Clement V

Clement V was a French archbishop who became pope largely because Philip IV of France wanted a compliant pontiff, and that's more or less what he got. He never set foot in Rome during his pontificate, settling instead in Avignon in 1309 and beginning what critics called the "Babylonian Captivity" of the papacy. Under heavy pressure from Philip, Clement suppressed the Knights Templar in 1312, disbanding a wealthy and powerful military order on charges that were almost certainly fabricated or coerced. The Templars' Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, was burned at the stake. Clement also tried to address Church reform through the Council of Vienne, but his dependence on the French crown undermined his credibility. The Avignon period he started lasted until 1377 and damaged the papacy's moral authority for generations.