WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -One particularly well-known Catholic method of exploitation in the Middle Ages was the practice of selling indulgences, a monetary payment of penalty which, supposedly, absolved one of past sins and/or released one from purgatory after death.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Roman Catholic Church sold “letters of indulgence”. They were sold to people with the understanding that it would decrease the time one’s soul spends in purgatory. The higher the amount paid, the lesser the time spent in purgatory. The Church accumulated a lot of wealth this way.

Detailed explanation-3: -Tetzel was known for granting indulgences on behalf of the Catholic Church in exchange for money, which grant a remission of temporal punishment due to sin, the guilt of which has been forgiven, a position heavily challenged by Martin Luther. This contributed to the Reformation.

Detailed explanation-4: -Reducing or eliminating punishment for sins This doctrine was codified in the late Middle Ages, in 1343, by Pope Clement VI. By the time of Luther, certificates of indulgences were being sold to raise money on behalf of important patrons like the pope, who needed funds to build St. Peter’s Basilica.