Pope Innocent III bas-relief in the U.S. House of Representatives chamber [View all]

Pope Innocent III marble bas-relief, one of 23 reliefs of great historical lawgivers in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives in the United States Capitol. Sculpted by Joseph Kiselewski in 1950. Diameter 28 inches.

Pope Innocent III (1161-1216) decreed that a monk who had arranged for his lover to have an abortion was not guilty of murder if the fetus was not "animated" at the time and that the soul enters the body of the fetus at the time of "quickening" - when the woman first feels movement of the fetus.

The explicit prohibition of abortion is not biblical, but rather papal.

The triregnum (papal tiara) depicted by the Kiselewski Innocent III marble bas-relief is also historically incorrect as to the number of "crowns" featured on the tiara during the period of Innocent III.

According to the Holy See Press Office:

The Triregnum (the Papal Tiara formed by three crowns symbolizing the triple power of the Pope: father of kings, governor of the world and Vicar of Christ) from the XVIII Century, with which the bronze statue of Saint Peter is crowned every June 29th, the feast day of the Saint.

Use of the Tiara, a ritual during solemn ceremonies, was abandoned during the Papacy of Paul VI.

The Tiara is a headdress ending in an ogive and made of silver, and during the times of Boniface VIII [Papacy began: December 24, 1294, Papacy ended: October 11, 1303] two crowns were added, and from 1314 three crowns (the reason it is called the triregnum), topped by a small globe with a golden cross...

The triregnum (papal tiara) depicted by the Kiselewski Innocent III marble bas-relief is also historically incorrect as to the number of "crowns" featured on the tiara during the period of Innocent III.

This is revealing a lot of information: although wearing the papal tiara "was abandoned during the Papacy of Paul V", papal tiaras are still yet used as papal and church icons.