Who needs the Pope anyway..

[TurtleMerc]

So I just started my first ever H/H and first ever mod (SS)..
I've been reading about how much more your actions effect how others react to you in H/H and SS so I've been trying to keep my nose clean, especially with other infidels (lol). I'm England and got attacked by the Scots. I was very happy because I was waiting for them to strike first so I can annihilate them... however, as soon as I took over their first town (turn 21) the Pope sends me a stern letter demanding that I quit picking on the weak bastard or I'm going to be excommunicated (ugh..). On vanilla playing M/M I would just pretend the popes letters went in my spam folder and I'd roll through the other nations anyway... but now with the extra difficulty and realism I'm unsure..
So my question is should I just "purify" my island now and deal with the excommunication? Or is the impact going to be severe enough (long and short term) that I should wait out the probation and then try to take out the remaining two settlements in one fell swoop?

[recentiy03]

FWIW, SS has its own forum (54 people currently viewing, compared to 43 here): http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=314

But, as for your question, even on H/H, if you're playing as England, the Pope won't impact the game as drastically as he would if you were playing as a continental faction. The English Channel is pretty much the best natural defense in the game. When you begin to expand into France then it'll matter more, but it's still not the same as playing as Genoa or Venice.

[Christonikos]

Check Pope's age! If he is ready to die, even if you become excommunicated, the new pope will take you back.