Problems in Roman Catholic Church

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Problems in Roman Catholic Church
New Ideas. From Ninja Turtles to a Mak Attack
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Medieval Catholic Church

• Was the only Christian church in most of Europe
• The people of Europe were very devout
• Everyone was concerned about going to heaven
• Catholics believe in Purgatory-a place between
  heaven and hell where a soul stays until the
  person has done penance for any sins

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Medieval Catholic Church

• Was the only Christian church in most of Europe
• The people of Europe were very devout
• Everyone was concerned about going to heaven

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Medieval Catholic Church

• Catholics believe in Purgatory-a place between
  heaven and hell where a soul stays until the
  person has done penance for any sins
• If you died with a dirty Soul you would go to
  either Purgatory or straight to hell.
• You had to go to Church and get the Priest to
  clean your Soul.
• If you died with a clean Soul you would go to
  heaven.

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What did People believe at the Start of the 16th
Century?

• If you went on a Crusade or a Pilgrimage you
  could earn time out of Purgatory
• You could buy a special letter from the Pope
  called an Indulgence which was like a get out of
  jail for free card but for Purgatory.

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Abuses in the Church

• Clergy was poorly trained and often illiterate
• Higher ranking clergy were more interested in
  materialism (lifestyle)
• Popes needed lots of money to pay for lifestyle,
  wars, and beautiful cathedrals
• Often clergy bought their positions-simony
• Indulgences were sold as penance for sins, but
  often paid for Church projects

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Abuses in the Church

• People were calling for reform in part because of
  corruption in the Catholic Church

• Between 1450 and 1520 a series of popes failed
  to meet the Churchs spiritual needs.
• They were more concerned with the political
  interests of the Papal States.
• Julius II, the
  warrior-pope, even led armies against
• his enemies.
• Many people were
  disgusted with him and the
• Catholic Church.

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Merchants and the Church

• Because of trade with Middle East, merchants
  needed to borrow money to pay for ships and
  trading goods
• The Catholic church banned usury
• Usurylending money at interest
• Merchants resented they could only borrow money
  from non-Christian moneylenders
• They began to demand changes.
• Some set up banks to lend money-de Medicis

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Italian Domination of Church

• Italians filled many of the high positions in the
  Catholic Church-bishops, archbishops, popes
• All members of Catholic Church had to tithe 10
  of their income
• Most money went to high clergy positions or to
  Rome (Italians)
• German princes and English royalty disliked
  Italian domination of the Church
• Wanted money to stay in their lands

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Churchs Political Power

• Catholic church owned HUGE amounts of land
  throughout Europe--probably more than 30
• They paid no taxes on this land

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Churchs Political Power

• High ranking clergy held political/feudal
  positions in many lands increasing the Churchs
  power
• The pope ruled as a political leader-he ruled a
  large part of Italy-the Papal States.
• He often fought wars to control and expand his
  holdings.

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Indulgences

• Were sold by the Church as a penance for sins
• Much of the money went to the pope
• The pope needed money to build St. Peters
  Basilica in Rome
• He sent Johan Tetzel to Germany to sell
  indulgences
• He sent other priests throughout Europe

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Indulgences

• To sell more indulgences, Tetzel claimed they
  could get a dead persons soul out of Purgatory
• The moment a coin in the coffer rings, a soul to
  heaven springs
• Many were outraged by Tetzels selling technique,
  including Martin Luther
• This led to the Reformation

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Other Changes in the World

• People, not just priests, were learning to read
• People started reading the Bible on their own
• People stared to think on their own, and not
  listen to the priests
• People started reading the ancient non-Christian
  Greeks Homer, Aristotle, and Plato once again
• New ideas of science and mathematics from the
  Muslim intellectuals were being read
• New scientific ideas by Copernicus and others
  questioned the thinking of the Church

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Other Changes in the World

• Erasmus and other thinkers were quietly pushing
  the church for reform
• The new printing press rapidly spread
  revolutionary ideas
• The rulers and priests in Germany were angry at
  seeing money earned in their states being sent to
  Rome to build rich palaces and churches.
• The Muslims now controlled the Byzantine Empire
  and cut of Italy from the spices and silks of
  India and China
• The Portuguese now sailed directly to India
  around Africa, bypassing the Italian middlemen
  and thereby offering cheaper prices for spices
  and silk

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Into This Enters Martin Luther

• Reformer or Revolutionary?