Transcript Problems in Roman Catholic Church

Problems in
Roman
Catholic
Church
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
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
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
Usury=lending 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
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
Church’s Political Power
Catholic church owned HUGE amounts of
land throughout Europe--probably more than
30%
They paid no taxes on this land
High ranking clergy held political/feudal
positions in many lands increasing the Church’s
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.
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. Peter’s
Basilica in Rome
He sent Johan Tetzel to Germany to sell
indulgences
He sent other priests throughout Europe
Indulgences
To sell more indulgences, Tetzel
claimed they could get a dead
person’s soul out of Purgatory
“The moment a coin in the coffer
rings, a soul to heaven springs”
Many were outraged by Tetzel’s
selling technique, including Martin
Luther
This led to the Reformation