en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_II
1 correction found
making him the first pope placed on the throne by the power of the German emperors.
Clement II was not the first pope elevated through German imperial influence. Gregory V had already been made pope in 996 after Otto III named his own chaplain Bruno for election.
Full reasoning
This claim is contradicted by earlier papal history. In 996, decades before Clement II, Otto III had already intervened in the papal succession by naming Bruno of Carinthia, who became Pope Gregory V.
Catholic reference works describe Gregory V as having been made pope at Otto III’s initiative: the Romans asked Otto whom they should elect, and Otto named Bruno. Since Gregory V reigned in 996–999, Clement II in 1046 cannot accurately be described as the first pope placed on the throne by the power of the German emperors.
A more accurate formulation would be that Clement II was one of the German reform popes promoted by Emperor Henry III, not the first pope to owe his elevation to German imperial power.
2 sources
- Gregory V | Catholic Answers Encyclopedia
On the death of John XV the Romans sent a deputation to Otto III and asked him to name the one he would wish them to elect... He at once mentioned his chaplain and relation, Bruno... This first German pope was consecrated May 3, 996.
- Gregory V, Pope | Encyclopedia.com
After the death of John XV... the emperor appointed his 24-year-old chaplain as pope and presented him to the Roman legation that had come to Ravenna (996).