Member-only story
History
5 Wicked Popes in History Most People Don’t Know About
Not all popes had good intentions for the church or its members.
For centuries the Catholic Church and more specifically the papacy were at the center of power in the Christian world. An example of this was the geopolitical liaison between the papacy and the Holy Roman Empire. Throughout the Middle Ages and until the dissolution of the empire, the popes and the Holy Roman emperors enjoyed a unique mutually beneficial relationship: The Pope gave the emperor ecclesiastical and spiritual legitimacy; and the emperor advanced the pope’s religious edicts and commands through political pressure or force. Ultimately, this included the acquisition of land and wealth.
Another example of the Church’s excesses in persecution and control was the infamous Inquisition. This powerful institution set up within the Roman Catholic Church overseeing parts of Europe and colonies, was established in the 12th century to root out and punish heresy. It accomplished its aim through murder, torture and persecution of Jews, Muslims or anyone viewed as a threat to the Catholic establishment. Worst impacted by the church’s theocratic obsessions was Spain where the Inquisition conducted more than 32,000 executions and innumerable tortures.
