A Pope (1294-1303) who declared, on February 22, 1300 a Jubilee — a Holy Year — to celebrate the new centenary of Christ’s birth granting pardon for all the sins of those who reverently visited the churches of St. Peter and St. Paul during the Holy Year. He had a noted flair for pomp and circumstance. In 1296 Boniface had issued a "Clericis laicos," a document threatening excommunication for any lay ruler who taxed the clergy and any churchman who paid those taxes without papal consent. Boniface eventually backed down due to the resistance of Kings Edward and Phillip. He later earned even greater opposition from the king of France when he issued the "Unam Sanctum," a decree stating that all men were ultimately subject to the Roman pontiff. This adversarial relationship eventually led to his death at 86 when he was severely humiliated by French troops in his own hometown.
[tags]BlogRodent, Boniface, Boniface-VIII, church-history, ChurchRodent, history, Peter[/tags]
