St. Peter's Basilica Was Built With
Unscriptural Based Indulgences
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Pope Leo X - Medal
Giovanni de’ Medici
Saint Peter condemned the very act of Indulgences which built the very building Catholics named Saint Peter's Basilica.
Pope Leo X was pope from March 1513 – December 1521. He wrote a papal bull “granting indulgences to all who should contribute to building of the new church of St. Peter.”1
Pope Leo X's indulgences are not Scriptural at all and were only used to make sinners feel good about themselves by giving money to pay for less punishment for sins they committed. The ironic thing is, when a man named Simon wanted to buy God’s power from Peter, in the Book of Acts, it was Peter who said it was evil to attempt to “buy” God’s power which is exactly how the popes raised their money to build a church dedicated to St. Peter who was against such practices. The Popes built the building that bears Peter’s name in complete blasphemy against God with money received in a way that was condemned by the very person they named the building after... St. Peter.
That is exactly how Satan works. He creates in the minds of evil men ideas totally against the Scriptures and then convinces millions of people to contribute to that lie. Scriptures are twisted to meet the evil man’s desires for fame, riches and/or power. Millions of people, even today, visit St. Peter’s Cathedral, a building God condemns because it was built with money made from blasphemy against God Himself and against Peter who preached against the very act that enabled Pope Leo X to complete the building of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Look with me at the passage of Scripture from Acts where St. Peter condemns the very act Pope Leo X committed.
Acts 8:18-23 NJK
18. Now when
Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy
Spirit was given, he offered them money,
19. saying, "Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands
may receive the Holy Spirit.''
20. But Peter said to him, "Your money perish with you, because you
thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!
21. "You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is
not right in the sight of God.
22. "Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps
the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.
23. "For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by
iniquity."
The same can be said of Pope Leo X. He was full of wickedness by fooling people into believing that they could buy any kind of lesser punishment for sins so that he could build a wicked building and dedicating it to St. Peter. St. Peter rebuked a man for doing exactly what Pope Leo X had done; trying to buy something only God can give. In Simon’s case, he wanted to buy the ability to lay his hands on men so they could receive the Holy Spirit. In Pope Leo X’s case, he offered that people’s sins would be forgiven or would have a lesser punishment if they gave to his cause which was a power he did not possess.
Pope Leo’s cause was St. Peter’s Basilica which was built with sinful money born from the deception that he had power to ease sin’s punishment, something only God can do. God never asked people to give money to ease the punishment of your sin. Only forgiveness from Jesus Christ will cleans a person from sin. Punishment for our sin is God’s decision and it is not in man’s power to cause God to do anything. Pope Leo was arrogant and evil in persuading so many people to believe a lie. That lie was indulgences. That is why he so fiercely fought against Martin Luther because Martin Luther wrote ninety-five theses against indulgences and posted them on the Catholic Church’s door.
To the Scholar:
For those who aspire to be or are true Bible/End Times scholars, below is the complete text of the Chronicles of the Popes, pages 407-411, covering the story of Pope Leo X for further and deeper study. Not just the Bible should be studied when studying the End Times or other Biblical topics. Many historical texts should be studied in parallel with the Bible to show clearly even more proof of the Bible topics.
The text below clearly outlines the life of Pope Leo X and how he granted indulgences as a ploy to build a monumental building. That building was St. Peter’s Basilica.
From the Chronicle of the Popes:
“CCXVIII. LEO X, A.D. 1513‑1521
Emperors: MAXIMILIAN 1, 1493‑1519; CHARLES V, 1519‑1558
GIOVANNI, son of the famous Lorenzo de' Medici, was elected pope by the College of Cardinals on 11th March 1513. He had been destined for the Church from a very early age, and at fourteen was made Cardinal‑deacon of S. Maria in Dominica by Pope Innocent VIII. Many important benefices were also conferred on him.
When the Medici were expelled from Florence in 1494, Giovanni fled in the habit of a Franciscan friar, and sojourned for some years in Germany, Holland, and France, not returning to Rome till 1500. Pope Julius II supported the Medici against the Florentines, and Giovanni was appointed as legate to accompany the papal army against the French. After the victory won at Ravenna by the French, in April 1512, Giovanni was taken prisoner. He, however, succeeded in making his escape, and after the recovery of Bologna by Julius II the Medici returned to Florence.
At his elevation to the papacy Cardinal de' Medici took the name of Leo X. His consecration took place on 17th March 1513, and on the festivities of his coronation he is said to have spent 100,000 ducats. The new Pope was only thirty‑seven years of age at the time of his elevation, but suffered from an incurable fistula. His stout, unwieldy body was supported on thin, weak legs, and his unusually large head, thick neck, fat face, and short‑sighted, protruding eyes, gave him an unpleasant appearance. This was, however, atoned for by his pleasant and courteous manner. His desire to enjoy a calm and peaceful pontificate caused him to adopt a shifting and dissimulating policy, and to ally himself with whichever side seemed in turn to offer the greatest advantages.
In 1513 Leo joined a league formed by England, Spain, and the Emperor Maximilian against France. Louis XII of France was determined to regain his rights over Milan, but his troops were defeated at the battle of Novara, in June 1513. This induced him to desire peace with the Pope, and he withdrew his support from the schismatic cardinals, who had assembled a council at Pisa in the previous pontificate. (Vide ante, P. 4o6.) These cardinals afterwards made full submission to Leo X.
In 1515 Louis XII died, and was succeeded by his son‑in-law, Francis I, who in September of the same year won a great victory over the Pope's Swiss allies at Marignano. By this victory Milan and all the cities of the Duchy were restored to France.
In spite of the remonstrances of the cardinals, the Pope now insisted on going to Bologna, and making an alliance with the victorious Francis I. By the treaty which was made between them, Leo X agreed to surrender the territories of Parma and Piacenza to Francis, who promised in turn to take the Church and the Medici under his protection. It was also agreed that the Pragmatic Sanction, a statute passed in 1438, to secure the liberty of the Gallican Church should be annulled. (Vide ante, p. 391.) In its place a concordat was drawn up, by which the King was to appoint to the French bishoprics, but the Pope was to receive the revenues of all vacant French benefices.
To make up for the loss of Parma and Piacenza, the Pope seized the territories of Francesco della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, and bestowed the Duchy on his nephew, Lorenzo de' Medici. Della Rovere afterwards reconquered his Duchy, but a prolonged war followed, and he was at length persuaded to give up all claims to it on condition that he might continue to enjoy his private property.
Pope Leo X had made bitter enemies among certain of the cardinals, and in 1517 a conspiracy was formed against his life. Cardinal Petrucci, the leader of this conspiracy, who had allied himself with Della Rovere, was arrested and imprisoned along with two other cardinals. Petrucci was executed, but the other two were pardoned after paying a heavy fine. The Pope afterwards created thirty‑one new cardinals on one day.
The Lateran Council, which had been assembled by Pope Julius II (P. 4o6), continued to sit under Leo X until March 1517, when it was dissolved by the Pope without any important reforms having been accomplished. But the cry for reform had long resounded from all parts of Christendom, and the failure of the Popes to respond was now to bring great trouble on the Church.
The great revolution known as the Reformation was not, however, entirely due to this cause, but was part of that wider intellectual movement known as the Renaissance which was now infused into religion. The issue by Leo X of a bull, granting Indulgences to all who should contribute to the building of the new church of St. Peter, begun under Julius II (q.v.), served to bring matters to a crisis.
Albert of Brandenburg, already Archbishop of Magdeburg, was made in addition Archbishop of Mainz, but had to pay a large sum for his installation. To enable him to discharge his obligations, Leo X gave permission for Indulgences to be sold in his territory. Half the sum thus collected was to go to the Archbishop, and the other half towards the building of St. Peter's. A friar named Tetzel was accordingly sent to Germany to sell these Indulgences. Martin Luther, an Augustinian friar, Professor of Divinity at the University of Wittenberg, objected to the traffic in Indulgences, and in October 1517 fixed ninety-five theses on the subject of Indulgences on the door of the Castle Church of Wittenberg. Copies of these theses were sent to all parts of Germany, and many agreed with Luther in condemning not only Indulgences, but many abuses which had long prevailed in the Church. Pope Leo X summoned Luther to Rome, but the Elector Frederick of Saxony had taken him under his protection, and persuaded the Pope to let him be examined at Augsburg by Cardinal Cajetan, the papal legate for Germany. Luther, however, refused to recant his opinions, and was charged with heresy. In 1520 the Pope issued a bull condemning Luther's doctrines, and ordering his books to be burned.
Luther now appealed to a general council, and burned the Pope's bull outside the walls of Wittenberg, in presence of a large crowd of people. In 1521 Luther appeared at the Diet of Worms, and in presence of the newly‑elected Emperor Charles V, and of many princes of the Empire, pleaded his cause, and again refused to recant. An edict of outlawry was pronounced against him, but the Elector of Saxony continued to protect him, and he was secretly conveyed to a castle in the Wartburg, where he remained in safety for more than a year. Meantime the Pope found himself powerless to stop the spread of the reformed doctrines throughout Germany.
In 1522,” (the text should read 1521), “Henry VIII of England wrote a Latin treatise on the seven Sacraments, in which he defended the doctrine and practices of the Roman Church against Martin Luther. A copy of this treatise was presented to Pope Leo X, who declared it to be the work of the Holy Spirit, and conferred on Henry the title of "Defender of the Faith."
On 8th May 1521, the same day on which the ban of the Empire was published against Luther, an alliance was signed between the Pope and Charles V. Leo agreed to pay half the sum required to maintain the Swiss troops, which were employed in the war against France. Charles engaged to restore Parma and Piacenza to the Church, after he had expelled the French, and to take Florence and the Medici under his protection. The Pope also promised to support Charles in the war against Venice, to crown him Emperor, and to invest him with the kingdom of Naples. Leo afterwards excommunicated the King of France, and threatened to depose him unless he surrendered Parma and Piacenza.
Pope Leo X spent his leisure in the enjoyment of art, music, and the drama. He revived the Roman University, which had declined under his predecessor, and was a liberal patron of artists and men of letters. He also caused large sums to be spent on works of charity. During this pontificate Raphael finished the decorations of the Vatican halls and prepared the cartoons for the tapestries of the Sistine chapel. He also painted the famous portrait of Leo X with the Cardinals de' Medici and Rossi. Poets and artists flocked to Rome from all quarters to seek the patronage of the Pope, who caused many valuable manuscripts to be added to the Vatican library.
Pope Leo X died suddenly of malaria on 1st December 1521. He was buried in a simple tomb in St. Peter's. In the pontificate of Paul III his remains were conveyed to the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, where a monument was erected to his memory.”2
1. A. E. McKilliam. A Chronicle of the Popes from St. Peter to Pius X. (London., G. Bell and Sons, LTD, 1912.), p. 409.
2. IBID. pp. 407-411.
Pope Leo X Medal - Reverse
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