The sale of the indulgences were the most criticized action of the Church during the Reformation, for that the money acquired from these indulgences were used by the Church to build extravagant cathedrals and buy unnecessary luxurious clothes and jewelry for priests. The Papacy controlled so much wealth during the Renaissance that popes were "held up as heroes of art and splendor, and as the very model and definition of corruption." (Knox 2006). These indulgences were often expensive and unaffordable by the lower class, and its legitimacy was heavily questioned. Martin Luther, the leading figure of the Reformation, wrote the Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 and claimed that: "papal indulgences cannot remove the very least of venial sins as far as guilt is concerned." (Luther 1517) Luther challenged the validity and morality of Papal indulgences in his most famous work, which he then nailed to the door of the Wittenberg Church. The sale of indulgences were heavily attacked causing Pope Pius V to completely abolish them in 1567. (Duggan 2014) Another important source of the Church's income during the Middle Ages was taxes collected from rulers and peasants, the most common of which are annates. Annates were taxes issued by the Church to rulers and subjects of Christendom in which they must pay a portion of their first year's income to the Church. As the Reformation spread and grew, the Church received lots of reprimand for collecting annates, as it was an act of corruption and oppression. Martin Luther asserts that "every prince, nobleman and city should boldly forbid their subjects to pay the annates to Rome and abolish then entirely." (Luther 45) Luther called the public to resist paying a percentage of their income to the corrupt Church and as a result, peasants began to actively resist the Church's call for money. Faced with opposition from the masses, papal annates were abolished after the Council of Trent.
In the sixteenth century, the Catholic Church was protested. This protest of the church is called the protestant reformation. ... There was a large increase in middle class, and a Decline of the Catholic Church. ... Catholics believe in transubstantiation or the actual changing of the wine and bread to God's body and blood. ... Catholics believe in seven sacraments. ...
The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church and Catholic religion. ... The Pope is the Bishop of Rome and is known as the Holy Father of the church, he is also referred to as the Victor of Christ. The role of the Pope is to oversee the entire Catholic Church, obviously that is too much of a job for one specific person; therefore the job is delegated down to Cardinals and Bishops. ... Peter is believed to be the first Pope of the Catholic Church followed by another and so on. ... There are still many people around the world that follow the faith very closely, but that number is gradually declin...
This statement reveals why many Roman Catholic priests are leaving their church. ... This is appalling and their numbers continue to decline at a rate of about 12 percent a year (Roe). ... The Catholic population is growing in the United States while the number of Catholic priests continues to decline. ... In comparison of the Roman Catholic Church to the Greek Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church has no problem of a priest shortage because they allow optional celibacy. ... All of the solutions given for the opponent's arguments would help the Roman Catholic Church of today. ...
This was the general reform of the Catholic Christian tradition and was known as the counter reformation. ... As a result of these changes the church had split, separating the Protestant and the Roman Catholic Church. Also there were subsequent splits within the Protestant church which resulted in Lutherans, Calvinists, Anabaptists and The Church of England. There was progression of royal absolutism which meant that there was a decline in power and to a large extent scientific freedoms. The Catholic church was from the start becoming more and more corrupt as time went by and needed a change t...
For many centuries, there was very little scientific advancement due to a restraint the Catholic Church had over Europe during the Middle Ages, but this all changed during The Scientific Revolution. During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church had created a system of beliefs based on the teachings of ancient Greeks and Romans. ... Discipline and learning receded and the Church declined. ... "The Pope, who had the responsibility of running the Catholic Church as well, ruled Rome. ... He created pamphlets explaining that the Catholic Church was taking advantage of their people and they were ba...
If you wanted to interpret the Late Middle Ages as a period of decline, what arguments and evidence would you emphasize? ... It first declares that this same council, legitimately assembled in the Holy Ghost, forming a general council and representing the Catholic Church militant, has it's power immediately from Christ, and everyone, whatever his state or position, even if it be the Papal dignity itself, is bound to obey it in all those things which pertain to the faith and the healing of the said schism, and to the general reformation of the Church of God, in head and members. Attack ...
The Decline of Rome and Transformation into Medieval Europe: Contents 1. ... Catholic Christianity is strongly linked with the medieval world. ... The office of supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church, was from the time of Numa to that of Augustus exercised by an eminent senator. ... The Power of the church gradually grew as the power of the Roman state diminished. ... The church in turn managed to maintain its hold over the faithful, in those lands by taking away the relative autonomy of the provincial churches and placing them under the authority of the pope After the Empires las...
The renaissance values of humanism and secularism stimulated widespread criticism of the Catholic Church. ... People responded drastically, and sales of indulgences declined. ... Wanting a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, he looked to the Catholic Church for approval. ... He gradually broke England's ties with the Church, and although not necessarily meaning to, showed that the break from the Catholic Church was the will of the English people. ... By the mid-1500s, the Roman Catholic Church had strengthened and reclaimed some territory that had been taken away by Protestants. ...