How did the Catholic Church become so politically powerful?

Answer 1

Through bribery and corruption. Many of the Popes throughout the history were corrupt and manipulated the affairs of countries.

Answer 2

For whatever reason, whether it was a vision or politics, Roman Emperor Constantine the Great converted to Christianity, which became the state religion not many years after his death. Christians converted the pagans in northern Europe, making their Church the most powerful religion in the continent. The Church influenced the kings and emperors of great nations and all the people to the lowest. Kings could be excommunicated, if they did not behave according to what the Church wanted, and if they were excommunicated, their subjects could disobey and oust them legally, and the kings of other nations were sanctioned to invade and dethrone them.

Even the most powerful kings did not want to cross the Church and backed down in a conflict with it. Henry II is a good example of a powerful king who backed down as a result of a threat from the pope.

Answer 3

After the fall of the Roman Empire it was the one and only major institution left standing. It all ready controlled the government, the ideas of people, the art, and culture. The people of the time thought that God was the first estate in man and that the church represented God's authority on earth. The members of the clergy were considered to be representatives of God, so what they said was thought to have come from God. The people of the time also thought that everyone was born with sin and they need to prove that they were without sin through out their life. The way to do that was to follow the dictates of the church. If the church thought you had done something wrong if you were a king or commoner then you were punished. With this thought process it was easy for them to control everyone.

A:

Pope Stephen II used the forgery now known as the Donation of Constantine to lay claim to what were to become the Papal States. The Donation of Constantine was then used to manipulate political power, to create and control the papal states and to have the papacy accepted as the supreme temporal power in Western Europe.

It strengthened the papacy by ensuring that popes, from the eighth century onwards, had access to enormous wealth and could live in such luxury that even the most important kings could not match. Before the creation of this forgery, the papacy was at risk of becoming defunct, as there were few clerics interested in taking on such an unrewarding and dangerous position.

At the same time, it weakened the papacy by making it no more than a prize to be fought over by the factions and warlords of Italy. Whoever gained the papacy and became pope was expected to shower family and friends with wealth from the Church's enormous income and, for this reason alone, became the focus of bitter rivalry. Russell Chamberlin (The Bad Popes) describes how the Church was spiritually weakened as pope after pope took on the office for personal gain and proceeded to live lives of debauchery and vice.

Answer 4

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Catholic AnswerPower? The only "power" that the Catholic Church has ever held is that of Her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There have been periods throughout history when, in some countries, the entire populace belonged to the Catholic Church, including the rulers, but even then the only power that the Church held was spiritual, which was given to Her by Her Blessed Lord, see St. Matthew, chapter 16, verses 17-19. And this power was given to Her for the specific purpose of saving people.

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St. Matthew 16:17-19:

And Jesus answering, said to him [Peter]: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.

Answer 5

Roman Catholic AnswerThe Roman Catholic Church has power because It is the mystical Body of Our Blessed Lord, and He has sent the Holy Spirit to guide It in all truth.

Answer 6

It gained political power when Emperor Constantine made it the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Answer 7

Through bribery and corruption. Many of the Popes throughout the history were corrupt and manipulated the affairs of countries.