Rodrigo Borgia

Rodrigo Borgia (1431-1503), who was of Spanish origin, bribed his way to the papacy in 1492. A wily, morally corrupt politician, whose love of woman was legendary, many doubted his suitability to be the new head of the church. This head of the Catholic Church fathered several illegitimate children by his mistress Vannozza Cattani, including a daughter called Lucrezia. He arranged two marriages for her when she was 12 and 13 purely to further his own ambitions, then when he’d got what he wanted out of them he arranged the divorces. Borgia had a picture of her made to look like the Virgin Mary painted over the door of his bedroom.
When Savonarola preached against his corrupt practices Alexander had him executed. He is said to have died of a poison he had prepared for his cardinals. Such was the late Pope’s unpopularity that only four prelates attend his the Requiem Mass.

Pope Boniface VIII

Pope Boniface VIII (c. 1235 – 1303), born Benedetto Caetani, was Pope from 1294 to 1303. Today, Boniface VIII is probably best remembered for his feuds with Dante, who placed him in a circle of Hell in his Divine Comedy, and with the English and French kings. He was also the first pope to wear the zucchetto, a small skullcap that covers the tonsure.
In 1296 Pope Boniface VIII issued Clericis Laicos, which threatened excommunication for any lay ruler who taxed the clergy and any clergyman who paid the taxes. Despite being pious himself, the King of England, Edward 1st, retorted by decreeing if the clergy did not pay, they would be stripped of all legal protection and the King’s sheriff would seize their properties. The Pope backed down.
His bull of 1302 Unam sanctam, asserting papal authority over all temporal rulers was just as controversial and King Philip IV of France responded with a counter attack and was behind the kidnapping of the pope by some Italian noblemen. The Pope was soon released but so roughly was he treated that Boniface died shortly afterwards.

Pope Benedict IX

Pope Benedict IX (c. 1012 – c.1085), born Theophylactus of Tusculum, was Pope on three occasions between 1032 and 1048. One of the youngest popes, he was the only man to have been Pope on more than one occasion and the only man ever to have sold the papacy.
Benedict IX’s immoral character aroused much indignation. In 1044 a Roman faction drove him from office as unfit to rule due to his dissolute lifestyle but a year later he reinstated himself. The pope proceeded to marry his cousin and sell the papacy to his godfather, Gregory VI. In 1047 Benedict regained the papal throne again before finally being driven out from Rome a year later. After 16 years under Benedict the papacy had reached an all-time low in immorality and debauchery.

The Babylonish Captivity

In 1309 Pope Clement V found himself so much under the thumb of King Philip IV of France that he moved the papacy to Avignon. This marked the beginning of the “Babylonish Captivity” so called as due to the predominance of French popes and cardinals in the following seventy years, it was suggested that the popes had become French captives. To their credit the Avignon popes sent missionaries to countries as far distant as Asia, reorganized the church’s administration and made various attempts to promote peace between Europe’s rival kings and princes.
However the Italians were angered by the popes’ desertion of Rome and the papacy lost much prestige in England and Germany where it was viewed as a vassal of the French king. In addition the papacy’s popularity was hardly helped by their extravagant lifestyle, nepotism and imposition of heavy taxes.
In 1377 Catherine of Siena, a lay member of the Order of St Dominic after a forthright campaign of correspondence, persuaded Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome. This marked the end of the “Babylonish captivity”.