The Bad Popes

1969 book by E. R. Chamberlin

The Bad Popes ; 56 years+ago (1969)&rft.pub=[[Dial+Press]]&rft.pages=310">

Author| E. R. Chamberlin
Language| English
Genre| History
Publisher| Dial Press

Publication date

| 1969; 56 years ago (1969)
Media type| Print
Pages| 310
ISBN| 0-880-29116-8

The Bad Popes is a 1969 book by E. R. Chamberlin documenting the lives of eight of the most controversial popes (papal years in parentheses):

* Pope Stephen VI (896–897), who exhumed and tried his dead predecessor Pope Formosus.[1]: 19
* Pope John XII (955–964), who murdered several people.
* Pope Benedict IX (1032–1044, 1045, 1047–1048), who was accused of selling the Papacy.
* Pope Boniface VIII (1294–1303), who regularly interfered in the politics of neighboring kingdoms.
* Pope Urban VI (1378–1389), who tortured cardinals who had conspired against him.[1]: 153
* Pope Alexander VI (1492–1503), who, besides being openly promiscuous, was found guilty of nepotism.[1]: 204
* Pope Leo X (1513–1521), who once spent 1⁄7 of the Papal reserves on a single ceremony, leading Martin Luther to publish the 95 Theses and spark the Protestant Reformation.[1]: 218
* Pope Clement VII (1523–1534), whose power-politicking led to the Sack of Rome.

## Reviews

[edit]

* Milligan, Sam (August 24, 1969). "'Bad Popes' and Era Examined by Writer". Fort Worth Star-Telegram - via newspapers.com.
* Rogers, W. G. (August 31, 1969). "Consumed by Greed, the Princes Wage War and Shear the Sheep". The Grand Rapids Press - via newspapers.com.
* Cargill Thompson, James (August 31, 1969). "People get the popes they deserve". Chicago Tribune - via newspapers.com.
* Cox, Bud (September 1, 1969). "Popes of Another Day". The Charlotte News - via newspapers.com.
* Johnson, Norman (September 7, 1969). "Seven Popes Linked by Church Crises". The Courier-Journal - via newspapers.com.
* Kirsch, Robert (September 19, 1969). "Balanced, Detached View of the Seven 'Bad' Popes". The Los Angeles Times - via newspapers.com.
* Hoyt, William D. (September 23, 1969). "Incredible years of 3 rival popes". The Boston Globe - via newspapers.com.
* Goedhart, Bernie (October 17, 1969). "Papal fallibility with a vengeance". Edmonton Journal - via newspapers.com.
* O'Brien, John A. (November 2, 1969). "(Books)". The South Bend Tribune - via newspapers.com.
* Tucker, William J. Jr. (November 4, 1969). "(Books)". St. Louis Post-Dispatch - via newspapers.com.
* Di Camillo, Kevin (November 26, 2019). "How Bad Were 'the Bad Popes?'". National Catholic Register.
* "The bad popes". Kirkus Reviews. June 1, 1969. Retrieved July 13, 2025.
* Kronenberger, Louis (July 1969). "The Bad Popes". The Atlantic. Retrieved July 13, 2025.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d Chamberlin, Russell (October 2003). The Bad Popes. Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0750933372.

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