The Catholic Church was powerful in the Middle Ages. One reason it was so powerful was the organization of the church. The Roman Catholic was organized into an elaborate hierarchy, with the pope as the head in western Europe, with different levels of leadership among the clergy. Individuals began to organize themselves into apostolic communities. The second reason the church was so powerful was wealth. Most people donated ten percent of their income to the church and the church did not pay taxes. People also gave land to the church, which meant the church owned thirty percent of Western Europe in land. The third reason that the Roman Catholic church was so powerful was due to the doctrine of salvation. Everyone believed that if you did everything
