Page 9 of The Medici Return

The church, for all its pontifications, was nothing more than a grand political entity, subject to whims, trends, and, above all, pressure. Especially pressure. Always in the past the church had succumbed to pressure. Changing. Adapting. Yes, it took time. Sometimes centuries. But it always survived. It was perhaps the only institution man had created that had lasted for over two thousand years. And it had done that by not being inflexible. Or foolish. The church did what the church needed to do. The trouble was, he did not have centuries to wait.

So do it. Now.

Apply maximum pressure.

CHAPTER 4

JASONCARDINALRICHTER HAD OFTEN FANTASIZED ABOUT THE DEVIL.Was he real? Was he even a he? Like many, he thought of the devil in the abstract. A concept. The reverse of God. The epitome of temptation. Then there was John 8:44.Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.One other thing was also certain. The devil never came dressed in a red cape, with pointy horns, holding a pitchfork. Instead, he always appeared as nothing you’d ever wished for.

So he wondered.

Why had the devil come to see him?

“I am not naïve,” Casaburi said. “I fully understand that some of the positions my party takes on various issues could be… uncomfortable… for the church. But let us be real. That could be said of everyone. We all have our bias and prejudices. Our loves and hates. But we have a 60-plus percent approval rating from the Italian electorate. We control nearly a majority of parliament. After the coming elections that will most likely be a majority. Which means our esteemed president will have no choice but to appoint our party leader as prime minister.”

“But to achieve that majority status in parliament you have to win thirty-eight of the contested seats. That might prove insurmountable.”

“Not if the Vatican focuses its considerable resources on swaying the electorate.”

He chuckled. “You overestimate us.”

“The church’s influence is enormous, and we both know that. Your priests can change hearts and minds across the peninsula.”

“The Curia will not authorize it,” he said. “I explored that possibility. I truly did. Tell your party leaders that they will have to find another way.”

Luckily, he’d anticipated rejection. So he’d come prepared.

“Try again,” he said. “This time use these two words.Pignus Christi.”

Had he heard right? The Pledge of Christ? He was curious. “What do you know of such things?”

“A great deal. They are not secret. History records them. An ancient promise that the church instituted from its beginnings, yet rarely gave.”

He wondered about Casaburi’s interest. He knew the man to be forty-two years old, born to the north, in Tuscany, to a working-class family. He had a modest education that included a university degree. He was a member of parliament, longtime secretary of the National Freedom Party, charged with its everyday administration.

Nothing really remarkable about him.

Including his appearance.

Tall, lanky, the face raggedly handsome with a strong jaw, a straight nose, and a pair of pale, almost artless brown eyes. A thick patch of dark hair, graying at the temples, contributed to an accommodating look that was easily photographed. He was impeccably dressed in a pin-striped charcoal suit, crisp white shirt, and purple tie. Everything he knew about this ambitious politician signaled trouble—truly the devil—and he regretted becoming entangled with him.

But entangled he was.

Casaburi sat straight in his chair. “One of thePignus Christiin particular is relevant here. In 1512 Pope Julius II was dying. He’d been a busy man. He’d reclaimed the Papal States. Driven mostforeign invaders from Italy. Rebuilt Rome. Ordered the Sistine Chapel painted. Furthered the arts. Started construction on St. Peter’s Basilica. Restored the papacy to a political superiority. He was a great pope. The Warrior Pope. But he also bankrupted the church in the process. Of course, the Vatican was already deep in debt thanks to the Borgias and Alexander VI. So before Julius died he made a deal with the Medici. The family had been banished from their beloved Florence and they wanted to return.”

“All of that appears in the history books,” he said. “Except the part about a deal.”

“Giuliano di Lorenzo de’ Medici was head of the family. A likable young man. Capable too. But being the third son, he had quite the inferiority complex. So, trying to make a name for himself, Giuliano made a deal with Julius II. He loaned the church ten million gold florins. An enormous sum at the time. Lucky for Julius the Medici possessed gold and property in abundance. But to secure that loan Julius had to give the Medici collateral.”

“As I recall my history,” he said. “Julius had Florence surrounded by an army, ready to lay siege.”

“That he did. But Giuliano didn’t care. He wanted real collateral. Julius had none, other than thePignus Christi. A pledge, in writing, signed by the pope himself, under a sworn oath to God, promising in perpetuity to repay the debt. Which Julius signed, and after 513 years that debt remains unpaid. Surely you know about such things.”

Yes, he did. He served on the Commission of Cardinals, a five-member body appointed by the pope to oversee the Institute for the Works of Religion or, as it was more commonly known, the Vatican Bank. Which was not a bank in the traditional sense. Instead, it collected, accounted for, invested, and distributed the church’s wealth. The problem? That had historically been done with remarkable confusion, official bungling, no independent oversight, and outright corruption and abuse. Not even popes knew the truth about its dealings, a willful ignorance that many had seemed to bask within. Scandals had become all too frequent, and there’d beenmany attempts at major reforms. The latest pope had tried his hand and appointed five cardinals whom he thought capable of making changes. But instead of positive moves, more corruption had seeped to the surface through the ongoing fraud trial of six defendants.

A five-hundred-year-old promise from the Middle Ages?

What possible relevance could that have?

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