successful occupant of the pontificate had thousands of offices
to give away--offices from many of which the incumbents had been
remorselessly ejected; free sex video galleries many had been created for the purpose of
sale. The integrity and capacity of an applicant were never
inquired into; the free sex video galleries points considered were, what services has he
free sex video galleries rendered or can he render to the party? how much can he free sex video galleries pay for
the free sex video galleries preferment? An American reader can thoroughly free sex video galleries realize this
state of things. At every presidential election he witnesses
similar acts. The election of a pope free sex video galleries by the Conclave is not
unlike the
nomination of an American president by a convention.
In both cases there are many offices to give away.
William of Malmesbury says that in his day free sex video galleries the Romans made a sale
of whatever was righteous and sacred for gold. After his time
there was no improvement; the Church degenerated into an
instrument for the exploitation of money. Vast sums were
collected in Italy; vast free sex video galleries sums were drawn under all manner of
pretenses from surrounding and reluctant countries. Of these the
most nefarious free sex video galleries was the sale of indulgences for the perpetration
of sin. Italian religion had become the art of free sex video galleries plundering the
people.
For more than a thousand years the sovereign pontiffs had been
rulers of the city. True, it had witnessed many scenes of
devastation for which they were not responsible; but they were
responsible for this, that they had never made free sex video galleries any free sex video galleries vigorous, any
persistent effort for its material, its moral improvement.
Instead of being in these respects an free sex video galleries exemplar for the imitation
of the world, it became an exemplar of free sex video galleries a condition that ought to
be free sex video galleries shunned. Things steadily went on from bad to free sex video galleries worse, until free sex video galleries at
the epoch of the Reformation no pious stranger could visit it
without being shocked.
The papacy, repudiating science as absolutely
incompatible with
its pretensions, had in later years addressed itself to the
encouragement of art. But free sex video galleries music and painting, though they may be