I need help with this Global History assignment.
I need to support my claim as to why or how the catholic church was powerful in Medieval Europe using this information below
So, during the European Middle Ages, the Catholic Church really dominated European civilization.
It’s almost impossible to imagine the scope of the Church’s power in the Middle Ages, but let’s
try.
First off, the Catholic Church was the caretaker of the most important thing that Christians had,
their souls, which, unlike our temporal bodies, were eternal. And then there was the parish priest,
who played a pivotal role throughout every person’s life, baptizing them, marrying them, hearing
their confessions, providing last rites.
The church also provided all of the social services: It distributed alms to the poor, and ran
orphanages, and provided what education was available. And most Europeans would in their lives
meet exactly one person who could read the Bible, which was only available in Latin - their parish
priest.
And, the church owned over 1/3 of all the land in Europe, which helped make it the most powerful
economic and political force on the continent.
And the Pope claimed authority over all the kings of Europe, as the successor to the Roman
Emperor. So this was a very powerful institution...
Source: Crash Course World