The Catholic Church's Response
During the Protestant Reformation, many concerned Catholics worked to revive the spiritual nature of the Church, reform the abuses of the clergy, and counter the growth of Protestantism. Paul III, pope from 1534-1549, realized the need for reform and renewal in his Church. Spurred on by his leadership and the arrival of several dynamic new Catholic thinkers, the Church experienced a resurgence of energy and growth that led to reform and stemmed the spread of Protestantism. Alarmed by the spread of Protestantism, the Church initiated a number of reforms and other actions to strengthen and spread the Catholic religion. These efforts are called the Counter Reformation, or Catholic Reformation. Many Catholics had realized long before Martin Luther that change was needed, but true widespread reform was not undertaken by the Church until Protestants had gained many followers in Northern Europe.
Several reform movements had begun in the Catholic Church before Luther led his protest in Wittenberg. In 1495, a pious and educated Spanish monk named Francisco Jimenez was appointed Archbishop of Toledo by Queen Isabella I, who was intensely interested in reforming those members of the Spanish clergy who were uneducated or immoral. Jimenez cleansed monasteries of corruption, exiled immoral monks, and forced all Spanish priests to learn to read and write. He established the University of Alcala to encourage religious studies in Spain, and reformed the finances of the Spanish Church. In Italy a number of new orders were formed as a response to monastic corruption. In 1517, the Oratory of Divine Love opened its first monastery in Rome. Its monks dedicated their life to prayer and service to the poor. They inspired the formation of an order of nuns called the Ursilines, who committed their lives to teaching young women and caring for the poor. Another order called the Capuchins broke off from the Franciscans, rededicating themselves to the strict monastic rule of their founder, St. Francis of Asissi.
One of the early efforts of the Counter Reformation took place in 1540, when Pope Paul III approved a new order of Catholic priests called the Society of Jesus. The Jesuits, as they are commonly known, became the most dynamic force in the Church's effort to rebuild its following. The founder of the Jesuits was a Spanish nobleman named Ignatius Loyola. As a young man, Ignatius had been a playboy and a soldier. In 1521, his leg was shattered by a cannonball while he was defending the Spanish town of Pamplona. While convalescing, he read and reread the only two books in the house: a life of Christ and a collection of stories about the lives of Christian saints. This led Ignatius to experience a conversion, and he decided to dedicate his life to service to the Church. He returned to school at the University of Paris and studied Latin, Greek, philosophy, and theology, all the time preaching and collecting a company of followers. In 1540 this group presented Pope Paul III with a constitution of their ideas; the pope sensed their special dedication and blessed the formation of a new order.
The Jesuits became analogous with discipline, education, and the vitality of a reformed Catholic Church. Influenced by Humanism, the Jesuits required their prospective priests to receive three academic degrees - a Bachelor of Arts, a Masters in Philosophy, and a Doctorate in Theology - before ordination as priests. Jesuits built schools, counseled monarchs, sailed with explorers, wrote treatises on theology, science, philosophy, and history, and fought the spread of Protestantism. St. Peter Canisius was responsible for winning back most of Southern Germany to the Catholic faith through tireless scholarship and preaching. Other Jesuits were equally successful in Eastern and Central Europe, and some historians feel that the establishment of the Jesuits marked the end of the spread of Protestantism. Clearly, St. Ignatius' new order formed an army of scholars and teachers who helped revitalize the Church in Europe and spread the Christian message across Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
Pope Paul III became the symbol of the reform-minded Catholic Church. Ironically, Paul himself was the product of the corrupt Church: he was made a cardinal at the age of 25, before he was even ordained a priest, and he fathered at least four children. Yet he knew he must initiate reform if the Catholic Church was to survive. His first action was to promote reform-minded men to the Curia. This College of Cardinals, which acted as the legislative body of the Church, was a source of much of the Church's abuses. Paul appointed a committee of cardinals to catalogue all the abuses of the Church. Their findings prompted Paul to convene a council of Church leaders at Trent, in northern Italy, who would address the state of the Church and the spread of Protestantism.
The Council of Trent, which met periodically from 1545 to 1563, reaffirmed Catholic beliefs and repudiated Protestant ideas. The council restated that humans could interpret the Bible, that both faith and good works were necessary for salvation, that rituals and tradition would remain an integral part of Catholic worship, and that the pope was the head of the Church on earth. These assertions directly countered the new Protestant beliefs. The Council also enacted reforms that cleansed the Church of its many weaknesses. The selling of indulgences and simony were outlawed, seminaries were opened for the proper training of prospective priests, and monasteries and convents were reformed. Paul attempted to enact controls over the Church's finances so that monetary abuses could be eradicated.
The Council of Trent also reinstituted the Inquisition, which was designed to stamp out heresies by interrogating all people suspected of unorthodox views. In Spain, the Inquisition had been active since 1480, when King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella used it as a tool to create homogeneity throughout their newly formed nation. The Spanish Inquisition was infamous for its methods of torture. When a confession had been extracted, the condemned heretic was publicly executed in an act called the auto-de-fe, or act of faith. Paul III had actually reinstituted the Inquisition in 1542, but after the Council of Trent it found new energy as devout Catholics strove to eradicate Protestant views from their communities. Under Paul and his successor Paul IV, the Inquisition was less brutal than its Spanish cousin, but many people were imprisoned, exiled, or even executed for their unorthodox views. In 1559 the Council established the Index of Forbidden Books, a list of banned books Catholics were not allowed to read, buy, or sell. This censorship applied to religious books, such as Protestant Bibles, as well as secular works, like the scientific treatises written by Copernicus and Galileo. In the face of attacks, some members of the Church resorted to harsh methods to defend their faith and stop the spread of Protestantism.
Several reform movements had begun in the Catholic Church before Luther led his protest in Wittenberg. In 1495, a pious and educated Spanish monk named Francisco Jimenez was appointed Archbishop of Toledo by Queen Isabella I, who was intensely interested in reforming those members of the Spanish clergy who were uneducated or immoral. Jimenez cleansed monasteries of corruption, exiled immoral monks, and forced all Spanish priests to learn to read and write. He established the University of Alcala to encourage religious studies in Spain, and reformed the finances of the Spanish Church. In Italy a number of new orders were formed as a response to monastic corruption. In 1517, the Oratory of Divine Love opened its first monastery in Rome. Its monks dedicated their life to prayer and service to the poor. They inspired the formation of an order of nuns called the Ursilines, who committed their lives to teaching young women and caring for the poor. Another order called the Capuchins broke off from the Franciscans, rededicating themselves to the strict monastic rule of their founder, St. Francis of Asissi.
One of the early efforts of the Counter Reformation took place in 1540, when Pope Paul III approved a new order of Catholic priests called the Society of Jesus. The Jesuits, as they are commonly known, became the most dynamic force in the Church's effort to rebuild its following. The founder of the Jesuits was a Spanish nobleman named Ignatius Loyola. As a young man, Ignatius had been a playboy and a soldier. In 1521, his leg was shattered by a cannonball while he was defending the Spanish town of Pamplona. While convalescing, he read and reread the only two books in the house: a life of Christ and a collection of stories about the lives of Christian saints. This led Ignatius to experience a conversion, and he decided to dedicate his life to service to the Church. He returned to school at the University of Paris and studied Latin, Greek, philosophy, and theology, all the time preaching and collecting a company of followers. In 1540 this group presented Pope Paul III with a constitution of their ideas; the pope sensed their special dedication and blessed the formation of a new order.
The Jesuits became analogous with discipline, education, and the vitality of a reformed Catholic Church. Influenced by Humanism, the Jesuits required their prospective priests to receive three academic degrees - a Bachelor of Arts, a Masters in Philosophy, and a Doctorate in Theology - before ordination as priests. Jesuits built schools, counseled monarchs, sailed with explorers, wrote treatises on theology, science, philosophy, and history, and fought the spread of Protestantism. St. Peter Canisius was responsible for winning back most of Southern Germany to the Catholic faith through tireless scholarship and preaching. Other Jesuits were equally successful in Eastern and Central Europe, and some historians feel that the establishment of the Jesuits marked the end of the spread of Protestantism. Clearly, St. Ignatius' new order formed an army of scholars and teachers who helped revitalize the Church in Europe and spread the Christian message across Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
Pope Paul III became the symbol of the reform-minded Catholic Church. Ironically, Paul himself was the product of the corrupt Church: he was made a cardinal at the age of 25, before he was even ordained a priest, and he fathered at least four children. Yet he knew he must initiate reform if the Catholic Church was to survive. His first action was to promote reform-minded men to the Curia. This College of Cardinals, which acted as the legislative body of the Church, was a source of much of the Church's abuses. Paul appointed a committee of cardinals to catalogue all the abuses of the Church. Their findings prompted Paul to convene a council of Church leaders at Trent, in northern Italy, who would address the state of the Church and the spread of Protestantism.
The Council of Trent, which met periodically from 1545 to 1563, reaffirmed Catholic beliefs and repudiated Protestant ideas. The council restated that humans could interpret the Bible, that both faith and good works were necessary for salvation, that rituals and tradition would remain an integral part of Catholic worship, and that the pope was the head of the Church on earth. These assertions directly countered the new Protestant beliefs. The Council also enacted reforms that cleansed the Church of its many weaknesses. The selling of indulgences and simony were outlawed, seminaries were opened for the proper training of prospective priests, and monasteries and convents were reformed. Paul attempted to enact controls over the Church's finances so that monetary abuses could be eradicated.
The Council of Trent also reinstituted the Inquisition, which was designed to stamp out heresies by interrogating all people suspected of unorthodox views. In Spain, the Inquisition had been active since 1480, when King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella used it as a tool to create homogeneity throughout their newly formed nation. The Spanish Inquisition was infamous for its methods of torture. When a confession had been extracted, the condemned heretic was publicly executed in an act called the auto-de-fe, or act of faith. Paul III had actually reinstituted the Inquisition in 1542, but after the Council of Trent it found new energy as devout Catholics strove to eradicate Protestant views from their communities. Under Paul and his successor Paul IV, the Inquisition was less brutal than its Spanish cousin, but many people were imprisoned, exiled, or even executed for their unorthodox views. In 1559 the Council established the Index of Forbidden Books, a list of banned books Catholics were not allowed to read, buy, or sell. This censorship applied to religious books, such as Protestant Bibles, as well as secular works, like the scientific treatises written by Copernicus and Galileo. In the face of attacks, some members of the Church resorted to harsh methods to defend their faith and stop the spread of Protestantism.