Italian Stranglehold

The monopoly that the Italian Cardinals had on the Papacy of the Roman Catholic Church, most lately from 1523 to 1978. Essentially minority control of an international entity for that minority's personal gain; "a government of the Italians, by the Italians, and for the Italians." This situation has also led to Italian control of the central bureaucracy (the Curia) that persists to this day. For the most part, the Italian Cardinals feel "Vastly Entitled" to this unique status; however the rest of the Cardinals seem to think otherwise, and have consistently elected non-Italian Popes since 1978. The last two Popes have let the Curia "do its own thing" (John Paul II never really understood it and ignored it, and Benedict XVI was more concerned with the trappings of power such as the color of his own shoes and obscure scholarly pursuits than with actually leading the Church).

The Italian Stranglehold led to much corruption in the Roman Catholic Church.

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