Pope John XII

“During these repressions, John XII died suddenly. He was found dead in the home of one of his mistresses. According to the medieval historian Liutprand, the pope was murdered by Satan. Modern church historians believe that the hand of one of the betrayed men was enough.”

“John XII's debauched life prompted the emperor to travel again to Rome, where at the synod of December 6, 963, the pope was solemnly anathematized and deprived of all rights.”

“Pope John XII was the most depraved bishop ever to head the Church; His conduct was in complete contradiction to the principles of Christian ethics. He was hypocritical, cruel and thoughtless - he was the embodiment of the papal "pornocracy" of the first half of the tenth century. His insatiable lasciviousness eventually led him to a miserable downfall.”

“The twenty-year-old son of Alberic II, Octavian, after his election, took the name John. A debauched young man, eager for fun and adventure, he exchanged the Lateran, the papal palace, for a house of trysts.”