Pope Innocent III
Biography
Pope Innocent III was a prominent and influential leader of the Catholic Church who believed in the absolute authority of the papacy over secular kings.
He called for the Fourth Crusade to recapture Jerusalem through an invasion of Egypt. However, he lost control of the expedition once the crusaders became indebted to the Venetians.
When he learned that the crusaders had attacked the Christian city of Zara, he was furious and excommunicated them. He also strongly condemned the subsequent sack of Constantinople, recognizing that it would permanently damage relations between the Catholic and Orthodox churches.