Martin Luther’s “95 Theses” seemed to affect not only the members of Wittenberg, Germany, but also the entirety of the Holy Roman Empire. This document, which led to Pope Leo X’s “Exsurge Domine,” caused quite an uproar in the Catholic church. One reason Luther’s theses evoked a concerned reaction from church officials was made clear in Luther’s eighty-sixth point specifically. Luther writes “Again, ‘Why does not the pope, whose wealth is today greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build this one basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather that with the money of poor believers?’” Here, Luther not only points out the corruption with indulgence, but he also directly points to the current pope as an issue. The reason church officials
