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The Roman Catholic Church During The Middle Ages

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During the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church ruled the Western world. It was the epicenter of politics, economy, and religion. All the power that the Catholic Church possessed made the Pope the equivalent of an emperor or a king, thus creating a blurred line among the powers that the church should have, and had. Disputes about power between the pope and emperor of Rome had been going on throughout many centuries. Despite the fact that the Church possessed a large amount of power, it faced many crises during this time. The Middle Ages were a time of conflict which caused the Church to move away from traditional biblical practices and to embrace a corrupt monastic lifestyle. Clergymen were chosen by the King, and they would sell their services …show more content…

Kings used lay investiture as a way in which they would have more control over the church. By placing nobles as church officials, the church progressively became more unethical. Everyone from the Pope to monks engaged in illicit behaviors; they fell into temptation and partook in lustful and greedy activities. They proclaimed to sell indulgences so that the townspeople could be freed from their sins, however, the money obtained from the selling of indulgences was used to provide church officials with a more lavish lifestyle. In addition, the installation of nobles as church officials led to an increase advocation and church support for the crusades that kings proposed. During the medieval centuries, crusades were a way in which the Roman Empire acquired vast amount of lands. Taking part in a crusade would be a way in which men demonstrated their loyalty toward their king. During a crusade in the thirteenth century, Saint Francis realized that he was fighting for the wrong king, and that he would much rather fight for his true liege lord, Christ the King. Upon having this divine revelation, Saint Francis decided that a change must occur in order to help God’s will to come true; he sought to find a way to modify the clerical discipline in order to liberate the clergy from the unprincipled

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