Ideas to Questions

Nicoli Borromeo

This is an attempt to answer questions posted here.

The throne of the pontiff is never hereditary. The College of Cardinals elect someone as a successor to the throne of Saint Peter in accordance to a practice began in the founding of the Catholic faith. If some families are able to establish dynasties, it is due to the political power they hold. Of course, ill-gotten means are prevalent.

The rule regarding celibacy is also a cornerstone of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church. It is one of the differences that lead to the Schism between the Church of the East and the West, along with other doctrinal grounds like the Filioque. It is not as if in the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, the concept of celibacy is not yet existent. It’s just that many of the clergy refuse to follow that rule. The Church during that time, and even the Church now agrees, is very corrupt. However, that corruption cannot be seen as a corruption innate to the office of the Church. In other words, the Roman Catholic Church in itself is not corrupt; it’s just that its leaders are corrupt. We have to bear in mind that the leaders of the Church were also individuals who are part of their society. The society from which they came from is corrupt, so it’s not hard to see why the clergy is also corrupt. They are just products of the society in which they move. We also have to bear in mind the standing of the Church in those days and the people who managed to hold power. We can see that many of the leaders in the Church before were in fact nobles who are only interested in the political power afforded by Church offices. The secular power of the Church was then at its peak, and people see the Church as an employment or a source of living instead of a vocation, just like some of our politicians today who see public service as self service. They entered the church not because they heard a “calling to service” but because they want to empower and enrich themselves.

One can also take a look on how many of the Church positions were obtained. Many positions in the church were handed based on nepotism and simony. Church offices were not deserved, they were purchased. It’s not hard to see why incompetence and corruption was so widespread in the Church then, and not just in the Church. Even the national governments of those times were deeply mired in these practices. It’s not a problem in Faith, it is a problem of a Society without one.

As for the changes that happened, one can credit Martin Luther for that. As already mentioned, his 95 theses is essentially an attack against selling indulgences and simony. The schism is never much of a doctrinal split but a split in principle. The schism in faith was seen by the German Princes at that time as an opportunity to assert their independence from the Pope in Rome as well as the Holy Roman Emperor. The German Princes adopted the Lutheran Faith not because they saw it as a true way to salvation but due to political agendas. They want to free themselves of their binds to Rome and the Holy Roman Emperor. This is in the midst of the Investiture Controversy regarding the secular authority of bishops. The German Princes wanted a say in the choice of bishops in their electorates, as the bishop holds considerable political and economic power which can damage the reputation of the prince. They adopted the Lutheran Faith as an excuse to weaken the position of the Church by changing their state religion, removing their allegiance to Rome.

One can also credit Martin Luther for indirectly being responsible for the Catholic Response to the Reformation, the Counter Reformation. The Counter Reformation led to the establishment of an Ecumenical Council (the Council of Trent) to correct some of the graver abuses like simony and sale of indulgences. One can say that the reform in the Church began at the death of Alexander VI, better known to us as Rodrigo Borgia. His successor and rival, Julius II, strengthened the church position against simony by decreeing election due to simony invalid and punishable even though he also bought his way to the title, apparently still smarting from his defeat to Rodrigo Borgia in the previous Conclave. The reform movement kicked ground on the reign of Pope Paul III. I cannot say that the Counter Reformation is a very good idea, as it resulted in the Inquisition and the Indice or the Index of Forbidden Books, but its doctrinal reforms shaped the way the Church looks in the present by strengthening the Church and removing the corrupt practices associated with the church before, like simony and sale of indulgences.