1. Explain the seven sacraments. The 7 sacraments were the key to the Roman Catholic's life because they were ways that he or she received the grace of God. The following information about those sacraments comes from the Catholic catechism and was outlined by Aquinas. The first sacrament was baptism, and this was the first time that a person had to receive the grace of God. The second sacrament was confirmation, and that occurred when a child decided to be involved with the Christian faith. This sacrament was very comparable to the bar mitzvah for Jewish boys. The third sacrament was the mass/eucharist and was for those who had been confirmed. Young people were not always given the wine because of the possibility of spilling it. The fourth sacrament was marriage. This ceremony had to take place in the church, and it was very important to all Roman Catholics. The fifth sacrament was orders, and this one was reserved for those who wanted to be priests or other person in full-time service. Every Catholic should partake in either the fourth or fifth sacrament but not both. The sixth sacrament was the penance or confession of sins, and this should be done regularly. The seventh sacrament was last rites, and this was like a final baptism. These seven sacraments gave the priest the power to turn on or off the dispensing of God's grace through the ministering of sacraments.

2. Discuss Gregory VII (1073-1085AD) - Hildebrand. These three popes achieved absolute supremacy, even over kings. Gregory VII (Hildebrand) had been a very successful Cardinal, and as a pope, he accomplished three primary things. First, he eliminated all internal opposition within the church over the supremacy of the pope. He wanted to free the Papacy of external influence over the selection of popes, cardinals, bishops, and priests. So second, he accomplished part of this (after his death) with his idea of the College of Cardinals (1059AD). He said that only cardinals should be able to select the pope. Currently there are 70 cardinals (14 cardinal deacons, 50 cardinal priests, and 6 cardinal bishops), and when necessary, they will go into chambers and select the next pope. Cardinals are not scriptural, but the office controls the Papacy by selecting the pope. Third, Gregory wanted to gain assistance from secular rulers to get help from state when needed for accomplishing Papacy purposes.

To accomplish his objectives, Gregory instituted three rules (Dictatus Papae (1075)). A person could be excommunicated if they had a conflict with the pope. Excommunication in the Roman Catholic church was paramount to losing one's salvation. He or she could not receive anymore sacraments. The pope could interdict a whole territory if the people were in disfavor with the pope. Finally, if a person were excommunicated and would not repent, then that person could be banned and have to leave family and possessions behind and move away.

Henry IV (1056-1106) was a German Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and he wanted to appoint a bishop in Italy. Others before him had done the same thing, but Gregory decided to not allow that this time. So, Gregory excommunicated him, and the people stopped obeying their emperor. Henry repented, and they met halfway at the castle of Candora to get things straight. The pope made Henry IV wait outside barefooted in the snow for three days before he would wipe the slate clean. A few years later, Henry got his revenge and drove Hildebrand into exile where he died.

3. Discuss Alexander III (1159-1181AD). Alexander's test for supremacy came in 1163AD with the King of England (Henry II). Thomas a' Beckett was the Archbishop of Canterbury and a favorite of the king. The pope wanted to pass the Constitutions of Clarendon to give the King of England the power to choose church leaders, but Beckett was opposed to it. "The majority of the 16 articles dealt with church authority and the competence of ecclesiastical courts, while others defined the extent of papal authority in England; and they were in fact a fair statement of earlier customs." [The Columbia Encyclopedia, Fifth Edition, 01-01-1993.] Because of his opposition, the king wanted to remove Beckett, but the pope said no to that. Eventually, the king manuevered and had Beckett killed. The people blamed Henry II for Beckett's death, so he had to renounce the constitutions and become submissive to the pope. England always gave the pope the most trouble, but in this case, the pope won. The Third Lateran Council (1179) in Rome accomplished three things for Alexander. They were: (1) he secured exclusive cardinal control for the selection of popes, (2) he encouraged taking arms against heretics and promised indulgences to anyone killed in the task, and (3) he removed secular absolute influence over the church.

4. Discuss Innocent III (1198-1216AD). Innocent III was the most powerful pope ever. He put the words "Vicarius Filii Dei" (the Vicar of Christ on earth) on the pope's crown. He said that the moon derives its light from the sun and is inferior to it and that the royal power derives its dignity from the Pontiff. King John of England (1199-1216AD) tried to defy the pope by arguing over who would select the Archbishop of Canterbury. Innocent III placed an interdict on the whole nation of England and declared the nation to be heretics. He, then, invited Spain to attack them because they were enemies to the church. The nobles of England became very upset and told the king to give in to the pope. While they were at it, they also told him to sign the Magna Carta (1215AD), which gave civil rights to England and also became the foundation for democracy. The Magna Carta came about because of the competition between the king of England and the pope. The Fourth Lateran Council (1215) showed the universal acceptance of the pope. Even the bishop of Constantinople bowed to him. Transubstantiation about the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper being the real body and blood of Christ was settled in this council, too. This council was the first time that the world began to see how the pope would behave if he had absolute power.

				Tom of Bethany

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