Francois Arnaud Quotes
Today, the Pope is only a religious figure. At the time of 'The Borgias,' he was also a political leader, a financial leader, and the head of an army. I think popes are much less relevant today than they were then.
"Exclusive Feature: Francois Arnaud." DA MAN Magazine, 13 June 2011.
At the time the Pope had secular, diplomatic relationship with many of the states of Europe:
Wycliffe, although a Roman Catholic, was an early reformist. He not only opposed the Pope vis a vis King Edward of England, but he went against church doctrine and printed the first English Bible. He was burned at the stake.
The Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope were at odds. The Pope had issued an edict staking out the powers of the Pope. King Henry called a conclave of clerics and deposed Pope Leo VII. The Pope Excommunicated Henry and deposed him as king and emperor. Civil war ensued, and finally they reached a compromise and accommodation with each other." Saint Hildebrand
The relationship between Irish Catholics and the organized priesthood has at times been contentious. Forced tithing to support clergy in a lifestyle that was greater than average, together with some corrupt priests and monks produced hostility from even many Catholics.
John Ilyitch Sergieff. The power of the leadership of organizations, religious and secular, has long been in contention. There are those who advocate the strong, very powerful executive such as Russia under the Czars and the Roman Catholic Church and those who prefer a weaker leader with very limited power such as the United States and the Russian Orthodox Church.
The letter was written at the behest of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The quotation appears to ratify the Pope’s unlimited power, but in actuality carves out an exception whereby the Pope’s authority might be challenged in the future. Specifically, it claims the Pope has not the authority to alter that which “by the word of God, has eternal validity.” Politically, this position put the pope in a box. By arguing against the proposition, the Pope would have to maintain that he should have the right to alter the word of God that had eternal validity which no pope wanted to state. By not challenging the doctrine, there was an opening by which the pope’s omnipotence could be challenged in the future.
Of all the Western Colonial Powers, Spain was the worst. They took the most from their possessions and contributed the least. Worst, they killed off almost all the indigenous people.
The clergy of the colonies were split on the American Revolution, but those clergy who supported the revolution made a huge contribution to the individual American’s intellectual view of the legitimacy of Parliament’s making laws governing the American Colonies. The anti-British clerics called for action while other forces of colonial America urged caution.
The Christian Roman Empire was split in two—a Western (Latin) Empire led by the Roman Catholic Church in Rome, and the Eastern (Greek) Roman Empire led by the Orthodox Church headquartered in Constantinople (Byzantium). The two churches were not only in a theological conflict but violence broke out and the armies of the two religious empires attacked each other now and then. In 1439, leaders of the two versions of Christianity met in Florence, and they agreed to reunuion in which the Eastern Orthodox would again acknowledge the authority of the Pope. This was not a popular agreement with the majority of the Eastern Orthodox people and some of the clerical leadership. Constantine, realizing that he did not have pubic support at home for the end to the schism and the acceptance of the authority of the Pope, kept stalling on officially announcing and implementing the unity treaty. The Pope’s patience was wearing thin. Constantine did not adhere to ther treaty and the two churches have been apart ever since.
Pippin had the opportunity of expanding his empire by conquering the Lombards whose cavalry he could use if and when the Saracen Muslims would invade again. But he would be seizing another Christian country, contrary to the Pope’s edicts, thus losing the blessings of the Pope. Hence the question. He decided to go for the cavalry. Later, Joseph Stalin asked the same question in much different context. See {627524}. Some historians question whether Pippen actually uttered the quotation or just considered it.
François Landriault-Barbeau, known professionally as François Arnaud, is a Canadian film and television actor. He is best known for his work as Cesare Borgia on Showtime's period drama series The Borgias, Manfred Bernardo on NBC's Midnight, Texas, and Tommy Castelli on UnReal.
