ought forth a major factor concerning the corruption of the church. The granting of indulgences was accepted from the Crusades and grew more popular during the later Middle Ages. This practice of Tetzel, Luthers adversary went way beyond the doctrinal limits the church set long ago, though it was readily encouraged by the financial policies of popes such as Julius II and Leo X, who were only looking for a way to get some extra money. Aware that this was unacceptable and corrupt, Pius V prohibited the commercial trafficking in indulgences in mid 1500s. Also, sexuality among the popes was unbelievable. Priests by the thousands found it impossible to live in celiabacy.1 The result of all this was a misuse of church funds and an increasing decline in the morality of the clergy.A major theme that is often used to show how corrupt the medieval church was is the Western Schism that lasted from 1378 to 1417. Although this was a brief period in the long span of medieval history, and it was also the first time that two popes (sometimes even more) ruled over the churches all over the Western world. The Western Schism definitely hurt the churches monarchy that has been around since the early thirteen hundreds. In this time, the cardinals were divided between the Italian and French. While the French cardinals were still at Avignon, the Italians elected their own pope out of impulse, known as the Italian Urban VI. With this new pope, corruption became overbearingly existent. The Italian Urban VI was not exactly a discreet person, he was harsh, extravagant, and overbearing, known for usually insulting and threatening the French cardinals. The Italians were horrified at his irregular behavior and soon withdrew their obedience. The French proclaimed that the Italian election was not valid and selected a new pope, Clement VII. Clement VII was an ethical person and knew what was needed of him, a stable and moral pope. He resided in Avignon with the other ...
