Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Wayne glanced contentedly at Mostima, who was lost in thought, and then took his leave of the inn.

The objective has been achieved.

Next, let Sister Broca of St. John's Cathedral and the Lateran Church make their own calls.

Wayne may not know what Broca's faith was, but as long as he knows that it was faith, that's enough.

As the most wicked conman in the history of Victoria and Lateran, destined to be recorded in history, he had ways to make believers and the faith itself fight each other.

Let's wait until the time is right before letting her take the role for real.

Perfectly, Wien and this era both need a "Martin Luther".

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Expulsion from the Church

Lateran, Papal Palace, 8:00 am.

Maintaining mystery is a necessary condition for ensuring the authority of the gods and the church. Therefore, the pope does not preside over morning prayers on weekdays, and as the symbol of the entire Lateran religion, he generally does not appear in front of believers except on major holidays.

So, despite being the leader of the entire religious system, he unexpectedly found himself living like an ordinary nonbeliever at eight o'clock in the morning, a time that was portrayed as sacred. He slowly woke up from his bed and then began to eat breakfast.

However, before he could even pick up his knife and fork from the bread and ham on the table, the silence in the dining room was broken by a rapid knocking on the door. The Pope frowned, stuck his fork into a slice of bread, spread some sweet jam on it, and instructed the silent waiter beside him:

"Go and see. If there's nothing important, report back to the bishops' conference."

The Pope is not an idle person. Although as the representative of theology he does not need to be busy with all theological matters, secular affairs are inseparable from him. Meeting with leaders of various countries and making decisions on the development of the Church are all things that he needs to do. As for some minor matters, they are naturally handed over to the College of Cardinals under his command.

The waiter bowed, quickly left the restaurant, and less than a minute later returned, bending down beside the Pope and whispering in his ear:

"It is the Archbishop of Urbino."

"It's him again." The Pope clicked his tongue in a muffled voice. "Fine, let him in."

The waiter beckoned to the door, and the guard at the door, who was armed with a gun, dressed in a black robe, and whose face was covered by a black mask, stepped aside and let Urbino in.

The newly promoted archbishop, dressed in red, strode to the pope's side, his face showing trepidation. Upon seeing the pope, he immediately began speaking rapidly and incessantly:

“Your Majesty, I did not mean to disturb your time for Holy Communion, but this is a matter that only someone as wise as you could make a decision!”

"There are countless things that require my decision-making. Do I have to do everything? What was the point of establishing the College of Cardinals then? And what was the point of appointing you as a cardinal?"

"Ah, this..."

Seemingly taken aback by the Pope's response, Urbino looked slightly embarrassed, but he still gritted his teeth and replied:

“You’re right, but because of the importance of this matter, two-thirds of the cardinals have agreed to seek your advice directly. This matter concerns the future development of Lateran in Victoria… no, in the entire Terra.”

The Pope, who had already placed the bread in his mouth, suddenly stopped. He slowly put the bread down, turned around, looked at Urbino, and showed an interested expression:

"what happens?"

The mockery on his face seemed to be saying to Urbino: Come on, let me hear what new tricks you've come up with for me this time.

Could the Lateran religion threaten the future of the entire Terra? The Pope's first reaction would certainly be disbelief. How vast is the Lateran religion? Its followers are spread throughout Terra, with hundreds of thousands in Iberia alone, which it directly controls. The Holy City sees tens of millions of pilgrims annually. It can be said that, on the entire Terra, apart from the insignificant religion of the demon race in Kazdel, which can be considered like ants, any other faith is insignificant compared to the Lateran religion!

They hold a monopoly—in faith, in spirit, in theological systems—who can threaten their development? The Anglican Church of Victoria?

Ha, that's just the passion of one generation. Once Vina dies, the Holy Anglican Church, having lost its royal support, will immediately be annexed by Laterano. It's not worth mentioning at all.

Looking at the apprehensive Urbino, he was ready to give him a good talking-to about the true value of an internationally renowned church!

Urbino bowed his head respectfully and reported:

"This is an urgent communication from Lord Mostima, the commander of the special operations in Victoria."

Urbino's words caused the Pope to frown slightly.

He knew Mostima better than anyone. As the Pope's front man, she had handled countless matters behind the scenes that were inconvenient to be revealed. It was hard to imagine what could surprise her or even force her to send back an urgent communication.

and.....

The Pope glanced at the calendar on the wall.

Today is March 10th, 1092 in the Terra calendar. There are only five days left until the originally scheduled communication date of March 15th. If things are not particularly urgent, given Mostima's lazy attitude towards small matters but meticulous attitude towards important ones, he would probably delay communicating with Laterano until the 15th, even if he had to. In the last communication on February 15th, Mostima's report was still "everything is normal".

What exactly happened in that short month?

"Read!"

The Pope formally put down his knife and fork, and sat up straight.

Urbino took a breath and slowly began to speak:

"Regarding the report of the defection from St. John's Cathedral in Victoria, according to my assessment, Mostima, the danger level is extremely high. The reasons are as follows: First, Sister Broca of St. John's Cathedral has extremely dangerous ideas and has made statements that could shake the foundations of the Lateran Catholic Church's rule—'Justification by Faith'..."

Upon hearing this word, the Pope trembled slightly, and his face turned grim.

The next second, he raised his hand, signaling all the waiters and maids in the restaurant to step back, instructing the black-robed guards to lock the door, and then looked at Urbino again, saying each word slowly and deliberately:

"Now, read the report to me in detail."

.........

"How is it, Archbishop Urbino?"

In the main hall of the Papal Palace, Cardinal Andrius was the first to greet Urbino as he emerged from the dining room. All the cardinals who knew about this, except for two who were still stationed in Ursus and Letania, and one who was on a special mission personally assigned by the Pope and whose whereabouts were rarely seen, had already gathered in the hall.

Seeing Urbino's furrowed brows and gloomy expression, everyone knew that the seriousness of the matter meant it could not be easily dismissed.

Seeing Urbino remain silent, Andrius had no choice but to urge him once more:

"What did His Holiness the Pope say? What are his plans?"

Urbino raised his head, held his breath, took out a rolled-up scroll from his large red robe, sighed, and slowly unrolled it.

On this thick sheet of paper, made of precious parchment, were only four large characters in the Pope's own handwriting.

[Expelled from the church].

Chapter Thirty: With so many virtues, you still say you're not a mole?

Expelled from the church

The cardinals, who had been making a ruckus just moments before, fell silent instantly, as if the words on the parchment before them were a spell with the power to silence.

Expulsion from the church—none of those present were inexperienced pastors; they knew perfectly well the power of those words.

Clerical membership is like a believer's ID card; it's fundamental to determining whether someone has a place in the Lateran Catholic world. With membership, you can be called a believer and enter monasteries, churches, and all Lateran-related buildings for spiritual practice. Without membership, you're an unregistered person, unable not only to enter churches for prayer and worship but also unable to publicly identify yourself as a member of the Catholic Church, unless you want to be investigated by religious authorities.

For ordinary people, church membership is dispensable; they are not religious and have very few connections with churches in their lives. But for religious people, church membership is their lifeline. Even homeless people in the city will feel a sense of belonging to the church because of their church membership.

This is how Laterano has long maintained its independence from the other nations of Terra and has won over the hearts and minds of its people.

What constitutes expulsion from the church?

Rather than an ordinary act, this is more like an insult, symbolizing that the excommunicator is no longer worthy of divine favor or the protection of the church. The excommunicator is morally corrupt, commits all kinds of evil, and does not deserve forgiveness after death. He should go to hell to be with lava, sulfur, and Satan.

This is essentially tantamount to sentencing a believer to death; it is a true weapon that causes a person's "social death."

The cardinals looked at each other, speechless.

They had considered what actions His Holiness the Pope might take: perhaps sending someone to Victoria to assassinate Sister Broca, or perhaps contacting His Highness Wayne, his good friend in Lateran, to have him kidnap "The Blasphemer" Broca and bring her to Lateran for trial. They even considered whether to launch a religious Cold War, using the vast influence of Lateran Catholicism to completely extinguish the newly ignited flame of Anglicanism.

But I never imagined that His Holiness the Pope would directly order the expulsion of all Anglican clergy, as well as Anglican believers, casual believers, and frivolous believers!

It's important to understand that, whether in Victoria or elsewhere in the world, the core followers of Lateranism are actually not that numerous. The claimed millions of believers are mostly casual pilgrims who believe intermittently or those who subscribe to multiple faiths. Those in Victoria who go to Anglican monasteries to pray aren't necessarily truly embracing a false religion or a false god. They may simply be drawn by the "practical" reasons such as the Anglican monastery providing bread for breakfast, hosting lunch gatherings, and arranging open-air cinemas after dinner, or simply because praying there involves fewer formalities and is less troublesome.

Are they loyal to the Anglican Church?

Not necessarily. If the Lateran Catholic Church were to lower its stance even slightly and offer some benefits, they might immediately switch sides and return to the Catholic Church, a truly world-renowned great church.

But once they are expelled from the church...

That would really offend these shallow believers to death!

At that time, even if these shallow believers are fools, they will know that on one hand, they are given sweet dates full of benefits, while on the other hand, they are given a big stick to cause social death and to be labeled as disloyal, unrighteous, and morally corrupt. Which one should they believe in?

This is making enemies for yourself!

Urbino sighed: "Gentlemen, I know what you are thinking. His Holiness the Pope is wise and powerful, and naturally he has taken your point into account."

"but!"

He then changed his tone and became stern.

"At this moment, we have no choice but to prepare for a drastic measure! You have all seen the words of that 'Blasphemer' Broca, and you know the devastation we will suffer if those words were to spread! We must immediately, without delay, eliminate this threat forever!"

"Excommunicating them is only the first step. This step is a threat. The faith of the casual believers and superficial believers is not firm. We will give them a month's grace period. During this period, most casual believers and superficial believers who are unwilling to take this risk will voluntarily withdraw from this 'religious holy war'. We do not require them to believe in us, but we absolutely cannot let them believe in Anglicanism! Ordinary people always prefer to avoid trouble. As long as we give the order, they will not fight us to the death."

"Next, we must increase our support for Vynn, even resorting to extraordinary measures such as tithes and papal armies, to place Vynn on the throne of Victoria and completely consign the Anglican Church and Broca to the dustbin of history. Ladies and gentlemen, the Pope knows very well that preventing the spread of an ideology is extremely difficult. Since Broca's dangerous ideas have already emerged, they are destined to be difficult to eradicate. But we must do our utmost to keep this ideology at a minimum level of spread, just as we blocked the religion of Kazdel, we will block it within Victoria!"

"Fellow bishops, you may find this approach too radical and forceful, but I am here to convey His Holiness the Pope's most severe decree!"

Urbino gritted his teeth and said:

"Heretics are more despicable than cults!"

Cardinal Ruhr frowned and raised his hand, saying:

“I understand what Your Majesty means, but what if, I mean, what if Broca isn’t our enemy?”

He held up a report and said:

"According to the Vatican's records, Broca did not betray the Lateran religion. He was still a Catholic nun, and St. John's Cathedral was Catholic territory. According to our informants in Victoria, Broca was devout, steadfast, charitable, friendly, honest, loyal, humble, frugal, and persevering—a priest of excellent character! Could this be a Victorian scheme to make us lose our way?"

Before he could finish speaking, the cardinals around him cast pitying glances at him.

Someone couldn't help but remind him:

"Ruhr, repeat what you just said? What kind of person is Broca?"

Ruhr blinked, unsure of his meaning, and forced himself to repeat:

"She was a person of Faith, Hope, Charity, Justice, Fortitude, Temperance, and Prudence... Ah... uh..."

It was as if a fishbone was stuck in his throat; his voice was interrupted abnormally, and he gradually understood everything.

He glanced at the report in his hand again, then blushed and tucked it into his robe.

The Seven Virtues—the report clearly outlines the Seven Virtues.

What kind of information about a person should you absolutely never trust?

Firstly, the person is absolutely bad and has no merits whatsoever.