Pope Urban II had called the Christians to join him in a Holy War to reclaim the Holy Lands as an act of Christianity, but there were many activities that took place that weren’t characteristics of Christianity. The Crusades were a smokescreen for Pope’s craving for power and control. The Crusades were the idea of Pope Urban II, a wise Frenchman. On November 18, 1095 AD, Pope Urban II opened the Council of Clermont. Nine …showed first 75 words of 438 total…

…showed last 75 words of 438 total…forgiveness of all sins to any crusader that lost his life in the name of the Crusades. Urban also proclaimed “It is necessary that you bring to your brothers in the East the help so often promised and so urgently needed. They have been attacked, as many of you know, by Turks and Arabs... Churches have been destroyed and the countryside laid waste. If you do not make a stand against the enemy now, the