Crossword Genius

Free of sin, as some popes were (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

innocent

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'free of sin' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'as some popes were' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'as' could be 'in' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'in' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'nocent' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for innocent that I've seen before include "Artless or guiltless" , "Free of any blame" , "Virgin" , "Without blame or without guile" , "Giovanni Lotario de' Conti?" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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