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PROBLEMS FOR THE PAPACY
Christian Identity Weakens
By 1300’s
Church was in a tough spot
Papal influence was weakening
England and France were fighting over territory
Nations and Kings had more power to command loyalty
National identity was more important than Catholic identity

King vs. Pope…Again
King Phillip IV ( aka. the Fair) wanted to expand his territory
Began to run out of funds
Decided to tax French clergy
took steps to make French Church national – not under influence of the pope
King vs. Pope…Again Cont.
Pope Boniface writes two letters saying:
Kings can’t tax clergy and all Christians have to listen to the pope (to save their
souls)
Trying to assert papal supremacy over kings
Philip sends troops to arrest the pope and slap him around a bit
Pope is rescued but died 1 month later
New Pope
Was a Frenchman, Pope Clement V (childhood friends with Philip IV)
Under control of the King of France
1309
Clement moves papal headquarters to south of France; town of Avignon
Also appointed a number of new cardinals – all of them French
Began the Avignon Papacy (aka. “The Babylonian Captivity”)
Avignon Papacy (1309–1377)
All officials needed to run papacy moved to Avignon
Seven popes during this period – all lived in Avignon
Largely cooperated with French King
Became viewed as a French puppet
Papacy displayed increasingly lavish and corrupt lifestyle
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Controversy of Avignon
Christians concerned about this turn of events
Not only with lavishness and corruption
Believed Pope should be in Rome – can you think of some reasons why?
Peter the 1st pope was bishop of Rome; so his successor should be in Rome as well
France and England at war; politically unwise and morally unjust to have pope
allied with French cause
Popes had also requested that dioceses increase taxes and donations for services
Situation Gets Increasingly Grim
Resistance to papal authority increases steadily
Marsiglio of Padua’s Defender of Peace – written in 1324, declared:
secular rulers had supreme authority over the Church
Pope was not appointed by Christ, but by people (clergymen and laymen) directed
by the state
Emperor could depose and punish Church officials, and use Church property any
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Emperor could depose and punish Church officials, and use Church property any
way he desired
Religious rebellion was becoming more and more likely
Catherine of Siena (1347–1380)
Devoted herself to God at age 7
Spent her teenage years in contemplative life alone
Joined Dominicans at age 16
Was a mystic – experienced many visions
Lived life of extreme poverty
ate almost nothing
Began to actively serve the poor and sick at age 21
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Catherine of Siena Cont.
Devout and forceful personality
Reputation for being uncommonly holy
Asked many times to mediate disputes b/w city states
Nobles and generals asked her for advice
Received stigmata
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Catherine and the Pope
Pope Gregory XI
Secretly desired to return to Rome
Catherine began writing to Gregory XI
Catherine went to visit him in 1376
Urged him to return to Rome
In Rome, pope could bring peace b/w England and France, and b/w Italian city
states

Letter from St. Catherine to
Pope Gregory XI Excerpts
“[The] Holy Church should return to her first condition, poor, humble, and meek as
she was in that holy time when men took note of nothing but the honour of God and
the salvation of souls… For ever since she has aimed more at temporal than spiritual,
things have gone from bad to worse…”
“…Return to Rome…Let not your holy desire fail on account of any scandal or
rebellion of citied which you might see or hear…”
Pope Comes Home to Rome
Pope Gregory XI returned papacy to Rome in 1377
He died a year later
It’s Not Over Yet
Pope Urban VI was the next pope
Compromise candidate
Cardinals would have elected a Frenchman
People of Rome were rioting – demanded an Italian Pope
Urban VI had a bad temper – began to turn people against him
French Cardinals claimed he wasn’t the real pope
Elected out of fear of Roman mob
Elected their own French Pope, Clement VII – lived in Avignon
Now had two rival popes and two church gov’ts
Great Papal Schism
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Great Papal Schism
Christians were divided in who they supported
England, Scandinavia, and Northern France supported pope in Rome
Rest of France, Spain, and southern Italy supported pope in Avignon
Germans and northern Italians were divided
Group of cardinals tried to resolve this by electing a new pope (Alexander V)
New pope was not recognized by other two groups
Now there were three popes
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The Popes in 1417
Rome: Gregory XII (true pope)
Avignon: Benedict XIII
Pisa: John XXIII
Council of Constance
(1414-1418)
Called by Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund and John XXIII
Desired Church’s unity
The council deposed Benedict XIII and John XXIII
Pope Gregory XII resigned
Pope Martin V was elected – one and only pope
Supported by all sides
Ended papal schism (lasted 40 yrs)
Aftermath
Papacy was weakened
Prestige and power had been decreased
National and monarchical power continued to grow stronger
Popes continued to be challenged by monarchs
Ex: Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain – Spanish Inquisition
Pope’s protests against the cruelty were ignored
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