Counter Reformation

Synopsis

The Counter-Reformation (also known as the Catholic Reformation) refers to the period of reform, renewal, as well as reaffirmation of [[Roman Catholic] doctrines and structure that occurred in response to the Protestant Reformation.

Related topics

• Protestant Reformation
• Council of Trent

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Main article

The Counter-Reformation (also known as the Catholic Reformation) refers to the period of reform, as well as reaffirmation of [[Roman Catholic] doctrines and structure that occurred in response to the Protestant Reformation. It encompassed doctrine, ecclesiastical structure, religious orders, spiritual movements and politics.

"Counter Reformation" or "Catholic Reformation"

The two terms highlight different aspects of the movement. The term Counter-Reformation, used especially by non-Catholics, emphasizes the view that these reforms were prompted largely by the rise of Protestants and the threat they posed to Catholic institutions. In this view, the reforms were aimed primarily at reducing the loss of the faithful to Protestantism. The term Catholic Reformation, used especially by Catholics, identifies it as an action initiated by the Catholic Church, rather than a reaction to Protestant Reformers.

Scholars, such as John C. Olin, began using the term "Catholic Reformation" in the last half of the 20th Century to emphasize the attempts at reform, theological and disciplinary, within the Roman Catholic Church that began before the traditional date of the launch of the Protestant Reformation by Martin Luther or before the Council of Trent (events such as the Fifth Lateran Council, and the sermons on reform delivered by John Colet in England).

Council of Trent

Pope Paul III (1534-1549) initiated the Council of Trent (1545-1563), a commission of cardinals tasked with institutional reform, to address contentious issues such as corrupt bishops and priests, indulgences, and other financial abuses. The Council rejected specific Protestant positions and upheld the basic structure of the Medieval Church, its sacramental system, religious orders, and doctrine. It rejected all compromise with the Protestants, restating basic tenets of the Catholic faith. The Council upheld salvation appropriated by grace through faith and works (not just by faith, as the Protestants insisted). Transubstantiation, during which the consecrated bread and wine were held to be transformed wholly and substantially into the body, blood, humanity and divinity of Christ, was upheld, along with the other six Sacraments. Other practices that drew the ire of Protestant reformers, such as indulgences, pilgrimages, the veneration of saints and relics, and the veneration of the Virgin Mary were strongly reaffirmed as spiritually vital. The Council also commissioned the Roman Catechism, which would serve as authoritative Church teaching until it was replaced by the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 1992.

But while the basic structure of the Church was reaffirmed, there were noticeable changes to answer complaints that the Counter Reformers tacitly were willing to admit were legitimate. Arrangements were made for parish priests were to be better educated in matters of theology and apologetics, while Papal authorities sought to educate the faithful about the meaning, nature and value of art and liturgy, particularly in monastic churches (Protestants had criticised them as distracting). Notebooks and handbooks became more common, describing how to be good priests and confessors.

Thus, the Council of Trent was dedicated to improving the discipline and administration of the Church. The worldly excesses of the secular Renaissance church that had led to to the Protestant Reformation during the time of Pope Leo X (1513-1522) (whose campaign to raise funds in the German states to rebuild St. Peter's Basilica by supporting sale of indulgences was a key impetus for Martin Luther's 95 Theses) was responded to. The Catholic Church initiated this campaign of reform at the Council of Trent, inspired by earlier Catholic reform movements that predated the Council of Constance (1414-1417): humanism, devotionalism, legalist and the observatine tradition.

The Council, by virtue of its actions, repudiated the pluralism of the Secular Renaissance Church: the organization of religious institutions was tightened, discipline was improved, and the parish was emphasized. The appointment of Bishops for political reasons was no longer tolerated. In the past, the large landholdings forced many bishops to be "absent bishops" who at times were property managers trained in administration. Thus, the Council of Trent combated "absenteeism," which was the practice of bishops living in Rome or on landed estates rather than in their dioceses. The Council of Trent also gave bishops greater power to supervise all aspects of religious life. Zealous prelates such as Milan's Archbishop Carlo Borromeo (1538-1584), later canonized as a saint, set an example by visiting the remotest parishes and instilling high standards. At the parish level, the seminary-trained clergy who took over in most places during the course of the seventeenth century were overwhelmingly faithful to the church's rule of celibacy.

Links

Wikipedia - Counter-Reformation

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