Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

To: Dominick
What about this bit of history?

"Pope Joan," who supposedly served from 855 to 858, was said to be an Englishwoman who disguised herself as a monk to be with her cleric boyfriend. She went to Rome, where she so impressed others with her learning that she was elected pope. Her secret was discovered when she gave birth during a procession, whereupon she was slain.

{Papal horror stories are entirely legit. In many cases, in fact, weaknesses of the flesh were the least of the popes' sins. In the Middle Ages many popes were elevated to office following the murder of their predecessors. During one particularly grim period from 882 to 1046, there were 37 popes, some of whom served only a few weeks.

Leo V (903), for instance, had been pope for only a month before being imprisoned and tortured by one Christophorus, who then enthroned himself. Both men were killed in 904 on the orders of Pope Sergius III (904-911). Sergius later had a son by his teenaged mistress Marozia who became Pope John XI (931-935). In 914, according to one chronicler, Marozia's mother Theodora installed her lover on the papal throne as John X (914-928). (Theodora and Marozia effectively controlled the papacy through their menfolk and may be the source of the Pope Joan legend.) John XII (955-963), who ascended to the papacy at 19, was accused, perhaps falsely, of sleeping with his father's mistress, committing incest with his niece, and castrating a deacon.

Murder gave way to bribery as a route to the papacy in later centuries; some 40 popes are believed to have bought their jobs. But the lax attitude toward celibacy remained unchanged. In large part this was because the Church was an important route to wealth and power. Sons of influential families were pushed into Church careers much as we might send a kid to MBA school, apparently with similar expectations regarding morals. Noblemen with mistresses saw no reason to adjust their life-styles just because they had taken vows.

The spectacle of cardinals and popes putting their "nephews" into cushy jobs was a standing joke in Rome for centuries. Innocent VIII (1484-1492) had a son and daughter who lived with him in the Vatican. The notorious Alexander VI (1492-1503), born Rodrigo Borgia, had at least four illegitimate children while still a cardinal, among them the cutthroat Cesare Borgia and the reputed poisoner Lucrezia Borgia (actually, she probably never poisoned anybody). Clement VII (1523-1534), himself illegitimate, had a son whom he attempted to make duke of Florence. Paul III (1534-1539) had four kids; two teen grandsons he made cardinals. Pius IV (1559-1565) had three children, and the list goes on.

This is the legacy of the "one true Church?"
153 posted on 06/01/2005 12:41:59 PM PDT by aspiring.hillbilly (!.....ripped from the headlines.....!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 101 | View Replies ]


To: aspiring.hillbilly

Pope Joan is a hoax:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08407a.htm

Whats the point, except trolling? Shall I start telling tales of Oliver Cromwell and his genocide against the Irish?

Does this have any bearing on the topic?


158 posted on 06/01/2005 12:57:56 PM PDT by Dominick ("Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought." - JP II)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 153 | View Replies ]

To: aspiring.hillbilly

The gates of hell dont have to stand against this church. Because it is not a church.


188 posted on 06/01/2005 2:40:11 PM PDT by Rhadaghast (Enter into His rest. Hebrews 4:6)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 153 | View Replies ]

To: aspiring.hillbilly


What about this bit of history? "Pope Joan,"


Stop right there. You can now be summarily disregarded as an absolute fool.
195 posted on 06/01/2005 6:33:56 PM PDT by Conservative til I die
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 153 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson