Pope Innocent III was convinced that Crusades had to be called against other enemies of the Faith than the Moslems. The most dangerous enemies of Catholicism in the early 1200's were the Catharists, a Manichean Gnostic sect powerful in southern France and in Italy. These heretics enjoyed political support from the Counts of Toulouse and other noblemen (and noblewomen). Mr. Michael Davies shows that the Crusade against the Catharists in the 1200's ultimately involved much of the flower of French soldiery, including the King of France himself. Political as well as religious motivation was also, unfortunately, involved in the justifiable suppression of the Catharists. Taken from: Crusading, the Crusader & the Christian Order - 2002 VonHildebrand Institute