Catholic Church's Response To The Reformation Essay

The Catholic Church responded to the Reformation by calling the Council of Trent to resolve issues that had been made clear by the Protestants. It was held in Trentino in Northern Italy because it was near where the German Protestants lives and they invited them to the council. It lasted for 18 years between 1545 and 1563. It had three sessions between 1545-1549, 1551-1552, and 1562-1564 because it was interrupted by plague and war. The Council was held to clearly state church teachings. The two main parts it focused on where doctrine (beliefs) which focused on church tradition, transubstantiation, the sacraments, and the position of the Pope. The other main part was Church discipline which focused on education of priests, decrees, and the …show more content…
Pope Leo X was selling indulgences and relics to pay for the building of St Peter’s Basilica but Martin Luther didn’t like this, so he wrote his 95 Theses stating his problems with the corrupt Catholic Church. This started the Reformation and Martin Luther went on to start the Lutheran church that relied solely on the Bible for its source of religion. Around this time, King Henry VIII started the his own Church in England which allowed him to get a divorce from his wife. As a result of these new protestant churches, the Catholic Church held the council of trent to confirm the Church’s beliefs.

A wider implications of the Reformation for Catholics and Christians today are the multiple branches of Christianity around the world. After the protestant reformation when Martin Luther started the Lutheran church, many other christian churches were founded such as Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. The reformation split christianity into many groups but now Pope Francis is trying to bring christianity together