Over Confidence and Inactivity: 151RCC - 253RCC
The events of Freedom At What Cost take place because of how lazy the leadership of the Catholic planets has become. Besides the internal struggles, trade is good between Ecclesia Aeternam and the other empires. What isn't good is that the empire looks weak compared to what it once was not too long ago. Under Pope Fortier II, some crimes have gone unpunished not only within the Church, but he has also let the other empires take the better end of their trade agreements with the excuse that the Church has taken enough from them. There may be relative peace in the galaxy, but there are rising tensions. Catholics are discriminated against on planets they don't own and are the frequent target of pirates, criminals, and bounty hunters hired by the people of other empires.
This tension reaches a breaking point when the pope is accidentally the target of a group of bounty hunters. He was flying a simple space ship and not the one given to him since he wanted to appear humble. The small group of guards he had with him is killed and the bounty hunters bring Pope Fortier II to the people that hired them since they didn't know what to do. With the pope in their possession, the Jewish Empire saw a golden opportunity to further take advantage of the Church and strike a deadly blow to her. They wanted to make her fear and fall apart and with the public execution of the pope. The execution of the pope takes place on the public broadcasting channel available across the galaxy. Before his execution, Pope Fortier II apologizes for causing so much trouble for the faithful. His head was then blown off and the new trade terms were being given. This was going to be a deadly blow to the Church, but what most people forget is that the Church is strongest when it is persecuted and seemingly dead.
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