While many contributors to the "Encyclopédie" had no interest in radically reforming French society, the "Encyclopédie" as a whole pointed that way. The "Encyclopédie" denied that the teachings of the Catholic Church could be treated as authoritative in matters of science. The editors also refused to treat the decisions of political powers as definitive in intellectual or artistic questions. Some articles talked about changing social and political institutions that would improve their society for everyone. Given that Paris was the intellectual capital of Europe at the time and that many European leaders used French as their administrative language, these ideas had the capacity to spread.