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The Christian clergy and the papacy have always been a little corrupt. This is evident before the Black Death, after the Black Death, and during the Renaissance. Christian clergy and the papacy have always had a lot of power, and they abused that power. This is apparent, from as far back as before the Black Death, in the actions of the Bishop of Munster and the Archbishop of Cologne during the year 1074. During that time the archbishop sent out his servants to take a boat from a merchant so the Bishop could have a ride home. Because of this a fight occurred. People of towns believed that archbishops were governing in a tyrannical manner. During and after the Black Death, the church declined further; as Prices went up to see a priest, illiterate …show more content…
laymen became priests. During the High Middle Ages the Christian clergy were abusing their power.
The clergymen wore nice clothes and in some cases, they would avoid the sick and poor to help the merchants and rich folk; they chose profit over their duties of helping those in need. During the Renaissance politics got in the way of Christian ways. The pope moved to Avignon and people like St. Catherine were trying to bring him back to Rome. This brought people to create a general council. Cardinals used politics to get into the pope’s position. This is evident in the election during the year 1458, when the Cardinal of Rouen and Aeneas made personal attacks on each other, and how the cardinal of Rouen promised the other cardinals offices or paid positions in the church. Because of the corrupted ways of the Christian clergy and the way popes were submerged in politics, is the reason what that the Christian clergy and papacy were held in such low regard during the fifteenth and sixteenth …show more content…
century. The Christian church was held in low regard during the fifteenth and sixteenth century, but it had problems long before then. For instance, during the year 1074 it was evident that the Christian clergy abused their power. The Bishop of Munster and the Archbishop of Cologne are a perfect example of this abuse of power. For the Easter season the Bishop of Munster visited his friend the Archbishop of Cologne. When the bishop was ready to go home, the Archbishop of Cologne ordered his servants to fetch him a boat. His servants found a boat, but it belonged to a merchant. The archbishop’s servants seized the boat from the merchants. This shows the power of Christian clergy because they can order people to take things from others. This became so prominent that the people of Cologne retaliated. When the archbishop’s servants had taken the boat for the archbishop, the merchants son started a riot and “it was not difficult for him to raise a mob.” The clergy had gotten so bad that people found the need to retaliate, and they did. The people of Cologne were not the only ones to go against the harsh actions of the Christian clergy, in fact the people of Worms also went against the tyrannical power of the church. These outbreaks show that there was something wrong with the church, so wrong that people started riots to attempt to change it. During the Black Death, the Christian church fell even more.
With everyone and anyone dying from the plague there were empty spots in the clergy, and men rushed to fill the spots. “Many of them were illiterate, no better than laymen.” These illiterate men were allowed into the clergy, this was not a good step for the church. These men rushing into priesthood, beyond being illiterate, were in it just for the money. Prices to get a chaplain skyrocketed, whereas before the prices to get a chaplain were as low as four marks, by the end of the Black Death the prices were as high as ten marks. Prices went up when the need for priests went up; this is never a good thing because it shows greed in the church, especially since the qualities of priests were
terrible. After the plague there were many cases of the Christian clergy abusing their power and being incredibly greedy. Petrarch compared the church to the people of Galilee. Where once there were poor fishermen and fishing nets everywhere, now there were “men loaded with gold and clad in purple.” This comparison really shows how corrupt the church has gotten. The people of Galilee were crowned in fortifications and living in luxury, whereas before they were housed overturned boats. At that point people were surprised to hear that people had “labored all night and caught nothing” The church at that point was like the new Galilee; no clue to the previous ways of life, when apostles would walk around bare footed The church was stuck in its riches and greed that it wasn’t acting like Christ or apostles who had lived for the poor instead of avoiding the poor. The Christian Clergy were so into greed that they avoided the poor like a plague. The clergy would “Stick to provision-merchants and the rich! And anywhere where profit might arise” That is not the way that Christian clergy is supposed to act according to Christ and the apostles. The clergy were not being humble, instead they were being greedy. They wore fur and gold and win women over and “then go.” This shows how corrupt the clergy had gotten. They would do actions such as; go with women and then just leave them, clothe themselves in riches, and avoid the poor. These are things they should actively avoid; the pleasures of man and sin. This is part of the reason people had such a low regard towards the Christian clergy. The Christian papacy was also in low regard, this is because the pope and clergy submerged themselves in politics. This is evident in the pope’s election of 1458 where Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini, the Cardinal of Siena, went against the Cardinal or Rouen. Both of the cardinals made personal attacks on each other. The Cardinal of Rouen said things against Aeneas such as “Will you give us a lame poverty stricken pope?” Aeneas made attacks against the Cardinal of Rouen by saying things such as “Will you then put an enemy of your nation in the Apostle’s chair?” Cardinal of Rouen promised the other councilmen positions and offices if they were to vote for him and Aeneas frightened those cardinals into not voting for the Cardinal of Rouen. The way that the two cardinals went after each other on a personal level is mortifying. In fact, the Cardinal of Rouen tried to cheat his way into becoming pope by misreading the ballots and calling it a “mistake.” Cheating is not the way people believed that the church should be run. Politics and church do not mix well, but because they were mixed the papacy was in low regard. Another reason the papacy were held in a low regard was because, like the other Christian clergy, the papacy was greedy and corrupt. Catherine of Siena went to the pope of Avignon to try and bring him back to Rome, and she brought up countless points on how the garden of the holy church was full of “stinking weeds.” This metaphor she uses perfectly describes how the church was being run at the time. Popes were full of pride and their gardens were full of poison. There were bad churchman in the house of god, and they needed to be uprooted so beautiful flowers, or good churchman, could sprout up. Catherine wrote about how “They ought to be mirrors of freely chosen poverty.” The Christian clergy were doing anything but that, they were living in a world of luxury and “layfolk put them to shame by their good holy lives.” This was a harsh, but true, reality; these clergymen, who were supposed to represent Christ, were living through the money they acquired by Christ’s people. They were focused on the material things of life, rather than the spiritual, and it was ruining the church. The whole situation was getting out of hand, and it brought people to create a grand council. The papacy had gotten so bad, that people believed there needed to be something above one man ruling the church. In conclusion, the corrupted and greedy ways of the Christian clergy and papacy lead the church down to be held in a low regard. The Christian clergy had a lot of power and they abused that power; and because of this people knew that things needed to change. The Archbishop of Cologne, the Bishop of Munster, and a rich merchant’s boy really show this when the archbishop orders his servants to take a boat. It leads to a fight where the merchant easily brought up many men to fight against the tyrannical manors of the bishops. Another example is Catherine of Siena going to the Bishop of Avignon telling him that his holy gardens were corrupted. Another reason why the Christian clergy was held at such a low regard was because they were so corrupt that they chose greed over the needy. For example, many clergymen wore expensive clothing and would avoid the poor just to help the rich. The papacy also got heavily involved in politics; especially during the pope’s election. The Cardinal of Rouen and the Cardinal of Siena are great examples as they make personal attacks on one another and promise or scare the other cardinals into voting for them or to vote against the other person. This shows how politics, greed, and power can bring the Christian clergy to be held at such a low regard during the fifteenth and sixteenth century.
The periods during the Reformation, Industrial Revolution, and the World at War all experienced religious and church conflicts. During the Renaissance and Reformation (1330 – 1650), the fundamental practices of the church came under fire. The church at this time was the largest and most political body. The pope, himself, was the most recognizable political figure. It was due to this authority that the church and its pope were more interested in political issues and less with the spiritual needs of the people (McGraw-Hill, p. 76). Many of the Roman Catholic Church’s high priests had bought their way into position and had very little religious experience. Often the only members of the community that were literate were the clergy thus adding to their control of the common people.
It started with a headache. Then, death. The Plague, a severe epidemic that caused the death of millions, received varying replies from varying peoples. Many interpretations were made, and differing actions occurred based on these explanations, religious or non-religious, some more severe than not. Christians often turned the blame on others, while the majority of the Muslims decided that there really was no reason to associate other peoples with the cause of the Great Plague (Documents 8 & 10). While there are generalizations, responses to this catastrophe are different depending on religion and world views.
The Effects of The Black Death on the Economic and Social Life of Europe The Black Death is the name later given to the epidemic of plague that ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351. The disaster affected all aspects of life. Depopulation and shortage of labor hastened changes already inherent in the rural economy; the substitution of wages for labor services was accelerated, and social stratification became less rigid. Psychological morbidity affected the arts; in religion, the lack of educated personnel among the clergy gravely reduced the intellectual vigor of the church.
5).” “Finally, the Church influenced politics at that time” (Doc. 3).” “The Church unified Europeans and gave every person a sense of how the world worked (Doc.3).” “Ultimately, political leaders only had local power, the Church was the most powerful institution (Doc.3).” These are just some of the things that we’re going on in the politics of the Middle Ages.
In short, disestablishment is the most literal form of separation of Church and State; it prohibited the state from funding or establishing a religion. This was a continuation of the fight for the freedom on conscience. James Madison was very influential in this fight, “Religion was not invented by human policy” thus he argued that it should never be subjected to human policy (Maddison, 120). Maddison expresses that a person’s religion is to be determined by his own conviction and conscience, “and it is the right of every man to exercise it” (Maddison, 118). Freedom of religion, the first amendment, existed before disestablishment, but in it’s entirety was dependent on disestablishment. Establishment was achieved through imposing taxes on
The Roman Catholic Church greatly influenced the lives of many people during the medieval times. At the head of the Roman Catholic Church was the pope. Followers believed that the pope was the representative of Jesus on earth. The spiritual classes below the pope were the cardinals, the archbishops, the bishops, and finally the local priests. This was a very efficient system where each class ruled, and directed each class below them. Peasants, of course, were all the way at the bottom of the social class system, but took up 95% of the population. Their lives were very closely tied to their local churches. The main responsibility of the Roman Catholic Church was to serve the spiritual needs of medieval society, and to get people to heaven. This slowly started to change as soon as the Church turned to their corrupt ways to control the people. The Church owned everything from land, to even peoples souls! Going against the Roman Catholic Church was absolutely unacceptable. Not only would you be
From the Middle ages, the church faced many problems such as the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism that hurt the prestige of the church. Most of the clergy lived in great luxury while most people were poor and they set an immoral example. The clergy had low education and many of them didn’t attend their offices. Martin Luther had witnessed this himself, “In 1510 he visited Rome and was shocked to find corruption on high ecclesiastical places”
Most Christians believed God generated the Black Death because of a “sinful humanity” (The Black Death, 94). They asked God for mercy. People associated arrows with the plague. They believed God, angels, or demons, either hurtled spears or shot arrows at towns or people with the intention to infect them with the plague. People also questioned the ability of the church. The priesthood was blamed “for failing to administer to the needs of parishioners during the Black Death, including hearing confession and giving last rites” (The Black Death, 94). In fear of being infected and also desiring higher salaries , priest went to work at private chapels and chantries and other private services. As a result, people felt betrayed by the
Many influential figures utilized their position to provide assistance to the poor. A fifteenth Catholic priest from France urges his congregation to donate to the poor because he wishes to reach to the poverty stricken majority and spread the appeal of Catholicsm (Doc 1). Throughout the fifteenth century the Great Schism occurred in which several men claimed legitimacy as the Pope and
The 1500’s were a time of reformation and also a time of corruption in the church. The pope, Pope Leo X was one of the most corrupt popes because of his greed for money. The church was very wealthy during the protestant reformation promoting false beliefs to many people, but one man named Martin Luther changed that with his 95 theses because of his dislike for the wrongdoings from the Catholic church.
The Catholic Church has long been a fixture in society. Throughout the ages, it has withstood wars and gone through many changes. It moved through a period of extreme popularity to a time when people regarded the Church with distrust and suspicion. The corrupt people within the church ruined the ideals Catholicism once stood for and the church lost much of its power. In the Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer primarily satirizes the corruptness of the clergy members to show how the Catholic Church was beginning its decline during the Middle Ages.
The clergy was composed of religious officials who were also powerful during the Middle Ages. They had more power than the masses.
Why is the Catholic Church so corrupt in its teaching? They have found ways to control the knowledge that their followers contemplate on. The control of knowledge and power is the foundation for every successful religious organization. The Catholic Church have acquired this power through strategic control on the mind of its follower. The Catholic Church propagate their ideals as righteous in order to be accepted; for without this acceptance, they are faced with the task of initiating this power through force. So to beguile their followers, they present themselves in “sheep clothing” (KJV, Matt 7:15). They are accepted as blameless, peaceful, loving and harmless but in actuality, “they are ravening wolves” (KJV, Matt. 7:15).
The Roman Catholic Church’s reputation in wealth and power furnished them with the ability to have a major impact over feudal society. Their wealth earned them great power and loyalty from the royals and citizens. Their power was used to restrict not only peasant folk but also nobles and the monarch in following the Catholic faith. This influenced everyone’s daily life and morals. The Church was similar to a government institution where it sustained its own laws and rights. This provided stability to the land as people have benevolent morals with the assistance of religion. Education from the Church has initiated structural learning which made a gradual end to the barbaric era (Dark Ages). The Church’s legacy gained them the medieval reputation from society and this has influenced the reputation of the Church today.
Early in history, the Roman papacy consolidated its power. It became one of the most influential organizations in the medieval period. This rise to power resulted from the decline in the Western Empire, the leadership of Roman bishops, and special grants that gave the church land holdings. This rise to power caused some positive ramifications, such as the protection of the church from heresy. However, the absolute power of the pope also caused corruption and abuses, many of which would eventually spark the reformation.