The Great Schism
After Catherine of Siena appealed to Pope Gregory IX in Avignon he wisely chose to return to Rome. This appeased many, but no for long as Gregory died shortly after and the Church in Rome was now lost as who to elect. Naturally the French cardinals wanted a French Pope, but the inhabitants of Italy, mainly Rome, realized this would mean the return of the Pope to Avignon, so to prevent such a disaster they threatened to kill the cardinals if they didn't choose a Roman, or Italian Pope. Naturally the cardinals elected an Italian Archbishop soon named Pope Urban VI (1378-1389). The French Cardinals soon fled Rome and afterwards immediately denounced the Italian Pope and elected a Frenchman as the true pope. They named him Clement VII and he hastened to Avignon. The election of two popes is known as the Great Schism.
This time hurt the Church and the surrounding countries of the Holy Roman Empire. By electing two popes there were now countries on two sides which caused tension:
CLEMENT VII
Spain
France
Scotland
S. Italy
URBAN VI
England
Germany
Scandinavia
Rest of Italy
On top of the destruction and downfall it caused the countries it also hurt the Church in that it gave it a very poor reputation. With the Holy Roman Empire being divided in two the two popes were both only receiving half the normal income they should be, so in an effort to make more money they both raised taxes which created contempt for the Church. Furthermore the two popes hated each other and both claimed the other was the Antichrist which simply added to the Church's bad publicity.
This time hurt the Church and the surrounding countries of the Holy Roman Empire. By electing two popes there were now countries on two sides which caused tension:
CLEMENT VII
Spain
France
Scotland
S. Italy
URBAN VI
England
Germany
Scandinavia
Rest of Italy
On top of the destruction and downfall it caused the countries it also hurt the Church in that it gave it a very poor reputation. With the Holy Roman Empire being divided in two the two popes were both only receiving half the normal income they should be, so in an effort to make more money they both raised taxes which created contempt for the Church. Furthermore the two popes hated each other and both claimed the other was the Antichrist which simply added to the Church's bad publicity.