Page:The Church, by John Huss.pdf/231

Rh (5) A. D. 907903 [sic] Pope Leo presided, and against him rose up Christophorus.

(6) A. D. 968964 [sic] a synod of bishops was collected from all Italy, and Pope John was disgraced for nefarious crimes, and, because he excused himself and delayed to come, another, Leo, up to that time a layman, was made pope by a unanimous election and with the emperor's consent. And so Leo performed ordinations and did other acts which were apostolic. Not long afterward the Romans, proving faithless to the emperor, received Pope John. He assembled a synod and deposed Leo and set aside his acts, and it was decreed by Leo that the synod was not to be called a synod but a brothel because it favored adultery. Whoever, therefore, were condemned by his decree were commanded to present his proscription of them in a writing containing these things, "My father had nothing for himself, gave nothing to me," and so these remained deposed from those positions which they had who had not been ordained by Leo. This Pope John was found lying with a man's wife, was struck through during the commission of adultery, and died without the Lord's viaticum.

(7) It happened that the Romans—violating the oath which they had made to the emperor never to elect a pope without his consent or the consent of his son Otto—made Benedict pope. But the emperor, besieging Rome, so afflicted the Romans that they promised to receive Leo as pope, and so Benedict was dismissed.