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The chronicles of the popes makes for unbelievable reading. Nearly every conceivable human atrocity was encouraged by these men. Many practiced equally unbelievable vices. Here is a brief synopsis of papal history that is all too rarely shown:

Liberius (reigned 352-356) was the first pope to ascend through bloodshed. His predecessors are mostly mere footnotes in history, being primarily concerned with the survival of the faith.

Stephen VII (896-987) disinterred the corpse of his predecessor, Pope Formosus, dressed it in full papal regalia, and proceeded to personally interrogate the body. He condemned the corpse for being an antipope, had two of its fingers chopped off, and threw the body in the Tiber River, where it was later recovered.

Sergius III (904-911) exhumed poor Formosus again and re-condemned the ten-year corpse. This time, the body was beheaded, along with the mandatory chopping off of three more fingers, before it was again tossed in the Tiber, where it was again discovered and re-buried. To date, there have been no additional exhumations of Formosus.

John XII (955-964) ascended to the papacy at age 16. This totally depraved individual is said to have slept with his mother. He kept a harem at the Lateran Palace. He enjoyed sexual relations with men, women, and children, and performed "shows" for audiences during which he copulated with horses. While in bed with one of his countless paramours, John, still in his twenties, was killed with a hammer by her jealous husband, although kinder sources say he died of a stroke during the act.

Benedict V (964) fled Rome, with the entire papal treasury, after raping a young girl. After living the high life in Constantinople, he returned to Rome when his finances ran out. Benedict was soon murdered by a jealous husband, a fate shared by several other popes. His body, pierced by over a hundred dagger wounds, was unceremoniously dragged through the streets by an angry populace, and then thrown into a cesspool.

John XIII (965-972) was a real despot. He is said to have reveled in torture, gouging out the eyes of his enemies and slaughtering half the population of Rome.

Benedict IX (1032-1044, 1045, 1047-1048) became pope at age 11. Benedict was said to have surpassed all his predecessors in corruption and vice by age 14! One writer referred to him as a "demon from Hell."

Gregory VII (1045-1046) was the only pope with the chutzpah to canonize himself. His Dictatus, or list, comprises several of the tenets on the power of the pope which the papacy has zealously defended down to the present day, including:
1) The pope cannot be judged by any mere human.
2) The church has never erred, nor will it ever err until the end of time.
3) The pope is the superior of all kings and emperors, and can dethrone any ruler he desires at will.

Innocent III (1198-1216), the best-known of the early popes, was utterly dedicated to Crusades. The Fourth Crusade, Childrens Crusade, and the Albigensian Crusade all took place during his pontificate. The Albigensian was the first campaign conducted against fellow Christians, and has the distinction of being the bloodiest massacre of the Middle Ages. Innocent ordered several hundred thousand Albigensians in Southern France to their deaths, either by sword or burning at the stake. And, as each succeeding atrocity was reported back to Innocent, he urged the Crusaders on to even greater crimes against humanity. Innocent is personally responsible for more deaths than any other single pontiff. And what does the Oxford Dictionary of Popes say of Innocent? That he was "a man born to rule, uniting exceptional gifts of intellect and character ...and also humaneness."

Gregory IX (1227-1241) apparently felt that Innocents holocaust wasn't enough, for he instigated the Inquisition. Not a single pontiff raised a voice against the Inquisition for over 300 years.

Clement VI (1342-1352) commanded some mercenary soldiers while Cardinal of Geneva, and ordered the slaughter of every inhabitant of the town of Cesena. Despite this (or perhaps because of it) Clement was elected pope. His pontificate was marked by graft, indolence, and luxury, with Clement proclaiming "my predecessors did not know how to live."

Sixtus IV (1471-1484) is supposed to have fathered a son by his sister. Sixtus carried the concepts of papal indulgences to the limit; under his rule, the souls of the dead, under eternal torment for their misdeeds, could be released from purgatory by the pope. For a price, of course. In other words, pay for the dead rather than pray for them! Sixtus also began the Inquisition in Spain and managed in his spare time to involve Italy in several petty wars.

Innocent VIII (1484-1492) decreed that all Jews must either convert to Christianity or be expelled from Spain, thus anticipating the Jewish exodus from Nazi German in the 1930s by four and a half centuries.

Alexander VI (1492-1503), the Borgia pope, is said to have committed his first murder at age 12. He was the father of at least ten illegitimate children. Alexander appointed cardinals for large sums of money, murdered them (usually by poison) and then appointed successors, to repeat the cycle.

Julius II (1503-1513) was called the warrior pope. In defiance of Canon Law, he lead armies into battle.

Paul IV (1555-1559) published the Papal Bull ( a singularly appropriate expression!) Cum Ex Apostolatus Oficio which claimed that he had sovereignty over every other ruler on earth, could turn over any country to foreign invasion, and take anything from anyone without that person having any legal recourse. Paul had such a phobia about women that he wouldn't allow one to even approach him. He encouraged Mary Tudor (Bloody Mary) in her burning of over 200 Protestants.

Pius V (1566-1572) took an active interest in torture, often tightening thumbscrews himself and personally consigning several victims to the Iron Maiden. He was later canonized as a saint.

Gregory XIII (1572-1585), after hearing of the deaths of thousands of Huguenots in the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, reacted with great joy and celebrated the event with Te Deums and Thanksgiving services.

Leo XII (1823-1829) decreed that vaccination against smallpox was against Gods will.

Pius X (1903-1914) authored Lamentabile, a totalitarian document attacking all modernity and progress. This resulted in a purge of intellectualism that had repercussions for over half a century. More than any other pontiff, Pius is responsible for setting the anti-rational, anti-progressive stance the church has followed to the present day. Today, he is revered as a saint.

REFERENCES:
1) The Oxford Dictionary of Popes by J.N.D. Kelly. Oxford University Press, 1986.
2) The Bad Popes by E.R. Chamberlain. Barnes and Noble books, New York, 1993.
3) Vicars of Christ: The Dark Side of the Papacy by Peter De Rosa. Crown Publishers Inc., New York, 1988.
4) Unzipped: The Popes Bare All by Arthur Frederick Ide. American Atheists Press Inc., Austin Texas 1987.
5) The March of Folly by Barbara Tuchman. Ballantine Books, New York 1984.
6) A History of the Popes by Nicolas Chetham. Barnes and Noble books, New York 1982.

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