I am headed out the door and don't have time to hunt up others but there ăre several more authoritative than this one.
2. I would have thought that the Catholic Church, having almost 2,000 years of political experience under its belt, would have understood that it under the financial control of foreign powers. At a minimum, the efficiency with which they helped take down the Templars, the 19th century experience of the LDS Church with the U.S. government, and WWII should have provided some bookmarks on that tableau.
Did they, perhaps, become too complacent in dealing with secular powers that they didn't see the dangers? I ask these questions solely with the best of intentions. Since you have looked into this, I would appreciate your insights.