Nathaniel’s Reviews > Christendom : The Triumph of Religion > Status Update

“Immediately after his enthronement [in 1049, Pope Leo IX] held a synod in the Lateran Palace condemning simony and clerical marriage… he also pursued simony with unprecedented directness, so intimidating the bishop of Sutri (a local see about 30 miles (50km) from Rome) with a face-to-face accusation that the unfortunate bishop dropped dead on the spot” (p. 463).