Five Of The Worst Popes In History - The Rotten Apples Of The Papacy

The first pope, Peter, has been succeeded by more than 260 popes, some of whom were genuine rotten apples who abused their position of power, squandered money and who were vilified by the people. Meet 5 of the worst popes in history. Leo X. Born as Giovanni de' Medici, Leo X was a son of Lorenzo il Magnifico de' Medici. At the age of 13, he was appointed cardinal by Pope Innocent VIII. The story goes that Leo X had a venereal tumor which smelled so bad that Leo was proclaimed pope during the conclave so the cardinals could leave the room as soon as possible. Leo X did everything to enrich himself, for example by selling offices, appointing relatives to cardinal positions in return for payment and lived like a prince in great luxury. He had over 650 courtiers and several court jesters at his disposal and owned a private zoo with exotic animals. Whoremongering flourished at his papal court as did the use of games of chance in which enormous fortunes were wagered. As a lover of the good life, he organized large parties and extravagant eating and drinking sprees. Leo X suffered from obesity and usually had to drag himself along, supported by two servants. He neglected the much-needed reform of church institutions. To make up for his financial deficits, Leo sold indulgences, which were full or In 1515, this pope introduced book censorship which was to remain in force for centuries. Leo X left his successor, Adrian VI, with a debt of millions. Born as Benedetto Gaetani, Boniface VIII was one of the most famous medieval popes. His rise to the highest religious position in Europe brought him into serious conflict with Philip the Fair of France. In 1294, Boniface succeeded Celestinus V, who abdicated six months after taking office. During Boniface's papal reign, Philip the Fair forbade the export of gold and silver from France to Rome. As a gesture of reconciliation, the pope canonized Louis IX in 1297. Boniface, who had a mistress and was a pedophile, was so morally depraved that the influential writer Dante Alighieri condemned Boniface VIII to hell in his book La Divina Commedia. When Philip the Fair accused the pope of murdering his predecessor, Boniface excommunicated the king. After the death of Boniface, King Philip IV pressured Pope Clement V of the Avignon Papacy into staging a posthumous trial of Boniface. The deceased pope was accused of heresy and sodomy, but no verdict against him was delivered. Alexander VI, born as Roderic Iancol i Borgia, is best known as the Borgia pope and he became one of the most powerful and richest men in Europe. As he was related to Pope Calixtus III, Alexander was directly appointed cardinal in 1456 and then vice-cancellor of the Holy Roman Church. He amassed an enormous fortune while occupying these offices. Alexander had a problem with celibacy. Contemporary witnesses reported orgies taking place in his city villa. The fact that he had a sexual relationship with his favorite daughter Lucrezia is probably a malicious lie, but many young mistresses sweetened his strenuous faith as a humble servant of the Lord. Well known is the affair he had with the young Roman Giulia Labelle Farnese, who was only 15 when the affair with Borgia began and whom he also showed off in public. After buying votes, Borgia was elected pope in 1492, the year Columbus reached America, which meant even more power and wealth for Alexander. The beautiful Giulia, who was already 25 years old by now, was replaced by younger mistresses. Alexander VI has been called the most corrupt Renaissance pope. Faithlessness, cruelty, murder, robbery and incest were prevalent in Alexander's court where, in addition, dignity, honor and divorce were for sale. Borgia enriched himself throughout his life as pope by trading in offices and indulgences. He was extremely greedy and his way of life was by no means particularly pontifical, hence his spot among the worst popes in history. Pope Stephen VI succeeded Pope Boniface VI in May 1896. The highlight of his short pontificate was the so-called Cadaver Synode, during which Stephen had one of his deceased predecessors, Pope Formosus, exhumed and put on trial for perjury and for having obtained the papacy illegally. But Formosus had already been dead for about 9 months and thus his body was in an advanced state of decomposition. Nonetheless, Stephen VI had the decomposing body placed on a throne and subjected it to interrogation. Obviously, Formosus could not defend himself and was found guilty. After the guilty verdict, the body of Formosus was thrown into the Tiber River, except for the two forefingers of his right hand, which had been chopped off as punishment. Although people weren't squeamish at the time, the Cadaver Synode caused great indignation and before long Stephen was thrown into prison and murdered in the summer of 1897. Stephen VI was succeeded in August 1897 by Pope Romanus, whom he was poisoned in November of that same year, just like his successor Pope Theodore II a month later. Born as Giovanni Battista Cibo, Innocent VIII is most known for starting off the European witch craze. In a turbulent Rome, he managed to get himself elected as successor of Pope Sixtus IV on August 29, 1484. Because of the bad financial situation left by Sixtus, Innocent often had to give his maitre and tiara as collateral to the Roman bankers. Like most popes, he sold offices to the highest bidder. Much of the money he received went into his building projects, such as the Vatican's Belvedere, but his participation in the Barons' War and the weddings of his children and grandchildren also were expensive. Innocent had fathered 16 children by different women and molested his 8 daughters. Innocent ordered the destruction of the Waldensians, a religious movement which sought to follow Christ in poverty and simplicity. More than 3,000 Waldensians, including 400 children, were slaughtered. Innocent also became famous for the persecution of witches. In 1484, his papal bull Sumes Deciderantes Affectibus described in detail how witches were to be tracked, how the trials were to be held and what punishments were to be handed out. The bull was the inspiration for the Maleus Maleficarum or the Hammer of the Witches, which appeared in 1486. The Maleus Maleficarum is considered to be the best known manual for hunting and persecuting witches and would heavily influence the next 200 years of the European witch craze. In 1492, Innocent's health took a turn for the worse. As he lay dying, an innovative idea was devised. Three young men were promised a ducat each if they had their blood drawn to instill in the Pope in order to keep him alive. The three young men were drained of all blood and died in vain as the procedure did not save the Pope. Thank you for watching.