>>143157
In the end, Paschal waffled in every direction, so that not only Henry V, but also the bishops and cardinals no longer trusted he could lead the Church with any believable authority. Clearly, Paschal had been honest with the Sacred College who elected him: monastic life had not equipped him to deal with the weighty problems confronting the papacy in such troubling times. And although he followed the lead of his predecessors he met with little success. Several times he was forced to flee Rome as one or another contingent sought to grab power, including no less than four anti-popes. Paschal received support from King Philip and the French people, but not from Germany from which Henry V, the Emperor, came. He was, however, successful in mediating a dispute between King Henry I (of England) and the archbishop of Canterbury, the pious Anselm. Through the work of a papal delegation and further mediation by Queen Matilda, a concordat was concluded between the king and the archbishop that prevented clergy from being invested by a monarch. In return, before their consecration, they first had to take an oath to the king.

The feud between Archbishop Anselm and Henry I was of utmost importance since the King had exiled the archbishop and confiscated all the assets of the Church.

In 1113, Pope Paschal officially recognized the Knights of Malta as a religious order through a papal bulla. The Order was founded in Jerusalem around 1050. It is still functioning today as one of the oldest Catholic Orders in the world. The Order’s mission is to protect the Catholic faith and to care for the sick and the poor. While they provide protection at various sporting events as part of their mission today, they can also be found in some of the most dangerous zones in the world aiding the poor. They celebrated their 900th anniversary in Rome in 2013.

The first Crusade to recover Jerusalem from the Muslims occurred at the beginning of Paschal’s reign, but he was unable to repair relations with Eastern Christianity because of his insistence on the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome, and because he had also supported another Crusade that sought to usurp lands in the East not rightfully theirs.

Paschal spent his final years squabbling with the Emperor and excommunicating anyone who supported him.

Despite his poor aptitude at diplomatic work in his papacy, he did repair buildings and restore various churches, one of them, right before his last flight from Rome due to bloody riots. Although he returned in January of 1118, he died at Castel Sant’ Angelo amidst new riots. He was buried in the Lateran after an unhappy reign as pontiff.
end
https://www.papalartifacts.com/a-bull-from-the-papacy-of-pope-paschal-ii-1099-1118/