Wolsey used his vast secular and ecclesiastical power to amass wealth second only to that of the King.” Applying the symbolic language of Revelation, high-class prostitution demands high-class payment.

Another notorious example of religious influence in State matters was the cardinal and duke of Richelieu (1585-1642), who exercised great power in France and also accumulated wealth that was “excessive even by the standards of the age,” states the Britannica.

Richelieu was succeeded by yet another cardinal, Jules Mazarin (1602-61), who served as first minister of France during the reign of King Louis XIV. Although not an ordained priest, he was made a cardinal in 1641 by Pope Urban VIII. Cardinal Mazarin too was ambitious for wealth. The encyclopedia states: “Mazarin’s enemies reproached him for his greed. He had accumulated offices and benefices and had sometimes confused royal income with his own.”

In the United States, TV evangelists are noted for their ostentation of wealth and luxurious life-styles.