0:00 Due to the Catholic doctrine of the veneration of the saints, by which the church received income through penance and indulgences to get their dead loved ones into heaven, Byzantine writers convinced the common people that their loved ones needed these things in order to get to heaven faster. The belief that the dead are waiting for the return of Christ was so prevalent that it caused quite a rift in the Catholic Church when Pope John called quite a controversy by stating that the saved do not attain benethic vision or see God until the Judgment Day. The College of Cardinals even held a consistory on the problem in January of 1334. The controversy lasted so long that Pope Benedict issued a papal bull, Benedictus Deus. This document made a de facto doctrine that after death, the dead go immediately to heaven.
0:51 After all, it's very lucid. It's very lucid for the church, and losing this income would be disastrous for the business.