To What Extent Was the Papacy Responsible for the Growing Criticism of the Roman Catholic Church?
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To what extent was the Papacy responsible for the growing criticism of the Roman Catholic Church?
The Papacy were highly responsible for the growing criticism of the Roman Catholic Church; without them and their actions, people could question the need for the Reformation of the Christian Church. There are also other important causes, such as Erasmus and Humanism, the sale of indulgences and nepotism.
The behaviour of the different popes was a major cause for the criticism. The pope is the most the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and has a major influence over Catholics. At that time, he was also the spiritual leader of most of Europe. He is also supposedly God’s form/representative on earth and should live a good, holy life. However, the popes in this period of time were far from this. They fathered illegitimate children, sinned and were dishonest. They taxed people to fund their lavish lifestyles or used it to redecorate their church, rather than actually using their money for the taxpayers’ benefit. Most people were very poor and this led to great criticism because people complained that their much needed money was being wasted on unnecessary things. Popes swore they would lead a good, holy life and be celibate, but many ignored it. When their actions were known by the public, many people criticised his right to hold the position.
Another cause was the illiteracy of the papacy. Readings from the Bible, in service were read in Latin, and the people did not understand it. This meant priests could make up stuff in the service, misleading their audience. In some cases, the priests themselves didn’t understand Latin! How could they regard themselves as a spiritual leader? A man named Erasmus eventually began to translate the Bible from Latin. He offered his translation to the church, but they rejected it as it exposed the illiteracy, and people questioned what the papacy had to say during their services.
The sale of indulgences is a very important...
The Papacy were highly responsible for the growing criticism of the Roman Catholic Church; without them and their actions, people could question the need for the Reformation of the Christian Church. There are also other important causes, such as Erasmus and Humanism, the sale of indulgences and nepotism.
The behaviour of the different popes was a major cause for the criticism. The pope is the most the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and has a major influence over Catholics. At that time, he was also the spiritual leader of most of Europe. He is also supposedly God’s form/representative on earth and should live a good, holy life. However, the popes in this period of time were far from this. They fathered illegitimate children, sinned and were dishonest. They taxed people to fund their lavish lifestyles or used it to redecorate their church, rather than actually using their money for the taxpayers’ benefit. Most people were very poor and this led to great criticism because people complained that their much needed money was being wasted on unnecessary things. Popes swore they would lead a good, holy life and be celibate, but many ignored it. When their actions were known by the public, many people criticised his right to hold the position.
Another cause was the illiteracy of the papacy. Readings from the Bible, in service were read in Latin, and the people did not understand it. This meant priests could make up stuff in the service, misleading their audience. In some cases, the priests themselves didn’t understand Latin! How could they regard themselves as a spiritual leader? A man named Erasmus eventually began to translate the Bible from Latin. He offered his translation to the church, but they rejected it as it exposed the illiteracy, and people questioned what the papacy had to say during their services.
The sale of indulgences is a very important...