The Church

What was wrong at that time?
By about 1500, many people began to worry more and more about the many wrong things that were happening among the Church. There were plenty of people who thought that the priests, or Church leaders, were becoming absorbed with making money from the people rather than helping to provide them . Since they wanted to raise enough money to maintain their luxurious lives, they began to do many dishonest things. 

Two previous popes: Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and the current Pope Francis.

Italy is a significant place in our play because it's capital, Rome, is where the base of the Pope is. Catholics believe the Pope is the successor to Saint Peter, who was appointed as the first head of the Church by Christ. Catholicity is the branch that leads off Christianity because different Christians believe different things. The Catholic religion is more specified  then being named Christian; it's a denomination- other 'branches' are like Protestants, Pentecostalism and Methodists etc. 
The obvious leading characters which symbolise religion is : the Cardinal, the Judge and Father Mirone. In our days a Cardinal's job is to advise the current pope and elect the next one. A Judge hears and decides cases in a court of law. Priests guide people in their religious views; teach them about Christ and various beliefs; spread his word and, regularly hold mass or sacraments. 

+My character in the play is incorruptible but does that mean he isn't biased? I'd like to know : does a Judge's religion influence his decision making? Because a lot of the problems I have to face as the Judge is problems that link to religious views, such as fornication etc. Especially as the Judge himself is caught up in the mess.