Chapter One
Rome's History of Confusion

The Election of the Pope

       Before discussing traditional Roman Catholic doctrines and dogmas, it would be appropriate at this point to take a look at the process by which a pope is selected. Jesuit priest Joseph Brusher wrote:

       It is not clear how a pope was chosen in the very early days of Christianity, but soon the custom developed that the clergy and people of Rome should choose their bishop. This democratic system worked well enough for a time, but after the popes became temporal rulers in the eighth century, the system broke down. Power-greedy nobles controlled too many elections and placed relatives or friends on the papal throne.⁽¹⁾

       To rectify this problem, the system was altered in 1059 by Nicholas II (1059-1061) to one in which the authority to elect a pope belonged exclusively to the cardinal-bishops:

       There are three methods of electing a pope: inspiration, compromise, and election by secret ballot. A pope is elected by the method of inspiration when the cardinals on the first day of the conclave without any ballot unanimously proclaim one man as pope. A pope is elected by compromise in case of a deadlock. The cardinals agree to allow a committee of no fewer than three nor more than seven members to choose a pope. By far the most common method of election is the method of secret ballot. In this method the successful candidate must secure two-thirds plus one of the possible votes.⁽²⁾

       Finally, the candidate was submitted to the Roman Emperor for approval. In the event that the Emperor rejected the selection, the cardinals in most cases began the election process all over again for fear of governmental conflict.
       It is interesting to note here that the Roman church maintains that the Holy Spirit oversees the election and protects the purity and integrity of the papal office. Yet, at the same time, each cardinal claims to arrive at his decision by divine inspiration and guidance as well. Based upon the information presented here, the only logical conclusion to be drawn is that God deliberately misinforms men as to His will for the occupancy of the Holy See of Rome. However, since God cannot lie (Titus 1:2), nor can He deceive (Isaiah 53:9), to claim that this power-greedy electoral process is designed and directed by the Holy Spirit is beyond reason. An inquiry into the historical events connected with some of the papal elections will further substantiate this point.

Schism and Multiple Popes

       Documented in official Roman chronicles are many occasions in which several men at the same time claimed to be the legitimate pope. The following is an account of one such instance (1378-1415), when there were as many as three popes.
       The trouble began when Urban VI was unanimously elected by the cardinals, but was rejected by the public. At first, widespread rioting broke out, which frightened the cardinals. Then Urban became unpopular with his own cardinals when he tried to start a reformation. Within six months, the cardinals had declared Urban's election invalid, and had elected Clement VII to replace him as pope.
       Failing to take Rome from Urban, Clement retired to Avignon, France. Most of Italy, England, Poland, and Hungary remained loyal to Urban, while France, Scotland, Naples, and the Spanish kingdoms supported Clement. Each claimant excommunicated the other and his supporters. Hence, regardless of who the true pope was, at least half of Europe was excommunicated from the Roman church and consigned to hell in the hereafter.
       Upon Urban's death in 1389, it was hoped that Clement would abdicate so that a new pope could be elected in his stead. When Clement refused to step down, Boniface IX was designated the successor of Urban and the schism grew. Again, both popes excommunicated each other. However, if Urban had previously excommunicated Clement and his supporters, one might justifiably wonder why Boniface felt the need to repeat the sentence.
       Hope for an end once again flared high when, in 1394, Clement died. The University of Paris and the French king himself urged the Avignon cardinals not to pursue the election of another pope, but they refused to listen and subsequently elected Benedict XIII. Boniface died eight years later in 1404, and once again the Roman cardinals asked the Avignon cardinals if their pope (Benedict) would abdicate so that a single pope could be elected for all. Again the request was rejected, and Innocent VII was elected to succeed Boniface. Shortly thereafter, in 1406, Innocent died, and once more, the Roman cardinals attempted to mend the schism by the renunciation of the Avignon pope. As before, their efforts failed, and Gregory XII was named successor to Innocent.
       By this time, both the Roman and Avignon cardinals were thoroughly frustrated with the division of "the one true church" and attempted to solve the problem by arranging a meeting with the two popes. The meeting was completely unsuccessful, and, out of desperation, the cardinals denounced both popes and elected a third -- Alexander V. Unfortunately, Alexander died thereafter in 1410, and was succeeded by John XXIII.
       A solution to the confusion was finally reached in 1415 when Gregory XII voluntarily abdicated and John XXIII accepted deposition. Benedict XIII, however, foolishly stubborn to the end, refused to abdicate. Abandoned by all but three of his cardinals, he was passed over. With the unanimous election of Martin V, thirty-seven years of chaos and disunity caused by the problem of multiple popes was at long last resolved.⁽³⁾ Once again, it would seem that, if the Holy Spirit were indeed overseeing and governing the papacy, He would not have allowed such turmoil, confusion, and disorder to prevail for so many years.

Imperial Control Over the Papacy

       On a few occasions, the Emperor alone controlled the outcome of the papal election based upon who would be the most advantageous to his own political position without regard for the church. For example, in the year 964, Benedict V was elected pope by the cardinals, while at the same time, the Emperor imposed his own pope -- Leo VIII. However, Benedict was recognized as the true pope by the Roman church and the people. Infuriated, the Emperor dispatched his army to besiege Rome. Benedict eventually gave in, admitting that he had been in error to assume the position of pope against the Emperor's wishes, and consented to deposition.⁽⁴⁾ The question must therefore be asked: Who was really controlling the elections of the papacy -- the Holy Spirit through the cardinals, or the Emperor?
       Another good example of emperical control over papal selection is found in the following: After the death of Innocent V in 1276, the cardinals had a difficult time finding a successor, for every proposal they made was immediately rejected by the Emperor. In accordance with the regulations set forth by Gregory X, which ordered cardinals to be kept in isolation until a pope had been chosen, the cardinals were locked up by Charles of Anjou, the senator of Rome. After eight days of seclusion, still having produced no pope, their food supply was order to be reduced to bread and water. Finally, having learned that the Emperor favored Cardinal Ottoboni, the cardinals unanimously elected him and designated him Hadrian V.⁽⁵⁾ Once again, the ultimate control of the papacy appears to have rested in the hands of the secular government, not the church.

Endnotes

1. Joseph Brusher, S.J., Popes Through the Ages (New York: D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., 1964), page 426.

2. Brusher, ibid.

3. Attwater, Catholic Dictionary, page 452; see also Brusher, Popes Through the Ages, pages 400-408.

4. Brusher, ibid., page 264.

5. Brusher, ibid., page 368.