Day 3 - The Protestant Reformation (1517-1648) PDF

**Day 3 (11.18 Sept 2024) - The Protestant Reformation (1517-1648)** Sources: Lawrence G. LOVASIK, SVD, *St. Joseph Church History*, New York 1990, pp. 119-123 (Helvetica font) Giacomo MARTINA, *Storia della Chiesa. Da Lutero ai nostri giorni. Vol. 1: L'età della Riforma,* Brescia 1993. \[Times N...

**Day 3 (11.18 Sept 2024) - The Protestant Reformation (1517-1648)** Sources: Lawrence G. LOVASIK, SVD, *St. Joseph Church History*, New York 1990, pp. 119-123 (Helvetica font) Giacomo MARTINA, *Storia della Chiesa. Da Lutero ai nostri giorni. Vol. 1: L'età della Riforma,* Brescia 1993. \[Times New Roman font. Translation by RFP\] RFP Note: In brackets \[ \] and in Times Roman font are my edits. Supplements in Lucida Calligraphy A. Introduction: **The Church in the Period between the Reformation and the Twentieth Century (1517-1900)** The period of the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries proved to be one of revolt, conflict, and eventual triumph for the Church. The event of the greatest historical importance during that era was the Reformation, during which, under the original instigation of an Augustinian friar named Martin Luther, large segments of the faithful in Europe broke away from Catholicism to unite under the banner of Protestantism. Many of the causes of the Protestant Reformation were rooted in the abuses that had crept into the Church that were hardly in accord with its original inspiration. Recognizing this problem, the Church began to rectify those errors through a Counter-Reformation spearheaded by the Council of Trent. Missionary work was also greatly expanded. Another major event during that period was the French Revolution in which the conflict between Napoleon and the Church was a central feature. Also of great import were the industrial revolution, the development of liberalism, and the beginnings of socialism and communism. B. Preview -- The Protestant Reformation With the Protestant Reformation the Catholic Church was confronted with a schism of immense proportions whose influence has continued to the present day. Spearheading this revolt was a Catholic priest, Martin Luther, whose denial of many Church doctrines and prerogatives provided the impetus of rebellion in Germany. Another priest, Ulrich Zwingli, and John Calvin supported the teachings of Luther and headed their own reform movements in Switzerland. Calvin's movement quickly spread in France, and by 1648 Protestantism was a major force in Europe. 1. Origins of Protestantism The seeds of the Protestant Reformation had been sown in Europe for many years. Pagan humanism had begun to be a widespread phenomenon. A gradual decline in spirituality and intellectual achievement among the clergy had left them ill-prepared to counteract the spread of heretical ideas. The errors of Wycliffe and Hus had caused a serious decline in the faithful's reverence toward the Holy Eucharist. Finally, there was an ever-increasing movement on the part of the emperors and kings to gain some measure of control over the Church. For Martina[^1^](#fn1){#fnref1.footnote-ref}, the causes of the Protestant Revolution are the following 1. Religious Causes (pp. 61-105). Decline of papal prestige because of events in 13^th^ and 14^th^ centuries. - Boniface VIII's fight and defeat (pp. 61-64). Stubborn by temperament and juridical by formation; his aim to exercise a high sovereign authority over all Catholic kingdoms was no longer viable in 14^th^ century. His adversary, the French king Philip the Fair, believer in "rex in suo regno est imperator". After various clashes between pope and king, leading up to the papal bull Unam Sanctam and the excommunion of the king, the latter's men Nogaret and Colonna attack and imprison Boniface in Anagni, aiming to bring him to France; but the populace revolts and frees the pope. Boniface dies in 1303. End of Medieval Period. - The Avignon Exile, 1309-1376 (pp. 64-68). Clement V, elected in 1305, establishes residence in Avignon in 1309. Bowing to Philip the Fair's pressure, Clement sacrifices the Order of Templars by suppressing it. Seven popes reside in Avignon. Gregory XI returns to Rome in 1377. Three aspects of this period: a) The popes, while juridically free and independent, in reality fully suffered the influence of the French monarchy; b) Clement V's successor, John XXII, committed the mistake of waging long, bitter and useless conflict with emperor Louis of Baviera; c) Increase of hatred for the Avignon curia's bureaucracy, centralism and fiscalism. - The Western Schism, 1378-1417 (pp. 68-85). Starts with election of antipope Clement VII (1378-1394), who returns to Avignon, while Urban VI (1378-1389) resides in Rome. Genesis of conciliar theory. Lovasik: "After Urban died in 1389 there ensued a period in which there was a succession of lawful Popes at Rome (Boniface IX \[1389-1404\], Innocent VII \[1404-1406\] and Gregory XII \[1406-1414\]) and of schismatic popes at Avignon (Benedict XIII \[1394-1417\], with mutual denunciations and excommunications". A council held in Pisa (Italy) in 1409 considered both Popes as undermining the unity of the Church and elected \[Alexander V, who was succeeded the following year by\] John XXIII[^2^](#fn2){#fnref2.footnote-ref}. Instead of solving the problem there were now three Popes! Another council was held in Constance[^3^](#fn3){#fnref3.footnote-ref} (Germany, 16^th^ ecumenical) in 1414, with the help of Sigismund, emperor of Luxembourg. John XXIII, who would abdicate later, promoted the council. The old Roman Pope, Gregory XII, (90 years old) promised to resign, provided that the council acknowledged its being held on his accord. He did resign. But Benedict XIII (Pedro de Luna) stood pat and, abandoned by all, went in exile in Peñíscola (Spain). The council elected Oddo Colonna (on November 11, 1417), who took the name of Martin V (1417-1431). Unity was at last reestablished and the great Western Schism was ended[^4^](#fn4){#fnref4.footnote-ref}. - The Renaissance (emphatic affirmation of the autonomy of the temporal sphere) (pp. 85-105). Reacting to the medieval tendencies of fuga mundi and the direct subordination of everything to religion, R. links with a third position, recognizing the necessity of an effective autonomy of human activities, with their specific intrinsic rationality; but R. ends with carrying this autonomy to extreme and tends to transform it into independence and separation. 2. Other religious causes (pp. 107-114) - The decadence of scholasticism and the intellectual tendencies of the epoch (pp. 107-108). Ockham's system denies the metaphysical necessity (cf. infra) - Wycleff, Hus, Wessel (though none of the three have directly influenced Luther, it is important to note that most of the theses he defended later had already been taught earlier by the three) (p. 108). Lovasik: According to Wycliffe, human beings are not endowed with free will[^5^](#fn5){#fnref5.footnote-ref}, and thus some are predestined by God to be damned for all eternity[^6^](#fn6){#fnref6.footnote-ref}, while others are predestined to be saved[^7^](#fn7){#fnref7.footnote-ref}. He held that the Church is a spiritual society consisting of only those who are predestined for eternal glory, and that, being purely spiritual, the Church can have no visible head. Consequently, he asserted, the Pope has no Divinely instituted power, and bishops and priests are all equal, without any special authority. - False mysticism (p. 108-111). John Tauler's influence on Luther (profound spirituality, immense confidence in divine mercy, belief in one's nothingness, contempt of one's actions); the latter misinterprets some of the former's teachings. - Evangelism (a "purer" Christianity, more simple rituals, a better knowledge of Scripture, a more sincere piety, dominated by an absolute confidence in the mercy of Christ, who draws us to himself). Erasmus of Rotterdam, principal proponent (pp. 111-112) - Corruption in the Church (pp. 112-113) - Psychological angst of the 15^th^ century, among its factors/expressions: the Black Plague; witch hunting; flagellants, etc. (pp. 113-114) 3. Political, social, economic causes (pp. 115-123) - Resistance to Rome (very strong in Germany, especially against the centralization and fiscalism of the Avignon and Roman curias) (pp. 115-116) - Resistance to Hapsburg centralization (evolution from the feudal state to the absolutist state) (p. 116) - Socio-economic situation (helps explain the rapid spread of Protestantism) (pp. 116-117) - The personality of Luther -- great preacher, leader and guide, charismatic presence, creative imagination and conviction of being sent by God to announce not a theoretical system but an intimate and life-changing experience, which is the only way to peace and salvation -- he coalesces already present-but-dispersed factors, carries them to maturity and endows them maximum effectivity. (pp. 117-121) 2. Early leaders of Protestantism Luther. Martin Luther, the major force behind the Protestant Reformation, was born in Eisleben, northeastern Germany on 10 November 1483. He became an Augustinian priest in 1507[^8^](#fn8){#fnref8.footnote-ref}, and from 1512 until his death he was professor of theology at the University of Wittenberg. Throughout his life he remained concerned with the problem of reaching certainty about one's salvation. \[In the words of Pope Benedict XVI, the driving question of Luther's whole life's was: "How do I find a gracious God?"[^9^](#fn9){#fnref9.footnote-ref}.\] Luther's personality. Historiography: From earlier predominantly negative Catholic authors' views of Luther as corrupt religious (H. Denifle, OP) or as a neurotic (H. Grisar, SJ), the present view (after the studies of Lortz, Adam, etc.) recognizes in him a profound religiosity. He had a personal experience of God, a genuine sense of sin and of his own nothingness, and from there the adherence to Jesus Christ and blind trust in Him and in His redemption. He also had great charity for the poor. On the other hand: strong character, one-sided, excessive, exuberant, impulsive, more ready to "possess" the truth rather than submit to it in humility (tendency to subjectivism). In short: authentic and profound religiosity, tendency to subjectivism, authoritarianism and violence[^10^](#fn10){#fnref10.footnote-ref}. Evolution of Luther's beliefs. Between 1515 and 1517, Luther's psychological evolution matured and the new doctrine started to be formulated. Various factors, among which the personal experience of the young religious and his unilateral theological formation, decisively influenced the process. After a period of serene fervor, which earned him the esteem of his co-religious and posts of confidence within the Order, Luther went into a state of profound anxiety, fearing that he could not liberate himself from sin and that he belonged to the number of the damned. Probable factors: excessive work, tendency to melancholy, Ockhamism (God's arbitrary omnipotence[^11^](#fn11){#fnref11.footnote-ref}; opposed to this arbitrariness is our stand: a square circle cannot exist because it is a contradiction in terms, and not because God does not want it), German mysticism (Tauler: man's abject nothingness before God, hence passive surrender to God), and the inability to distinguish between concupiscence, temptation, sin, consent. The tower experience (*Turmerlebnis*)[^12^](#fn12){#fnref12.footnote-ref}: meditating on Romans 1, 17: "For in it \[the Gospel\] is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The one who is righteous by faith will live', finally, he understands "justice" in Scripture not the act by which God rewards the just and punishes the bad but the act by which the Lord covers the sins of those who abandon themselves to Him through faith. The letter to the Romans, for Luther, does not speak of retributive justice (which focuses on punishment for offenders) but of salvific justice, the grace by which God sanctifies us. Orthodox in itself (salvific justification through faith), Luther exaggerated it by denying in a unilateral way any necessity on the part of man to, by his free cooperation, dispose himself for grace. Thus, he overcame his anxiety: in order to know and feel oneself saved, it was sufficient to abandon oneself to the salvific action of God, to believe. Essential points of Lutheranism: a. Above all, *sola Scriptura* (only Scripture). Starting from an attack on the decadent scholasticism of his time, Luther wanted to place Scripture, rather than scholasticism, at the center of Christian thought. But his teaching went further: Scripture not only materially contains all the truths revealed by God, but it interprets itself and does not need to be illuminated and clarified by tradition. In itself, it is sufficient to ensure the Church the certainty of all revealed truth. There is no place for tradition or the mediation of the Church through its magisterium. b. *Justificatio sola fide*. Luther swayed between two opposing concepts: intrinsic justification (genuine interior, intrinsic and ontological renewal), and imputed justice (merely attributed, extrinsic, juridical, not inherent, not accompanied by an interior renewal). In Melanchthon, the second tendency prevailed, and thus, also in later Lutheranism. Luther's position is more complex: through grace, man arrives at real change, though not instantly but through a long and laborious process. Man does not "possess" grace as a personal property, disposable at will. Grace always comes from outside, from above, calling man to go out of himself. In this sense, man can be called *"simul iustus et peccator*" (at once just and sinful): he is always attracted to remain in himself, to fall into sin[^13^](#fn13){#fnref13.footnote-ref}. c. *Sola gratia*. Because between man and God (as Paul affirms in the letter to the Galatians, cf. Gal 3:20-21 -- *Now there is no mediator when only one party is involved, and God is one.* *Is the law then opposed to the promises \[of God\]?Of course not! For if a law had been given that could bring life, then righteousness in reality would come from the law*) there is a genuine immediacy, Luther rejects all external mediation that is instituted by man which is not a work of God, depriving it of salvific value. Thus, he rejects the traditional Church hierarchy. Lutheranism, though it admits pastors and even bishops, teaches that it is a dignity which is purely honorific and disciplinary. He rejects papal primacy and insists on the fundamental concept of the direct relationship between the Lord and the individual faithful. A corollary to this is the rejection of Mass as sacrifice, because it is an attempt against the uniqueness and sufficiency of the sacrifice of the Cross. Another corollary is the rejection of the ministerial priesthood in favor of the universal priesthood of the faithful: priests are merely preachers and ministers of the sacraments, they have no capacity to offer a sacrifice. Sacraments are not efficacious signs of grace; they are merely external signs. Eventually, the sacraments are reduced to three: baptism, Eucharist (but having no value whatsoever as sacrifice) and penance (but only useful, not necessary)[^14^](#fn14){#fnref14.footnote-ref}. In Germany, the situation was complicated by the presence of another issue. Albert of Brandenburg, archbishop of Magdeburg and apostolic administrator of neighboring Halberstadt diocese, was named bishop of a third diocese, Mainz, among the privileges of which was the right to be imperial elector. To take possession of the post, he needed to shell out a big amount to the Vatican, which he presently did not have. The Fugger family, one of the biggest European banks at the time, advanced to the young and worldly prelate the 29 thousand ducats he needed to pay Rome. He obtained permission for the preaching of indulgences in his diocese: half of the collected amount would pay Fugger and half would go to Rome for the construction of the basilica. Johannes Tetzel, OP \[1465-1519\]) taught, correctly[^15^](#fn15){#fnref15.footnote-ref}, that an indulgence is a remission of the punishment, not of the guilt. But apropos the habitual distinction between indulgences for the living and for the dead, he asserted that the state of grace, of confession and of sorrow for sins, while needed for obtaining indulgences for oneself, are not needed for applying them to the dead. A correct summation of his ideas, though not of his words, is: "As soon as the coin at the bottom of the box rings, the soul from Purgatory springs"[^16^](#fn16){#fnref16.footnote-ref}. Reacting to the abuses connected with the preaching and the very doctrine of indulgences, Luther sent to Albert of Brandenburg and to his own diocesan bishop (Hieronymus of Brandenburg) on the eve of All Saints' Day, 1517, a strong but orthodox letter, inviting them to proceed against the abuses connected with the preaching and, alongside, 95 theses on the indulgences, inviting them to a discussion[^17^](#fn17){#fnref17.footnote-ref}. When Albert remained silent, Luther showed the theses to some theologians. The theses rapidly spread throughout Germany. For Luther, indulgences are only a remission of the canonical punishment imposed by the Church, not of that of the afterlife; they cannot be applied to the dead; there does not exist "the treasure of the Church" resulting from the merits of Christ and of the saints (cf. thesis 82: why doesn't the pope then, motivated by charity, rather than by the construction of the basilica, empty purgatory of all souls?) A long dispute followed between Luther and Tetzel and their respective supporters. Luther wrote letters of loyalty to the Holy See and at the same time launched insults against the primacy of the Pope, the teaching authority of the Church, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and priestly celibacy. (Martina) In 1518, faced with the increasing spread of the Lutheran theses, which had shaken and inflamed all Germany, Pope Leo X had the assertions on the indulgences examined and ordered Luther to come to Rome. Through the intercession of Frederick, imperial elector of Saxony, Luther was dispensed of the Roman trip but was instead interrogated by Cardinal Cajetan (Tommaso de Vio) at Augsburg in October 1518. The inquiry produced no result as Luther appealed from a "badly informed pope to a well-informed pope", and later, from a pope to a future council. Cajetan tried to turn Luther over to church authorities, but the latter was protected by the elector Frederick. Pope Leo X, who wanted either Francis of France or Frederick himself to be successor to the deceased emperor Maximilian, so as to prevent Charles of the Habsburgs from amassing too much power should he become emperor (Charles eventually became emperor in 1520[^18^](#fn18){#fnref18.footnote-ref}), preferred not to intervene too much in the "Luther issue". In 1519, a great debate took place in Leipzig between Luther and Johannes Eck, who defended the traditional doctrine. Though the debate did not succeed in making Luther change his position, it did oblige him to clarify for the first time in a public and unequivocal way his own stand on the Roman primacy, on the infallibility of councils (which he denied), and above all on the fundamental principle of Protestantism: the recognition of Scripture as the exclusive and sufficient fountain of revealed truth. It was becoming clear that the conflict was not about moral abuses or about views openly debated by theologians, but on the very essence and constitution of the Church. In a bull, *Exsurge Domine*, in 1520, Pope Leo X condemned Luther's teachings, but Luther became more adamant in his views, and he showed his contempt for the Pope by calling him an antichrist and publicly burning the papal bull. (Martina) The bull invited Luther to retract within 60 days some theses -- regarding free will, original sin, sacraments in general, grace, contrition for sins, confession, good works, indulgences, purgatory, primacy -- threatening him with excommunication should he not recant. During those months, before and after the publication of the bull, Luther engaged in an intensive propaganda, publishing three books (*To the Christian nobility of the Germanic nation*, where he called for the demolition of the three walls that defend the Roman church: the distinction between laity and clergy, the hierarchy's exclusive right to interpret Scripture, and the pope's exclusive right to convoke a council; *De captivitate babylonica ecclesiae praeludium*, which criticized the doctrine on sacraments, and taught that there are only three -- baptism, Eucharist \[but denying transubstantiation and the sacrificial value of the Mass\] and penance; and *De libertate christiana* - exaltation of the interior man, justified by faith and intimately united to Christ; good works are not necessary for justification, nor do they make him good who performs them, but rather they are the necessary consequences of justification). In October he published the pamphlet *Adversus execrabilem Antichristi bullam* and in December, he publicly burned the *Canon Law* and the bull *Exsurge*. On 3 January 1521, the bull *Decet Romanum Pontificem* excommunicated Luther and his followers. Because of the close collaboration between State and Church, the measure could only have practical effect if sanctioned by the civil authority. The problem was discussed at the Diet of Worms, April 1521. Through the intercession of the elector of Saxony, Luther could freely present himself to the assembly, defend his ideas, and not without success. But he was banned from imperial territory by Charles V: his writings were burned, the spread of Lutheran teachings was prohibited. Luther could be arrested anytime. But a group of knights sent by his protector Frederick "kidnapped" him and accompanied him to the Wartburg castle, where he remained for 10 months, working on the composition of various writings and in translating the Bible to German, which was finished long time after[^19^](#fn19){#fnref19.footnote-ref}. In 1524 Luther's encouragement of German princes in putting down the two-year Peasants' Revolt gained political support of his cause. Within seven years of his revolt, Luther saw the beginning of his "Reform". Eventually Luther married Catherine of Bora, former Cistercian nun, in 1525, and he continued firm in his rebellion until his death in the year 1546. Martina: Effects of the Protestant Reformation (PR)[^20^](#fn20){#fnref20.footnote-ref} For a long time, Catholics saw Protestantism only negatively: origin of rationalism and Enlightenment, hence of the French Revolution, of 18^th^ century liberalism, which in turn gave rise to socialism, communism and totalitarianism. Gradually, a more objective view was achieved: Certainly, PR has caused greater harm on Christianity than the ancient heresies and the medieval sects and even the great Eastern Schism (1054): - In quantitative and external terms: of total European population in mid-16^th^ century of 60 million, 20 million became Protestants, and countries: England, Scandinavia, Baltic States (except Lithuania), many German states, and huge parts of the Netherlands, then Switzerland. Only Portugal, Spain and Italy remained entirely Catholic. France swung from Catholicism to Calvinism, with Henry IV's return to the traditional religion being the determinant factor. The religious wars bathed Europe in bloodshed. - In deeper, more intellectual and religious terms: Protestantism has helped create the church of the state. If in the medieval period (cf. Boniface VIII's *Unam Sanctam*), the church tended to subordinate the state, the Protestants' application of the formula *cuius regio, eius et religio* (whose realm, his religion) became simplistic and radical in England: the king is head of the church. - Another effect: the Roman papacy came out morally renewed, though weakened in effective prestige and in real power to govern the whole Church. - On the popular level, Protestants look at Catholics with distrust: pariahs in England, second class citizens in Protestant states, even in the US: no popery! (The Catholics had similar feelings/treatment of Protestants too!) - An important question: Was Protestantism (Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anglicanism) a real factor of spiritual renewal in its followers? Germany, a country of conscientious workers and bureaucrats, solid esteem for *Herr Professor,* where state authority is materially and morally stronger than in previous period... But, in general, perhaps we can affirm: Protestantism, by insisting on the believer's direct relationship with God, by largely rejecting the mediation and the magisterium of the hierarchical Church, and by decisively excluding tradition, has contributed to depriving the individual of a support, a guide, of a more powerful and efficacious reminder. - Due to Protestantism, the once religiously united Europe became divided into confessional states (Protestant and Catholics); this in turn abetted nationalism. - Also: Protestantism's (esp. Calvinism) effect on arts (Catholic Baroque vs. Protestant sobriety?) politics and economy (Calvinist effect on capitalism: work ethic and austerity?). - Positive effects of P: values not sufficiently attended to by the Catholic Church of the 16^th^ century were emphasized by P, namely: a) the desire for a purer and more intimate religion, not suffocated by a dubious legalism or endangered by too much external pomp, but tending to a personal relationship with the living God; b) the sense of mystery before the Almighty God (emphasized by Calvin); c) austerity of life, not easily compromising with the world; d) veneration and frequent reading of the Bible; e) importance of grace in Christian life; f) more active and conscious participation in the liturgy; g) greater awareness of the true priesthood of the faithful; h) the importance of the liberty of conscience; i) social and civic consciousness; j) increase of historical and positivistic studies... \[Recent Development: Lutherans-Catholics Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, 2004[^21^](#fn21){#fnref21.footnote-ref}.\] Zwingli. Ulrich Zwingli was born in Switzerland in the year 1484. After ordination to the priesthood he began to attack various truths of Catholic doctrine in his preaching and adopted many of the tenets of Luther, including salvation through personal interpretation of Scripture. He denounced celibacy and broke his vow when he became married in 1524. The movement of Zwingli resulted in civil war in Switzerland between his supporters and the Catholics. In one of the battles of that war (battle of Kappel), Zwingli was slain in 1531. Calvin. John Calvin was born in France in the year 1509. While engaged in the study of law at the University of Paris he lost his faith, and in 1536 he published the first draft of his famous work Institutes of the Christian Religion (the definitive text appeared in 1559). This work supported the errors of Zwingli and Luther and added some others that were actually false. Since France was a Catholic kingdom, Calvin was compelled to retire to Geneva, Switzerland, where he established a form of religious dictatorship, ruling with absolute authority until his death in 1564. Presbyterians, Huguenots, and Puritans were religious bodies formed under the aegis of Calvinism. 3. The Protestant Reformation in Europe Germany After the excommunication of Luther, the Lutheran revolt gained considerable strength in Germany, despite the staunch efforts of several Catholic princes, and by the year 1555 Lutheranism was firmly established in that country. Throughout the succeeding years the princes of Germany were forced into a decision whether to align themselves with the Catholics or the Protestants, and the eventual result was the Thirty Years' War, which commenced in 1618 and ended in 1648 with the Peace of Westphalia that made permanent the religious division in Europe. France In France political considerations aided the growth of Protestantism. When the Huguenots, or the French Calvinists, began to appear as a serious menace to the nation's political and religious unity, and eight civil wars resulted, King Henry IV, by the Edict of Nantes in the year 1598, granted the Huguenots freedom of belief and many political privileges that enabled them to stabilize their power in France. Misguided action of Cardinal Richelieu During the reign of Louis XII the political destinies of France were guided in great measure by Cardinal Richelieu who, like the other statesmen of his time, seemed not to have been influenced by any religious considerations in the affairs of state. The results for the faith were disastrous. When the Thirty Years' War broke out between the forces of Protestantism and Catholicism in northern Europe, Cardinal Richelieu, in order to secure political advantage of France, aided the Protestants against the Catholic emperor when his support might have secured victory for the Catholic cause and changed the destiny of Europe. The Peace of Westphalia (signed in the Westphalian cities of Innsbruck and Munster), which ended the war in 1648, ended with it the old religious unity of medieval Christendom, assured the life of Protestantism, and formally secured the separation of Europe along religious lines. **Supplement 1: Lutherans-Catholics Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, 2004.** Lutherans are thankful in their hearts for what Luther and the other reformers made accessible to them: the understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and faith in him; the insight into the mystery of the Triune God who gives Godself to us human beings out of grace and who can be received only in full trust in the divine promise; in the freedom and certainty that the gospel creates; in the love that comes from and is awakened by faith, and in the hope in life and death that faith brings with it; and in the living contact with the Holy Scripture, the catechisms, and hymns that draw faith into life. (*From Conflict to Communion*, 225). Lutherans will also remember the vicious and degrading statements that Martin Luther made against the Jews. They are ashamed of them and deeply deplore them. Lutherans have come to recognize with a deep sense of regret the persecution of Anabaptists by Lutheran authorities and the fact that Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon theologically supported this persecution. They deplore Luther's violent attacks against the peasants during the Peasants' War. The awareness of the dark sides of Luther and the Reformation has prompted a critical and self-critical attitude of Lutheran theologians towards Luther and the Wittenberg Reformation. Even though they agree in part with Luther's criticism of the papacy, nevertheless Lutherans today reject Luther's identification of the pope with the Antichrist. (*FCC* 229). **Supplement 2: A common question, answered by Radio Replies 1994.** ***One of the causes of the Reformation was the selling of indulgences. Does the Catholic Church still sell them?*** That\'s like asking, \"Have you stopped beating your wife?\" The Catholic Church does not now or has it ever approved the sale of indulgences. This is to be distinguished from the undeniable fact that individual Catholics (perhaps the best known of them being the German Dominican Johann Tetzel \[1465-1519\]) did sell indulgences\--but in doing so they acted contrary to explicit Church regulations. This practice is utterly opposed to the Catholic Church\'s teaching on indulgences, and it cannot be regarded as a teaching or practice of the Church.  In the sixteenth century, when the abuse of indulgences was at its height, Cardinal Cajetan (Tommaso de Vio, 1469-1534) wrote about the problem: \"Preachers act in the name of the Church so long as they teach the doctrines of Christ and the Church; but if they teach, guided by their own minds and arbitrariness of will, things of which they are ignorant, they cannot pass as representatives of the Church; it need not be wondered that they go astray.\"  The Council of Trent (1545-1564) issued a decree that gave Church teaching on indulgences and that provided stringent guidelines to eliminate abuses:  Since the power of granting indulgences was conferred by Christ on the Church (cf. Matt. 16:19, 18:18, John 20:23), and she has even in the earliest times made use of that power divinely given to her, the holy council teaches and commands that the use of indulgences, most salutary to the Christian people and approved by the authority of the holy councils, is to be retained in the Church, and it condemns with anathema those who assert that they are useless or deny that there is in the Church the power of granting them.  In granting them, however, it desires that in accordance with the ancient and approved custom in the Church moderation be observed, lest by too great facility ecclesiastical discipline be weakened. But desiring that the abuses which have become connected with them, and by any reason of which this excellent name of indulgences be blasphemed by the heretics, be amended and corrected, it ordains in a general way by the present decree that all evil traffic in them, which has been a most prolific source of abuses among the Christian people, be absolutely abolished. Other abuses, however, of this kind which have sprung from superstition, ignorance, irreverence, or from whatever other sources, since by reason of the manifold corruptions in places and provinces where they are committed, they cannot conveniently be prohibited individually, it commands all bishops diligently to make note of, each in his own church, and report them to the next provincial synod\" (Sess. 25, *Decree on Indulgences*).  In 1967 Pope Paul VI reiterated Catholic teaching on indulgences and added new reforms in his apostolic constitution *Indulgentarium Doctrina* (cf. *Vatican II: The Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents*, ed. Austin Flannery, O.P. \[Northport, New York: Costello, 1980\], 62-79). ::: {.section.footnotes} ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. ::: {#fn1} Giacomo MARTINA, *Storia della Chiesa. Da Lutero ai nostri giorni. Vol. 1: L'eta della Riforma* (Brescia 1993), pp. 61-123. In these class notes, the text in Helvetica font is from Lovasik; the text in Times New Roman is from Martina.[↩](#fnref1){.footnote-back} ::: 2. ::: {#fn2} cf. Catholic Encyclopedia, *John XXIII*; Ibid., *Council of Pisa* has the cardinals saying: "Never shall we succeed in ending the [schism](../cathen/13529a.htm) while these two obstinate [persons](../cathen/11726a.htm) are at the head of the opposing parties. There is no undisputed [pope](../cathen/12260a.htm) who can summon a [general council](../cathen/04423f.htm). As the [pope](../cathen/12260a.htm) is [doubtful](../cathen/05141a.htm), the [Holy See](../cathen/07424b.htm) must be considered vacant. We have therefore a lawful mandate to elect a [pope](../cathen/12260a.htm) who will be undisputed, and to convoke the universal Church that her adhesion may strengthen our decision". The danger of their position: if the popes who made them cardinals were doubtful, so were they; and so was their alleged competence to elect a pope{.footnote-back} ::: 3. ::: {#fn3} Summoned by John XXIII, cf. Gerald CHRISTIANSON, et al., eds., *The Church, the Councils, and Reform*, Washington (The Catholic U of America Press), 2008, p. 83. (LST BR 305.3 C47 2008). Constance ended the schism by "laying claim to an authority superior, under certain circumstances, to that of the pope, and by then proceeding to bring to trial and to depose two of the rival papal claimants -- including John XXIII (whom it viewed as the true pope but a bad man) -- and by successfully pressuring the third claimant, Gregory XII, into resigning", p. 84. The council of Constance had seen the growth of conciliarism, i.e, proclaiming the superiority of the council over the pope. The theory is based on the writings of William Durandus, John of Paris, Marsiglio of Padua and William of Occam. Cf. V. van der Essen, *The Council of Florence*, in Catholic Encyclopedia.[↩](#fnref3){.footnote-back} ::: 4. ::: {#fn4} Guillen-Preckler, ibid.[↩](#fnref4){.footnote-back} ::: 5. ::: {#fn5} Contrast this with Catholic doctrine, in Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 600 - *To God, all moments of time are present in their immediacy. When therefore he establishes his eternal plan of \"predestination\", he includes in it each person\'s free response to his grace.*[↩](#fnref5){.footnote-back} ::: 6. ::: {#fn6} But see CCC 1037 - *God predestines no one to go to hell; for this, a willful turning away from God (a mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end*.[↩](#fnref6){.footnote-back} ::: 7. ::: {#fn7} But see CCC 381 *Man is predestined to reproduce the image of God\'s Son made man, the \"image of the invisible God\" (Col 1:15), so that Christ shall be the first-born of a multitude of brothers and sisters (cf. Eph 1:3-6; Rom 8:29);* CCC 2012 *\"We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him... For those whom he fore knew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Rom 8:28-30).\"*[↩](#fnref7){.footnote-back} ::: 8. ::: {#fn8} Martina, p. 129: Luther entered the Augustinian convent in Erfurt in 1505, fulfilling a vow made during a life-threatening storm, which probably only precipitated an evolution that was going on for some time already.[↩](#fnref8){.footnote-back} ::: 9. ::: {#fn9} During his visit to the Augustinian friary at Erfurt in 2011, where Luther had lived as friar for about six years, Pope Benedict commented: "What constantly exercised \[Luther\] was the question of God, the deep passion and driving force of his whole life's journey. 'How do I find a gracious God?' -- this question struck him in the heart and lay at the foundation of all his theological searching and inner struggle. For him, theology was no mere academic pursuit, but the struggle for oneself, which in turn was a struggle for and with God. 'How do I find a gracious God?' The fact that this question was the driving force of his whole life never ceases to make an impression on me. For who is actually concerned about this today---even among Christians? What does the question of God mean in our lives? In our preaching? Most people today, even Christians, set out from the presupposition that God is not fundamentally interested in our sins and virtues."[↩](#fnref9){.footnote-back} ::: 10. ::: {#fn10} Martina, ibid., 127-128.[↩](#fnref10){.footnote-back} ::: 11. ::: {#fn11} Brought to ultimate, but ridiculous, consequences, this arbitrariness could make God declare that murder is good, or falsity is better than truth, simply because it is his will.[↩](#fnref11){.footnote-back} ::: 12. ::: {#fn12} "in the heated room (his study) of the tower of the Black Cloister in Wittenberg when the light broke upon him. The Black Cloister was the monastery of the Augustinian Hermits, and later, when all the monks had voluntarily left, it was Luther\'s home". [↩](#fnref12){.footnote-back} ::: 13. ::: {#fn13} Contrast with CCC 2019*: Justification includes the remission of sins, sanctification, and the renewal of the inner man.*[↩](#fnref13){.footnote-back} ::: 14. ::: {#fn14} Martina, ibid., 131-134.[↩](#fnref14){.footnote-back} ::: 15. ::: {#fn15} But cf. Supplement 2, infra.[↩](#fnref15){.footnote-back} ::: 16. ::: {#fn16} Martina, Ibid., p. 135.[↩](#fnref16){.footnote-back} ::: 17. ::: {#fn17} \[RFP note: Martina does not believe, along with many modern historians, that Luther nailed the theses on the Wittenberg church. The legend supposedly originated with Melanchthon, and is "more Hollywood than history". But according to an article by Katherine Arcement, in Washington Post on Oct 31, 2017, Martin Treu, who works for the Luther Memorials Foundation of Saxony-Anhalt, discovered a handwritten note made by Luther's secretary, Georg Rörer, in a revised copy of the New Testament before Luther's death. It reads: "On the evening before All Saints' Day in the year of our Lord 1517, theses about letters of indulgence were nailed to the doors of the Wittenberg churches by Doctor Martin Luther." Treu concludes that the 95 theses may have been nailed on several church doors in Wittenberg, not just at Castle Church. (, retrieved 15 October 2018).[↩](#fnref17){.footnote-back} ::: 18. ::: {#fn18} As King of Spain, he is known as Charles I; as Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.[↩](#fnref18){.footnote-back} ::: 19. ::: {#fn19} Ibid., 138.[↩](#fnref19){.footnote-back} ::: 20. ::: {#fn20} Ibid., 169-184.[↩](#fnref20){.footnote-back} ::: 21. ::: {#fn21} See Supplement 1, infra.[↩](#fnref21){.footnote-back} ::: :::