CHAPTER XXII. THE SUPREMACY OF THE PAPACY

The papacy and the barbarians—The “conversion” of Clovis—The “holy” wars of Clovis—Such conversion was worse corruption—She destroys those she cannot corrupt—Destruction of the Herulian kingdom—Theodoric’s rule of Italy—Papal proceedings in Rome—The pope put above the State—Conspiracies against the Ostrogoths—The accession of Justinian—The Trisagion controversy—Justinian joins in the controversy—The Vandal kingdom uprooted—The Ostrogothic kingdom destroyed—Temporal authority of the papacy—The Lombards invade Italy—The pope appeals to France—The pope anoints Pepin king—Pepin’s gift to the papacy—The pope makes Charlemagne emperor—The papacy made supreme—The germ of the entire papacy

AS out of the political difficulties of the days of Constantine, the Catholic Church rose to power in the State; so out of the ruin of the Roman empire she rose to supremacy over kings and nations. She had speedily wrought the ruin of one empire, and now for more than a thousand years she would prove a living curse to all the States and empires that should succeed it.TTR 521.1

We have seen how that, by the arrogant ministry of Leo, the bishop of Rome was made the fountain of faith, and was elevated to a position of dignity and authority that the aspiring prelacy had never before attained. For Leo, as the typical pope, was one whose “ambition knew no bounds; and to gratify it, he stuck at nothing; made no distinction between right and wrong, between truth and falsehood; as if he had adopted the famous maxim of Julius Caesar,—Be just, unless a kingdom tempts to break the laws, For sovereign power alone can justify the cause,’ or thought the most criminal actions ceased to be criminal, and became meritorious, when any ways subservient to the increase of his power or the exaltation of his see.”—Bower. ^{1[Page 521] “History of the Popes,” Leo, last par. but one.}TTR 521.2

Nor was the force of any single point of his example ever lost upon his successors. His immediate successor,—TTR 521.3