Mr. Marino's World Studies Class: FRIDAY ASSIGNMENTS

First,

Read the following to understand the power of the Pope in the Middle Ages:

In the Middle Ages the pope was the head of the Christian Church (the Catholic Church was the only form of Christianity in Europe). Because nearly everyone went to church, the pope had great power. People saw the pope as God's representative on Earth (Peter, Jesus’ closest disciple, is still considered the first pope by Catholics). They looked to the pope for guidance on how to live and pray. Since the pope was seen as God's representative, it was his duty to teach the people the Church’s teachings and interpret the scriptures for them (so everyone was instructed the same way). From time to time, a pope would write a letter called an encyclical to explain a religious teaching or outline a church policy. The pope also had the power to decide when someone was acting against the church. One punishment for acting against the church could be to be excommunicated, or casted out of the church (meaning they could not receive the 7 Sacraments). This punishment was greatly feared because they believed that people who died while excommunicated would not get into heaven. The benefit of pope having the final authority on Church teachings meant that all Christians would be instructed in the same way. The problem is that a pope could become too powerful and begin to use his influence in areas not subject to Church teachings (and all Christianity teaches that everyone is sinful and can make mistakes).

Second,