The Great Schism

According to Catholicism the Pope is the direct successor of the disciple Peter, whom Jesus decided upon to build his church. The importance of the Papacy in European history is unquestionable. The Catholic Church was a key factor in the shaping of European society after the fall of the Roman Empire. In medieval Europe the Catholic Church was believed to be the highest authority and unquestionable. Catholicism became intertwined with everyday life. However, by the end of the fourteenth century the Church had fallen into turmoil. A crisis known as the Great Schism had befallen the Church. By 1378 A.D. the Church had been splintered. Rival factions of clergy began holding elections and naming popes. At one point in time there were as many as
To understand the significance of the crisis one must also look at the period building up to the crisis. A new social structure was arising in Europe. There was a growing sense of patriotism fostering strong European Nations and producing powerful monarchs. This fact in itself did not thrust the Church into turmoil but it "can safely be maintained that sentiment of nationalism contributed to the Schism." The Church would have to find its place in this emerging system encountering numerous conflicts along the way. During the late thirteenth century the Office of the Papacy was at the height of its power. There had been a long succession of powerful popes that had significantly increased papal authority both secularly and spiritually. The centralization and reorganization of papal authority propelled the Office of the Pope to a position as the most influential force in medieval Europe. However, by the mid-thirteenth century the Church was in decline. A negative shadow was starting to fall upon the papacy. The common people were losing faith in the papacy because it became, "the puppet of European politics; it was made to serve purposes and interests foreign to its own intrinsic functions." The driving forces behind the Church had always been political and financial. The late-medieval Church had exceeded its means when its, "political requirements forced
The whole reason for Gregory's return to Rome was to quell conflicts between competing factions, some loyal to the Pope and others hostile, that were threatening Papal lands. In hopes of preventing a difficult crisis from arising, which was likely to occur due to all of the conflicts going on, Gregory XI "fully aware of the perils facing the Church, took steps to prepare the way by authorizing the majority of the cardinals actually present at his court at the time of his death- that is, actually in Italy- to proceed immediately to the choice of successor, and in this way avoid the long term dangers of a long vacancy while those members of the college absent in France and elsewhere gathered together." In that event, the French King would certainly reapply pressure. Also, the Romans would state the case for a Roman selection stating that, "the Roman See, which was and is apostolic, had suffered greatly through the long absence of the pope; also that the state of the city of Rome itself was ruinous and near collapse; that churches, monasteries, cloisters, palaces and many other were in a lamentable and deplorable state; that ecclesiastical goods and possessions in and around Rome were neglected, and that this bad example was now being followed in other parts of Italy, whereby enormous and almost irreparable damage was inflicted upon many churches monasteries, etc." Pope Gregory XI died shortly after his arrival.