[RegulatorCountry]

Was Clement responsible for Vox in Excelso and Ad Providam, or not?

Information exonerating the Templars has been held in the Vatican archives, for 700 years. It wasn't lost, it was held in secrecy.

And, to what purpose? Secrecy seems to have been creating problems for the Vatican, regarding controversial matters within the hierarchy, for a very long time. It's certainly not a recent development.

[hellbender]

You've lost me there, because I am not familiar with those documents. However, I do know that the French King had earlier persecuted the Jewish bankers and the Italian merchants for the same reason he attacked the Templars: they had money which he wanted. He was a central-govt. statist who wanted to extinguish all centers of power outside of the crown.

I continue to admire the Templars, because they were founded by men who were willing to give up worldly wealth and pleasure in order to serve Christ and his disciples.