Another Side of Catholicism

Mary Ann Collins, A Former Catholic Nun

Chapter 4

The Roman Catholic Church paints a picture of an orderly series of popes (a chain of succession) who faithfully followed in the footsteps of the Apostle Peter. If even one of these men was not a valid Pope, then the chain is broken.

What does it take to be a valid Pope? What does the Bible say are the minimum requirements for Church leaders? In order to be a Pope or a cardinal, a man must first be a bishop. Therefore, a Pope must at least meet the Biblical requirements for being a bishop.

The Apostle Paul gave Timothy and Titus instructions regarding the necessary qualifications for bishops. He told them:

“A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker [not violent], not greedy of filthy lucre [money]; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them that are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.” (1 Timothy 3:2-7, emphasis added)

“For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker [not violent], not given to filthy lucre [money]; But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.” (Titus 1:7-9, emphasis added)

We are going to look at some popes and compare their lives with the Biblical qualifications for being a bishop. In the process, we will learn about some distressing things. However, we should not be surprised. Jesus told us that there would be tares among the wheat. (Matthew 13:24-30) He also warned us that there would be wolves among the sheep. (Matthew 7:15) So did the Apostle Paul. (Acts 20:29-30)

Every church has had its share of tares and wolves. However, the Catholic Church claims to have apostolic succession--an unbroken chain of valid popes that goes all the way back to the Apostle Peter. My reason for telling you about these “wolf” popes is to demonstrate that some popes were not even valid bishops, let alone valid popes. And that breaks the “chain” of succession.

I apologize for putting you through this, but I can’t adequately make my point without giving you this information. If you don’t want to read about these things, then skip to the heading “Imperial Popes.”

Pope Honorius reigned from 625 to 638 A.D. He was condemned as a heretic by the Sixth Ecumenical Council (680-681). He was also condemned as a heretic by Pope Leo II, as well as by every other pope until the eleventh century.[1]

In 769, Pope Stephen IV came to power with the help of an army that conquered the previous Pope. Stephen gave orders for his papal rival to be flogged, have his eyes cut out, have his kneecaps broken, and be imprisoned until he died. Then Pope Stephen sentenced a second man to die a slow, agonizing death, by having pieces of his body cut off every day until he finally died.[2]

Pope Leo V only reigned for one month (July 903). Cardinal Christopher put Leo in prison and became Pope. Then Christopher was put in prison by Cardinal Sergius. Sergius killed Leo and Christopher while they were in prison. He also killed every cardinal who had opposed him.[3]

Pope John XII reigned from 955 to 963. He was a violent man. He was so lustful that people of his day said that he turned the Lateran Palace into a house of prostitution. He drank toasts to the devil. When gambling, he invoked pagan gods and goddesses. He was killed by a jealous husband while in the act of committing adultery with the man’s wife.[4]

In the tenth century, a wealthy Italian noblewoman named Marozia put nine popes into office in eight years. In order to do that, she also had to get rid of reigning popes. Two of them were strangled, one was suffocated, and four disappeared under mysterious circumstances. One of the popes was Marozia’s son; he was fathered by a Pope.[5]

In 1003, Pope Silvester II was murdered by his successor, Pope John XVII. Seven months later, John was poisoned.[6]

Pope Benedict VIII reigned from 1012 to 1024. He bought the papacy with bribery. He kept a private force of “pope’s men” who were known for torture, maiming, and murder. When Benedict VIII died, his brother seized power and became Pope John XIX. He had himself ordained a priest, consecrated as a bishop, and crowned as pope, all in the same day. John died under suspicious circumstances.[7]

In 1095, Pope Urban II called for a Crusade to take Jerusalem (the “holy land”) back from the Muslims. This was a “holy war.” The Pope said that Crusaders would have full remission of their sins, and if they died in battle they would be martyrs. As the Crusaders went through Europe on their way to Jerusalem, they slaughtered European Jews. When they reached Jerusalem, they were brutal in their conquest of the city. Many Muslims were beheaded, but some were tortured and then burned to death. This began a conflict between Islam and the West that is still going on today. Later popes called for other Crusades. At first they targetted Muslims, but the Fourth Crusade (in 1198) was against Orthodox Christians in Constantinople.[8]

Pope Benedict IX reigned from 1032 to 1044, in 1045, and from 1047 to 1048. He became Pope through bribery. He squandered the wealth of the Papacy on prostitutes and lavish banquets, and he had people murdered. The citizens of Rome hated Benedict so much that, on two occasions, he had to flee from Rome. Benedict sold the papacy to Pope Gregory VI. As part of the deal, he continued to live in the Lateran Palace, with a generous income. Benedict filled the Lateran Palace with prostitutes.[9]

In 1298, Pope Boniface VIII ordered that every man, woman, child, and animal in the Italian town of Palestrina be slaughtered. He was known for torture, massacre, and ferocity.[10]

Pope Clement VI reigned from 1342 to 1352. He ordered the slaughter of an entire Italian town. He lived a life of luxury and extravagance. He openly admitted that he sold church offices and he used threats and bribery to gain power. Clement purchased a French palace, which became famous for its prostitutes.[11]

Pope Alexander VI (the Borgia Pope) reigned from 1492 to 1503. He was known for murder, bribery, and selling positions of authority in the Catholic Church. He enjoyed luxurious living. The art book “Treasures of the Vatican” shows a portrait of him wearing gold vestments that are covered with jewels. They look like pearls, emeralds, large rubies, and other jewels. His tiara (the papal crown) is gold, with three rows of large jewels on it. Alexander had four children by mistresses. His son Cesare was known for the kinds of murderous intrigues that make good opera plots. According to “The Oxford Dictionary of Popes,” Cesare and Alexander killed people and seized their property. Pope Alexander was so hated that when he died, the priests who came to say prayers for him were driven away by the palace guards, and his body was left unattended.[12]

Pope Julius II reigned from 1503 to 1513. He became Pope through bribery. He was ruthless and violent. He had a reputation for lust, drunkenness, rages, deception, and nepotism.[13]

Pope Leo X reigned from 1513 to 1521. He mixed paganism with Christianity. He had performances of Christ’s crucifixion and ancient mythology. He filled Rome with splendid Church processions and statues of Greek gods and goddesses. He put a statue of himself in Rome’s Capitol, to be saluted by the public.[14]

Pope Gregory VII reigned from 1073 to 1085. He required kings and emperors to kiss his foot. Gregory and his successors used forged documents in order to expand the power of the papacy. Some Roman Catholics tried to expose these forgeries, but they were excommunicated for it. However, the Orthodox Church kept records and wrote detailed information about the forgeries.[15] (For more information about this, see the chapter, “Forged Documents and Papal Power.”)

Simony was rampant among clerics. It was commonplace for priests to pay money in order to become bishops and abbots. Pope Gregory VII said that he knew of more than 40 men who became Pope by means of bribery.[16]

Pope Innocent III reigned from 1198 to 1216. He said that the Pope is the ruler of the world and the father of princes and kings. He claimed that every priest and bishop must obey the Pope, even if the Pope commands something evil.

Pope Innocent wanted to get rid of the Albigensian “heretics” who lived in France. He forced the King of France to kill hundreds of thousands of French citizens. Albigensians and Catholics lived together in the same area in France. Pope Innocent commanded that every person in the region, including the Catholics, be killed. This was called the Albigensian Crusade, or the Albigensian Massacre. The Pope gave the Albigensian Crusaders a special indulgence that was supposed to guarantee that, if they died in battle, then their sins would be remitted, and they would go to Heaven.[17]

Would you want any of these men to be your pastor?

Sometimes two or more men would claim to be Pope at the same time. All of these claimants to the papacy had followers. Eventually, one contender would be declared to be Pope and the other would be declared to be an antipope. For centuries, Roman Catholic books differed as to which men they considered to be the genuine popes. However, today there is much more agreement about which men were popes and which men were antipopes. According to “The Catholic Encyclopedia,” there were 30 antipopes.[18]

None of these men met the biblical requirements for being an ordinary bishop, let alone Pope. Therefore, they were not valid popes. There are so many breaks in the chain of apostolic succession that it is not a chain at all.

There is one Biblical qualification for being a bishop that most popes have not met. The Apostle Paul said:

“A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife...One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)” (1 Timothy 3:2, 4-5, emphasis added)

Paul said that even deacons should be married men whose home lives demonstrated their ability to rule the Church. He instructed Timothy as follows:

“Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.” (1 Timothy 3:12, emphasis added)

Pope Gregory VII wanted to increase the power of the papacy. For reasons of politics and power, he abolished clerical marriage. In 1074, he passed laws requiring that priests be celibate, and he got rid of married priests.[19]

As a result, since 1074, no Pope has been able to meet the Apostle Paul’s requirement for bishops.

Now I realize that some individuals (such as the Apostle Paul) are called to be celibate. I could understand a few exceptions to the rule. But for nearly a thousand years, not one Pope or cardinal or bishop has been able to meet Paul’s qualifications for being a bishop.

Lord Acton was a nineteenth century historian. He said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The popes that I described demonstrate that principle. The problem is our fallen human nature. None of us really knows how we would behave if we suddenly had tremendous wealth and power. We all need to follow the example of David, who prayed,

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24)

Imperial Popes

Jesus told us that Christians in leadership should be humble, self-sacrificing men with a servant’s heart. He said:

“...Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you; but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28)

In the year 314 A.D., Pope Silvester was crowned by Emperor Constantine. (At the time, Silvester was known as the Bishop of Rome, but Catholics refer to him as Pope Silvester.) The Roman Emperor wanted to promote Christianity. The Pope wanted to have the favor of the Roman Emperor, instead of being persecuted. This alliance between Pope and Emperor created the Roman Catholic Church.

Constantine gave Pope Silvester a beautiful palace and a magnificent cathedral. Instead of being a humble bishop, Silvester lived like a Roman nobleman. He had wealth, power, prestige, and the favor of the Roman Emperor. The power and influence of the Roman Empire were at the Pope’s disposal.[20]

Churchmen wore purple robes, reflecting the purple of Constantine’s court. That was an external change. The most important change was an internal one. Under Pope Silvester, the internal structure of the Church took on the form and practice and pomp of the Roman Empire. Popes dressed and acted like Roman emperors, and they had the same imperial attitude. They lived in luxury and they wanted to rule over both Church and state.[21]

Imperial papacy reached its peak during the Middle Ages. Popes were rich and powerful, and they ruled over kings and emperors. A well known example is the public humiliation of the Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Gregory VII.[22]

Gregory declared that the Pope has the right to depose kings and emperors, to make laws, and to require secular rulers to kiss his feet. He said that nobody has the right to judge the Pope. Gregory also declared that, because of the merits of Saint Peter, every duly elected Pope is a saint.[23] (Because of that, some people refer to him as the Pope who canonized himself.)

Pope Innocent III reigned from 1198 to 1216. He called himself the Ruler of the World. He wore a gold crown covered with jewels. He sat upon a purple throne. His clothes sparkled with gold and jewels. His horse was covered with scarlet. Kings and churchmen kissed his foot. The Inquisition persecuted people who disagreed with him. Innocent became the most powerful man in the world.[24]

Pope Boniface VIII reigned from 1294 to 1303. He said that he was Caesar, the Roman Emperor. His crown was covered with over 200 costly jewels (rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and large pearls).[25]

Boniface sought to further increase the Pope’s power and authority. In his encyclical, “Unam Sanctam,” he said that the Catholic Church has authority over national governments. He also declared that salvation depends on being subject to the Pope.[26]

Purple dye used to be extremely expensive. The color was a symbol of wealth and power. Purple was worn by Roman emperors and by Roman Catholic popes. During the Middle Ages, wealthy popes used gems and purple stones in papal architecture. The purple came from porphyry (a stone that has crystals embedded in a purple groundmass).[27]

Pope Paul II reigned from 1464 to 1471. He enjoyed luxurious living and had a tiara of gold that was covered with jewels. He had “Bacchanalian parades” that revived the pagan “carnival games” of ancient Rome. After the games, the people gathered in front of the Pope’s palace to eat, and then the Pope stood on his balcony and threw money to the crowd. In 1464, he introduced the use of scarlet as a symbol of wealth and power. He called it “Cardinal’s Purple,” because it was worn by his cardinals. Scarlet became a luxury dye during the Middle Ages. (Catholic cardinals still wear scarlet.) [28]

Pope Paul VI reigned from 1963 to 1978. He was the last Pope to wear the papal tiara. This is a triple crown, covered with jewels. You can see pictures of the tiara online.[29]

The Pope is an absolute monarch in the Vatican. He sits on an ornate throne. You can see pictures of the throne online.[30]

Cardinals are called “princes of the Church.” They are citizens of the Vatican, in addition to being citizens of their homelands.[31]

For special occasions, popes, cardinals, and bishops wear vestments that are decorated with gold or made of gold cloth. (This is cloth that is actually made of real gold.) Some vestments are studded with jewels. Even the gloves of high-ranking churchmen are decorated with gold. Such imperial splendor was prevalent during the Middle Ages, but it still exists today. During the Middle Ages, gloves were sometimes studded with jewels. But even in recent times, they are decorated with gold. Pope Pius XII reigned from 1939 to 1958. He had gloves and shoes that were decorated with gold. Some of his shoes had jewels on them.[33]

In Saint Peter’s Basilica, there is a life-sized statue of Saint Peter, sitting on a papal throne. On the Feast Day of St. Peter, this statue wears pontifical vestments and the papal crown (tiara). The art book “Treasures of the Vatican” has a photograph of this statue wearing vestments of gold and scarlet, and a gold triple crown that is studded with large jewels. The National Geographic’s art book “Inside the Vatican” has a picture of the statue with a nun kissing its feet. The right foot has been worn smooth because so many people have kissed it.[34]

On special occasions, the Pope, cardinals, and bishops wear gold miters and gold vestments.[34]

Popes wear ermine (an expensive fur often worn by royalty). They have a special cape called a mozzetta that is trimmed with ermine.[35]

For solemn occasions, popes use a portable throne called a “sedia gestatoria.” It is a richly adorned chair that is covered with silk. Long rods go through gold-covered rings. The throne is carried by twelve uniformed footmen. When the Pope celebrates solemn pontifical Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica, he arrives in state, preceded by a procession of cardinals, bishops, and prelates. The Pope is carried on the “sedia gestatoria,” with a canopy over him, and special fans made of white feathers on either side of him.[36]

Pope Pius XII reigned from 1939 to 1958. When Vatican officials came into his presence, they had to kneel while speaking with him, and leave the room walking backwards. When he telephoned Vatican officials, they had to drop to their knees with the phone in their hand and remain kneeling while they spoke to him. This was going on in 1958. That is less than 50 years ago.[37]

The Pope has a huge, luxurious palace. The Pontifical Palace, the Sistine Chapel, and Saint Peter’s Basilica are filled with priceless paintings and statues. The architecture is rich and ornate. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was painted by Michelangelo. In addition, there are 22 Vatican museums that are full of art treasures. You can see pictures of all of these things online. Words are inadequate to convey the rich architectural complexity and the artistic elegance of the Pope’s palace, chapel, and church. Their opulence defies description.[38]