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Orgies, Incest & More: 15 Biggest Vatican Scandals
Holy Moly
How does Pope Benedict’s resignation rank among the Vatican’s most embarrassing scandals?
Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty
Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty
Benedict XVI Resigns, 2013
Pool photo by Alessandra Tarantino
Pedophilia in the American Church, 2001-present
Patricia McDonnel/AP
Vatican Commission Endorses Birth Control—Then Pope Takes It Back, 1960s
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Pope Pius XII and Holocaust, 1940s
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Secret Papers Published, 1869-70
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Church Denies Galileo and Science in General, 1600s-1992
AP
Pope Leo X and Indulgences, 1513-1521
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Pope Julius II Charged With Lewd Sex Acts, 1511
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Alexander VI, the Worst Pope Ever, 1492-1503
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Innocent VIII and the Golden Age of Bastards, 1484-92
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Sixtus IV Has Child With His Sister, 1470s
Craig Litten/AP
Pope John XII Allegedly Murders Men, Turns Papal Palace into Whorehouse and More, 955-64
The Print Collector/Corbis
Pope Stephen VI Tries His Dead Predecessor, 896-97
Hulton Archive/Getty
Pope Joan, the First Woman Pope, Est. 800
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