What was the largest problem the church faced, and why did it see a need for reform?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The main point of contention between both secular and ecclesiastic authorities was the amount of wealth that churches and monasteries accumulated in the Middle Ages. This wealth was in the form of both land and money, and there was a significant question raised about why the church, a spiritual institution, needed such large amounts, and whether this materialism was both antithetical and corrupting. Many saw the monasteries as corporate institutions that merely oversaw large estates and generated revenue from those lands. The accumulation of wealth was in opposition to the values espoused early in monasticism, particularly under the Rule of St. Benedict, which required poverty and charity of its monks. There was plenty of motivation within the church for divesting itself of these material goods and refocusing on the original intent of the spiritual institution. A turning point came in 910, with the development of Cluny, a monastery intended to be more reclusive, less materialistic, and less involved with worldly affairs. At the end of the eleventh century, the formation of the Cistercian Order emphasized a renewed focus on austerity under the leadership of Bernard of Clairveaux. Finally, the reforms of Pope Gregory VII, in particular, emphasized the need for a trained, literate clergy and were later made law along with those reforms proposed by Innocent III at the Fourth Lateran Council.