OF THE UNGODLY LIFE AND DISORDERLY CONDUCT OF SOME OF THE POPES.
Many of the ancient writers, even good Romanists, are so replete with the manifold ungodly and extremely disorderly conduct of some of those who occupied the papal chair, and are placed in the Register of the true successors of Peter, that one hardly knows how to begin, much less how to end.[62]
We shall therefore, so as not to cause any doubts as regards our impartiality, not adduce all, but only a few, and these not the worst, but, when contrasted with those whom we shall not mention, the very best examples of the kind; and shall then soon leave them, as we have no desire to stir up this sink of rottenness, and pollute our souls with its stench.
Concerning the simony or sacrilege of some popes, a brief account is given from Platina and other papistic writers, in the Chronijk van den Ondergang, 9th Book, for the year 828. p. 281. col. 2. and p. 282. col. 1. The writer of said chronicle, having related the complaint of the king of France about the revenue of twenty-eight tonnen gold,[63] annually drawn by the popes from said kingdom, proceeds, to say: “How true the foregoing is, appears sufficiently from the fact that John XXII. at his death left two hundred and fifty tonnen gold ($7,000,000) in his private treasury; as Franciscus Petrarcha, a credible writer, plainly states.
Boniface VII., finding that he could no longer remain in safety at Rome, surreptitiously took the precious jewels and treasures from St. Peter’s coffers, and fled with them to Constantinople.
Clemens VIII., and other popes, were at various times convicted of such sacrilege, by their own people.
Gregory IX. sold his absolution to the emperor for a hundred thousand ounces of gold.
Benedict IX., being stricken with fear, sold to Gregory VI. the papal chair, for fifteen hundred pounds of silver.
The simony and sacrilege of Alexander VI. is also sufficiently known, from his epitaph, which we, for certain reasons, omit.
Further, how Leo X., through Tetzel, and many other popes, through their legates and nuncios, sold their letters of indulgence, is better known throughout all so-called Christendom than the popes of Rome desire. Compare this with Chron. Plat. (old edition) fol. 183. Fran. Ala. fol. 58. Onpartijdigen Rechter, fol. 28.