Editing Avignon Papacy (section)

===A political Church===
For the [[Catholic Church]], an institution embedded in the secular structure and its focus on property, this was a dangerous development, and beginning in the early 14th century, most of these movements were declared [[heresy|heretical]]. These included the [[Fraticelli]] and [[Waldensians|Waldensian]] movements in Italy and the [[Hussites]] in [[Bohemia]] (inspired by [[John Wycliffe]] in England). Furthermore, the display of wealth by the upper ranks of the church, which contrasted with the common expectation of poverty and strict adherence to principles, was used by enemies of the papacy to raise charges against the popes; King Philip of France employed this strategy, as did [[Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor]]. In his conflict with the latter, [[Pope John XXII]] excommunicated two leading philosophers, [[Marsilius of Padua]] and [[William of Ockham]], who were outspoken critics of the papacy, and who had found refuge with Louis IV in [[Munich]]. In response, William charged the pope with seventy errors and seven heresies.

The proceedings against the [[Knights Templar]] in the [[Council of Vienne]] are representative of this time, reflecting the various powers and their relationships. In 1314, the collegium at [[Vienne, Isère|Vienne]] convened to make a ruling concerning the Templars. The council, overall unconvinced about the guilt of the order as a whole, was unlikely to condemn the entire order based on the scarce evidence brought forward. Exerting massive pressure in order to gain part of the substantial funds of the order, the King managed to get the ruling he wanted, and Pope Clement V ordered by decree the suppression of the order.

In the [[cathedral]] of [[Saint Maurice]] in Vienne, the king of France and his son, the [[List of Navarrese monarchs|king of Navarre]], were sitting next to him when he issued the decree. Under pain of [[excommunication]], no one was allowed to speak at that occasion except when asked by the Pope. The Templars who appeared in Vienne to defend their order were not allowed to present their case—the cardinals of the collegium originally ruled that they should be allowed to raise a defense, but the arrival of the king of France in Vienne put pressure on the collegium, and that decision was revoked.