hts to the title. Western Europe was now divided among the three popes, these divisions also had political ties. Pope Alexander and his successor John XXIII were supported by the majority of the Latin Christendom.The Great Schism was finally resolved in 1414 when a council was called and asserted supremacy over the popes. They used the declaration Sacrosancta to proclaim themselves over the popes. They elected a new pope, Pope Martin V who was the "true" pope of the Catholic Church. Pope John XXII and Pope Gregory XII were then removed and Pope Benedict XIII, who succeeded Pope Clement VII, was deposed. The council agreed from here on out that there was a need to meet within five years, then seven, and from there after every ten years. These meetings were to hopefully keep something like this from happening in the future.Although there were many popes during this time period the Roman Catholic Church only acknowledges the line of popes that were in Rome. The line would go as follows: Pope Gregory XI, Pope Urban VI, Pope Bonaface IX, Innocent VII, and Pope Gregory XII and after the Council of Constance Pope Martin V.The "Great Schism" was a struggle not only over religious power but also of political power. The French and The Italians both wanted to keep the church under their influence; this is why it was so important to each of them to have a pope who was from their country and to have the center of the church in their country. Eventually this was all resolved in the Council of Constance, but during the "Great Schism" the church and its' followers were in a state of confusion....
