2. Pope John XII was so worldly that his residence was referred to as a brothel
Albeit many of the accusations of less than moral behavior on the part of John XII came from a political enemy, the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I, they were supported by priests and bishops within the Vatican. Many of the members of his court who observed him daily expanded on the reports of his preference for secular pleasure over clerical duty. He slept with his own father’s mistress, ordained bishops in return for money, gambled with dice and on sporting contests, and personally put out the eyes of his own confessor. The Papal Residence – the Lateran Palace – was in his day referred to as a brothel, and the pope was reported as being the seducer of married women, widows, and according to one of his contemporaries his own niece.
Pope John XII was not limited to sins of the flesh. He also was well known for ignoring his obligations as an ordained priest. Among his clerical sins, John XII was accused of ignoring various religious norms, including celebrating Mass without taking communion himself, or taking wine but not the host. His Papacy lasted nine years, during which he ordained a ten year old child as a bishop of the church to pay a gambling debt (bishops were landholders at the time). A legend has it that the Holy Father died while involved in a sexual encounter, possibly hastened to his reward by an enraged husband. He is buried at the Lateran Palace.