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Pope Benedict IX. Three times Pope. (1032 to 1044, April to May 1045, and from 1047 to 1048.), became one of the youngest popes in history. Described as a demon from hell, Benedict IX supposedly murdered, raped, and sodomized victims wherever he went. He was even accused of bestiality and of hosting orgies. Due to this lifestyle, he was forced out of Rome and a new Pope Sylvester III, was elected. He returned to Rome and ousted Sylvester, and reinstated himself as Pope. Then decided to resign so that he could marry his cousin. He became the only Pope in history to sell the papacy when he agreed to let his godfather, Gregory VI, take over in exchange for reimbursement.
Pope Stephen VI (896 to 897), was best known for putting his dead predecessor, Pope Formosus, on trial. The body was dug up and brought before the court. The deceased Pope Formosus was found guilty of accepting the papacy while also holding the office of bishop. The corpse was stripped of its vestments, dressed as a pauper, and thrown into a shallow grave, but not before three of his fingers were chopped off. The corpse was later dug up again and thrown into the Tiber River in Italy.
Pope Urban VI. (1378 to 1389). He has been described by many historians as violent, arrogant, quick to anger, and imprudent. His ecclesiastical decisions were disastrous and failed to rectify the Great Western Schism. His papacy was marred by war, and he drained church resources in order to fund the War of the Eight Saints.
Pope Paul IV. (1555 to 1559), was known as the worst Pope of the 16th century. He established the Roman Ghetto, a poverty-stricken place to which Jews were confined. Jews were restricted to low-paying jobs, paid a yearly tax to live in the ghetto, performed humiliating acts for Christians, and were only allowed to bet on low numbers in the lottery. When traveling outside of the ghetto, Jewish men were forced to wear yellow hats, and Jewish women had to wear yellow veils, a color traditionally worn by prostitutes. The walls of the ghetto were torn down in 1888.
Pope Julius II. (1503 to 1513), had a violent temper and treated his subordinates and servants very badly. He fathered several children before becoming pope and was accused of sexual misconduct several times.
Pope Sixtus IV. (1471 to 1484), founded the Spanish Inquisition, which led to the torture, execution, and expulsion of thousands of Jews and Muslims if they did not convert to Catholicism. In addition to violent conversion, Sixtus IV was known for nepotism.
Pope Sergius III. (860-911). Upon assuming power, he had his two predecessors murdered in prison. Promoted corrupt family members and friends to positions of power and allegedly fathered an illegitimate son, who would later become Pope John XI.
Pope Alexander VI. (1492 to 1503), was known for having many mistresses and he openly recognized several children as his own. And he annulled marriages in exchange for alliances. Alexander VI was also the subject of many salacious rumors. One such rumor was that he hosted the “Banquet of Chestnuts,” a supper purportedly held in the Papal Palace during which clergymen were encouraged to sleep with Rome’s most desirable courtesans.
Pope Leo X. (1513 to 1521), was known for being a reckless spender. He led a costly war in order to secure power, and granted indulgences in exchange for money to reconstruct St Peter’s Basilica. An indulgence is when a person’s sin is lessened in exchange for good deeds, donations to charitable organizations, saying specific prayers, and pilgrimage. This practice was so controversial that it eventually led to Martin Luther, writing his Ninety-five Theses.
Pope John XII. (955 to 964.), was known for murder, invoking demons, and even having sexual relations with his sisters. His promiscuity ended up in his demise after a husband caught him in bed with his wife and beat the Pope so badly, that he died three days later from his injuries.
Pope Boniface VIII. (1294 to 1303), had a famous and horrifying quote that said, “Paedophilia was no more problematic than “rubbing one hand against the other.”
Pope Innocent VIII. (1198 to 1216), was the very first Pope in existence to openly confirm his illegitimate children, who were around eight at the time. Before his open admission, these kids were simply known as the Pope’s ‘nephews.’ And there are more…
This is not in any way to diminish the revered place of the Papacy in the world. After all, they have been around 266 Popes since inception and the number above is only a minute fraction. It is to say that, the continued ascribing of infallibility to an office occupied by man who has flesh and blood flowing through his veins, is a continued lie by a rigid doctrine. There is no infallibility in mortality. Just how?
Citizen Agba Jalingo is the Publisher of CrossRiverWatch and a rights activist, a Cross Riverian, and writes from Lagos.
NB: Opinions expressed in this article are strictly attributable to the author, Agba Jalingo, and do not represent the opinion of CrossRiverWatch or any other organization the author works for/with.