17. Pope Paul III Had Sex With His Own Daughter
Paul III, Pope from 1534 until his death in 1549, took office when the papacy was at a nadir and encouraged reforms that saved the church. On the other hand, he was a corrupt pervert. Born Alessandro Farnese, he began his church career as a protege of Giovanni de Medici, the future pope Leo X. He ended up in Rome, where he pimped out his sister to become the mistress of the corrupt cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, the future Pope Alexander VI. When Borgia made him a cardinal, Farnese was mocked as “Cardinal Fregnese” (Cardinal Cunt), while his sister was mocked as “the Bride of Christ”.
Farnese continued his rise, and in 1534, he was elected pope, taking the name Paul III. He inherited a mess: the Protestant Reformation was growing, Italy had been ravaged by rampaging armies, and Rome had been recently sacked. To his credit, he stabilized the situation. On the other hand, he was notoriously corrupt, openly sold offices to the highest bidders, and took charge of Rome’s prostitutes, taking a cut of their earnings. He was also sexually promiscuous, with the added twist that his most notorious lover was his own daughter, Costanza Farnese.
