Pope

of Clermont (1095) and their lack of support to Pope Urban’s project, the quest for power in Rome came to a crucial turning point after the Great Schism. Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085) initiated a new conception of the Church and the role of the papacy within it. His ideas and reforms about the supremacy of the Roman pontiff and that the popes were responsible for the right order in the world, which could only be obtained through righteous Christian violence directed by the papacy, forms the basis…

The Kingdoms expanded its territory from present day France through present day Hungary; essentially Western Europe (Crusades Map). In the Catholic Kingdoms, the Pope had control of all church affairs, and the priest had control over a single church (Ellis 217-218). During the late 12th century, the Holy Father was Pope Urban II. Pope Urban II was a Catholic Christian and was in charge of all Catholic Church affairs (“The Crusades”). The Byzantine Empire had branched off from Rome in 330 AD,…

King Charlemagne and Pope Leo III, the church and government were connected. Charlemagne offered protection to the church, and the church taught loyalty to the king. If people were breaking the rules in term of faith and not conforming the king would deal with it. Together church and government controlled the masses. For years the alliance between the two bodies kept the people controlled, but when Pope Leo IX decided that the wealthy and the kings should no longer choose the Pope a crack…

My loyal vassals, Pope Urban II has given us a challenge. A new group of muslims had conquered the Holy Land. They do not let our people go there on pilgrimages. They also are threatening our ally, the byzantine empire. Even though they split our church, we should find it in our hearts to help them. The Pope has challenged us to stop fighting among ourselves, but to fight our common enemy. It is our right to visit our shrines and the muslims took it away. The Pope is assembling and army to go on…

A.D. 452 Yesterday, what could have been a horrendous day for Rome, was prevented by Pope Leo the Great. Attila the Hun, who had already sacked northern Italian cities and towns, was planning to march on Rome. At this time, beloved Pope Leo had come to save the day. Pope Leo has surely proven himself a great and trustworthy leader. Pope Leo was notified about Attila the Hun’s plan to march on Rome and took brave and quick action. He knew that he was obliged to take action and meet Attila to…

of European politics by the actions of Pope Gregory VII, who attempted to dispose of Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and set an example of papal power. Rome’s political influence reached its peak under the guidance of Pope Innocent III who played Kingmaker and pitted the great armies of Europe against each other with mere declarations of faith. As often happens…

Hitler’s Pope was written in 1999 by John Cornwell and it examines the actions of Eugenio Pacelli. Eugenio Pacelli would later become Pope Pius XII of the Roman Catholic Church before, during and after the events of World War Two. Cornwell covers the life and the actions of Pacelli during the events of the war from his actions with Adolf Hitler as well as the relation/ internal workings of the Roman Catholic Church and its dealings during the war. The book begins talking about the Pacellis…

This article about a legendary female pope, or popesse, appealed to me as a Catholic who has learned a lot about Church history in nine years of Catholic schooling. A pope had a lot of influence in the Middle Ages as the head of the highly powerful Church, and the idea of an accidental female pope interested me due to the low status of women at the time. I also enjoy reading stories about mysterious legends and myths. Noble wrote this article intending to explain where her story came from,…

often associate Christianity as a pacifist religion, but this is not entirely accurate as seen in the crusades in the Middle Ages where Pope Urban II sent men to help the Byzantine’s fight off the advancing Seljuk Turks. Although Christianity and Islam have many fundamentally different…

Pope Francis added his voice to the capitalism debate with his Apostolic Exhortation, "Evangelii Gaudium" published in November of 2013. It is based on "the church's primary mission of evangelization in the modern world." In this slamming rebuke against capitalism he describes this as being the "new tyranny," and asks for better politicians who can heal the scars that capitalism has made on society. Capitalism promotes inequality in a way that if left unchecked allows the rich to become…