The Albigensian Crusade

By the 12th century, organized groups such as the Waldensians and Cathars were beginning to appear in the towns and cities of the newly urbanized areas.  The Cathars grew to represent a popular mass movement that included religion and politics, and their belief was spreading to several areas of Europe.  This movement, in general, formed an anti-sacerdotal party in opposition to the Roman Catholic Church, protesting against what they perceived to be the moral, spiritual and political corruption of their religion, and condemned many of the things the Catholic church held dear to them, including their rich and fancy clothing, their extravagant Holy relics, their lavish alters and the cross itself.  They found it disturbing that the man they claimed to love and worship was displayed on a cross as a symbolic emblem for all to see. 

The Cathars attracted many followers and made up half the population of the beautiful region in the southeast of France known as the Languedoc.

"If you question the heretic about his faith, nothing is more Christian; if about his daily converse, nothing more blameless; and what he says he proves by his actions ... As regards to his life and conduct, he cheats no one, pushes ahead of no one, does violence to no one."

What the Cathars had achieved was the total respect gained from their fellow believers and nonbelievers alike.  Unfortunately, if this movement were to continue to grow, they would prove to be a dangerous enemy to the power of the Catholic Church, which meant their lives would be in jeopardy. 

There greatest crime was that they saw no scriptural justification for a pope.  They recognized no papal authority and were even known to condemn the materialistic popes of Rome, specifically Pope Innocent III.  The Cathars believed that the Pope was strictly about money and power and not about God at all.

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Edited by Centrix Vigilis - 29-Mar-2013 at 16:35