Papal Misbehaviour

Ordinary Observations · May 14, 2025 · 40m

Join Jack this week on Ordinary Observations for a sprawling discussion on a select few terrible popes. We start off with Pope Stephen XI, a man so incensed at his dead predecessor's actions, he had his corpse exhumed and put on trial, in what would come to be known as the Cadaver Synod. Next we have a long hard look at some of the behaviour of Pope John XII, who was elected Pope as a teenager and promptly turned the holy residence into an orgy of drinking, gambling, and extra-marital sex. Finally we turn to Pope Benedict IX, famed for being the only pope to serve three separate pontificates…