While the donation of Constantine was fraudulent, the donations of Charles the Hammer and Charles the great were real enough,
The very fact that papal secular authority was justified by the alleged Donation of Constantine reflects a profound lack of theocratic thinking. In a theocracy, a religious leader claims secular authority as inherent to his religious office—yet the popes and their champions considered it necessary to present their claim as inherited from a purely secular sovereign, despite the ultimate papal religious authority.
The very fact that papal secular authority was justified by the alleged Donation of Constantine reflects a profound lack of theocratic thinking. In a theocracy, a religious leader claims secular authority as inherent to his religious office—yet the popes and their champions considered it necessary to present their claim as inherited from a purely secular sovereign, despite the ultimate papal religious authority.