Episode Description
In this “Theology Unpacked” episode, Dr John Moffatt SJ explores how the growing distinction between state law and canon law strengthened papal authority, illustrated by the conflict between Church and Crown in the case of Thomas Becket and the Church's increasing claim to govern its own affairs.
It also examines how Pope Urban II used this new authority to launch the First Crusade to Jerusalem, while the Lateran Councils, especially under Innocent III, consolidated papal leadership, defined key doctrines and practices of the Latin Church, and reinforced the pope's role as the Church's supreme legislator.
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