Pilgrimage

[Pontifex Maximus]

While the war raged back in England, Cardinal Bourchier traveled to Rome. He was far too late to take part in the Conclave that elected Giovanni Chibo as Pope Innocent VIII, but he could still request a Papal audience nonetheless. One he was in the city he made his way to Vatican Hill, speaking with some certain colleagues, but ultimately here for some weeks in order to participate within the Curia and appeal to the Pope.

[Barry Goldwater]

Pope Innocent the Eighth grants Canterbury his desired audience. This new Pope was a rotund man who clearly liked food, but his dress was fairly austere and his eyes burned with a genuine fervor; despite his vices (as demonstrated by his great belly and two illegitimate children) and willingness to play politics, he does seem to be a truly religious and idealistic man at heart. After all, it is said that Innocent already has a papal bull against witches in the works, and he is known to be favorably inclined towards Grand Inquisitor Tomas de Torquemada of Castile & Aragon.

"Cardinal Bourchier. What brings you to Rome?" Innocent asks tersely in his sonorous voice after waving Bourchier forward. He was a little wary; this particular Bourchier's uncle had been involved in a bitter feud with Francis O'Neill, the previous Archbishop of York, that raged for a decade and helped cost Margaret Percy her crown, ending only when O'Neill killed himself. And more recently, he'd also heard that Canterbury had gotten mixed up in a feud with the Queen Regent Elizabeth Woodville, who he excommunicated and whose capital he'd placed under interdict for some time. England was a troublesome province for the Church as of late, it seemed.

[Pontifex Maximus]

Cardinal Bourchier humbled himself before the throne of St. Peter, Kissing the Pope's ring and remaining in subservience to his throne. Chibo had been an individual keenly obvious to Bourchier, someone who by Italian politics would be a shoe in the for Papal throne. "Holy father, I can express my regrets at missing the conclave that so righteously, and through the aid of the Holy Spirit, ordained thee the Successor of St. Peter. I do not deny that it would have been a miraculous even indeed." Bourchier feigned. He knew the Papal Curia and succession was as always a cut throat affair, often influenced by those of fringe loyalties coming to Rome to cast their votes. the Cardinal of England would be such a vote, and if Chibo, an alcoholic and fornicator, expected to pass his papal tiara to his son (though at this juncture not legitimately acknowledged) he would need support. "though I am agreived to report that the King of England's Mother, Elizabeth Woodville, is a woman determined to erode the church's authority in England. Her excommunication, although not officially sanctioned by yourself, Holiness, has been ignored for a period of over a year. the Royal court of England, in fact, has shut its doors to the church, and no ordained clergy, myself or otherwise, had been admitted to court in over one year. I fear it means the Queen, acting as regent, has the church off from the governance of the Kingdom of England. I take this, in addition to thy most holy declaration ragarding witchcraft in Germania, with the utmost seriousnessness. Holy father, I admit...I am afraid. Your guidance is needed in these dark times to illuminate the way. I implore you to guide me in administering to England..."

ooc: it is understood that a 'gift' between 100 and 2,000 pounds will be given to the Pope for his favor in this regard, whether it be interpreted as a favor or not to the Archbishop.

[Barry Goldwater]

"I have been informed that the Bishop of Exeter, one Peter de Courtenay, was already appointed by the English Queen Mother to replace you as the kingdom's Lord Chancellor; if this woman, this Queen Dowager Woodville, wanted to erode the authority of the Holy Mother Church among the English, appointing a bishop to serve as the realm's supreme judge hardly seems like the way to go about it. Moreover churches in England have yet to be taxed, monasteries are not being despoiled, priests outside of London are not prevented from ministering to their flocks..." The Pope answered with a sigh, leaning back and rubbing his temples with one hand. "I have never met this Queen Regent, but I would imagine a woman who managed to win her crown at a trial ordered by my predecessor - even taking the appalling conduct of her opponent's chief representative, the suicide Francis O'Neill, into account - cannot possibly have been stupid enough to shut the Church out entirely."

"Please speak plainly, Bourchier." Innocent raised his eyes to meet Canterbury's and steepled his hands. "Are you engaged in a feud with Elizabeth Woodville? And if so, why? I don't approve of her expelling you from your office in government, obviously, but I would like to think she has to have done worse than that to merit the placement of an interdict on London. What could have been worth depriving so many other souls, unrelated to the Queen herself, of the sacraments?" The Pope repressed a sigh and soldiered on. "You ask for my guidance, and I will be happy to give it, but firstly I require a full measure of the situation in England and its severity. From its very roots, if you please." Innocent had thought, or rather hoped, the English church's troubles would have ceased after the trial and the downfall of O'Neill, but it seemed he would now be drawn into a mess involving a queen and the Archbishop of Canterbury as his predecessors had been.

[Pontifex Maximus]

Bourchier nodded. "Holy Father, I believe O'Neill is part of the reason for this undermining of the Church in England. Frankly, my predecessor was a disaster and the Church lost much prestige as a result. Therefore I am of the opinion that the Church cannot be allowed to suffer any more maladies as a result of royal action, within certain bounds. After my brother's sudden arrest, I agreed to visit the Queen on his behalf and inquire as to the nature of the charges. When I made my way to court, I was barred from the palace and publicly insulted. At this point in time, no feud existed. I was going about official business as Lord Chancellor and was insulted in my official capacities of that office and as a Prince of the Church. No explanation was given, though I had heard from various sources that the Queen and her cronies were gathering evidence of witchcraft, either legimtate or fabricated, to use against her enemies. Since no trial resulted but the evidence was deemed sufficient to justify execution, I can only surmise that articles of sorcery were involved. The Queen, thus far, has successfully been able to advance the excuse that all my actions are the result of a feud. After many days of prayer, I decided to abandon the interdict, perhaps that was an overreaction driven merely by my own dislike of the woman, but I do believe that given all the evidence, excommunication is justified. Within the last year, the woman has made no efforts to reconcile herself in any form. This is further evidence of my reasonable and justified suspicions of her malfeasance.

I must ask this: if this is merely a fued between families, why would I impose an interdict on a city containing my brother and deny him divine succour as well? I was not motivated by family concerns, but concerns of the church and the dignity of my office. My brother was killed during the period of interdiction, denied of all sacraments.

[Pontifex Maximus]

Bourchier took a breath and continued "Lastly, the king has pardoned my brother which would have ended any feud between our families. Yet the issue at hand has not been redressed, that of the Queen Regent's flagrant disregard for the authority of the church."

[Barry Goldwater]

"If the King has pardoned your brother, I assume he must believe that your brother's execution in turn must have been ill-founded." The Pope replies, after considering Bourchier's words. "He must now wield true power in England, if he can pardon a man whose death his mother arranged. That would imply he does not believe in whatever evidence she managed to conjure up to damn him and thus, he does not entirely believe her, no?"

"Do you believe it possible to persuade this King Edward to, in turn, compel his mother to reconcile herself to the Church?" Innocent preferred not to antagonize the monarchs of Europe, but rather to work with them in a broader effort to rebuild the Church's power and prestige after the disasters that were the Avignon Papacy and the Western Schism - as he had done in Iberia, where he had encouraged the growth of the Spanish Inquisition and formed strong ties with Tomas de Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor. If there was still a way to get this stubborn Queen Mother to back down and make a show of repentance entirely though the powers of persuasion, and (even better) to keep the door open to some sort of English Inquisition in the future, well the Pope would clearly prefer that over forcing the matter by personally adding on to Bourchier's excommunication of her with his own, or some even more extreme measure.

[Pontifex Maximus]

"I believe I may be able to apply such pressure, Holiness." The Archbishop could always use his funds to influence matters, among other things. "One last matter, Holiness. I seek your permission to establish a bishopric in Gloucester. Gloucester Cathedral has been in construction for over three centuries now, and I believe that God has called upon me to aid the people of Gloucester in finishing the project once and for all. I will provide the proper financing to complete the Cathedral."

[Barry Goldwater]

"Excellent, I am glad to hear it. Naturally I shall grant you authorization to establish this new bishopric, Bourchier." Pope Innocent responds, visibly pleased at this news from Gloucester.

[Pontifex Maximus]

Humphrey bowed low. "It is a pleasure to serve, Most Holy Father." he said as he removed himself from the Presence. Should the Lord seek more service from thine throne, I am but a thrall so the will of the Holy Spirit." He finished