Why did the Pope's power decline following the Crusades across Europe and the Middle East?
I have studied the middle ages and feel it was more coincidental than anything else. The attempts to wrest the Holy Lands from Moorish influence at the request of the crumbling Byzantine empire was ill-timed and the loss of lives, especially of the ruling class, eroded the church's influence among the common people. Plus, the industrial revolution was beginning and the printing press put the Bible into the hands of the literate, who learned that many of the practices of the religion of the time were bogus. So, it was a combination of things, including plagues that ravaged Europe because the church had siphoned off the wealth that otherwise could have led to better living conditions. In short, the church was its own worst enemy. By "the church" I am referring to its leaders.
What is the Pope’s salary?
They don’t get paid.Just like priests. Assuming that these priests are functioning as pastors of their parishes. It is not uncommon to have priests teaching at schools and universities. They do get paid as teachers but they don’t get paid as priests.That being said, some would say that some priests are being “paid” for saying Mass. Well “paid” has now become an inaccurate term to describe the money given to priests with such intentions. We call this money as “stipend”. It’s called so because it is meant to defray the expenses the priests acquired to be able to say Mass (electricity, water, mass supplies, church maintenance, living allowance, fuel, etc.)The pope just doesn’t get paid for the simple reason of because he is a priest. He gets donations though, for the charities that the Holy See is sponsoring.
Why was Michael Jackson called the King of Pop?
Michael Jackson was first called King of Pop by Elizabeth Taylor when she presented him with an award in 1989 and it kind of stuck. In my opinion, deservedly as his talent was simply unmatched and his achievements are unequaled by any other artist. Michael Jackson revolutionized music, popularized MTV, resurrected the music industry, was the top selling artist for at least 3 decades, he influenced every single pop artist after him: Usher, Britney Spears, Akon, Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber. When asked about the nickname King of Pop he said he considered it a great honour and he would have liked to be remembered as such long after he was gone. During an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 1993 Oprah clarified that she was not under any contractual agreement to call him “ King of Pop” as a condition to take the interview. He also during that interview spoke publicly about his skin condition Vitiligo, which turned his skin white, the abuse he experienced as a child at his father ‘s hands and he publicly admitted his huge crush on Diana Ross. He refused however to answer whether he was a virgin or not. “ I am a gentleman” he said.However, he was crowned an actual king in the Ivory coast in 1992. When he arrived to Gabon 125000 people arrived to greet him. They held a special memorial service for him upon his death in 2009.