The Catholic Church Responds PDF

Chapter 6 THE BIG QUESTION The Catholic How did the Catholic Church respond to the...

Chapter 6 THE BIG QUESTION The Catholic How did the Catholic Church respond to the Protestant Reformation Church Responds movement? In the early 1500s, probably no one—not even Martin Luther—imagined how much Europe would change as a result of the Reformation. But as the religious reform movement gained strength, many people left the Catholic Church and embraced the teachings of various Protestant reformers. Before Luther wrote his Ninety-Five Theses, western Europe had been largely united by a single religion: Catholicism. After Luther, northern and northwestern Europe became strongholds for Lutheran, Calvinist, and other Protestant believers. Southern Europeans, especially those in Spain, France, and Italy, remained primarily Catholic. By the 1530s, Europe was deeply divided by religion. As the number of converts to Protestantism grew, leaders in the Catholic Church realized they needed to take action. The Catholic Church’s response to the Reformation is called the Catholic Reformation, or the Counter- Reformation. It opposed, or countered, the Protestant-driven Reformation. Several popes were involved with the Catholic Reformation, but the man who started things moving was Pope Paul III. The Catholic Reformation Gets Underway In 1536 CE, Pope Paul III appointed a group of cardinals to investigate what was right—and wrong—with the Church. The cardinals identified many problems. These included corrupt practices such as issuing indulgences for money. Their findings also revealed a relatively uneducated priesthood, and monasteries and religious orders that were not following Church teachings. 54  After considering the cardinals’ report, the pope and his advisors laid down plans for reform. They decided to focus on weeding out corrupt practices within the Church. They saw the need to more clearly state Catholic beliefs and teachings. They also hoped to halt the spread of Protestantism and bring former Catholics back into the faith. The goals seemed clear. Now the challenge was to accomplish them. Ignatius of Loyola and the Jesuits One of the first things Pope Paul III did was to encourage new religious orders within the Church to help promote reform. Perhaps the most influential of these Catholic organizations was the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits, as they were also known. Ignatius of Loyola, a Spanish priest, had founded the Jesuits several years earlier. Ignatius had taken a long and unusual path to the priesthood. Born in 1491 CE—the year before Christopher Columbus sailed for the New World—he had spent his early adult years in the Spanish military. While defending a Spanish fort from an invading Ignatius as a soldier at the Battle of Pamplona in 1521 CE French army, Ignatius was hit by a cannonball. The cannonball shattered the bones in one of his legs. His recovery was slow and painful. He was forced to spend a lot of time lying down while his leg healed. To pass the days, Ignatius read. However, the only available reading materials in the place where he was recovering were religious books. There was an illustrated book that told the story of Christ’s life and a book about Catholic saints. 55  As Ignatius read, he felt he was being called by God to a new life of good works. After his leg healed, he left the military and studied to become a priest. While studying for the priesthood, Ignatius kept detailed journals in which he wrote about the challenges of his new calling. Later in life, he turned his journals into an inspirational text called Spiritual Exercises, complete with prayers and meditations. Ignatius thought the book might help guide others on their own spiritual journeys. Spiritual Exercises became quite popular and was translated into many different languages. Ignatius was elected the first leader of the Society of Jesus, after it officially became a Catholic religious order. He counseled his fellow Jesuits to serve “without hard words or contempt for people’s errors.” Ignatius died in 1556 CE. He was declared a saint by the Catholic Church in the early 1600s, and so became St. Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatius of Loyola 56  PROTESTANT CATHOLIC Ireland and southern European countries remained primarily Catholic. How did the Jesuits help the Catholic Reformation? They worked to revive Catholicism in Europe and spread the faith to the New World. The members of the Jesuit order were well-educated. They were dedicated to teaching as well as preaching, and they built many schools and universities. Jesuits became tutors to the children of princes and noblemen in many European countries. Jesuits traveled far and wide as missionaries, bringing education and Catholic beliefs to the Americas and parts of Asia. Although the Catholic Church had lost power and influence in Europe during the Reformation, the Jesuits helped the Church regain some of what had been lost. They also helped the Church grow in parts of the world beyond Europe. 57  Council of Trent In 1545 CE, Pope Paul III sent out a papal bull summoning the Catholic bishops of Europe to Trento, a city in what is now northern Italy. There they met to discuss and decide how best to reform the Church. The Council of Trent, as it came to be called, was the Catholic Church’s organized response to the Reformation. The Council of Trent met in three separate sessions between 1545 and 1563 CE. The Council issued formal declarations that explained why the Church disagreed with the teachings of Protestant reformers. They clarified the doctrines that formed the basis of the Catholic faith. They affirmed that Church traditions as well as the Bible were the foundation of Catholic beliefs. The Council also took steps to reform corrupt practices within the Church by issuing a number of reform decrees. Decisions made by the Council played a key role in revitalizing and unifying the Catholic Church. Some parts of Europe that had turned to Protestantism, including Austria, Poland, and a part of Germany called Bavaria, reverted back to Catholicism. 58 Council of Trent, December 1563 CE 59 Other Actions of the Council In Chapter One, you read about Johann Gutenberg and the invention of a printing press. By the early 1500s, hundreds of thousands of books and pamphlets were in print and being read by Europeans. Leaders of the Catholic Church recognized the power of the printed word. In an attempt to stop the spread of anti-Catholic writings, the Council of Trent decided to try to control what Catholics were allowed to read. The Council had Church leaders review new publications. If those materials went against Church teachings, they were censored. Burning of heretical books by Pedro Berruguete 60  Furthermore, the Council created the Index of Forbidden Books, a list of publications that were banned, or forbidden. By creating the index, the Church hoped to keep heretical or what they considered immoral writings from corrupting the minds of its faithful followers. Nearly all books written by Protestants were banned. Even the writings of some reform-minded Catholics, such as Desiderius Erasmus, were banned as well. Anyone caught reading, selling, or owning a banned book faced punishment. Pope Paul III also revived the Inquisition as part of the Church’s response to the Reformation. As you have discovered, the Inquisition was the court system of the Catholic Church. It was tasked with rooting out heresy. The Index of Forbidden Books and the Inquisition were the two primary tools that the Church used to counteract Protestant ideas. Results of the Reformations By the second half of the 1500s, many of the problems in the Catholic Church that had triggered the Reformation had been corrected or greatly reduced. The Council of Trent had purged the Church, leaving it stronger and more united. However, it was clear that Catholic and Protestant sects, though now reconciled on some issues, would never be united again. The Reformation and the Catholic Reformation left Christians in Europe bitterly divided. In Catholic-controlled areas, Protestants were persecuted as heretics. In Protestant strongholds, Catholics were persecuted with equal brutality. Some conflicts flared into terrible wars that lasted many years. In fact, these two religious reformations sparked many years of warfare in Europe. But there also were positive outcomes as a result of these two reform movements. Ordinary people—not just the wealthy nobility—had access to Bibles and other texts that were printed in their native language. To some extent, people had a choice about which religion they could follow. They were able to associate more freely with others who shared the same beliefs. Kings gained greater control over their kingdoms. And over time, their subjects began to identify more with countries and empires rather than with a particular religion. 61