The Roman Catholic Church has Become Weak

"To use the time where the church has military control is very limited in scope and favoring my opponent"s side, otherwise, I could also use the time where the church was just starting and still weak and say that it has really become powerful. So with this, time frame must not be biased."This is inherently a comparative debate. "The Roman Catholic Church is weak" implies that the Church was stronger in the past. Therefore Con can't compare it to the earliest period of the Church. Con must show how the Roman Catholic Church has not become weak in the present time. I am arguing the Catholic Church was at their strongest point between the period of the Council of Clermont(late 11th century) and the Protestant Reformation(early 16th century). That is roughly below five centuries about. However, I am also addressing how the Catholic Church has continued to become weaker."The membership of Roman Catholic Church has increased a lot which means that its influence has also expanded. It has now approximately 1.2 billion members."I would agree, that the Catholic Church has had a larger membership but that is not what is being disputed in this debate. The Catholic Church may have more influence because they have a larger membership.But the Catholic church is not capable of exercising their influence at all. Therefore, the Catholic Church has become weaker. In the past the Catholic Church had a smaller membership and was fully capable exercising their influence. The Catholic Church was capable of demanding what they wanted and pressuring those who would resist their influence. That is not the case in today's time. The Catholic Church does not have any political clout in the present time either.Clout: "2.power or influence, esp in politics"http://www.thefreedictionary.com...No one of significance has to follow the orders of the Catholic Church. "Until Emperor Constantine I legalized Christianity, the church was never in existent in such a way that it is today, thus rendering it weak before but strong today."Legitimacy in this situation has nothing to do with strength or weakness. Legitimacy has to do with whether one will be respected and acknowledged.Rather than being persecuted and hunted down. Emperor Constantine I allowed the Church to be recognized. Recognition and strength are completely separate in this situation. "The Church"s influence has become global and universal. It has a say on different issues and even influence them. Many political leaders and others who are in position listen to them to some extent. "There is no requirement to listen to the Catholic Church. In the past, there was a requirement to listen to the Catholic Church and the Pope; or be prepared to suffer excommunication or a crusade."The Pope who is the leader of the Church is well respected and loved."The Pope is not as loved as he was in past. Otherwise people would do as he wishes with no questions asked."Power could also be spiritual power which the Roman Catholic Church has become so powerful."If this is true, the Catholic Church wouldn't have had to change their beliefs. Their followers and supporters that disagreed would change their beliefs to the Catholic Church's teachings. But that is not the case. The Catholic Church has conformed to the wishes of others. "It is clear that Roman Catholic Church has become strong compared to its early days because unlike before, it is now respected and loved, it has many members now which means an increase of influence"The Catholic Church has become drastically weaker since the Protestant Reformation. The Pope used to have the power to hold coronations for kings and queens. Not any longer. I will just Niccolo Machiavelli for this one. "It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both.[1]" The Catholic Church is no longer feared because it has become weak.[1] The Prince- Niccolo Machiavelli