The Bad Popes

I enjoy historical biographies etc. but would consider myself a reader of 'lighter' material (fantasy etc.). I picked up this book as a curiosity expecting little, but found myself taken in by it. This book moves quickly and firmly through the history of six 'Bad Popes' but, more interestingly to me, illustrates the evolution of the Catholic Church from roughly AD 900 - AD 1530, especially in the context of european power politics of this era. The author's style is very readable. His vocabulary is advanced although not pendantic and his descriptions colorful without being obscene. Rather than being a catalogue of shocking infobits or factoids as other 'bad pope' books have been, Chamberlin does a good job telling the narrative of each pope's life in the context of their situation and times. He steers and even keel between anti-catholic propaganda and pro-papal fanaticism and overall left me feeling like I had a pretty good image of 'how it really was'. This was NOT a book of which I flipped to the back half way through to check how many pages were left. I enjoyed picking it up and avoided putting it down. It is the first title I have read from this author, but hopefully will not be the last.

This book retells the lives of 7 "bad" Popes, in the estimation of the author. There are one or two on this list who don't necessarily qualify as "bad", but perhaps "misguided", or just plain "incompetent". The nomenclature, however, belongs to the author, and I will not quibble with his choices. That having been said, I will admit that this book reveals a side of the papacy that is somewhat unknown to the average person today. It's general knowledge that there were sone Popes unworthy of their high position, but that's about all most people really know. This book goes into extensive detail about the Popes on the author's list, and it does an excellent job of pointing out exactly what, in his estimation, were their failings. When viewed in the light of the recent papal conclave which elected Benedict XVI, those early elections, influenced by the Roman mob, political considerations, family connections and outright bribery, it's amazing that the Church survived at all! This is a cautionary tale for everyone interested in the history of the Church and its rulers, and will certainly remove the "rose colored glasses" from the faces of a lot of people.

Whether you enjoy medieval history or not, this book makes for a great read. Chamberlin lets the history stay enlightening while keeping the writing light and entertaining. He pens a very colorful drama about these despicable men and, in the telling, provides a very informative historical background of European nations during the years following the descent of Imperial Rome. The book entertains while subtly educating along the way.

One of the problems Catholicism has always had to battle is the notion that the Pope may appear to be a devil but when he is acting or speaking "ex cathedra" his words and deeds are said to be infallible. This is a story of such popes - those who led armies, who jocked for political position, who tortured, maimed, committed sacrilege so dreadful that it was only a whisper. Yet, if one is a faithful Catholic, one would say that this is all just appearances - that they were REALLY the representative of Christ on Earth only they didn't act like it. It seems they never asked that ubiquitous question, "What would Jesus do?" It is hard to select the "worst" one...what is more awful - to massacre your opponent or to commit adultry on the throne? To lead a slaughter of "infidels" or join with Earthly political powers. Urban is a real winner, my candidate for Bad Pope of the Millenium but others are also listed.This is not, by the way, an anti-Catholic tirade. If anything, the Church can claim to be truly divinely blessed for having survived these creatures.