mistress of the vatican.pdf - End Time Deception

Mistress of the Vatican
new pope if they were not permitted to bestow their munificence on
his nephews?
France and Tuscany found themselves in a similar perplexity. Knowing
that the new pontiff was incorruptible, Cardinal Mazarin and the
Medici duke had amassed large amounts of gold to bribe the pope’s
family members to influence him. Now they had sacks of gold sitting
around their embassies collecting dust, and they didn’t know what to do
with them.
The relatives of past popes—the Ludovisis, Borgheses, Barberinis,
and Pamphilis—were aghast that this new incorrupt system made them
all look like crooks. If Alexander refused to enrich his relatives at the
expense of the poor, what did that say about them? Plus, if the new pope
didn’t bring his relatives to Rome, there would be no marriages to bind
them all together so he couldn’t throw them in jail.
Many prelates looking to rise in the church were disturbed at having
to do so on merit alone; bribes and personal connections were so much
easier. Minor courtiers hoping to serve in the households of papal relatives
as secretaries, masters of ceremonies, and gentlemen-in-waiting
were furious at the lack of new job openings.
Rome’s service industries were also unhappy at the shocking news
that the pope was keeping his family firmly in Siena. Papal relatives
bought carriages, furniture, jewels, and clothing; they hired servants,
architects, painters, sculptors, and gardeners. They threw elaborate parties
to the delight of bakers, butchers, and grocers. They held opera
performances to the benefit of actors, singers, and stage-set designers.
Nepotism provided an important boost to the Roman economy.
But Cardinal Girolamo Grimaldi, for one, was delighted that the
new pope was opposed to nepotism. He had done some calculations and
found that there were only enough church properties left for two more
papal families to steal.
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