By Keith Thompson
As one examines the history of the
Roman Catholic Church, the frequency of abominable practices and events seen
leaves little doubt that she is not the fulfillment of God’s salvation program
on the earth. The level of wickedness produced by the system negates the idea she is the bride of Christ who offers new birth. Instead, once the
evidence is assessed, it becomes obvious she belongs to the kingdom of
darkness. The following are some of the most evil atrocities, not including the
inquisitions, committed by the Roman religion in history:
Pope Urban VI reigned
from A. D. 1378-1389. During his reign, an antipope rose up stating he was the
real pope, that is, Clement VII. Because Joanna, Queen of Naples, sided with
Clement VII, Pope Urban VI had her deposed and replaced by her cousin Charles
of Durazzo. However, Charles and Pope Urban VI later had a falling out
themselves, resulting in Charles as well as some cardinals plotting against him.
As a result Urban VI had six of these cardinals brutally tortured and then
murdered (J. N. D. Kelly, M. J. Walsh, Oxford Dictionary of Popes, [Oxford
University Press, 2010], p. 230; Richard P. McBrien
ed., “Urban VI,” HarperCollins Encyclopedia
of Catholicism, [HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1995], p. 1290). In fact, it is stated that while these
cardinals were being tortured, Pope Urban VI complained that their screams were
not loud enough for his satisfaction.
Benedict IX reigned as
pope twice. He first reigned from A. D. 1032 to 1044, and then again from A. D.
1045 to 1047. During his second reign he actually sold his papal office to his
godfather Giovanni Gratiano, archpriest of the venerable church of St. John, who
then became Pope Gregory VI. The papacy was sold to him for 1,500 pounds of
gold (E. R. Chamberlin, The Bad Popes, [Dorset Press, 1969], p. 71).
Alexander VI reigned as pope from A.
D. 1492 to 1503. Historians note that he amassed ridiculous amounts of wealth
and fathered seven children with different women, two of which were after he
became pope (J. N. D. Kelly, M. J. Walsh, Oxford
Dictionary of Popes, [Oxford University Press, 2010], p. 255). Historian
Williston Walker notes that he was “a man of unbridled immorality . . . His
great concern was to advance his bastard children, especially his daughter,
Lucrezia Borgia, by advantageous marriages, and his unscrupulous and murderous
son, Cesare Borgia, by aiding him to carve a principality out of the Papal
States” (Williston Walker, A History of
the Christian Church, [Scribner, 1985], p. 396). Philip Schaff explains an
unthinkable event near the end of Alexander VI’s life: “two years before
Alexander VI’s death, October 31, 1501, an orgy took place in the Vatican by
Caesar’s appointment whose obscenity the worst of the imperial revels could
hardly have surpassed. 50 courtezans spent the night dancing, with the servants
and others present, first with their clothes on and then nude, the pope and
Lucretia looking on. The women, still naked, and going on their hands and feet,
picked up chestnuts thrown on the ground, and then received prizes of cloaks,
caps and other articles” (Philip Schaff, History
of the Christian Church, Volume 6, [Hendrickson Publishers, 2011], p. 461).
E. R. Chamberlin likewise confirms, “. . .the Vatican has been the scene of
scandalous enough behaviour; now, the court became actively criminal–curiously,
deliberately, perverted. . . . fifty Roman harlots coupled with fifty palace
servants for prizes presented by Alexander” (E. R. Chamberlin, The Bad Popes, [Dorset Press, 1969], pp.
197, 198). It’s interesting to note that this is the pope who canonized, that
is made saint, one of Rome’s favourite saints: Anselm of Canterbury (Philip
Schaff, History of the Christian Church,
Volume 6, [Hendrickson Publishers, 2011], p. 462).
This atrocity concerns forgeries
Rome created in order to deceive people to believe in papal primacy and Roman
supremacy. The first is called the Donation
of Constantine. This document was forged in the 8th – 9th
century by Rome. In it the emperor Constantine who reigned during the papal
reign of Pope Silvester I (A.D. 314-345) is represented as conferring on Pope
Silvester I and Rome certain prerogatives and honors which 8th –15th
century Roman Catholicism would point to as evidence for the historicity of her
papal doctrine and policy. In it the emperor gives to Pope Silvester I primacy
over the church patriarchs of the world and dominion over Rome and Western
states (J. N. D. Kelly, M. J. Walsh, Oxford
Dictionary of Popes, [Oxford University Press, 2010], p. 25). The document
was proven to be false in the 15th century. It was not a letter from
Emperor Constantine. It was created by Rome. This is truly abominable. Another
similar example is known as the Pseudo-Isidorian
Decretals which were produced in the 9th century by Catholic
scholars. They were a set of documents forged in the name of the late Isidore
of Seville, the 6th and 7th century Archbishop of Seville (Williston Walker, A
History of the Christian Church, [Scribner, 1985], p. 250). These documents,
according to Schaff, “gave legal expression to the popular opinion of the
papacy, raised and strengthened its power more than any other agency” (Philip Schaff, History
of the Christian Church, Volume 4, [Hendrickson Publishers, 2011], p. 268). In fact, on the
same page Schaff explains the papal teaching within these forged decretals
“forms to a large extent the basis of the canon law of the church of Rome” (Philip Schaff, History
of the Christian Church, Volume 4, [Hendrickson Publishers, 2011], p. 268). In other words,
Rome’s canon law which is still used today is based on these forgeries.
That Rome would create these forgeries and use them to deceive people to bow to
her doctrines and policies is truly a remarkable fraud and abomination.
The epidemic of Rome’s homosexual pedophilia
abuse scandals further demonstrate this system is reprobate and not of
God. It seems there is always something in the world-wide news concerning
a priest molesting a child, a pope covering up a scandal, a pedophile priest
being moved to a different diocese, or lawsuits and Rome paying off abuse
victims, etc. There are countless documentaries on this subject as well as books
and essays. It is one of the things Roman Catholicism is most known for. In
regards to only the United States, a 2004 study-report done by professors from
the John Jay College of Criminal Justice
revealed that from 1950 to 2002 10,667 individuals came forward in the United
States as being sexually abused by Catholic Church leaders. The dioceses were
only willing to substantiate 6,700 cases (which is nevertheless alarming!).
4,392 American priests were therefore officially recognized as engaging in
sexual abuse. However, the SNAP (Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priest)
argued these figures, though large, were nevertheless too small based on their
findings. One has to ask: what would
cause all of these Catholic leaders to do this? Many have explained how setting
up a sexually repressed celibate order when these men are not given the gift of
celibacy by Christ, will inevitably lead to sexual sin. But why the specific
sin of sexually abusing male children? Romans 1:26-28 explains that when men
persevere in rejecting God and His truth, God hands them over to a reprobate
mind as a judgement, to do things which should not be done, such as
homosexuality. It states, “For this
reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged
natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were
consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men
and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they
did not see fit to acknowledge God, God
gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done” (Romans
1:26-28). Catholic Apologetics
International put out: “How Many
Priests and Bishops are Homosexual? Richard Sipe, a psychotherapist and former
priest, has studied celibacy and sexuality in the priesthood for four decades.
He has authored three books on the topic. He once estimated that 30% of the priesthood
is homosexually oriented. Elsewhere, he is quoted as estimating that between
25% and 45% of American priests are homosexual in orientation. He
told the Boston Globe: 'If they were to eliminate all those who were
homosexually oriented, the number would be so staggering that it would be like
an atomic bomb; it would do the same damage to the church's operation. . . . It
would mean the resignation of at least a third of the bishops of the world. And
it's very much against the tradition of the church; many saints had a gay
orientation, and many popes had gay orientations’” (http://catholicintl.com/epologetics/articles/pastoral/homosexual-priests-print.htm).
John XII reigned as pope from A. D.
955 to 964. He was one of the most immoral popes of history and engaged in
things one would expect a Satanist to engage in. Historian Philip Schaff
observes, “John XII. disgraced the tiara for eight years . . . He was one of
the most immoral and wicked popes, ranking with Benedict IX., John XXIII., and
Alexander VI. He was charged by a Roman Synod, no one contradicting, with
almost every crime of which depraved human nature is capable, and deposed as a
monster of iniquity” (Philip Schaff, History
of the Christian Church, Volume 4, [Hendrickson Publishers, 2011], p. 287).
Schaff lists the following charges of the Synod against John XII: “appearing
constantly with an armed sword, lance helmet, and breastplate, that he
neglected matins and vespers . . . that he had made a boy of ten years a
bishop, and ordained a bishop or deacon in a stable, that he had mutilated a
priest, that he had set houses on fire, like Nero, that he had committed
homicide and adultery, had violated virgins and widows high and low, lived with
his father’s mistress, converted the pontifical palace into a brothel, drank to
the health of the devil, and invoked at the gambling-table the help of Jupiter
and Venus and other heathen demons!” (Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Volume 4, [Hendrickson Publishers,
2011], p. 297 n. 1; see also E. R. Chamberlin, The Bad Popes, [Dorset Press, 1969], pp. 43-44). There are two
accounts of his death. One is that he was killed by the jealous husband of a
woman he was committing adultery with (Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Volume 4, [Hendrickson Publishers,
2011], p. 297 n. 1). The other is that he had a stroke while committing
adultery with a woman (J. N. D. Kelly, M. J. Walsh, Oxford Dictionary of Popes, [Oxford University Press, 2010], p.
127).
The Reformers protested the
veneration of fraud relics which Catholics fervently sought out in the medieval
era. It was affirmed that veneration of such relics would shorten a person’s
time in purgatory. Explaining some of these is Eleanor
Herman: “The body parts of saints were called first-class relics. Some Italian
churches boasted magnificent first-class items–drops of Virgin Mary’s breast
milk, the foreskin of Jesus’ penis, and his umbilical cord. Other churches
offered second-class relics, articles that had been intimately connected with
the holy person during his or her life. One Roman church exposed Jesus’ cradle
from the manger, and another the marble pedestal on which Pontius Pilate had
had him flogged” (Eleanor Herman, Mistress of the Vatican,
[HarperCollins, 2009], p. 241). This outraged regenerated Bible believers such
as Luther and Calvin. In his work The Theology of John Calvin, Charles
Partee highlights some of Calvin’s recollections of these absurd relics: “In a
rare reference to his childhood Calvin expresses the outrage of a small boy
observing the poor ignorant women of his parish, unable to distinguish between
the figures of saints, murderers, and demons, adorning all alike with garlands.
. . . As an adult Calvin notes that among the amazing things an account of relics
would reveal is that every apostle had more than four bodies and every saint
two or three. Equally amazing anatomically is the display of the foreskin of
Jesus at three (!) churches—one in Charrox, one in Rome, and a third in
Hildesheim. Again, although only one man carried the cross, if all the pieces
were assembled in the same place, one could build a ship. Among the credulous,
goat droppings are taken for the beads of the Virgin Mary. Calvin recognizes
that since the body of the Virgin Mary is not on earth, no bones can be
produced, but the compensation is her breastmilk. `Had the breasts of the most
Holy Virgin yielded a more copious supply than is given by a cow, or had
she continued to nurse during her whole life time, she scarcely could have
furnished the quantity which is exhibited” (Charles Partee, The Theology of
John Calvin, [Westminster John Knox Press, 2008], p. 11).
The Pornocracy is the name given to
a period of 68 years in the tenth-century which spanned the reign of fifteen
popes. It started with Sergius III who reigned from A. D. 904 to 911 to John
XIII who reigned from A. D. 965 to 972. It was a period where a family of
nobility called the Theophylact family, most notably the women of the family
Theodora and her daughter Marozia, had firm control over the popes and led the
papacy into much immorality, wickedness and corruption (Williston Walker, A History of the Christian Church,
[Scribner, 1985], pp. 252-253). J. N. D. Kelly and M. J. Walsh note that “the
papacy itself was effectively controlled by this powerful, unscrupulous family”
(J. N. D. Kelly, M. J. Walsh, Oxford
Dictionary of Popes, [Oxford University Press, 2010], p. 120). Pope Sergius
III was intimate with and had a child with Theodora’s 15 year old daughter
Marozia. Their child would then be installed as pope by the Theophylact family
when he grew up. He would be named Pope John XI (E. R. Chamberlin, The Bad Popes, [Dorset Press, 1969], p.
34; J. N. D. Kelly, M. J. Walsh, Oxford
Dictionary of Popes, [Oxford University Press, 2010], p. 119). The way Pope
Sergius III became pope was that he marched to Rome with an armed force,
deposed antipope Christopher and had him thrown into gaol after which he was
executed (J. N. D. Kelly, M. J. Walsh, Oxford
Dictionary of Popes, [Oxford University Press, 2010], p. 118). Pope John X
(A.D. 914-928) was at first on good terms with the Theophylact family which was
at his time still controlling the papacy. However, because of certain political
actions, Marozia, daughter of Theophylact, organized a revolt against him. They
had his brother murdered and he himself ended up being deposed of his papal
office and suffocated to death (J. N. D. Kelly, M. J. Walsh, Oxford Dictionary of Popes, [Oxford
University Press, 2010], p. 121). This family freely installed popes such as
Leo VI, Stephen VII and others. Marozia married numerous times during this
seize of the papacy. Commenting on this horrible time, Philip Schaff relays,
“The papacy itself lost all independence and dignity, and became the prey of
avarice, violence, and intrigue, a veritable synagogue of Satan. It was dragged
through the quagmire of the darkest crimes, and would have perished in utter
disgrace had not Providence saved it for better times. Pope followed pope in
rapid succession, and most of them ended their career in deposition, prison,
and murder. . . . These Roman amazons [Theodora and Marozia] combined with the
fatal charms of personal beauty and wealth, a rare capacity for intrigue, and a
burning lust for power and pleasure. . . . They turned the church of St. Peter
into a den of robbers, and the residence of his successors into a harem. And
they gloried in their shame. Hence this infamous period is called the papal
Pornocracy or Hataerocracy” (Philip Schaff, History
of the Christian Church, Volume 4, [Hendrickson Publishers, 2011], p. 284
brackets mine).
Pope Stephen VI reigned as pope from
A. D. 896-897. He was consecrated as bishop of Anagni by previous pope Formosus
who reigned from A. D. 891-896. However, Stephen VI turned his back on
Formosus. After Formosus died Stephen VI had his eight month old corpse
exhumed, dressed in full papal vestments, and put on a throne for a mock trial
on charges of perjury, coveting the papacy, and violating the canons
prohibiting the translation of bishops. A deacon stood beside Formosus’s dead
body and answered for him at the mock trial. Formosus was declared to be
guilty, his fingers cut off, and his body tossed into the Tiber River. This is
truly satanic. However, it gets worse for Rome. Stephen VI’s actions did not go
unpunished. A few months later the outraged Catholic supporters of Formosus
“deposed Stephen, stripped him of his papal insignia, and threw him into the
gaol, where he was shortly afterwards strangled” (J. N. D. Kelly, M. J. Walsh, Oxford Dictionary of Popes, [Oxford
University Press, 2010], p. 115).
This historical abomination concerns indulgences. An
indulgence is the remission of temporal punishments of sin here and in
purgatory. It was proclaimed by medieval Rome that these indulgences could
shorten people’s time in the non-existent place called purgatory. Pope Urban II
who reigned from A.D. 1088-1099 offered indulgences to crusaders who died
battling Muslims whereby all their temporal punishments for sin were said to be
remitted (Kenan B. Osborne, “Indulgences,” ed. Richard P. McBrien, The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of
Catholicism, [HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1995], pp. 662-663). Not only
is the idea of indulgences an abomination, but the fact that Roman Catholicism
sold indulgences in the middle ages is unthinkably satanic. On April 18, 1506
Pope Julius II put out a bull promising indulgence to those who paid money to
him. He would use these funds to construct St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome (Philip Schaff, History
of the Christian Church, Volume 6, [Hendrickson Publishers, 2011], p. 764). Rome commissioned
certain preachers like Tetzel to go around scaring Catholics into giving their
money so that they could get loved ones out of purgatory faster. The logical
abuse which came about is that people would sin willfully thinking it was okay
since they would just pay money to get the temporal punishments for sin
remitted with money. This despicable practice was fervently opposed by the
reformer Martin Luther.
There are many other atrocities one could
highlight (including the inquisitions). Suffice it to say, this track-record of
unspeakable abominations coming out of Romanism era after era demonstrates very
clearly that this system is not the fulfillment of God’s salvation plan on the
earth. Romanism is not the arbiter of God’s kingdom. She is not God’s holy
bride, the true seed of Abraham who is given the role of spreading the gospel
to the lost in a Christian manner. Although no one expects God’s people to
always be one-hundred percent perfect all the time, this constant track-record
of abominations and atrocities in Catholic history century after century proves
that this type of thing is commonplace in Papalism. This system resembles a
satanic cult more than it does the fulfillment of God’s plan on the earth. It
is because Roman Catholicism, far from representing God and being God’s
sanctified bride, is actually Satan’s greatest counterfeit, an apostate church
which, as a church, had its lampstand removed long ago.
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