this was hard for me to understand at first too - but there really isn't anything odd going on, you just have to know how the system works and take advantage of it

whenever hostilities start, the pope tries to get both sides to stop - rest assured that England got warned also.... however, the easiest way to keep the Pope happy is to give him a little extra tithe every so often... so, if England gave him a gift, they can probably get away with several warnings in a row

which means you need to have a diplomat making your voice, and more importantly your coins, heard in Rome - there is no 'fair' treatment, only preferential