What was the Catholic Church's response to the advent of Protestantism?
I'm fairly certain that the answer to this question would be the Catholic Counter-Reformation, in which the church underwent a series of reforms in order to fix problems within the church. However, I'm not sure if I should say instead, that Pope Leo X excommunicated Martin Luther.
They had the Spanish Inquistion in which the Catholics tortured Protestants and burned them at the stake if they did not swear allegiance to the Catholic church.
How to categorize or describe Catholic reforming activity in sixteenth century has been the subject of intense historical debate. The term Counter-Reformation itself presupposes that any reforming activity by the Catholic Church was in response to the ideas and actions of the Reformation. In the nineteenth century, the German historian, Wilhelm Maurenbrecher, began using Catholic Reformation to describe the reforming activity within the Church that did not arise in response to Protestantism. Pre-dating Luther, this movement of Catholic reformers in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries sought to rectify the abuses in the Church and thus renew its practices and mission.
A useful parallel for the early stages of this movement would be the Gregorian reforms of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, when a group of churchmen, primarily in response to the various clerical abuses of the time, implemented a series of ecclesiastical reforms to eliminate the lax and sometimes scandalous activities of the clergy and to guard against the encroachment of secular powers upon Church offices. Those who called for and carried out reform within the Catholic Church on the eve of the Protestant Reformation were working within this tradition. Prominent figures in this movement were Ximenes DE Cisneros, John Colet, John Fisher, Gasparo Contarini and even Erasmus of Rotterdam. These men advocated reform through improved education, greater emphasis upon the New Testament, and the good example of Church leaders. [1]
St. Ignatius of Loyola
Today most scholars agree that Catholic reforming activity in this era should be viewed through both the Counter-Reformation and Catholic Reformation lenses. While such revision has gained more general acceptance, various figures of the period need to be re-examined under this enhanced perspective. St Ignatius of Loyola is one such individual.
While many are familiar with the life of Ignatius, a brief recounting of his conversion experience will be beneficial for the discussion. Born to a Basque noble family, Ignatius was consumed by the chivalric concept as a young man and attempted to make a reputation through military valor. Such illusions were crushed when his leg was shattered by a cannon ball at the siege of Pamplona in 1521. His injury left him convalescent for many months. To pass the time, Ignatius requested a book of chivalric romances that had delighted him so in his youth. None being found in the castle where he was recuperating, he was brought Ludolph of Saxony's Life of Christ and Jacopo DA Voragine's lives of the saints known as The Golden Legend. The spiritual satisfaction and peace provided by these works gradually changed his outlook; visions of knightly glory were now replaced by the desire to do great deeds just as the saints had for the love of God.
When Ignatius gathered together the small group at the University of Paris who would become the first Jesuits, their concern was not the combating of nascent Protestantism. In fact, an initial goal of the company had been to seek passage to the Holy Land to minister to Christians and convert the Muslim inhabitants. Such a desire seems to indicate that these men were somewhat oblivious to the internal problems that Christendom was facing. But Providence did not permit such early ambitions to be fulfilled. Ignatius and his companions went to Rome where they put themselves at the service of Pope Paul III. The pope approved the order in 1540, and Ignatius was chosen as the first superior general.
Ignatius's concept of renewal was very much in keeping with the spirituality advocated by other contemporary Catholic reformers. Whereas in the Middle Ages religious experience was more communal and contemplative, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries this experience tended to be more individual and active. The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis was a popular meditative tool that emphasized the individuals relation with Jesus, particularly stressing Christ as a model even when carrying out the most mundane tasks. Thomas a Kempis' work would strongly influence Ignatius's own spirituality. [2]
The Jesuit founder's most famous theological composition, the Spiritual Exercises, a well-ordered manual of meditations, rules, and practices culled from his own experiences, was a guide for the Christian's journey from purgation to enlightenment to union with Christ. A practical and ascetical handbook often used for retreats, the Exercises reflect the shift toward interiorized and personal spirituality. Demonstrating the active nature of this spirituality, the Jesuits did not celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours in common or choir for fear that this would interfere with their commitment to ministry. These notions of interior conversion to Christ and active service in his name would become central to Jesuit identity.
The Jesuit Agenda
Jesuit service encompassed a multitude of duties, preeminent among which was c
I wouldn't know. I went to a Catholic school for 9 years and all the priest did was trash the other christian religions (and all the other world ones for that matter). that is probably why i am no longer a practicing Catholic!
The Counter-Reformation is the answer. The excommunication of Martin Luther had less to do with the Reformation and more to do with his own personal ego and pride, that would not allow him to submit to God's truth.
ADDED: To Nicelady7 - the inquisitions were BEFORE the Reformation. There were no Protestants at that time.
Only one church existed in Western Europe in the year 1500. The Roman Catholic Church. At the top was the Pope in Rome who literally governed everything. The Protestant Reformation resulted with the split in Western Christendom. These three things greatly affected the Reformation: The Renaissance, both Italian (in how secularization was beginning to dominate thought) and Northern (how Church Reform led eventually to Reformation by Luther); The Printing Press (which w/o the reformation would not have happened); and last the rise of powerful nation-states headed by a monarch. Now reformation is not how this guy Luther changed everything, Reformation is more about how the Church and its ideals split within different people, Reformation is Complex, Intriguing, and Compelling (It would make a good fiction book).
The Church was in disarray on the eve of Reformation. For example the Black Death struck the population of Europe. Growing Anticlericalism: Disrespect towards the clergy. Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales is a perfect example of Anticlericalism. And in addition to that the schism as mentioned before. Other problems was that the clergy was becoming increasingly poorly educated. Simony: the selling of church offices, was another problem.
Enter Martin Luther: The central figure of this story. Luther (1483-1546) had his initial beef concerning indulgences. Indulgences began during the crusades, and offered at this early time of the crusades to the knights who were fighting for Christendom. Indulgences is the idea that if you gave the church some money, in essence if you bought indulgences from the church, once you died, your soul would spent less time in purgatory and go faster to Heaven. The Papacy sold this to raise church funds.
Then there is the English Reformation where Henry VIII became Supreme Head of hate English Church for political, not religious reasons during Clement's VII and Paul III.
The Counter Reformation is also known as the Catholic Reformation. It was a counter reformation because it tried to counter the Protestants by creating the Index of Forbidden Books, and reviving Papal Inquisition. The center of this was the Council of Trent, which met between 1545 and 1563. This council was dominated by the papacy and, in turn, enhanced its power. The council placed limits on the selling of church offices, council mandated seminary for the education of clergy, and that it should be established in every diocese, the council did not concede any theological point to the Protestants. They endorsed their traditional teachings on matters such as the sacraments, the role of priest, salvation by faith and good works, and that source of faith was Bible and traditions of the Church. Wanted more religious art style: Baroque. The Jesuits (Society of Jesus) was founded by Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556). The Jesuits were accepted as a official order of the church in a papal bull issued in 1540. They distinguished themselves as a teaching order and also worked as Catholic missionaries. So, yes to the first part of the question, yes to the second part.
What was the Catholic Church's response to the advent of Protestantism?
