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Activity Master 21 Extension 1: Changes and Reformation

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Activity Master 21 Extension 1: Changes and Reformation Grade 8 Activity Master 21 Extension 1: Changes and Reformation The Inquisition As part of the campaign against the Albigensians (a heretic group who saw the natural world as evil), Pope Innocent III called for trials during which the beliefs of the heresy were to be examined and shown to be in error. If heretics persisted in error, they were to be excommunicated from the Church. This process was known as the Inquisition. At the time, heresy was seen as an attack against the state. In 1252, in keeping with standards of the time, Pope Innocent IV permitted the use of punishment to seek out truth. Punishment could include public penance and imprisonment. Those who were unyielding were handed over to civil authorities who killed the supposed heretics. By the end of the fourteenth century the use of inquisition against heretics declined. We will encounter the term inquisition again in the late fifteenth century, after Christian rule was restored in Spain. Christianity in Spain and the New World Spain had been a divided country ever since Muslims took control of it in the eighth century. In the fifteenth century that control was limited and growing weaker. In 1469, two Christian rulers of sections of Christian-controlled Spain were married—Isabella and Ferdinand. They were determined to rid Spain of heretics and of anyone who was not a Christian. Keep in mind that they viewed heresy as a crime against their newly established state as well as a crime against the faith. Leaders of Church and state viewed being Christian and being a loyal subject as one and the same. In 1478, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand asked the pope to reinstitute the Inquisition in order to investigate the sincerity of people who had converted to Christianity from Judaism or Islam. Although the pope issued strict guidelines about how to conduct these trials, many abuses occurred and many people were tortured and killed in Spain in the late fifteenth century. This was the Spanish Inquisition. To correct abuses, in 1483 the pope appointed the Dominican Tomás de Torquemada as Grand Inquisitor to oversee all inquisitions in Spain. It is estimated that under Torquemada perhaps as many as two thousand Jews died, and frequently, their property was confiscated by their accusers. tor Curriculum Division tor si In 1492, Isabella and Ferdinand gained control of all of Spain, ending Muslim rule in the southern part of the country. In the same year, they expelled all Jews from Spain. Actually, Jews had a choice: they could either convert to Catholicism or leave the country. Dangers and suffering accompanied either option. Of those who left the country, many died on the way to Morocco or elsewhere. Some ended up being sold into slavery. © Our Sunday Vi © Our Jews and Muslims who converted to Christianity were called conversos. Once people are baptized and become members of the Church, they should be welcomed into the fold and treated as brothers and sisters in Christ. However, in the atmosphere of distrust that existed in Spain at the time, some older Christians suspected that the new converts were not sincere in their motives for entering the Church. Some newly converted Jews were accused of “Judaizing” Christianity and of trying to subvert the Church, now from within. Thus, some of the conversos were subject to the trials and tortures of the Inquisition. Although in time its implementation subsided, the Spanish Inquisition did not officially end until 1834. Activity: A Faith Decision If you were given the proposition today to convert to another faith or leave the country, what would you do? Write a short essay describing the choice and what your faith means to you. The Avignon Papacy Late in the thirteenth century, rulers of specific European nations started to see themselves as solely responsible for what happened in their respective countries. At this time, the Church tried to resolve a long-standing dispute between England and France. In June 1305 the Church’s cardinals chose Bertrand de Got, the Archbishop of Bordeaux, as pope. Since Bordeaux was under the control of the English, that made Bertrand a subject of the English king; but he had been born a Frenchman and had been a personal friend of the French king since childhood. He agreed to be crowned at Lyons in France. However, Bertrand did not want to settle in French territory. Suffering from cancer at the time, he accepted the hospitality of Dominican friars in the town of Avignon in the kingdom of Naples. His decision had an important effect on the Church because his successors also decided to stay in Avignon. For the next seventy years the pope, the Bishop of Rome, would not live in Rome. Instead, a series of seven popes lived in Avignon. Rome, which had been the physical and spiritual center of the Church, lost its political and moral clout. The Italian poet Petrarch referred to the period from 1309 to 1377 as the Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy, equating it to the years, described in the Bible, when the Israelites had been forced to live in exile in Babylon. In time, one of the Avignon popes purchased land in Avignon and built a papal palace. Most of the popes during this period did good works and continued reforming Church structures. Some made major improvements to the city of Rome, even though they never went there. During his office from 1334–1342, Pope Benedict XII ordered all bishops and priests who were “hangers on” at the papal court to go home and serve their people. He called for religious communities to meet every three years to examine their lifestyle. Curriculum Division tor si On occasion, the issue of the pope’s return to Rome was discussed, but nothing permanent came of it. Two women of the time who were recognized for their holiness, Saints Bridget of Sweden and Catherine of Siena, implored the pope to return to Rome. Perhaps due to their influence, in 1377 the newly elected Pope Gregory XI did move to Rome. He died shortly after his return—a mere three months later. Sunday Vi © Our The Great Western Schism Of the sixteen cardinals who gathered in Rome to elect the pope after the brief reign of Gregory XI, nine were French. The continued French dominance incensed the people of Rome. Marching around the building where the cardinals were meeting, the people demanded a Roman, or at least an Italian, pope. The cardinals chose an Italian archbishop who lived in Bari, which was a distance from Rome. Since he couldn’t get to the city quickly, the cardinals dressed one of their own as pope and presented him to the people to calm the crowd. Then the cardinals fled the city. When the elected pope arrived in Rome in April 1378, he took the name Urban VI. The people of Rome accepted him, and in time the cardinals of the Church returned to Rome and pledged their obedience to him. At first, the new pope seemed to be a good choice. He had a great deal of experience in Church and state affairs, was a capable administrator, and was recognized as an honest man. However, in a few weeks it became clear that he made quick decisions and would not listen to advice from the cardinals. He criticized the decisions of others, especially those of the cardinals. Many would describe his style as volatile. All the cardinals except one left Rome and met in northern Italy. They announced that, since they were under duress when they had chosen Urban as pope, his election was unlawful. The cardinals “elected” another man, a French cardinal named Robert of Geneva, to be “pope.” He attempted to take the papal throne by force but was repelled by the people of Rome. Robert then took up residence in Avignon and claimed to be the rightful pope. Many people, including Saint Catherine of Siena, pointed out that the cardinals had accepted Urban VI as pope, had celebrated Holy Week liturgy with him as pope, and had pledged their obedience to him. Therefore, there was no question that he was the validly elected pope. However, the cardinals who supported Robert would not back down. So Pope Urban VI named new cardinals and excommunicated the old ones, including the cardinal claiming to be pope and living in Avignon. The Avignon “pope” in turn excommunicated Pope Urban and his followers. Thus the world found itself with two claimants to the papal throne. Secular leaders and the common people began to take sides with one or the other. This situation, in which two men claimed to be pope at the same time, lasted thirty-eight years and is called the Great Western Schism. Resolving the Schism The first attempt to end the Great Western Schism took place in 1409 when leaders of both Church and state called for a council to be held in Pisa, Italy. The council deposed Curriculum Division tor both claimants to the papal throne and elected Peter of Candia to be pope. He lived only a si short time thereafter, but the cardinals he had named chose the next “pope,” who took the name John XXIII. Neither of the two previous claimants to the papacy recognized the right of a council to be convened without papal approval, and so they did not resign. As a result, three people claimed to be pope: Gregory XII in Rome, the claimant Benedict XIII in Avignon, and now John XXIII. Sunday Vi © Our Finally in 1414, the Holy Roman Emperor at the time forced John XXIII to convene a council at Constance, Italy.
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