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The only "power" that the Catholic Church has ever had is the power that God gave it, as the Catholic Church is the Mystical Body of His Son, Our Blessed Lord, Jesus Christ (see Acts 9:105 and 1 Cor 12:12-14). And, as Our Blessed Lord, Himself, said: Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would certainly strive that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now my kingdom is not from hence. (John 18:36); thus the power of the Catholic Church is not "of this world", and it is divine. To think that Martin Luther could influence God's power in the world is beyond the pale. Martin Luther's teaching certainly affected the number of people who attended the Catholic Church by giving the German princes in northern Germany a chance to be free of Papal influence, they apostatized in droves, thus denying the sacraments and the grace necessary for eternal salvation to thousands of people back then, and uncounted millions since. So, if you look at the Church's "power" as the number of its members, then his teaching allowed the rulers to deprive the common man of his access to Christ's Church in many principalities. This is referred to as the "Peace of Westphalia. See link below the answer box.

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What major event allowed the Roman Catholic Church to weaken?

There are many but chiefly the splitting of Martin Luther and his followers is a big one (because the Protestant movement started) and then again the Renaissance science hurt the catholic church along with all modern day science. Losing the crusades also didn't help.


How did the Catholic Church's tax policies weaken the Church?


Why did Germany quickly support Martin Luther?

There was no such thing as Germany when Martin Luther lived, and this is critical to understand. There were over 100 separate and independent German statelets. The power and political influence of the papacy over each of these various German statelets was quite high. In order to weaken the power of the papacy, a number of German statelets seized upon the religious separatism of Martin Luther as an excuse to pursue political separation from the papacy. Most of the German statelets in the north supported Martin Luther under this guise. Most of the German statelets in the south preferred to stay in league with the Catholic Church than forsake it for Luther's heresies.


How did the act of supremacy help weaken the catholic church in england?

The act of Supremacy weakened the Catholic Church in England because it declared Henry VIII the supreme head of the Church of England.


How did the papal dispute weaken the Catholic Church?

The two rival popes claimed authority.


How did the peace of Westphalia weaken the catholic church’s power?

It recognized the right of kingdoms to practice Protestantism.


How did the Catholic Church tax policies weaken the church?

In most countries, in most times, the Catholic Church only taxes the parishes, not individuals. Unless you can ask a more specific question, I would have to say that 1) there are no Catholic Church tax policies for people, and 2) The Catholic Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, and, thus, cannot be "weakened".


How did the Scientific Revolution weaken the Catholic Church?

The "Scientific Revolution" did not weaken the Catholic Church, the Scientific Revolution was brought about by the Catholic Church. Nearly everyone who contributed to it for centuries was Catholic, in many notable cases, they were even clergy or monks. People of a protestant or secular viewpoint often make the claim that the scientific revolution led to a weakening of the Church because the Church relied on things not seen, while science relied on provable facts, but this is a straw argument, and doesn't touch the reality that everyone actually doing the science was a Catholic.


How did internal differences weaken the Catholic Church?

A very odd question. The Catholic Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, and as such has a divine origin and is divinely guaranteed. Further it is guided by the Holy Spirit and will not fail, will, in fact, be here until the end of the world.


How did the printing of the Holy Bible weaken the Catholic Church?

.Roman Catholic AnswerGreat heavens, NO. The Catholic Church has been printing the Holy Bible since the invention of a printing press, and for the fourteen centuries before that, thousands of monks spent their whole lives making new Bibles. Keep in mind that it was the Catholic Church that wrote and approved the Bible to begin with. Without the Catholic Church there would be no Bible today, and certainly would have been none around for the protestants to mutilate. As it is, M. Luther removed seven books from the Bible, and tried mightily to alter the New Testament as well, he was foiled in the later attempt by other heretics. The only printing of Holy Bibles that the Church objected to were error filled books claiming to be the complete Bible. Please see the link below for more:


What were the causes for the internal weakening of the Catholic Church?

Roman Catholic AnswerThe Catholic Church was formed from the side of Christ hanging dead on the Cross. At Pentecost, He sent the Holy Spirit to be with It and to guide It until the end of the world. According to Sacred Scripture, It is the Mystical Body of Christ and His Bride. As such, nothing can weaken It, as It's guarantee is God, Himself.


What effect did Pope Clement V have on the Catholic Church?

Pope Clement V had a profound effect on the Catholic Church that was to last for centuries. Pope Clement V is the first of the Avignon popes-the first pope who set up resident in Avignon, France, and never set foot in Rome. The long term effect of the Avignon papacy was to weaken the influence of the Catholic Church and hasten that decline that resulted in the protestant revolt two centuries later.