The government collects taxes from your family. That's pretty normal.
We need taxes to pay for big things, like building roads, running schools, and keeping fire stations and parks open. But what if a government official said that if you paid more taxes you could do bad things, like lie or break the law? You might not respect this official very much.
That’s kind of what happened when Pope Leo X headed the Catholic Church. He was appointed in 1513 and was soon tied up in long wars and big building projects. These cost a lot. Leo X sold indulgences to raise money. You could buy an indulgence and then, the Church said, you wouldn’t suffer for your sins in the afterlife.
Martin Luther was angry about Pope Leo X’s corruption. Let’s see how the Church’s actions led Luther to start the Reformation.
