Corruption in the Medieval Church: A Case Study of Celestine V and Pope Boniface XIII Prior to the careers of Popes Celestine V and Boniface XII in the 13th century, the long and, sometimes tumultuous, history of the church can be helpful in setting the stage for these two church official’s very famous, and very different tenures as pope. In different forms and methods, the medieval Catholic Church has always had a strong hold on society in addition to politics. The church has also had a troubling past when it comes to corruption, usually manifesting itself through the pursuit of this dominance over political and outside figures on all aspects of everyday life. Coupling these two themes together, the past actions and power exerted …show more content…
He, much like his predecessor Pope Gregory, would aggravate the political leaders across Europe, but had much more successful and positive results for papal power. Innocent flexed his power through the pressure put on King John of England, King Philip Augustus of France, Aragon, and finally Otto of Brunswick. All of these significant rulers were either put in power because of the pope, or felt immense pressure from Innocent that eventually altered their actions in favor of the Catholic Church. Innocent’s career is what could be classified as encompassing the ultimate goal for the medieval church; exerting power over rulers while also maintaining their influence and respect among the common people. During these various power struggles between Innocent and the various medieval rulers, several of the Crusades were occurring during the pope’s career; the 4th crusade in 1204 in which Innocent excommunicated the participants followed by the Albigensian Crusade in 1208. Finally, Innocent snatched the power to appoint church officials, including bishops, and was able to attain annates from these church officials he appointed. Very importantly in the fight against corruption, Innocent limited the scope and length of indulgences in the …show more content…
Considering it was a large basis for Martin Luther’s reform movement and the creation of Protestantism in the 1500s, the widespread power of the indulgences is most definitely significant and notable in the discussion of corruption. Although, not every case of the granting of indulgences was done solely for the profit of the Catholic Church, as seen during the papacy of Celestine V, in which he granted plenary indulgences, the type of indulgence previously granted by Pope Urban for crusaders. Celestine, a highly unlikely pope that, despite his short 5 month career, is seen as an exceptionally pious Christian and also an avoider of corrupt practices that were commonly associated with the medieval Catholic
Elected in 1958 as a ‘caretaker Pope’, Pope John XXIII implemented the greatest reforms in the Church’s history. His involvement within the Church had played a significant contribution to the reforming of social, political and liturgical Christian traditions. During the early twentieth century, the Catholic Church still held the century old conservative beliefs and traditions as they continued to separate the Church from the secular world, therefore, disadvantaging the Church to a world that was modernising. In addition to this, the Church restricted modernist thoughts due to the belief that new theologies would threaten the power and authority of the Church, but ...
In 1198 the recently elected Pope Innocent III began preaching for another Crusade that would attempt to regain control of the Holy Land, as the Third Crusade left Saladin, a Muslim leader, in control of Jerusalem. Innocent III began preparing for war, and formed an agreement with the Venetians, stating that the Crusaders would pay the Venetians for transportation to the Holy Land. Innocent III overestimated his forces, and needed less supplies than he requested, however, Venice still wanted the full agreed upon amount to be paid. The men tried to pull their money together to pay the entire amount, however they still were well short of the required sum. As a pope, Innocent III did not have the power, wealth, and men that the kings had. At the beginning of the 1200’s the papacy had far less influence than the kings. As the Crusaders were unable to pay, they instead formed an agreement which stated that the Crusaders would help the Venetians take over the Christian city of Zara in order to gain its wealth and supplies, however, “The barons and nobles among the crusaders agreed to what the doge proposed. But no one in the army knew this plan, except the leaders.” (7) This secret arrangement led to dissonance among the Crusaders when word got out, as many people, including Innocent III, despised the idea of harming a fellow Christian in any way. The city o...
Lay investiture was a major problem during the reign of King Henry IV and the papacy of Pope Gregory VII. Up to this point, secular leaders had the power to appoint bishops and abbots in their land, causing a blend between the lines of Church and state. Gregory or “Hildebrand” recognized this dilemma and restricted investiture to the duty of the pope in 1075. Henry IV responded very cruelly and Hildebrand promptly excommunicated him. The Concordat of Worms eventually solved this controversy in 1122, in which lay investiture by secular leaders was eliminated. This was one of the first examples of the struggle between Church and state and it certainly was not the last.
Various people, including Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wycliffe, and many others publically questioned the way the church decided to handle matters. For instance, Martin Luther opposed the church practices such as vows of celibacy and the giving of indulgences which prompted him to make movements ‘against’ the church. His “Ninety-five Theses on the Power of Indulgences” especially had a moving effect on the people, causing them to protest against the church (392). Hence, individuals disputing church teachings or practices prompted others to do the same, weakening Papal
Martin Luther’s view on indulgences appears in many of his writings including Luther’s 95 Theses and The Statement of Grievances. Martin Luther believes that the Papacy should not have a role in collecting taxes, indulgences, or any ways of drawing income from the German nation. On number twenty-three in the Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, Luther states “The brotherhoods, and for that matter, indulgences, letters of indulgences, and everything of that kind, should be snuffed out and brought to an end”. Martin Luther wants the German nation to get rid of indulgences since the indulgence sellings can harm the integrity of the church. Indulgences were not new to the German nation during the 16th century. Indulgences have been around for three centuries prior to 1520 even before Martin Luther’s Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation was published. With indulgences, the German nation pays for their sins to be forgiven. The church makes most of its profits from the public by selling these indulgences. In Carter Lindberg’s The European Reformation, Carter Lindberg states “An indulgence, then, drew on the treasure of the church to pay off the debt of the penitent sinner who would otherwise be obligated to pay off the penance by works of satisfaction either in life or in purgatory”. For example, in
To construct Saint Peters Basilica, Archbishop Albert borrowed money from the Fuggers (wealthy banking family). To pay for this loan Pope Leo X gave permission to Archbishop Albert to sell indulgences in Germany. An indulgence is a way to reconcile with God, by confessing your sins to a priest and perform a penance. By the later Middle Ages people believed that indulgence removed all their sins and ensured entry to heaven. The selling of indulgence troubled Luther, he thought people were ignorant to believe that they didn’t have to repent after they bought an indulgence.
Pope Innocent led four Crusades throughout his lifetime. Little is known about the Cathars due to most of their records being destroyed. “Little is known about Cathars. Most of the information about them has been destroyed, and what we do know has mostly been aduced from Catholic records. This is rather like reconstructing Jewish theology from Nazi records of the holocaust. Records are biased and incomplete.” (Heretication.info) Their opinions on the Catholic church was simply what they saw as corrupt and wrong. Their opinions led them to being killed by the catholics army. We see examples of Pope Innocent III’s corruption when he promised that the people would be rid of their sins and a spot in heaven in exchange for their help. The Cathars tried to stand up for their beliefs and show that they wouldn’t follow a Pope or Church that was corrupt. They fought back against the Catholic church until eventually they were defeated. Pope Innocent III passed away on July 16,
Clement was a French born pope with close ties to Philip IV. It is easy to deduce that he was the first pope to take up residency in Avignon. Despite being often asked to take up residency in Rome, he refused to leave his home of France. According to The Story of Christianity Vol. 1 by Gonzalez, Clement was the only pope during the Avignon Papacy to elect the most French cardinals. All but of his cardinals were of French descent. By electing almost all French cardinals he was proving to the King of France where his allegiance was and where the papacy should continue. His allegiance towards France did not stop there. As stated above Philip IV had many trials and tribulations with past popes not defending his rule. Clement V did not defend himself again the King as did he predecessors. Clement was weak in leadership. Often when disobeying the ideas of King Philip IV, he was shamed into changing his decisions. An example of his weakness would be his overthrowing of the bulls put into effect by Pope Boniface III. As touched upon above, King Philip IV once had tensions with King Edward I of England. According to Lectures for a Medieval Survey by Nelson, Boniface had issued the bull Clericis laicos. This made it illegal to any member of clergy to support either of the Kings. Later he issued the bull Unam Sanctam, which gave the papacy supreme power. It was this bull that led to his council in Rome to discuss King Philip.
Pope Innocent the III reign from January 1198-July 1218 was an important time in history as many events occurred within his reign that no other popes before him could claim happened in there's. Pope Innocent was one of the most powerful and influential popes in Europe at the time as he stood at the center of all other kings and proclaimed his supremacy. Innocent the III was right in doing so as he was an integral part in supporting the Catholic Church reforms of ecclesiastical affairs through his letters and the Fourth Council of the Lateran. Throughout his tenor, Innocent the III had an excellent career as he refined canon law, organized the fourth crusade, among many other things.
...ecline of papal power. The First Crusade was a successful venture for the papacy as it was considered an "armed pilgrimage" (325). To gain the support of the Christian community, Urban II promised an afterlife without purgatory and a direct ascent to heaven for Crusade participation. This "plenary indulgence" (325) made the First Crusade a favorable undertaking. On the other hand, the papal monarchy suffered from the additional Crusades that forced people to question the unity of the Christian Church. Christianity was an effective theme in the Middle Ages because it implemented most people and events of the time period. Socially, Christianity effected people's daily lives because faith offered another consideration for how life progressed. The introduction of new intellect and innovative advancements were growing with religious influenced. Politically, the emperor's were aided and impaired. The support of the papacy was useful in the coronation of emperors and the influence over the common people. On the counter-side, the papal monarchy offered competition for power. Christianity was always present in the Middle Ages, and it changed concepts and faith for all.
It was important because it was at the centre of medieval society. It was also the centre of the people’s lives in medieval times.
In 1053, Pope Leo IX made an unorthodox decision to personally lead a papal army against Norman forces in southern Italy. The two sides met at the Battle of Civitate where the Norman army decisively defeated the papal forces and subsequently captured the pope. In a letter the next year, Leo IX explained to the Byzantine emperor, Constantine Monomachos, why he felt the need to employ violence despite being a vicar of God on earth. He wrote that the Normans—who were themselves Catholic—embodied “an impiety that was more than pagan” by destroying churches and killing other Christians. Because of these and other transgressions, Leo IX justified his use of violence as a means of saving “Christ’s sheep.” A little over a century and a half later in 1207, Pope Innocent III wrote a letter to the archbishops of southern France lamenting the murder of his legate, Peter of Castelnau, who had been tasked with rooting out the Cathar heresy in the southern French region of Languedoc. Near the end of the letter, Innocent III wrote that all those who took up arms against the Cathars in Languedoc would receive “an indulgence of the remission of sins from God and his vicar.” By doing this, Innocent III started the Albigensian Crusade and initiated one of the most comprehensive cultural cleansings in medieval European
During this time, there was a struggle for power between the Pope and the Emperor, and the supposed just crusade against heretics was a convenient excuse for Pope Innocent to war against political enemies. “Although deeply entangled with the notion of heresy, the Albengensian Crusade was at heart a crusade of conquest, firmly linked to political ambitions and territorial concerns” (pg. 47). Once the crusading had taken its toll, many of those in positions of authority had been killed, and those who filled those seats were committed to finding and reforming heretics. This event combined with the Treaty of Paris in 1229 set the stage for the beginning of heretic
European history, the middle ages, or medieval period, lasted from the 5th to the 15th century (Middle Ages). During that period of time, the Catholic Church was the largest, and most important part of people’s lives. It influenced all parts of European society, from the poorest, to most powerful including the King. This influence was cause by the people turning to their priests for religious guidance, giving them agency over nearly every facet of their lives.
In the midst of the many events of the sixteenth century, a schism of the Catholic Church was due to the political, social, and economic aspects of life. Religion was ultimately the cause of the schism and was also greatly affected by the aftermath. To see this, one can observe the opposition to the Church at the time, the lack of a secular state, and the Church’s “need” for funds obtained via indulgences. Around this time, life was forever impacted by the many ideas differing from the Catholic Church.