When John XII was elected Pope in the year 955, it must have been one of those days in which the Almighty was looking the other way or confused with other tasks, because, otherwise, it is not understood. Perhaps the fact of being elected at the young age of 18 had something to do with it -too many cases today in which power and money have spoiled promising careers-, but the fact is that since the beginning of the pontificate had a love-hate relationship with Emperor Otto I , in which both involved third parties at their convenience. Otto I, fed up with his ups and downs, planted himself in Rome urging the Pope to stop playing with him and, furthermore, to change his licentious and depraved behavior. And as cowards and the guilty usually do… he fled himself. Faced with this situation, Otto I convened a synod to judge the Pope in absentia for accusations of adultery, murder, perjury, simony (purchase or sale of ecclesiastical positions, sacraments, relics...) and everything else you want to add. The Pope replied with a letter in which he said:
I, as Pope, am only subject to the judgment of God. I excommunicate all those present…
He was convicted on all counts and it was decided to appoint Leo VIII as the new Pope. . Incomprehensibly, John XII still had many supporters within Rome and a year later he managed to return triumphant. Rome recovered the greatest exponent of lust and, now, of revenge:it excommunicated Leo VIII and ordered the hands, ears and noses of all those attending the synod to be cut off. But he made a mistake:sleeping with a married woman. That poor woman was not surrendered to the charms of the Pope, nor did she fall in love with her because of her poems or the bouquets of flowers that she gave her, if she ever did, she simply threatened to excommunicate her if she did not agree. to meet her needs. While the Pope was sinning against the sixth commandment, her husband surprised them. He, without taking into account who was desecrating the altar of her wishes, began to beat him up. Such was the beating, that John XII died three days later from the injuries he sustained... it was the year 964 and they say that he is still wandering through Purgatory and that he has set up a massage parlor.
Regarding these years, Liutprand , Bishop of Cremona, wrote:
Hunting on horses in gold trappings, they feasted richly with the dancers when the hunt was over, and retired with these shameless whores to beds with silk sheets and gold covers and embroidery. All the Roman bishops were married, and their wives made silk robes of the sacred vestments.
Source:Of the human and the divine