00:00Everything I heard about you was true. It is disgusting.
00:04Is there anything you wish to add to your list of crimes against this most holy of offices before I tell the world?
00:10Welcome to WatchMojo, where we'll be looking at history's least pious popes ever.
00:16Leo transformed Rome into a cultural center and political power, but he depleted the papal treasury in the process.
00:22Julius II. Also known as the Warrior Pope, Julius II ruled the papal states from 1503 to 1513.
00:33As an artistic patron, he was incredibly successful.
00:36This included him commissioning Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel, among other magnificent projects, which all cost a fortune.
00:43He was also responsible for aggressive military campaigns, personally leading troops into battle, which was highly contentious for a pope.
00:51His rule was more focused on politics and war instead of piety.
00:55Julius' actions thus deepened Europe's religious crisis, which led to Martin Luther's revolt and the Protestant Reformation.
01:02So while he was a highly influential Renaissance figure, he wasn't exactly a good pope.
01:07Clement VII. Ten years after Julius II's death, Clement VII became the papal state's ruler.
01:14He's often considered history's most unfortunate pope, ruling at a particularly tumultuous time.
01:19He inherited the papal states while the Protestant Reformation was picking up steam, which led to an immense power struggle.
01:25Within eight years of Luther's 95 Theses, you're already beginning to see those tensions, those political, social tensions within Protestantism,
01:35which begin to spill out for the next hundreds of years.
01:38Both France and the Holy Roman Empire demanded his allegiance, which led to the sack of Rome in 1527.
01:45Another major blunder included largely ignoring the Protestant Reformation.
01:49This spiraled further out of control when he refused to let Henry VIII divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon.
01:55He wants to leave his wife Catherine of Aragon and marry his lover Anne Boleyn.
02:01But Pope Clement VII refuses to annul his marriage.
02:04As a result, the Tudor king broke away from the Catholic Church.
02:08Boniface VIII.
02:09Despite being fairly intelligent, his papacy was controversial and immensely disastrous.
02:14The Bishop of Rome, Miss Holiness, Pope Boniface.
02:19One of his biggest blunders was the Unam Sanctum in 1302, which proclaimed, quote,
02:24"...it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman pontiff."
02:29This outraged almost everyone.
02:32Boniface took papal authority to the max, becoming obsessed with papal supremacy.
02:36This got him into a couple of conflicts with France, with Boniface excommunicating their king, Philip IV.
02:43To put it simply, submit or be damned.
02:48This caused the French to capture him in 1303.
02:52They locked him up for three days, alongside assaulting him.
02:55A month later, Boniface died a humiliated and broken man.
02:59John XII.
03:00When John became Pope, he may have been the youngest Pope in history.
03:04Historians estimate he was between 17 and 25 at the beginning of his rule.
03:09He mainly got the job because of his father, Alberic II of Spoleto, a Roman prince.
03:14As Pope, he turned the Lateran palace into what his contemporaries described as a brothel.
03:20Allegedly, he frequently committed adultery and debauchery.
03:23According to one source, he died while fornicating with another man's wife.
03:28To protect against the Lombards, he made King Otto I of Germany the Holy Roman Emperor.
03:33John quickly betrayed him, causing Otto to march on Rome and depose him, although he regained his position temporarily.
03:40Sergius III.
03:42Next, we have one of history's most corrupt popes.
03:45He ascended to the papal throne after being backed by the Theaphylact family, who dominated Rome during the 10th century.
03:51Sources claim he imprisoned and then murdered two ex-popes.
03:56Alongside this, he also supposedly fathered a child out of wedlock.
04:00Highly controversial for a pope.
04:02This child went on to become a pope himself.
04:04One of his most bizarre decisions was re-endorsing Stephen VI, who had gone so far as to put the corpse of Pope Formosus on trial.
04:13On the bright side, he rebuilt the Lateran palace, which had been destroyed by an earthquake.
04:18Urban VI.
04:19The Western Schism was a huge split among Catholics in the late 14th century.
04:24It centered around two rival popes, one in Avignon and another in Rome, both vying for supremacy.
04:30This started when Urban was elected under intense political pressure.
04:34A Roman contingent had demanded a Roman pope.
04:37But instead, they got the Neapolitan Urban.
04:39As pope, he was harsh and paranoid, which alienated his allies.
04:43This caused his cardinals to quickly declare his election invalid, thus creating the schism and a series of rival popes.
04:50At one point, Urban even had some cardinals executed.
04:53Instead of fixing the schism, Urban doubled down, making matters worse.
04:58In the end, he died after injuries received from falling off a mule at his jubilee celebrations.
05:04Leo X.
05:05As we've already established, the early 16th century was a bit of a write-off for Catholicism.
05:10Born to the prominent Medici family, Leo X used this reputation to become pope.
05:15He was more an arts patron than an ecclesiastical leader, holding court with pomp and extravagance to underline his power and glory.
05:23This pope from the powerful Medici family wasn't interested in theology.
05:29Since God has given us the papacy, he said, let us enjoy it.
05:33As such, he governed the church like a Renaissance prince instead of its spiritual leader.
05:38This led to him authorizing tons of indulgences, which were payments in exchange for the forgiveness of sins.
05:44This directly led to Martin Luther's 95 theses in 1517, alongside the subsequent Protestant Reformation.
05:51His 95 theses attacking corrupt church practices were quickly circulated across the country.
05:57The pope threatened Luther with excommunication, but Luther responded by publicly burning the bull.
06:02Instead of addressing papal corruption, he excommunicated Luther, thus providing more fuel to the opposition.
06:08So while he wasn't necessarily cruel, his negligence led to an enormous divide and to multiple wars in the following centuries.
06:15Benedict IX.
06:16Only one person has been pope more than once, and that's Benedict IX.
06:21The first time over, it was done because of his dad bribing the voters.
06:25His age isn't confirmed, but historians guess he would have been 20 when elected.
06:30He was forced out in 1044, but regained the papacy in 1045.
06:34Controversially, later in 1045, he sold the papacy to his godfather, John Crosham.
06:40This was because Benedict wanted to marry his cousin.
06:43Soon after, he regretted this choice.
06:45When his godfather's successor died in 1047, Benedict installed himself as pope by force.
06:51This didn't last long.
06:53German soldiers drove him out a few months later, and he vanished into obscurity.
06:57Alexander VI.
06:58Also known as Rodrigo Borgia, this pope was extremely infamous.
07:03He used the papacy to empower his family, the Borgias, who sought to dominate Italy.
07:08There are rumors spreading throughout the Vatican that you are debauched and corrupt and not fit to hold the office of pope.
07:16He gave his relatives powerful positions, making the church feel like a private family business.
07:21Alexander became pope through bribery, and then became increasingly corrupt during his reign.
07:25He sold titles to whoever bid the most, alongside encouraging his son to conquer Italy.
07:30At age 72, he died of what was claimed to be malaria.
07:39Alexander left behind a legacy that few admired, becoming a symbol of everything wrong with the late medieval church.
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07:59After being dead for seven months, Pope Formosus was put on trial by the newly elected Pope Stephen VI.
08:10This, the rotting corpse, was placed on a throne, then assigned a deacon to speak on his behalf.
08:16Stephen sought to discredit Formosus' legacy by this bizarre spectacle.
08:19The result wasn't a shocker.
08:21The dead pope was found guilty, being unable to defend himself.
08:24This caused his papacy to be rendered null, which, understandably, horrified tons of people.
08:30This caused him to lose his position after less than two years.
08:33Stephen was sent to prison, where he was eventually strangled.
08:36Who do you think was the most respectable pope in history?
08:39Let us know in the comments below.
08:40There is no other office in the world like the papacy.
08:54There is no other office in the world like the papacy.
08:55There is no other office in the world like the papacy.
08:56There is no other office in the world like the papacy.
08:57There is no other office in the world like the papacy.
08:58There is no other office in the world like the papacy.
08:59There is no other office in the world like the papacy.
09:00There is no other office in the world like the papacy.
09:01There is no other office in the world like the papacy.
09:02There is no other office in the world like the papacy.
09:03There is no other office in the world like the papacy.
09:04There is no other office in the world like the papacy.
09:05There is no other office in the world like the papacy.
09:06There is no other office in the world like the papacy.
09:07There is no other office in the world like the papacy.
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