Martin Luther: Wealth Indulgence
on Thursday, October 31, 2019Martin Luther Money Quote saying in his list titled ‘The 95 Theses,’ that the pope was wealthy enough to finance the cathedral himself instead of those believers in poverty. Martin Luther said:
“Why does not the Pope, whose wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build the Basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather than with the money of poor believers?” — Martin Luther
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In this quote, Martin Luther is criticizing the Catholic Church and the Pope for financing the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica using money donated by poor ordinary believers rather than using the vast wealth accumulated by the Church itself.
Luther points out that the Pope at the time had amassed far greater riches than even Marcus Licinius Crassus, who was considered the richest man in Roman history. Yet despite this immense wealth, Luther argues the Pope chose to fund the Basilica project through mandatory tithes from the general public rather than directly applying the Church’s own sizable financial resources.
The implication is that Luther viewed this approach as unfairly burdening impoverished followers while allowing the Church hierarchy to hoard wealth for itself. Overall, the quote reflects Luther’s dissent against what he saw as abuses of power and lack of financial accountability within the Catholic institution at that time period.
Birthday: November 10, 1483 – Death: February 18, 1546