As argued earlier, financial affairs, often suggested as the major trigger for the arrests, can only be a marginal reason for conflict between the Templars and the King of France. Alternatively, rumors against the Order of the Temple were. Rumors that led to the request of Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Temple, to Pope Clement V to open an investigation into the charges weighing on the order. In a letter to the King of France dated August 24, 1307 the Pope granted this request.
