Editing Pope Innocent IV (section)

==Ruler of princes and kings==
As Innocent III had before him, Innocent IV saw himself as the Vicar of Christ, whose power was above earthly kings. Innocent, therefore, had no objection to intervening in purely secular matters. He appointed [[Alfonso III of Portugal|Afonso III]] administrator of Portugal, and lent his protection to [[Ottokar II of Bohemia|Ottokar]], the son of the King of [[Bohemia]]. The Pope even sided with King [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] against both nobles and bishops of England, despite the king's harassment of [[Edmund Rich]], the Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of All England, and the royal policy of having the income of a vacant bishopric or benefice delivered to the royal coffers, rather than handed over to a papal Administrator (usually a member of the Curia) or a Papal collector of revenue, or delivered directly to the Pope.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}

In the case of the Mongols, too, Innocent maintained that he, as Vicar of Christ, could make non-Christians accept his dominion and even exact punishment should they violate the non-God centred commands of the Ten Commandments. This policy was held more in theory than in practice and was eventually repudiated centuries later.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}}