Pissed Off Pope

(2)

The part which interested me in particular had to do with the politics of popery. It is not a good idea to piss off a pope. Nor is it a good idea to piss off a prospective pope. The case in point told the story of pope Stephen VII who was so angry at his predecessor pope Formosa that he 'dug up the corpse and placed the dead pope on the throne in his papal robes.' The angry pope Stephen VII then held a trial of the corpse, found it guilty, and excommunicated it. Not satisfied with that result, Stephen VII then threw the corpse into the Tiber river.

This unpopely behavior disgusted the people of Rome who then deposed Stephen and threw him in jail where he was eventually strangled to death. A Catholic priest who was commenting on the story for the History Channel commented that, 'They took religion very seriously in those days.' Eheh.

One wonders where The Holy Ghost was in those days. Hawaii?