The Pope's Power

The eleventh-century reform movement produced an independent church government that came to resemble secular government in many ways. In the second half of the eleventh century, popes began to use cardinals as agents of papal authority, sending them as legates to churches throughout western Europe. At the beginning of the twelfth century, the cardinals began to take over the organs of papal government, creating a bureaucracy to manage its political and economic concerns

The church had jurisdiction over a great many cases that are now handled by secular courts, including cases having to do with marriage, the legitimacy of children, and the validity of oaths and promises. The pope was the highest ranking judge in this legal system.

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