Five of the Worst Popes in the History of the Church
Not all of the popes were saints
When you’re the person in charge, you’re never going to please everyone, even if you’re as affable a figure as Pope Francis. A recent Pew Research Center survey shows that 75% of American Catholics have a favorable opinion of the most famous Argentine not named Lionel Messi, which means 25% of Catholics view him unfavorably. For what it’s worth, the same survey reveals that large majorities of American Catholics support positions directly contrary to official Church doctrine, but that is an article for another time.
Many of those 25% who have an unfavorable view of Francis fill internet comment sections with screeds calling him the worst pope ever (among other far less charitable things). This only proves that they know nothing of the history of their own Church (much like they know nothing about history in general). Francis may not be St. Leo the Great, St. Gregory the Great, or St. John Paul II, but he’s not even close to one of the worst popes in the 2,000-year history of the papacy. Below are five of the worst popes ever; be glad we’ve got Francis and not any of them.
1. Pope Stephen VI (896–897). Let’s start with the pope who would fit in perfectly with our political climate in America today. Elected pope in May 896 after the 15-day papacy of…
