In the first part of this question, we finished considering the pontificate of Gregory VII in the 11th century. In this second part, we will continue reviewing what happened to other Popes in the following centuries: Pope Urban II (1,088-1,099) was removed from office by the citizens of Rome, out of fear of retaliation from Emperor Henry IV, who was heading towards Rome to depose him. Pope Paschal II (1,099-1,118) entered into controversy with Emperor Henry V of Germany over the right to appoint bishops in his region. Henry V besieged Rome and forced Paschal II to sign a treaty recognizing the emperor’s right of investiture and pledging not to issue anathemas against the king. The Pope did not respect the signed treaty and, fearing retaliation from the emperor, fled from Rome and took refuge in Albano. In the 12th century, Pope Gelasius II, faced with threats from Henry V, fled from Rome and went to Porto. Subsequently, the emperor removed Gelasius II from his position and appointed Gregory VIII in his place.
In the late 12th and early 13th centuries, Pope Innocent III was appointed, considered by some the most brilliant of the Popes in history and the maximum exponent of papal supremacy. To better understand his pontificate and the papal supremacy he exercised, we must review his early steps as Pope. Innocent III studied law in Paris, which contributed to his govern based on laws and justice. Among the first measures he adopted were: 1- Establishing the salary of the officials in his court who assisted him, prohibiting them from requesting or demanding economic donations from the faithful. 2 – Suspending the sale of relics and religious items to the faithful who trusted in their authenticity. 3 – Devoting three times a week to hearing the complaints and claims of the faithful and pronouncing judgments as a judge; not taking into account the social and economic condition of the complainants and the accused, but the justice of their claims. This measure earned him a great reputation for being impartial and reliable, attracting the appeal of all important or famous cases, not only from Rome, but also from other nations as far as his fame spread.
It is not surprising that during his pontificate, some European monarchies trusted in his judgments and submitted the solution of their problems to his judgment. It was the kings and princes who not only sought his advice, but also sought his protection, willingly allowing their states to be fiefs of the church. An example of this is the voluntary vassalage of Peter II of Aragon, who was crowned king of that region in Rome by Innocent III.
Regarding the papal supremacy exercised by Innocent III, there are three well-known events related to European monarchs: 1 – The case of Alfonso IX of Aragon, whom he separated from his wife Teresa of Portugal for being a close relative. 2- To Philip II of France, he ordered, through an interdict, to take back Queen Ingeborg. In these first two cases, the first one was effective not so much because of the Pope’s condition, but because of the credibility and respect they had for Innocent III, who watched over the moral condition of the monarchs. . In the second case, despite the interdict placed by Innocent III on the French nation, Philip II never brought back his Danish wife to court. . The third event is related to the English nation and its king John I, whom the Pope put under interdict. Due to the unpopularity of the king and consequently the lack of support from the people and the courtiers, the king yielded to the Pope, especially due to the threat represented by King Philip of France, who was making plans to invade England. As we can see in this case, variables were presented that made the Pope’s spiritual weapons effective, variables that were not present and did not allow the interdicts and excommunications to be effective when Innocent III tried to do the same with the French and German monarchs.
In the 12th century, with the death of the German Emperor Henry VI, a dispute for the imperial crown arose; on the one hand, there was Philip of Swabia, who defended the right of his nephew – future Frederick II -, son of the deceased king, and on the other hand, Otto IV, supported by nobles who were dissatisfied with Philip of Swabia’s election. Innocent III sided with Otto IV, for territorial interests in Italy, excommunicating Philip of Swabia, without any adverse effect for him. When the war began to turn in Philip’s favor, the excommunication was lifted and a truce was proposed between the contenders. The war did not stop, and faced with Otto’s failure to fulfill his vows of allegiance, the Pope also ended up excommunicating him, without any negative effect on his efforts, until he was finally defeated by Philip of Swabia, leaving him as unquestionable king. This shows that Innocent III did not exercise absolute papal supremacy over the kings of Europe as we have asserted, but a circumstantial supremacy; nevertheless, due to some situations that arose during his pontificate, we can affirm that he was the only Pope in the 1,260 years mentioned in the prophecy, who exercised a certain papal supremacy for 18 years, without being persecuted, captured, or deposed.
After the peak and recognition that Innocent III enjoyed, we find that at the beginning of the 13th century, Pope Gregory IX was persecuted and ejected from the papal seat at the instigation of the German Emperor Frederick II, causing the Pope to take refuge in Perugia. In the mid-13th century, Pope Innocent IV roamed, persecuted by the same emperor, ending up seeking an alliance with Sultan Melich Salem to invade Italy and defeat the imperial army. Later, Pope Alexander IV was threatened by the Roman citizens with the support of the senate to hang him; so he was forced to flee Rome and take refuge in Viterbo. At the end of the 13th and early 14th centuries, Pope Boniface VIII was appointed, considered the third maximum exponent of papal supremacy. Boniface VIII, famous for his bull “Unam Sanctam,” excommunicated King Philip the Fair and declared himself the absolute owner of France, attributing to himself the power to dispose of secular and ecclesiastical dignities and benefits. The king deposed him from his position, transferred him from Anagni where he was sheltered to Rome, where he died a month later.
At the end of this second part, we must ask ourselves: is there historical evidence of papal supremacy during the last 800 years that we have considered, of the 1,260 years indicated by the prophecy? Blessings.
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