Well that does not make the whole church bad. I’m sorry that some abuse the call. Now tell me. Do you judge the church because of that.
A smattering of sins and indiscretions are human but when you have centuries of this type of thing happening on a large scale by the very men who claim to represent faith and morals to the laity makes me want to puke! Yes, I judge the church because of that!
About the blemishes in church history and the Catholic church’s assertion that there are both sinners and saints in the church. I agree, except that the guy running the church should be held to the standard of Scripture
1Ti 3:7 **And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. **1Ti 3:8 Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain,
1Ti 3:9 but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.
1Ti 3:10 These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if **they are beyond reproach. **
Let’s take a walk down memory lane shall we…
6 popes were actually installed by a pair of mother and daughter prostitutes: Theodora of Rome and her daughter Marozia who was the mistress of Pope Sergius III. After Sergius’ death came her other two damnable choices of Anastasius III (911-913) and Lando (913-914). This period is known in history as “The Rule of the Harlots.” History is full of sayings from these “holy” men such as: “The holiest hermit has his whore” and “Rome has more prostitutes than any other city because she has more celibates”
Pope John XII (955-963) was so involved in illicit sex that even though he had many mistresses it was known that it was no longer safe for a woman to visit St. Peter’s church in Rome!
A Catholic church historian Von Dollinger wrote: "the Roman church was enslaved and degraded with the Apostolic See (the Papal throne) became the prey and the plaything of rival factions of the nobles, and for a long time of ambitious and profligate women. It was only renovated for a brief interval (997-1003) in the persons of Gregory V and Silvester II, by the influence of the Saxon emperor.
Then the papacy sank back into the utter confusion and moral impotence; the Tuscan counts made it hereditary in their family; again and again dissolute boys, like John XII [age 16 when he became Pope] and Benedict IX [at age 11], occupied and disgraced the Apostolic throne, which was now bought and sold like a piece of merchandise…"
A number of popes were actually illegitmate sons of previous popes. Pope Pius II even declared that Rome was “the only city run by bastards” Pius himself admitted to fathering two illegitimate children while pope from two different women and one of them married at the time!
John XII (955-964) who I mentioned earlier became pope at age 16 ran a harem in the papal palace and lived a life of such evil that it staggers the imagination! He even toasted the devil in front of St. Peter’s altar! John even slept with his mother and any other woman he could get his hands on. Women were warned not to venture into St. John Lateran church because as Liutprand wrote:
“Women…fear to come and pray at the thresholds of the holy apostles, for they have heard now how John a little time ago took women pilgrims by force to his bed, wives, widows and virgins alike”
Me again. This is much more than just a little struggle with sin. These men didn’t struggle with it at all, they embraced it! These are supposedly the men who were leaders of the church? They are supposed to be men of dignity and above reproach yet they led lives that even pagans found scandalous!! How can anyone in their right mind take what these guys have said and passed off as doctrine and dogma as legitimate?
I’m not even going to go into the Catholic church’s partnership with Hitler in the Holocaust.
I gotta stop I’m getting ill.