J
John the Baptist
Guest
I picked this up on another site, and thought that it was interesting. I posted it here in three parts and it was in a 'thread' that it was not supposed to be in, : and was deleated? (not moved) So, I will put it in another thread in three or four parts and see what transpires? I personally find part 4 very interesting. :wink:
---Elijah
Part 1:
On the evening of Saturday April 2, 2005, after receiving the Rite of Extreme Unction, Pope John Paul II passed away. At this time his chamberlain would have gone to the papal hospital bed and asked the Bishop of Rome a question, "Are you dead?" There would be no reply from the Pope. The chamberlain would then pick up a silver hammer and strike the Pope on the head and repeat his question, "Are you dead?" Again there would be no reply. The chamberlain would then thrice call out the Pope's baptismal name. He would then declare the Pope to be dead.
This is the way the Church has determined papal deaths for centuries. This is the way of the world's oldest monarchy.
Since 1763 the august Almanach de Gotha has been the ultimate authority on the royal houses of Europe. Listed under 'Reigning Sovereign Houses' is the Holy See. Therein is stated, "the incumbent of the Holy See is considered by Christian sovereign families as the 'Father of the Family of Kings,' [and] his Holiness represents the OLDEST MONARCHY on earth"
The triple sovereignty of the Pope-Person, Holy See & Vatican City--is distinct in fact and in law. Internationally, he is not subject to any authority on earth. His Cardinals are considered to be Princes of the Church and peers of the sons of reigning monarchs. Each diocese is considered to be a royal fiefdom. The word 'diocese' originally signified an administrative unit devised by the Emperor Diocletian, a tyrant noted for his persecution of Christians.
Following are brief sketches of some of the more interesting holders of the title 'Vicar of Christ' (it should be noted that the Latin equivalent of the Greek 'anti' is 'vicarius,' from whence is derived the word 'vicar').
Without a doubt, there was one Pope who was completely mad. In 896 Stephen VII set in motion the trial of his rival, the late Pope Formosus who had been dead for 9 months at the time. Formosus' corpse was dragged from its tomb and arrayed on a throne in the council chamber. The corpse, wrapped in a hair shirt, was provided with council, who wisely remained silent while Pope Stephen raved and screamed at it. The crime of Formosus was that he had crowned emperor one of the numerous illegitimate heirs of Charlemagne after first having performed the same office for a candidate favored by Stephen. After Stephen's rant, the corpse was stripped of its clothes and its fingers were chopped off. It was then dragged through the palace and hurled from a balcony to a howling mob below who threw it into the Tiber. The body was later rescued by people sympathetic to Formosus and given a quiet burial. Stephen was strangled to death a few years later.
In 964 Pope Benedict V raped a young girl and absconded to Constantinople with the papal treasury only to reappear when the money ran out. Church historian Gerbert called Benedict 'the most iniquitous of all the monsters of ungodliness.' The pontiff was eventually slain by a jealous husband. His corpse, bearing a hundred dagger wounds, was dragged through the streets before being tossed into a cesspit.
In October 1032 the papal miter was purchased for the 11-year old Benedict IX. Upon reaching his 14th year, a chronicler wrote that Benedict had already surpassed in wantonness and profligacy all who had preceded him. He often had to leave Rome in a hurry.
Gregory VII was a master forger, surpassing even the great fraud known as the 'Donation of Constantine,' the document that created the Papal States. Gregory had an entire school of forgers turning out document after document bearing the papal seal of approval. These documents were later systematized in the mid-1100s in Bologna by Gratian, a Benedictine monk. He called his work the Decretum, or Code of Canon Law. It was peppered throughout with several centuries of forgeries along with Gratian's own fictional additions. Gregory also formalized the celibacy doctrine in order to curtail the many gifts of church lands being given away to all of the illegitimate children of priests and bishops. According to Catholic historian Peter de Rosa in his book Vicars of Christ:
"Popes had mistresses as young as fifteen years of age, were guilty of incest and sexual perversions of every sort, had innumerable children, were murdered in the very act of adultery In the old Catholic phrase, why be holier than the Pope?"
Another interesting figure was Alexander VI (formerly Rodrigo Borgia). He reigned from 1492-1503. Alexander committed his first murder at the age of 12. Upon assuming the Papal miter he cried, "I am Pope, Vicar of Christ!" In his Decline and Fall Gibbon referred to Alexander as the Tiberius of Rome. Like his predecessor Innocent VIII, Alexander sired many children, baptized them personally and officiated at their weddings in the Vatican. He had ten known illegitimate children (including the notorious Cesare and Lucrezia), by his favorite mistress Vannoza Catanei. When she faded, Borgia took the 15-year old Giulia Farnese. Farnese obtained a Cardinal's red hat for her brother who later became Paul III.
Alexander was followed by Julius II who purchased the papacy with his own private fortune. He didn't even pretend to be a Christian. A notorious womanizer who sired any number of bastards, Julius was so eaten away with syphilis that he couldn't even expose his foot to be kissed.
(Part 2 will follow)
---Elijah
Part 1:
On the evening of Saturday April 2, 2005, after receiving the Rite of Extreme Unction, Pope John Paul II passed away. At this time his chamberlain would have gone to the papal hospital bed and asked the Bishop of Rome a question, "Are you dead?" There would be no reply from the Pope. The chamberlain would then pick up a silver hammer and strike the Pope on the head and repeat his question, "Are you dead?" Again there would be no reply. The chamberlain would then thrice call out the Pope's baptismal name. He would then declare the Pope to be dead.
This is the way the Church has determined papal deaths for centuries. This is the way of the world's oldest monarchy.
Since 1763 the august Almanach de Gotha has been the ultimate authority on the royal houses of Europe. Listed under 'Reigning Sovereign Houses' is the Holy See. Therein is stated, "the incumbent of the Holy See is considered by Christian sovereign families as the 'Father of the Family of Kings,' [and] his Holiness represents the OLDEST MONARCHY on earth"
The triple sovereignty of the Pope-Person, Holy See & Vatican City--is distinct in fact and in law. Internationally, he is not subject to any authority on earth. His Cardinals are considered to be Princes of the Church and peers of the sons of reigning monarchs. Each diocese is considered to be a royal fiefdom. The word 'diocese' originally signified an administrative unit devised by the Emperor Diocletian, a tyrant noted for his persecution of Christians.
Following are brief sketches of some of the more interesting holders of the title 'Vicar of Christ' (it should be noted that the Latin equivalent of the Greek 'anti' is 'vicarius,' from whence is derived the word 'vicar').
Without a doubt, there was one Pope who was completely mad. In 896 Stephen VII set in motion the trial of his rival, the late Pope Formosus who had been dead for 9 months at the time. Formosus' corpse was dragged from its tomb and arrayed on a throne in the council chamber. The corpse, wrapped in a hair shirt, was provided with council, who wisely remained silent while Pope Stephen raved and screamed at it. The crime of Formosus was that he had crowned emperor one of the numerous illegitimate heirs of Charlemagne after first having performed the same office for a candidate favored by Stephen. After Stephen's rant, the corpse was stripped of its clothes and its fingers were chopped off. It was then dragged through the palace and hurled from a balcony to a howling mob below who threw it into the Tiber. The body was later rescued by people sympathetic to Formosus and given a quiet burial. Stephen was strangled to death a few years later.
In 964 Pope Benedict V raped a young girl and absconded to Constantinople with the papal treasury only to reappear when the money ran out. Church historian Gerbert called Benedict 'the most iniquitous of all the monsters of ungodliness.' The pontiff was eventually slain by a jealous husband. His corpse, bearing a hundred dagger wounds, was dragged through the streets before being tossed into a cesspit.
In October 1032 the papal miter was purchased for the 11-year old Benedict IX. Upon reaching his 14th year, a chronicler wrote that Benedict had already surpassed in wantonness and profligacy all who had preceded him. He often had to leave Rome in a hurry.
Gregory VII was a master forger, surpassing even the great fraud known as the 'Donation of Constantine,' the document that created the Papal States. Gregory had an entire school of forgers turning out document after document bearing the papal seal of approval. These documents were later systematized in the mid-1100s in Bologna by Gratian, a Benedictine monk. He called his work the Decretum, or Code of Canon Law. It was peppered throughout with several centuries of forgeries along with Gratian's own fictional additions. Gregory also formalized the celibacy doctrine in order to curtail the many gifts of church lands being given away to all of the illegitimate children of priests and bishops. According to Catholic historian Peter de Rosa in his book Vicars of Christ:
"Popes had mistresses as young as fifteen years of age, were guilty of incest and sexual perversions of every sort, had innumerable children, were murdered in the very act of adultery In the old Catholic phrase, why be holier than the Pope?"
Another interesting figure was Alexander VI (formerly Rodrigo Borgia). He reigned from 1492-1503. Alexander committed his first murder at the age of 12. Upon assuming the Papal miter he cried, "I am Pope, Vicar of Christ!" In his Decline and Fall Gibbon referred to Alexander as the Tiberius of Rome. Like his predecessor Innocent VIII, Alexander sired many children, baptized them personally and officiated at their weddings in the Vatican. He had ten known illegitimate children (including the notorious Cesare and Lucrezia), by his favorite mistress Vannoza Catanei. When she faded, Borgia took the 15-year old Giulia Farnese. Farnese obtained a Cardinal's red hat for her brother who later became Paul III.
Alexander was followed by Julius II who purchased the papacy with his own private fortune. He didn't even pretend to be a Christian. A notorious womanizer who sired any number of bastards, Julius was so eaten away with syphilis that he couldn't even expose his foot to be kissed.
(Part 2 will follow)