Usury is any financial transaction to where a stronger party takes advantage of a weaker party, epitomized by the compound interest loan. The Roman Catholic Church abased usury from the very beginning of the monetary system. By the 3rd century usury was banned for the clergy, the 4th saw this ban extended to the laity. Charlemagne led the legal charge against usury and made it a criminal offence in the 8th century.
You could say the “war on usury” was won when in 1311, Pope Clement V banned usury outright and decreed that all secular laws to the contrary were null and void. Pope Benedict XIV later declared that any and all compound interest loans were immoral; however much interest was charged. The reasoning was thus: If I give you a $100 loan, to receive more that $100 in return is usurious and sinful.
Jesus Christ, banishing the money-lenders from…
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