---

Since the founding of the Roman Catholic Church almost 2,000 years ago, 266 men have held the office of the pope. They were — and in the case of Pope Francis, are — the leaders of the Church and the shepherds of its believers, and have wielded an incredible power, both spiritual and worldly.

---

Unfortunately, well, you know what they say about power, and it turns out that not every pope has been incorruptible. Dive deep into the history of the papacy, and you might find out that a handful of Holy Fathers were a little less holy than we would've liked. That's the kind of thing that happens when you have such a long history, but it maybe didn't have to get this ugly. From the bizarre desecration of a corpse to toasting the Devil and the one guy who managed to take St. Peter's throne three different times, here are several popes who were actually kind of terrible.
Source:
https://www.grunge.com/134327/popes-who-were-actually-terrible-people/

1.

---

JOHN XII, THE TERRIBLE TEEN (955 - 964)

---

There is no pope in history who has a reputation as bad as John XII, but if we're being fair, it's not entirely his fault. You'd probably go a little wild too if someone put you in charge of the most powerful organization in the entire world when you were a teenager.

That's exactly what happened with Octavianus, a Roman prince who was elected pope at the tender age of 17.

The many crimes attributed to John XII included blinding and murdering his confessor, murdering another priest after castrating him, invoking the Roman gods while gambling with dice, and cheerfully toasting the Devil. Throw in the fact that he died in bed with another man's wife, and he might be the worst pope of all time — and the most metal by far.

2.

---

ALEXANDER VI, THE POSTER BOY FOR BAD POPES (1492 - 1503)

---

Of all the Holy Fathers to be notable for their less than sterling morality, Alexander VI is unquestionably the most famous.

Alexander VI was accused of murdering his political enemies with poison, unchecked nepotism, and various other things that popes are definitely not supposed to do, which occasionally resulted in children. That caused plenty of problems, especially when Alexander issued two conflicting official papal decrees about the parentage of the infamous "Roman Infant" who may have been his son, grandson, or both, depending whom you ask.

3.

---

STEPHEN VI (896 - 897)

---

We've all got someone we hate, but you have to think that if that person dies and then you become pope, you'd probably consider yourself to have won whatever argument it was that made you hate them to begin with. Not so for Stephen VI, who hated his predecessor Formosus so much that he dug him up and put his dead body on trial.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this did not sit well with the population of Rome, especially once the cadaver washed up on the banks of the Tiber and (allegedly) began performing miracles. Stephen VI was deposed, imprisoned, and strangled to death. As for Formosus, a few of Stephen's successors had him reburied with full honor, and also made a new rule that officially prohibited putting dead bodies on trial, which was the kind of rule that no one thought they actually needed to write down until then.

4.

---

SERGIUS III AND THE RULE OF THE HARLOTS (904 - 911)

---

Sergius came to power in a time when the Catholic Church in general and the papacy in particular were so legendarily afflicted with corruption that it has since become known as the Saeculum obscurum, or Dark Age.

There is, however, a more colorful name given to the period that might give you a hint as to what Sergius' main interest was: In the 19th century, German philosophers referred to his tenure as the start of the "pornocracy." To be fair, this might just be a reaction to the fact that several women rose to power in Rome at the time, who were likely no more or less corrupt than their male counterparts, but that's the kind of name that sticks out in history books, and not exactly in the best way.

5.

---

BENEDICT IX, THREE-TIME LOSER (1032 - 1044, 1045, 1047 - 1048)

---

Like John XII, Benedict IX was elected at a young age (in his case, 20 years old), and also seems to have regarded his office as more of a political appointment than anything else. Despite managing to get an Ecclesiastical Hat Trick, however, he was incredibly unpopular. In 1036, he was run out of Rome due to allegations of "many vile adulteries and murders," and while he would return, he'd be expelled a second time in 1044.

Eventually, presumably tired of having to leave town every time the Roman population got mad at him, Benedict offered to resign from his position if he was paid off by his godfather, John Gratian. Desperate to get Benedict off the throne — probably because he was already on his way to being referred to by historian Ferdinand Gregorovius as "a demon from hell, in the disguise of a priest" — Gratian agreed and was elected as Gregory VI. Unfortunately, he had his own tenure invalidated thanks to (very accurate) charges that he'd bought his position through bribery. In the confusion that followed, Benedict discovered that retirement didn't agree with him, and retook the throne twice before finally being deposed

6.

---

INNOCENT IV OKAYED TORTURE FOR "HERETICS" (1243 - 1254)

---

Today, no one expects the Inquisition, but in the 13th century, people were far more familiar with it. In an effort to suppress teachings and beliefs that ran counter to the official, canonical teachings and practices of the Catholic Church, Inquisitors were tasked with rooting out heretics and getting them to confess. Unfortunately for the Inquisition, getting someone to admit to doing something that will likely have them burned at the stake is notoriously difficult


That's why Pope Innocent IV issued a decree called Ad extirpanda, in which he authorized the use of torture to extract confessions. That might sound a little weird for the leader of a religion built around someone who is himself one of history's most famous victims of being tortured for allegations of heresy, but hey, it's not like Innocent IV went wild with it. He specifically forbade Inquisitors from torturing people to death, cutting off limbs, or using torture more than once.

So, you know, it was just a little torture. Jesus would probably be fine with that, right?

7.

---

BONIFACE VIII WAS A GUEST STAR IN DANTE'S INFERNO (1294 - 1303)

---

Boniface is largely remembered for his downright authoritarian view of the Church's role in the world, summed up by his declaration "that that every human creature be subject to the Roman pontiff." After taking over from Celestine V, a hermit who abdicated to go live in a cave rather than deal with the political maneuvering in Rome, Boniface attempted to raise money to start a new crusade. When that failed, he just went to war with Cardinal Jacopo Colonna instead.

8.

---

URBAN VI WANTED LOUDER SCREAMS (1378 - 1389)

---

If Urban VI thought the Church's return to Rome was going to lead to a reconciliation between its warring factions, he was sorely mistaken. While he claimed to be the legitimate successor to the papacy, a faction that was left back in Avignon instead elected their own leader, who took the name Clement VII and began what is regarded as the second-biggest schism in the history of the Church.

While both Clement and Urban each claimed to be the true pope — adding to a long tradition of antipopes who made things so confusing that we went from John XIX to John XXI without a 20th John in there somewhere — Urban also had to deal with political strife that saw him imprisoned for a year and an insurrection from his own cardinals. When they attempted to depose him, Urban naturally followed the example set by Jesus in the Good Book, turned the other cheek, and forgave them.

He actually had them arrested and tortured to death while reportedly complaining that their screams weren't loud enough

And many people are complaining about Pope Francis.
We are truly blessed.

Chai! Na wa o.
Pornocracy. Las Las, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Power can be so intoxicating, it remind me of one silent man like this....




Who throw stone?

Thats what happens when you substitute religion with "relation with god"

History no just judge these people right at all.
The saying that where gift takes you, only character will sustain you is very right.
One thing common about these people is that they were men of terrible Characters.

Chai! Na wa o.Pornocracy. Las Las, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Okay, that was bad. These days there are less violent type

What about the BORGIAS..?

EVILFOREST:
What about the BORGIAS..?

That incestuous family.

Following!












See my signature.

There's that pope in Da Vinci demons/Medici Masters of Florence. Both series couldn't be wrong..

itz Zim Zim on the beat again

Eewwww! Dirty Rome!

Christianity and roman catholic

I would like someone too throw more light on this DANTE INFERNO.

JidennaJason:
9. GENERAL BUHARI & BURATAI,


Ordered the killings of peaceful #EndSARS protesters, made Nigeria the capital of extreme poverty and rehabilitate some deadlyterrorist group known as Boko Haram.

They are not Popes

Zimri:

They are not Popes

Zombies see them as one.... So I have to include them.

real terrible

Balling popes

Na the infallible popes oo

asanwafo come and read this oo

What of pope sixths in the Era of Da Vinci