Final answer:
The Fourth Lateran Council aimed to reform the Church, address heresy, and regain the Holy Land for Christendom, while reaffirming the papacy's authority during Pope Innocent III's reign.
Step-by-step explanation:
The goal of the Fourth Lateran Council, called by Pope Innocent III, was to advance the reforms of the Church, address issues of heresy, and to further the efforts to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslim rule. The council was seen as a means to unify western Christendom and to leverage a victory in the Holy Land to bring the eastern churches into acceptance of papal authority.
Moreover, Pope Innocent III aimed to launch the Fourth Crusade to approach Jerusalem through Egypt, as previous attempts directly through the Holy Land had failed. These aspirations were part of a broader ecclesiastical and political agenda to reinforce the power and influence of the papacy during a period where the institution served both religious and political leadership roles.
The broader context of the Crusades also involved attempts to help the Byzantine Empire and to mirror religious reform with a holy cause, emphasizing the importance of freeing the Holy Land from 'the wicked' as part of the ecclesiastical struggle for power and influence in a time of conflicting papal claims.