The Popes of the Tenth Century.
By R. F. Cottrell
THE following is from the History of the Christian Church, by Rev. Joseph Reeve, a Roman Catholic, published at Boston, 1851, pp. 291, 292. “THE Popes were not masters in their own capital. Raised by faction, as it happened, or by intrigue, they lost their personal respectability, were often insulted, imprisoned, and even murdered, by the prevailing party. Two sister prostitutes, Marozia and Theodora, daughters of the lewd Marchioness of Tuscany, governed Rome by their political influence and criminal intrigue. To these disorders the Popes themselves contributed in no small degree. [Here follows a list of thirty one Popes.] Between the years 891 and 999, here are one and thirty Popes; their number is a clear proof that the reigns of many of them were short, and their end dishonorable. Sergius III. exhibited a spectacle of scandal, of which the Christian world had never known an example, a sovereign Pontiff clasped in the lewd embraces of a notorious prostitute. Sergius III., without regard for the dignity or the holiness of his pontifical character, publicly avowed his criminal connections with Marozia; by her he had a son, who, under his mother’s influence, crept afterwards into St. Peter’s chair by the name of John XI. To the infamy of his spurious birth, he added personal vice, in which he was shamefully imitated by many, who in that century were raised to the papal throne, without the virtues to merit or support their elevation. Protestant writers here exult in the disgrace of the Roman pontiffs at that time, and wildly fancy, that in the papal dress, thus defiled with vice, they behold the scarlet petticoat of the Babylonian harlot. These writers instead of imitating the filial piety of Shem and Japheth, in drawing a cloak over their father’s shame, as modesty would dictate, indecently laugh with Ham, and by dwelling with malignant pleasure upon vices incident to mortal men, even in the most exalted stations of life, wantonly insult their mother church. The insult affects neither the truth nor the holiness of her doctrine. Those vices of her first pastors are merely personal; they are not the result of her belief. Her existence rests not on the personal merit of any man; it is founded on the power and promises of Christ, who has engaged his word to lead her into all truth, and to abide with her to the end of time. On such grounds her faith can never fail. But scandals will still happen; they are a natural consequence of the depravity of man’s heart; when they happen within the sanctuary, they are grievous indeed; they are one of the many trials which the Christian church has to undergo; they tend to tarnish the luster of her virtues, and to shake, if it were possible, the foundation of her faith. Dark, gathering clouds cast a dismal gloom over the earth, and seemingly threaten to blot out the light of day; but the sun’s glorious orb never ceases to shine in a sphere far above their reach, and as the clouds disperse, breaks out upon us with undiminished brightness. Such is the triumph of the church over all the temporary misfortunes that accidentally befall her.” It is very true that the truth of God should not be condemned, because men in high places have fallen into sin. Those who reject the truth, because that men prove to be hypocrites, do not act wisely. They should attribute men’s vices to human depravity, and not to that revelation of truth that condemns them. But when the writer attempts thus to smooth over the shameful sins of the popes, still holding to an unbroken line of infallible vicars of Jesus Christ, from the apostles to the present time, the question assumes a different form. Were those vile, degraded, and beastly men the representatives of Christ on earth?—the chosen vessels to support the standard of his truth and to exemplify his doctrine? Were these the chosen men to prevent the gates of hell from prevailing against the church? Could no better be found? Then the gates of hell certainly prevailed, and there was no church of Christ on earth.