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How far was the Church in need of reform in 1529?

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Downloads to date: N/A | Words: 1400 | Submitted: 2005-01-09

...The main criticisms were pluralism and absenteeism. Pluralism is when a member of the clergy holds several posts. A prime example of this is Thomas Wolsey who held many Church offices. For instance, he was Archbishop of York, Papal legate and bishops of several areas across England and Wales.
Other criticisms were that the religious beliefs of the Church were felt to have decayed with too much focus on more superstitious aspects of religion such as the worship of relics. Bishops were seen as men who were servants of the King rather than the servants of God and many Parish Priests were seen as ill educated and immoral. Geoffrey Chauer the great English Poet in 1514 made fun of several religious figures in his work ‘The Canterbury Tales’ comments on the worldliness and lack of commitment to religion. (But then again Chauer made criticisms people from all walks of life).
Certainly there was merited criticism. Any organisation that has a lot of employees is bound to have people who abuse their power and modern historians advocate the fact that they were exceptions to the rule. Some bishops did seem to spend too much time serving the King as civil servants rather than the servants of God.
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