Answer: a. He viewed them as being one step below him.
Explanation:
Pope Innocent III was one of the most powerful Popes to ever live. He believed that as the representative of God on Earth, kings and emperors were beneath him in the hierarchy of power and he did not hesitate to show them this by enforcing papal policy on several kings who tried to go against the Church.
An example was King Alfonso IX of Leon who had married a close relative. Pope Innocent excommunicated him until the marriage was cancelled. Pope Innocent III was also the first Pope to call for a Crusade to recapture Jerusalem and the Holy land from Muslim invaders.
