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How did Pope Nicholas V address clerical concubinage?
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Nicholas V
Saint Francis of Assisi Appearing Before Pope Nicholas V, with Donors, oil on canvas by Antonio MontĆŗfar, 1628; in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. 107.95 Ć 87.63 cm.
Pope Nicholas V addressed the issue of clerical concubinage by promoting legislation aimed at curbing the practice as part of his broader efforts to reform the church. While he sought to improve ecclesiastical standards by encouraging bishops to govern their dioceses more wisely and by legislating against abuses such as simony, his overall failure to promote sufficient religious reform is often cited by historians as a contributing factor to the later Reformation.1