discontinuous periods throughout the history of the church, and became one of the most controversial Popes of all time. In fact, Pope Benedict gave up his papacy for the first time in exchange for a large sum of money in 1044 CE. He returned to power in 1045 CE just to depose his replacement, Pope Sylvester III, and reigned for just one month. He left the office once again, possibly to marry, and then sold the papacy for a second time, this time to Pope Gregory VI, reportedly for over 650 kg or 1,450lb of gold.
Two years after that, Benedict retook his office as Bishop of Rome after the death of Clement II and reigned for an additional year, until 1048. It was said that Poppo of Brixen, who would later be known as Pope Damascus II, eventually evicted Benedict from Rome. Unfortunately, the actual place and date of Benedict’s death are unknown, but some speculate that he may have made further attempts to regain the Papal Throne after his eviction. The life of Pope Benedict is perfectly described by St. Peter Damian as one “feasting on immorality” and “a demon from hell in the disguise of a priest” in the Liber Gomorrhianus, a treatise on papal corruption and sex, in which he accused Benedict IX of routinely practicing homosexuality and bestiality.
Pope Sergius III – Papal Murderer & Establisher of the Rule of Harlots
Sergius III ascended the Papal throne in 897 CE and reigned right up to 911 CE. He is the only pope known to have ordered the murder of another pope, and the only pontiff known to have fathered an illegitimate son, who later became pope. His reign as pope has been described as “dismal and disgraceful” to the Catholic Church.
The pontificate of Sergius III saw the rise of what papal historians call “pornocracy,” which literally means the “rule of the harlots”. This was seen to oppose the very nature of the celibate office according to the Liber Pontificalis, or the “Book of Pontiffs”, a book of biographies of various popes. A later chronicler of the pope’s biographies was also highly critical of Sergius III.
“Pornocracy” was an age in which women held some power. This included Theodora, whom Liutprand, described to be a “shameless whore [who] exercised power on the Roman citizenry like a man” and her daughter, Marozia, the mother of Pope John XI (r. 931 – 935 CE), who was widely reputed to be the mistress of Pope Sergius III.
Pope John XII – Desecrated Female Pilgrims & Invoker of Pagan Gods
John XII was pope from 955 CE right up to 964 CE. In 963, the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I summoned a council against John XII, and charged him with serious offences. These included the ordination of a deacon in a stable; the consecration of a 10-year-old boy as Bishop of Todi; the desecration of the Lateran Palace through turning it into a brothel; the rape of female pilgrims in St. Peter’s Basilica; steeling church offerings; toasting drinks to the devil; and invoking the aid of Jove, Venus and other pagan gods whilst dealing with dice.
Consequently, he was deposed but immediately returned to power as pope when Emperor Otto I left Rome. Pope John XII took retribution by maiming and mutilating all those who had opposed him. In 964 CE, he was apparently thrashed by the husband of a woman with whom he was having an affair, and died three days later without even receiving the Catholic confession or the sacrament of last rites.
Pope Leo X – Murderer of Cardinals & Merchant of Indulgences
Leo X became pope in 1513 CE, and his pontificate lasted until his death in 1521 CE. He was known primarily for the sale of “indulgences” in order to raise funds for the reconstruction of St. Peter’s Basilica, and his rebuttal of Martin Luther’s theses. An “indulgence” at that time was sold as a method to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins after death. According to Catholic belief, it may reduce the punishments during the state or process of purification known as Purgatory, before entering the joy of heaven.
Alexandre Dumas describes that under the pontificate of Leo X, “Christianity assumed a pagan character, which passing from art into manners, gives to this epoch a strange complexion. Crimes for the moment disappeared, to give place to vices; but to charming vices, vices in good taste, such as those indulged in by Alcibiades and sung by Catullus.” Upon being becoming the pope, Leo X told his brother Giuliano, “Since God has given us the papacy, let us enjoy it.”
He lead an extravagant lifestyle that offended many including Martin Luther who was already critical of the sale of indulgences, and also some cardinals, who in collusion with Alfonso Petrucci of Siena, attempted to assassinate him. However, Pope Leo X quickly discovered the identity of the conspirators and had them followed. Somehow in the process, the conspirators died of food poisoning. In hindsight, some people have argued that Pope Leo X and his followers most likely fabricated the charges, attempting to extort fines from the various wealthy cardinals that Leo X detested.
Pope Alexander VI – Foremost in Libertinism & Nepotism
Alexander VI ascended the papal throne in 1492 CE until 1503 CE. He would come to be known as one of the most controversial popes of the Renaissance period. His notoriety was partly due to the fact that he openly acknowledged fathering several children with his mistresses. In fact, his Italianised Valencian family name, Borgia, became synonymous with libertinism and nepotism. This is exactly what characterised his rule as the pontiff. It seems that his love of excess inspired two of his successors: the controversial pontiffs Sixtus V and Urban VIII, who both described him as one of the most outstanding popes since St. Peter.
Upon his death, his remains were laid in state for the clergy and people of Rome to pay their last respects. However, his remains were covered with an old tapestry as they had become greatly disfigured due to rapid decomposition. Raphael Volterrano wrote, “It was a revolting scene to look at that deformed, blackened corpse, prodigiously swelled, and exhaling an infectious smell; his lips and nose were covered with brown drivel, his mouth was opened very widely, and his tongue, inflated by poison, fell out upon his chin; therefore no fanatic or devotee dared to kiss his feet or hands, as custom would have required.” The Venetian ambassador said that his remains were “the ugliest, most monstrous and horrible dead body that was ever seen, without any form or likeness of humanity”. However, Ludwig von Pastor explained that the decomposition was “perfectly natural” due to the summer heat.
It was said that the unusual level of decomposition was due to accidental poisoning by his son, Cesare, through the use of cantarella. It was said that they had prepared the poison to eliminate Cardinal Adriano, however Pope Alexander VI was accidentally killed instead. However, some commentaries reject these stories in favour of the official statement, that the pope’s death was due to malaria or another one of the deadly illnesses prevalent in Rome at that time.
Pope Innocent IV – Sanctioned Torture as an Instrument of the Inquisition
Innocent IV was pope from 1243 CE to 1254 CE. The Inquisition was formed during the reign of his predecessor Pope Gregory IX, and this period represents the darkest history of the Roman Catholic Church. During the Inquisition, it was Pope Innocent IV who approved the use of torture to extract confessions of heresy. This was a move which took the Inquisition to new and deadlier heights.
Pope Innocent IV thought of himself as the Vicar of Christ, and that his power was above all earthly kings and princes. Therefore, he forcefully applied the principle that ‘the end justifies the means’ in his decrees. It was his papal approval of torture as a means to extract confessions that brought about the shocking use of cruel and deranged instruments that inflicted suffering on so many innocent people.
Amongst the most famous people to suffer at the hands of the Roman Inquisition was Galileo. The Church condemned Galileo for claiming that the earth revolved around the sun as his radical new ideas challenged their existing views.
Pope Urban VI – The Angry Pope
Urban VI ascended the papal throne from 1378 CE to 1389 CE. He was the first pope during the period of the Western Schism, which was a period of struggle for power that lead to three claimants to the papal throne at the same time.
Upon coming to power, Pope Urban VI was seen to be prone to violent outbursts of rage and was considered arrogant. Consequently, the cardinals who elected him had a change of heart and they decided that it was a wrong decision to elect him. They felt they had acted rashly due to pressure from the Roman mob that demanded a Roman Pope to be elected instead of another French pope at Avignon. French Cardinals invited him to a meeting but he didn’t turn up as he felt that it was a danger to his life and so, they seized the opportunity to denounce him and elected a new pope in his place.
The new pope went by the name of Clement VII and started a second papal court in Avignon, France. Clement VII became the second claimant to the papal throne. This provoked Pope Urban IV and he conceived of new programs of violence and atrocity against those he suspected were conspiring against him. He imprisoned people at whim and tortured them brutally to extract information or confessions. Many of his contemporaries and historians considered him to be insane for his bouts of rage.
The enthronement of the new pope threw the Church into turmoil. As a result, there arose anti-pope factions and also those that favoured either side of the rival claimants to the papacy. This conflict escalated from a problem within the Church into a huge diplomatic crisis that divided Western Europe itself. Secular monarchs at that time had to choose which pope they would hold their allegiance to. Pope Urban IV passed away in 1388 due to injuries after falling from a mule, but his death was not without rumours of poisoning. He was succeeded by Pope Boniface IX who continued the struggle against the French claimant to the papal throne.
The Western schism would only be solved forty years later when all three of the reigning claimants to the papal throne abdicated together, and a successor was elected , Pope Martin V.
Pope John XV – Merchant Pope who Ran the Papal Office Like a Family Business
John XV was pope from 985 CE to 996 CE. This pope like many others before him had a strong reputation for corruption and nepotism that made him highly unpopular with the Roman citizens. His decrees split the Church’s coffers, mainly between his own relatives, and he was described as “covetous of filthy lucre and corrupt in all his acts.”
Pope Clement VII – Brought War to Rome
Clement VII arose as pope from 1523 CE to 1534 CE. He was the heir to the powerful Medici family and thus, Clement VII was trained to have great political and diplomatic skills. However, he was far removed from the undercurrents of his time that were necessary to deal with the political and religious upheaval that he faced. His diplomatic relationship with Roman Emperor Charles V degenerated to the point that he invaded and sacked the Papal States in May 1527.
Pope Clement VII was defeated, held prisoner, and forced into a humiliating position which forced him to renounce a great deal of secular and religious power. Pope Clement never recovered from his defeat and humiliation. He became severely ill and died in 1534 as a pope that was hated by the Romans for the destruction of the city.
Pope Joan: The Legendary Female Pope
According to popular legend, Pope Joan was a woman who reigned as pope for several years during the Middle Ages. This is in spite of the Roman Catholic clergy being entirely a male dominated establishment. Her story became widespread all over Europe, and was considered a real account for centuries but most modern scholars and historians consider it to be a fictional account.
There are several versions of her life story but most versions maintain that she was a precocious and learned woman who disguised herself as a man, and in some accounts at the behest of a male lover. In the most common accounts, she rose through the Church hierarchy due to her intelligence and political astuteness, eventually being elected as the pope without anyone knowing any better. Unfortunately, her sex was finally revealed when she gave birth during a procession, and she died shortly thereafter. In one account her death was due to murder, and in another, due to natural causes. Accounts maintain that later church processions bypassed this spot, and that the Vatican removed the female pope from its papal history. It is said that this incident caused the Church to develop a ritual to ensure that future popes were male.
The legend held such sway that in the 16th century, Siena Cathedral featured a bust of Joan amongst other male pontiffs but it was removed due to severe protests. The first chronicle of Pope Joan was written by Jean de Mailly around 1250 and it contains the name of this female pope. This would inspire several accounts that would be written in the subsequent years thereafter. However, the most popular and influential version of this female pope would arise in the work of Martin of Opava entitled Chronicon Pontificum et Imperatorum. In his work, Martin introduced details like the female pope’s birth name as John Anglicus of Mainz along with details such as the time of her reign in the 9th century, and that she entered the Church in order to follow her lover.
Right up to the 16th century, this legend was universally accepted as true until debate arose amongst both Catholic and Protestant scholars that brought the story into the spotlight. Many scholars of that period noted the inexplicably long gap between Joan’s lifetime and her first appearance in texts. Consequently, Pope Joan is now widely accepted to be fictional character although the legend remains influential in art, literature, drama, and film.
This statue still stands in Rome of Pope Joan with a papal crown
Pope Joan the Woman Pope
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/LegendaryPopeJoan.mp4
Pope Joan – movie trailer (2009)
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/PopeJoanMovieTrailer.mp4
Conclusion
The stories of these popes are based on accounts that were recorded down by various parties throughout history. These accounts may or may not have been biased against these religious leaders but they were certainly based on an inkling of truth. In conclusion, there are religious leaders that took political means to secure their power and there are religious leader who would flout centuries old practices in order to gain gratification. Whatever it is, their actions have far-reaching effects on the religious institution as a whole today. It is commendable that many adherents today would not look towards the actions of these few ‘wayward’ leaders and choose to maintain their faith. After all, faith is a personal experience with the divine.
[ Disclaimer: This article does not represent the Christian faith nor does it reflect the leadership of the Christian church. In fact, there were many popes throughout history that were saintly men who were greatly beneficial and inspirational to the Church and to many ordinary Christians out there. ]
For more interesting information:
- Pope Francis Makes Surprise Visit to Buddhist Temple
- Zaya Pandita Luvsanperenlei (1642 – 1708)
- John Blofeld and His Spiritual Journey
- Du Fu – a Poet Savant
- George Roerich – Light of the Morning Star
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A History of the Popes tells the story of the oldest living institution in the Western world. The history of Popes is very complex and long as religion is an integral part of human existence. Through the history of the Church , each of the Popes has an interesting lives stories. Such as Paul IV is best known for his horrific acts of anti-Semitism, Alexander VI who bought his way into the papacy and had a rollicking sex life and Benedict IX was a three-time pope described as “a demon from hell.” Interesting read of the Popes ‘s history.
The world cannot have peace till countries and people begin to reduce their selfish desires for more. No religion preaches violence and we accept all religions as true. Religion should not be mixed with politics , when the two are mixed, the results are bound to be disastrous and will definitely cause political unrest, disharmony and so forth. , Religious leaders and political leaders should play a leading role in maintaining peace and harmony.
Thank you, Pastor David, for this interesting article.
The real saints will use their power and wealth influence people and benefits them but most of the people will use their power and influential to benefit themselves. Some people say this is human nature. No one we can actually trust.
But first who allow these people to have power? Who allow these people to take control of our lives? Who allow ourselves to follow the evil blindly? We can also have a strong mind but commit in good, and practice compassion and wisdom. We don’t have to let others control our minds to so bad. We do not have to follow the evil deeds.
We do have our karma to deal with but we are not animals, we can think. Which way to go, we decide. Why religion can control the worshipers’ mind? Only if u let them.
Religion or spirituality is supposed to help us to be a better person. But when people take advantage using religion/spirituality for their greed and desire, that’s where it turn the good to bad. Coming to think about it, why people use religion to control people, personally I believe that spirituality has shown how it able to bring one to a live their life in a right way, to achieve happiness and peace. The spiritual leader is the key to guide the people to achieve it and people respect, believe and had much hope towards the spiritual guide.
The power hunger people see this and look at it as an opportunity to use spirituality to conquer the people’s mind and faith. This how bad it can be when spirituality being use in politics and the result will only be negative.
Bottom line, spiritual can never mix with politic. Spirituality is to guide us to liberate from suffering eventually and not add more attachment into our daily life. A great leader should respect spirituality and give peace and freedom for their practices. Should never mix spirituality in any of political agenda. Encourage their people to be a better person through spirituality practice and give back to the society through social program to benefit more people regardless of any religions. Respect is the way to achieve harmony and peace.
Religion is powerful tool use by human to subdue people mind to follow their wish by using the god name. From the pass history of religion, people has misuse the truth meaning of religion name to control people. This is totally opposite having the religion purpose to seek for refuge and protection.
Spiritul leader around the world should alway teach the truth meaning of religion, create harmony and compassion around them who follow the same path and bring peace for the world.
Religion can be a way for people to seek reassurance, refuge, calm and peace of mind in the face of life’s danger and unpredictability. In this regards, some leaders will take this opportunity to use religion as a tool to control their people for their own benefit. World peace is when leaders use religion as a tool to benefit everyone and to bring peace and happiness to everyone..
Being a leader in any field, this individual should, must have gain trust from the others & consider able to lead the group to a better condition. For a newbie, he/she would make mistakes & wrong decisions at times, but all these failures will transform into experience & ultimately wisdom.
If a leader always think to benefit his/her group of people, he/she will definetely become a good leader. If he/she place personal gains as priority, then he/she do not deserve to be a leader & respected.
It is really shame to see that how human mind think and how they behave, even from ancient time until now. Religion is just a title given by human. What the teaching inside is the real essence to our practice. But human beings abused it. They made rules using the name of religions. They put pressure on their people using the name of religions. This is just no difference from what CTA is doing. They manipulate their people using the name of religion, until all their people are afraid of Dorje Shugden even by just hearing his name. Discriminate and segregate Dorje Shugden practitioners just because their leader say so. Surprisingly this kind of thinking is handed down until now. Modern era, where people mind and thinking should be more open. Sadly, it is not.
Humans created the word religion. Some of these humans use religion to invade and take control of other countries and the people; to be in power and to make money from it. These opportunists use whatever excuses to shift their weaknesses and ill gains from themselves to other people and circumstances, some even blame them on their gods when they got caught. When things go right, they praise their gods, to reaffirm other people’s faith so that they may continue to milk the followers of their money and have control over their mind. All in the name of religion. As long as humans mind do not improve, religion will remain as one of the main tools in politics.
It’s scary to see how people buy into these so called “leaders” and their distorted propagandas even in cases where it’s very clear cut such as what Is happening in these modern days such as the Tibetan leadership. People need to wake up from their blind faith and start analysing what is right and wrong and not following them blindly.
Regardless of any faiths or believes, religion thought us to be a better, helpful and compassionate. This article, gives me a similar thought of the Tibetan government in exile which uses religion to control and eventually lead to politics and corruption. Religion is also personal freedom choices for any races or genitals. Truly sad, sexism had been generated since then or before the time but such discrimination still going on until today. Without women, will there’s productivity of mankind in this world? ?
What I can summarize after reading this article is that the Popes are misusing their rights as a leader of certain churches. This is not the right attitude of a spiritual leader in any religion. A spiritual leader should be busy spreading the teachings and not get into worldly affair like politics, war and etc. I think both female and male should be given the equal chance to be spiritual leader if they are capable.
It’s sad to know that some religions use their power and create so many problems. Religion shouldn’t be forced upon and those who do not obey suffer the consequences.
Because of Dorje Shugden’s ban, CTA created discrimination, segregation, Tibetans forced to obey or shunned upon. Spirituality is a personal journey. It should not be something that someone tell you to do and you must do it. One cannot just follow blindly without learning or understanding the logic. Always check and learn before having wrong views on anything.
Learn more about Dorje Shugden’s unjust ban here https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/great-lamas-masters/our-lama-vs-the-dalai-lama-the-underlying-reasons-for-the-ban.html
Reading this very interesting article made me think of a phrase which goes like this IT IS THE SINGER NOT THE SONG. In these instances of wayward popes, it was only the position that did wrong and not the Catholic doctrine. Having said that and to support what came to my mind, if the Pope was upright and outstanding then the Catholic doctrine is well taught.
It is my opinion that all religions teach people to be good, kind and compassionate. However, for those awkward persons who rose to the highest level of the rank of the religions, it is not nice to indulge in ways that go against the tenets of the religions of “goodness”.
Although this article is based on the Catholic church, it cannot be doubted that people of such unbecoming nature exists in other religions. This is the cause where religions can become fanatical and do no good.
In conclusion what I have noticed is that whatever these religious leaders had done harmfully to the tenets of the religious doctrines, the religions survive due to the “goodness” they teach.
Really interesting article,Pastor David. What caught my attention and interest was this female Pope. Never knew or expected there to be one. Very interesting history about Pope joan. Impressive! Thank you Pastor David for this nice write up 🙂
The leader of any faith, can either benefit many beings or hurt their devotees. Like how Spiderman says it, with great power comes great responsibilities. I feel that for any devotees of any faith one must know, the thinking and rationale behind it, so if people order us to do something not appropriate we can think for ourselves what is beneficial and what is not.
Thank you, Pastor David, for this informative article that opens our eyes to the history and line of successions of the Catholic faith. I am not qualified to comment on the faith of others. Therefore, we can take it as learning. We must take note of the particular set of actions/leadership/decrees that had caused adverse consequences; hence we must make a mental note to avoid or look out for it.