Points Of The Fourth Lateran Council Analysis

Points of the Fourth Lateran Council During the time of declining organization and importance of the Roman Catholic Church Pope Innocent, the Third called a meeting of the fourth Lateran Council in 1215. There were a huge number of Bishops, Abbots and envoys from several European Kingdoms. The issues addressed at the council were along the lines of making the church more godly and spiritual, and addressing the problem of heresy. Pope Innocent considered heresy a serious problem and he wanted absolute authority over the church. In the first canon, the main element was the confirmation of one true God as the creator of all things. The church did not want any one putting another prophet or idol, especially Mohammed, before God …show more content…
They must use instructions received from masters and theologians. Here, the church is making certain they meet the needs of the community and the people will not need to look elsewhere for guidance and instructions. The Church would not sanction any new religious orders. The Pope wanted the ability to control the church. If there were different groups with different doctrines and ideas, control and complete authority would be difficult. Some of the Canons concerned confession, the partaking of the Eucharist and last rites. Everyone within the age of reason must confess their sins and do penance. Receiving the Eucharist was required, at least at Easter. A priest found guilty of not fulfilling his duties would lose his office and be sent to a monastery for life. Doctors must call a priest to give last rites to a dying patient. The Pope insisted on this because the spiritual body was more important than the physical body. Clerics should give these sacraments upon request and without payment. The church has an obligation to ensure a soul had salvation. Bishops could not take oaths of allegiance to secular rulers. This rule gives the Pope total control of the clerics. Their loyalty must lay with the Pope and …show more content…
True penance was the only way to restore salvation after sinning. The Pope could insure that the people look to the Church for forgiveness and guidance in spiritual matters. He could make the faithful conform by holding excommunication over their heads. Obedience of the church followers was Pope Innocent’s primary goal. He insisted on the idea of one foal and one shepherd . Excommunication and dismissal from office awaited anyone found guilty of disobeying church principles. The new rules also kept the Pontiff out of the realm of punishment and gave him a more saintly standing in the eyes of the people. At the same time, the pope choked out