The papal deposing power was the most powerful tool of the political authority claimed by and on behalf of the Roman Pontiff, in medieval and early modern thought, amounting to the assertion of the Pope's power to declare a Christian monarch heretical and powerless to rule.
Pope Gregory VII's Dictatus Papae (c. 1075) claimed for the Pope "that it may be permitted to him to depose emperors" (12) and asserted the papal power to "absolve subjects from their fealty to wicked men" (27).
Oaths of allegiance held together the feudal political structure of medieval Europe. The principle behind deposition was that the Pope, as the ultimate representative of God from whom all oaths draw their force, could in extreme circumstances absolve a ruler's subjects of their allegiance, thereby rendering the ruler powerless. In a medieval Europe in which all confessed the Pope as head of the visible Church, it gave concrete embodiment to the superiority of the spiritual power over the temporal—the other side, so to speak, of the role of Popes and bishops in anointing and crowning emperors and kings.
History
Some prominent papal depositions: No. Pope Monarch Monarchy Date of deposition Latin title of bull Link to Latin text English title of bull Link to English text Wording Outcome Reference 1. Pope Gregory VII King Henry IV Holy Roman Empire February 22, 1076 Beate Petre apostolorum princeps 'St. Peter, prince of the apostles' 'I now declare in the name of omnipotent God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that Henry, son of the emperor Henry, is deprived of his kingdom of Germany and Italy' Excommunication lifted following the Road to Canossa. 2. Pope Alexander III Emperor Frederick I Holy Roman Empire April 4, 1160 Pro illis tribulationibus :90–92 'For those tribulations''By the common counsel and will of our brethren, we absolve you all, both specially and collectively, from the fidelity which you have rendered to him, and from all debt of the empire, on the part of the Almighty God, and by the apostolic authority of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, so that you are no longer bound to obey him in any respect'Treaty of Venice in 1177 3. Pope Innocent III is said to have deposed King John Kingdom of England 1212, believes 'that Innocent ... had put the bulls decreeing [deposition] in Langton's possession when he visited Rome around Christmas 1212.' 4. Pope Gregory IX Emperor Frederick II Holy Roman Empire August 20, 1228 5. Pope Innocent IV Emperor Frederick II Holy Roman Empire July 17, 1245 apostolic letter Ad Apostolicae Dignitatis Apicem 'Raised, though unworthy, to the highest point of the apostolic dignity' 'Let those whose task it is to choose an emperor in the same empire, freely choose a successor to him. With regard to the aforesaid kingdom of Sicily, we shall take care to provide, with the counsel of our brother cardinals, as we see to be expedient' Great Interregnum 6. Pope Innocent IV King Sancho II Kingdom of Portugal July 24, 1245 papal bull Grandi non immerito 7. Pope Innocent IV King Manfred Kingdom of Sicily 1259 He was excommunicated again by Pope Urban IV in 1261 and eventually deposed and killed at the Battle of Benevento in 1266.8.Pope Martin IV King Peter III Kingdom of AragonMarch 21, 1283 De Insurgentis:53–66'The Insurgents''(W)e have deprived them of all the fees, goods and rights which they may hold from the same Roman or other Churches, privileges, indulgences and grails granted to them by the same See, under any form of words, by apostolic authority; their vassals shall be bound by the oath of fidelity, by which they may be held by the same penitents.'The crown was offered to Charles of Valois but the crusade against Aragon was unsuccessful.Philip Hughes, History of the Church: Volume 3: The Revolt Against The Church: Aquinas To Luther, Page 31, note 2; Page 32Emperor Michael VIIIByzantine EmpireThere had been attempts to restore the Latin Empire before but the War of the Sicilian Vespers (which triggered the bull) thwarted any plans. 9. Pope Boniface VIII intended to depose King Philip IV Kingdom of France September 8, 1303 Super Petri solio :182–186 'Upon Peter alone'Pierre Dupuy, Histoire du differend d'entre le pape Boniface VIII. et Philippes le Bel, roy de France, P182C. W. Previté-Orton, Cambridge Medieval History, Shorter: Volume 2, The Twelfth Century to the Renaissance, P774 10. Pope John XXII King Louis IV Holy Roman Empire March 23, 1324 Urget nos caritas sponse Christi :692–699 Louis IV would later be crowned emperor by the Roman people and install the antipope Nicholas V but Louis IV had to abandon Rome following a crusade. A second crusade failed to depose him and he stayed in power to his death. 11. Pope Urban VI Queen Joanna I Kingdom of Sicily (Naples) May 11, 1380 Dilectis filiis, populo, et universis Civibus Sorane Civitatis. :287f. 'To the beloved sons, the people, and all the citizens of city Sora.' '(W)e deprived her of whatever dignities, and honors, and kingdoms, and lands, which she obtained from the said Romans, and from any other Churches, and from the Roman Empire, and from any others; if they had sworn to the same Joanna, fealty, or bomage, or any other duty […] we absolved and decreed absolute' Charles of Durazzo conquered Naples but he himself got excommunicated in 1385. 12. Pope Julius II 'drew up a bull deposing' King Louis XII Kingdom of France March 20, 1512 Dilecte fili, salutem et apostolicam benedictionem 'My beloved son, health and apostolic benediction'James Corkery, Thomas Worcester (eds), The Papacy Since 1500: From Italian Prince to Universal Pastor, Page 19Ferrajoli, Un breve inedito di Giulio II per la Investitura del Regno di Francia ad Enrico VIII d’Inghilterra, Arch. della R. Societa Romana di Storia Patria, xix (Rome, 1896) PP 425 ff. 13. Pope Pius V Queen Elizabeth I Kingdom of England February 25, 1570 Regnans in Excelsis 'He that reigneth on high' '([W]e declare) her to be deprived of her pretended title to the ... crown and of all lordship, dignity and privilege whatsoever' 14. Pope Sixtus V King Henry III Kingdom of Navarre September 9, 1585 Ab immensa aeterni regis 'The authority given to St. Peter and his successors' Extracts from it are available at '[W]e deprive them and their posterity for ever, of their dominions and kingdoms' 15. Pope Urban VIII Duke Odoardo Farnese Duchy of Parma January 13, 1642 Odoardo was officially deprived of all his fiefs but the war continued and the pope had to lift the excommunication in 1644. There are cases where the pope invested an anti-king: No. Pope Monarch Anti-king Monarchy Date of coronation Wording Outcome Reference 1. Pope Formosus Emperor Lambert Arnulf of Carinthia Holy Roman Empire February 22, 896 'I swear by all these mysteries of God here present that, reserving only my own honor and law, and my loyalty due to the pope, Formosus, I am now, and all my life I shall be, faithful to the Emperor Arnulf. Never will I conspire against him in company of any other man; never will I aid Lambert, or Agiltrude his mother, to attain honor of this world [i.e.: imperial power]; nor will I through any device or argument deliver to either of them this city of Rome.' Arnulf took Rome and was crowned emperor but left after suffering a stroke. Formosus died the same year and his papacy was declared invalid after the Cadaver Synod. 2. Pope Innocent III Emperor Otto IV Frederick I of Sicily Holy Roman Empire September 1211 Otto IV was excommunicated on 18 November 1220 which caused princes to leave his side. His opponents elected Frederick as anti-king with papal backing. After the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, Otto's influence collapsed and Frederick was crowned king in 1215 in Aachen and crowned emperor in 1220. 3. Pope Innocent IV Emperor Frederick II Henry Raspe Holy Roman Empire May 22, 1246 Great Interregnum; died in 1247 4. Pope Innocent IV Emperor Frederick II William II of Holland Holy Roman Empire October 3, 1247 Great Interregnum; undisputed king 1254–1256 5. Pope Innocent IV King Conrad I Edmund of Lancaster Kingdom of Sicily May 14, 1254 The Sicilian business was ended in 1263 when the papacy searched for a new candidate to replace the Hohenstaufen. 6. Pope Clement IV King Manfred Charles I of Anjou Kingdom of Sicily January 5, 1266 Manfred was defeated and killed at the Battle of Benevento later that year. 7. Pope Martin IV King Peter III Charles of Valois Crown of Aragon 1284 The Aragonese Crusade failed and Charles renounced his claims in 1295 with the Treaty of Anagni. 8. Pope Urban VI Queen Joanna I Charles of Durazzo Kingdom of Sicily (Naples) 1381 Charles conquered Naples and ordered the murder of Joanna I. He himself got excommunicated in 1385. 9. Antipope Clement VII King Charles III Louis I of Anjou Kingdom of Naples May 30, 1382 Originally, Louis was installed as Duke of Calabria on March 3, 1382 and the goal was to restore Joanna I of Naples. Louis died in 1384 but the war was continued for decades by their successors either ending with either the Aragonese conquest or the Italian Wars more than a century later. 10. Pope Boniface IX King Sigismund Ladislaus of Naples Kingdom of Hungary August 5, 1403 With papal backing, Ladislaus was crowned in Zara but Sigismund was able to suppress the uprising. Sigismund had to abandon Bohemia allowing Wenceslaus to regain control. 11. Pope Martin V Queen Joanna II Louis III of Anjou Kingdom of Naples December 4, 1419 Louis was named by the pope as the heir to Naples without the consent of Joanna II. Louis used this claim to act as a pretender to the throne against Joanna II. Joanna II was forced adopt Alfonso V of Aragon. Eventually, Louis became the undisputed heir of Joanna II but he died before her so she appointed his brother René of Anjou shortly before her own death. Alfonso V rejected this and deposed René which was followed by the Italian Wars. 12. Pope Alexander VI King Frederick Louis XII of France Kingdom of Naples June 25, 1501 Apulia and Calabria was set to go to the Catholic Monarchs of Spain. The coalition collapsed starting the Third Italian War. 13. Pope Julius II 'drew up a bull deposing' King Louis XII Henry VIII of England Kingdom of France March 20, 1512 Never officially confirmed.
Later historical reception
Roger Widdrington The Oath of Allegiance (1606) formulated for James I of England contained a specific denial of the deposing power. It triggered the Catholic Roger Widdrington's opposition to the unconditional acceptance by Catholics of the deposing power. Widdrington instead used the language of probabilism from moral theology, claiming that the deposing power was only a 'probable' doctrine, not a matter of faith.John Bossy, The English Catholic Community (1603-1625), p. 93, in Alan G. R. Smith (editor), The Reign of James VI and I (1973).
Archbishop Thomas Maria Ghilini In a letter to the Archbishops of Ireland dated 14 October 1768, the papal legate at Brussels, Archbishop Thomas Maria Ghilini, wrote that "the doctrine [that 'no faith or promise is to be kept with heretics, or princes excommunicated; or that Princes deprived by the Pope, may be deposed or murdered by their subjects, or by any other person whatsoever'] is defended and maintained by most Catholic nations, and has been often followed in practice by the Apostolic See. It cannot therefore upon any account be declared 'detestable and abominable' by a Catholic, without incurring, by such declaration, the imputation of a proposition, rash, false, scandalous, and injurious to the Holy See."Latin text in English translation in Report from the select committee appointed to inquire into the nature, character, extent, and tendency of Orange Lodges, Associations, or Societies in Ireland; with the minutes of evidence and appendix, 1835, P 76