Crises in the History of the Papacy: A study of twenty famous popes whose careers and whose influence were important in the development of the church and in the history of the worldMcCabe, Joseph
History
Crises in the History of the Papacy: A study of twenty famous popes whose careers and whose influence were important in the development of the church and in the history of the world
McCabe, Joseph
Catholic Church -- History; Papacy -- History
Two years butchery of men, women, and children had not yet broken the
spirit of the Albigensians, and at the beginning of 1213, the Legates
and Simon were dismayed to hear from Innocent that the crusade was
over, and the troops had better proceed against the Saracens; that
Raymond had not yet been legally convicted of heresy and murder, and
had not therefore forfeited his fief; that, in any case, Raymond's
sons, rather than Simon de Montfort, were his natural successors. Two
Bulls (January 17 and 18, 1213) and four letters in quick succession
apprised the miserable group that Innocent--largely owing to the
intervention of Pedro of Aragon--at length appreciated their misconduct
or had the courage to consult his better feelings. Unhappily, his
courage did not last long. They stormed Rome with their remonstrances,
and Innocent yielded. As, moreover, the King of Aragon failed in
his attempt to reduce them by arms, the cause of Raymond was utterly
lost and his territory was made over to Rome. To the end Innocent
wavered between his more humane feeling and the policy he had so
long countenanced. He refused to confirm the appointment of Simon as
sovereign (under Rome) of the whole territory, and when Arnold (who was
now Archbishop of Narbonne) quarrelled with Simon over the title of
Duke of Narbonne, he supported Arnold. At the Lateran Council, which
was to decide the issue, he made a plea for leniency to Raymond and
justice to his heirs, but he yielded to the truculent priests, and the
unhappy prince was cast aside with an annual pension of four hundred
marks. Innocent did not live to see the arrogant Arnold excommunicate
de Montfort, and the two Raymonds return and win back much of their
estate.
_Causa causæ est causa causati_, the schoolmen used to say. The Pope
who maintained Arnold of Citeaux, Foulques of Marseilles, and Simon de
Montfort in their positions when their characters were fully revealed,
and the whole of Europe knew the atrocities they committed, bears the
guilt of the massacre of the Albigensians.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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