AD800-AD1414
 Eternal
Father, I offer Thee the
Most Precious Blood of Thy
Divine Son, Jesus, in union with
the Masses said throughout the
world today, for all the holy souls
in purgatory, for sinners
everywhere, for sinners in the
universal church, those in my
own home and within my family.
Amen.

O God, throughout the ages you have called women
and men to pursue lives of perfect charity through the
evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and
obedience. During this Year of Consecrated Life, we
give you thanks for these courageous witnesses of
Faith and models of inspiration. Their pursuit of holy
lives teaches us to make a more perfect offering of
ourselves to you. Continue to enrich your Church by
calling forth sons and daughters who, having found
the pearl of great price, treasure the Kingdom of
Heaven above all things. Through our Lord Jesus
Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the
unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
A
struggle inside and outside the Church
to be faithful to the Pope and the
teachings of the Church
 A struggle for balancing power between
the Church and the state
 Obedience
to the Church
• Obedience is at the core of the struggle of sin
and holiness
• While the Church cannot be too political, there
MUST be respect for and obedience to the
Church as God’s spokesman in the world which
forms Christians for participation in society.
 This goes for both lay members and the clergy
• When obedience is rejected, it is guaranteed to
result in disaster!
 Obedience
to the Church – EXAMPLES
• EASTERN SCHISM
• CRUSADES
• MENDICANT ORDERS vs. HERETICAL “ORDERS”
• INQUISITION
• GREAT WESTERN SCHISM
 Sts. Cyril
& Methodius came from
Constantinople in the 800’s
• Introduced Cyrillic alphabet
• Vernacular in the Mass
• Greek customs into the Church
 Married priests, beards, no fasting on Saturday,
leavened bread in the Mass, “Alleluia” during Lent
 ALL APPROVED BY THE POPE!!!
A political system in
which the emperor
extends his powers
into Church matters

•Constantine the Great calls
for the Council of Nicaea
•The appointing of bishops
and the Eastern Patriarch
•The increasing power of the
Eastern Emperor will lead to
conflicts and disputes with
the Pope
The People Involved:
Patriarch Michael
Patriarch of Constantinople
Pope Leo IX
The Pope at the time…
Cardinal Humbert
Papal Representative of Pope Leo I
WEST

Doctrinal dispute
EAST

• Filioque


Crowning of Charlemagne
as emperor in the West
Recent Papal trends to
reform
• Renewal of celibate
priesthood
• Beardless priests
• No “Alleluia” during Lent


Increased military strength
Desire for greater
independence from the
West
Belief that the East rules all
the empire
• Justinian I
• caesaropapism
 Leo
IX condemned some Eastern
practices in Latin dioceses
 Abp. Michael Cerularius
• Latin parishes in Constantinople closed
• Consecrated Hosts from Latin parishes were
trampled – thought to be invalid by the East
 Cardinal
Humbert sent to Cerularius on
Pope Leo IX’s behalf
 During
Divine Liturgy
(Eastern Mass) Humbert &
Frederick of Lorraine
(future Pope Stephen X)
slams a letter of
excommunication on altar
of Hagia Sophia
excommunicating the
Patriarch
• Invalid because Pope Leo IX
was dead by then

Cerularius called a synod
days later and
excommunicated the
delegates
• “The Latins had perverted the
Faith”
Negotiations between the
east and west started up
soon after 1054 w/o much
success
 Various spats b/w East and
West keeps the Orthodox
and Catholics split to this
day

 Other problems
• 1. The East/Greek & West/Latin become more
separate
• 2. Tension between the Pope and the Patriarch
(question of authority raised by Photian schism of
857-867)
• 3. Crowning of Charlemagne – who was illiterate – as
“Roman Emperor” offended New Rome
• 4. Filioque dispute
 Council of Toledo in 589 (and the Son)
 Clarification or Alteration/Change?
 East says Alteration of Creed of 451
 West says Clarification in face of heresy!
 Result: Patriarch
excommunicates the
Pope & the Pope’s delegates return the
favor
• Problem: the Pope is actually dead at the time
 4th
Crusade (AD1204) seals the division
• The city of Venice sacked Constantinople
 AD1453
– Constantinople falls to the
Muslim Turks
• The West was slow to come to the East’s aid
• Constantinople becomes Istanbul under the
Muslims
A
series of 4 (major) DEFENSIVE
military campaigns between 1096
and 1270 undertaken by Christians
• Because the Muslims are trying to take
over the world! There’s a fear the Muslims
will conquer all of Europe.
 GOAL: liberate
the Holy Land & stop
the expansion of Islam
• Called by Bl. Pope Urban II
1st Crusade (1095-1099)
•Recapture Jerusalem: TEMPORARY SUCCESS
2nd Crusade (1141)
• Recapture Damascus: FAILED
 3rd Crusade (1189 – 1192)
• Recapture Jerusalem: FAILED
• Recapture True Cross: SUCCESS
 4th Crusade (1201-1204)
• Things go downhill – sacking of Constantinople
 5th Crusade (1212)
• Children’s Crusade – never a good idea
 Diminished
enthusiasm and religious fervor for the
Holy Wars were the result
 Victory
is fleeting: Christian control of the Holy
Land ended in 1291
• It would be the 19th century before Christian forces would
have a foothold in the region
 Muslims
are held back for 400 years

Improvements
Intellectual life
Military technology (defenses &
weaponry)
• Missionary development (Asia,
esp. China)
• Western Culture
•
•

Muslims would give control
of Christian Holy Places in
Palestine to the Franciscans
 Balancing
power between the Church &
state
• During the Dark Ages, it was only the Church
which governed the West
• As secular rules began to re-gain power in the
Middle Ages, the struggle for power caused lots
of problems
• Important note: when the Church tries to
become too political it will cause problems
 Balancing
power between the Church &
state – EXAMPLES
• GREGORIAN REFORMS (relations w/Henry IV)
• INQUISITION
• AVIGNON PAPACY
• GREAT WESTERN SCHISM
 1. Pope
Sylvester & Constantine (313)
 2. Pope Leo III & Charlemagne (800)
 3. Pope Gregory VII & Henry IV (1077)
 4. St. Thomas Becket & Henry II of
England (1170)
 5. Pope Innocent III
 6. Pope Boniface VIII & Philip the Fair
 When
Christianity is
legalized, Constantine
gives the Church certain
privileges
 There are now mixed
motives for joining the
Catholic Faith
• Even the motives of the Pope
are somewhat marred by these
privileges
 Due
to the attacks by the
Barbarians, Leo III is in need of
military support.
 Charlemagne gives the
needed military support to Leo
III in exchange for the title of
“Holy Roman Emperor”
• This will obviously offend the
Emperor in Constantinople who
sees himself as the Roman Emperor

Henry IV wanted to control the Church
• Names a Bishop of Milan

Gregory saw that as an attack on his
authority & excommunicated Henry
• No longer faithful to the Church, citizens are
no longer bound to pay him taxes nor is the
military to support him
Gregory forces Henry to come 3 days
barefoot through the snow as a sign of
repentance, and Gregory forgives him
 BUT…1 year later, Henry will go so far
as to unlawfully name a Pope

• Technically, it’s an anti-pope.

Henry II published the laws known as
the Constitutions of Clarendon
• This created taxes on Church property, the
right of the state to seize Church property,
and the right to try priests and bishops in
ordinary courts

Thomas Becket refused to allow such
things
• Henry II: Who will rid me of this pesky
priest?
• Becket is murdered in his own Cathedral,
presumably by Henry’s men.
• This becomes a long-standing example of
what NOT to do to the Church as a head of
state.
 This
is the high point of Papal
authority
• Because of the Becket incident, the
kings of Europe back off and Innocent
has a wide range of authority
 He
excommunicates the kings of
Europe one-by-one
 This immerses the Church greatly
in worldly affairs
• After this, the Church goes 2 years
without a Pope

AD1294 sees two problems in the
papacy
• Celestine V resigns (only pope to resign)
showing weaknesses in the papacy
• Boniface VIII seriously oversteps his authority
 Even every leaf of every tree must obey the Pope’s
commands
 Issues Unam Sanctam emphasizing the Pope’s
supreme authority
 A true message at the wrong time

Philip the Fair of France is not impressed
• In a battle with Boniface, Philip’s soldiers slap
the Pope as a sign of their rejection of the
Pope’s authority
 Avignon
1377)
Papacy (1305-
• French kings trying to
manipulate the Pope by
manipulating the Cardinals
who elect the Pope
• A French Pope pressured by
the French king moves the
Papal residence to France
showing the French king’s
power over the Pope
 Western
Schism (1378-1414)
• When the Pope does return – thank you, St.
Catherine of Siena and St. Bridget of Sweden –
the struggle continues.
• Kings still try to control the Pope, establish their
own Pope
• At one point, there’s even 3 men claiming to be
Pope.
A
temporary peace is settled when a
council establishes a true Pope (Martin V)
 Problem: the Council looks to have more
authority than the Pope
• Questions begin to arise: do we really need the
Pope? Doesn’t he just cause more harm than
good?

 MENDICANT
ORDERS
 INQUISITION
 THE
BLACK DEATH
 In
the midst of the turmoil, many
Catholics want to return to a fidelity to
the Gospel (away from clerical abuses of
simony & clerical unchastity)
 One
solution: by rejecting the Church &
going our own way
• Cathars & Albigensians (radical poverty,
Manichaeans are back); Waldensians
 Another
solution: accepting the
Church’s teachings and following after
Christ and His Church
• Franciscans and Dominicans – radical poverty,
teaching the truths of the Faith to uncatechized
Catholics, obedience to the Church of Jesus
Christ
 Average child
 “Francis, go and
build up my
house again.”
 Against his father’s will, he
lived a life of poverty
• Gained a strong following: 500 by
time of St. Francis’ death
 Seeking Papal approval…
• Dream of a beggar holding up
Basilica of St. John Lateran
 By
his charity, won favor of
Muslims during the Crusades
 Starts
with the dream of a
hound in the wheat field…
 Urged by his bishop to preach
against the Albigensians
 Inspired by St. Francis, St.
Dominic began living a life of
poverty
Devoted himself to preaching and
teaching
 Followers would do the same...

 Weapon
Rosary
of choice: the Holy
 Rejuvenation
of
the spiritual life
• Simplicity of life
• Devotion to the
Eucharist
2
of the Church’s
strongest orders
 They become the
force for 300 years
• DOMINICANS
 St. Thomas Aquinas, Pope St.
Pius V, St. Albert the Great,
St. Martin de Porres, St. Rose
of Lima, Bl. Fra Angelico
• FRANCISCANS
 St. Clare, St. Bonaventure, St.
Bernadette, St. Thomas More,
St. John Vianney, St. Pius X, St.
Louis of France, St. Padre Pio,
St. Max Kolbe, St. Charles
Borromeo
 Western Europe =
• (there was no division)
Catholic
Heresy was an attack against both the
Church and the state.
 Pope called for trials against heresy

• Seeking to maintain unity & apostolicity
GOAL:
STOP HERESY
Penitential – repent to avoid
eternal damnation

Juridical – punish because of the
wrongness

Special Judges who examined
and judged the doctrinal opinions
and moral conduct of suspicious
individuals

•Inquisitors include St. Dominic
•Under examination: Albigensians,
Cathars
A
month grace period given to confess
heresy & repent
• Without repentance, the trial would begin
 EVIDENCE
IS NEEDED FOR A
CONVICTION
• At least 2 witnesses for conviction
• Accused could not see witness list but could
provide list of enemies
Lighter penalties…
Stiffer penalties…
 Good
 Fines
works
 Making a pilgrimage
 Offering a candle or
giving a chalice
 Participation in a
crusade
 Whipping
with rods
 Pillory
 Wearing
distinguished crosses
 Imprisonment
1.
Relapsed heretics
2.
For the unrepentive
3.
The denial of the divinity of Christ
Nobles beheaded, peasants strangled
Inflicted by the state, NOT THE CHURCH


•
State saw itself as defender of the Church
Some say that 95 million died
during the time of the
Inquisitions
However those parts of Europe did not
have that many people to kill!
(plus it was around the time of the
black death when 1/3 of Europe died)
 1998
– archives of the Holy Office
opened to scholars
• 800-page report issued
• Only about 1% were executed
 Abuses
not as bad as some would say
• About 2,000 of the 100,000 placed on trial
were executed
--------- DON’T HAVE TO WRITE ----------The Inquisition, in fact, though not perfect, was a more just
court than most. Often, people charged with regular crimes
would pretend to be heretics so that they could be transferred
to the custody of the Inquisition, whose prisoners were better
treated.
1347-1352
 Demographic
changes
• People living longer
• Moving to the city
• Period of famine
 When
the PLAGUE was brought over from
Asia, it was easily transmitted…
• Transmission by fleas on rats – 50% mortality rate
• Pneumonic form – 90% mortality
 All of Europe laid waste
• Esp. bishops & priests
 Sanitary problems
 Jews accused of causing the plague
• Pope issued two documents saying they did not
 As much as a third of the population may
have died from the plague
 Superstitions increased
• Some see it as a punishment from God for
sinfulness
 Many
towns w/o a priest
• No Sacraments!
 BIGGEST
PROBLEM:
• Because young priests learned from older
priests, no priestly training
 This
will set the stage for a weakening of
the Church in the coming CENTURY
 At
the end of the “Middle Ages”, there’s
trouble brewing…
• People question the Pope
 Necessity of the Pope, authority of the Pope,
obedience to the Pope
• The people are not well connected with the
Church because there are few priests and those
who are priests are not well-educated
• Catholics begin to wonder about the value of the
Church at all…