Many of the clergy kept mistresses, and convents became houses of ill fame. Cycles of Medieval church corruption coincided with the growth of strong secular rulers and were only tempered by the appearance of reformist popes and church orders.

Toward the end of the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church was rife with corruption. For the average person the Church was an all-consuming presence. For starters every peasant had to give up a portion of their weekly work to labour on church land for free.As if this wasn’t enough they had to pay 10% of their earnings to the Church through a tax known as the tithe.Since many peasants couldn’t lay their hands on much cash, this tithe was more often than no paid in grain which was stored in vast barns known as tithe bar… Traditionally, the Pope led the Catholic Church from the Vatican, which is based in Vatican City, a separate city- state from Rome. This was the time when Protestantism, through its definitive break with Roman Catholicism, arose to take its place on the Christian map.

These popes are in the history books for all the wrong reasons. The abodes of the clergy were often dens of corruption.

It was a common sight to see priests frequenting the taverns, gambling, and having orgies with quarrels and blasphemy.

Pope John XII (955 to 964) Attaining the title of pope at age 18, John XII was quickly deemed lazy …

The rampant corruption of the medieval Church, however, gave rise to reformers such as John Wycliffe (l. 1330-1384 CE) and Jan Hus (l. c. 1369-1415 CE) and religious sects, condemned as heresies by the Church, such as the Bogomils and Cathars, among many others.

The age of Reformation and Counter-Reformation The most traumatic era in the entire history of Roman Catholicism, some have argued, was the period from the middle of the 14th century to the middle of the 16th. In addition, during the Middle Ages, approximately 80 – 90% of the population could NOT read. Even so, the Church maintained its power and exercised enormous influence over people’s daily lives from the king on his … The level of church corruption in the Middle Ages corresponded to the growth of reform movements as well as leadership by spiritual popes. Reform movements like those begun at Cluny in the 10th Century, the growth of the Cistercian … Reform movements like those begun at Cluny in the 10th Century, the growth of the Cistercian monastic order, and the rise of Mendicant orders such as the Franciscans appeared during times of rampant corruption that began at the highest ecclesiastical tiers and filtered down to local diocesan parishe… This is to keep the Pope from being influenced by politics. The level of church corruption in the Middle Ages corresponded to the growth of reform movements as well as leadership by spiritual popes. So think about it. star Top subjects are Literature, History, and Science.