THE COUNTER

REFORMATION
The empire strikes back

COUNTER REFORMATION
Although it took several decades to be
effective, eventually there was a Catholic
response to the Protestant Reformation. It
was Counter-Reformation in the sense that
the Catholic Church was taking steps to
counteract some of the success of the
Protestant side. By 1547, Protestant
religions were established in England,
Scandinavia, much of Scotland, France,
Germany, and Switzerland.

COUNTER REFORMATION
Reforms prior to 1517
centered around creating a new spiritual fervor
and mild attempts to reform institutional vices.
Institutional reform is slow
Popes more interested in political affairs
Many popes live lavish lifestyles and were
uninterested in spirituality or holiness.
Reform had been linked to the idea of the church
council which was often seen as a threat to papal
authority
Papal bureaucracy moved slowly

COUNTER REFORMATION
Reforms after 1540
The Catholic Church began a reform
movement aimed at eliminating the effect
of dissidents and heretics, reforming the
Church, and checking the spread of
Protestantism.

THE COUNCIL OF TRENT

1545-1563
1. Called by Pope Paul III to establish church
doctrine, He was unlikely reformer an
aristocrat, humanist, astrologer whose first act
as pope was to appoint his teen-aged
grandsons as cardinals
2. Unlike the medieval conciliar movement, which
sought to place the papacy under the control of
a church council or parliament, the Council of
Trent was dominated by the papacy and, in
turn, enhanced its power

Pope Paul III

THE COUNCIL OF TRENT

1545-1563
3. Problems existed with the council

The church invited Lutherans and Calvinists, but

they refused to attend because the council would
not agree that the Bible was the sole authority of
God.
Politics repeatedly influenced theological debates

Charles V (HRE) didnt want to further alienate Luther

French did not want to reconcile Catholics and Lutherans
in Germany to keep the area divided and weak

THE COUNCIL OF TRENT

1545-1563
Problems existed with the council
Arguments over the supreme authority of the
Church council or pope
Bishops tended to support local issues over
global

ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE
COUNCIL
Doctrine
Equal authority to Scripture and Church
tradition
Seven sacraments
Transubstantiation
Rejected Lutheranism and Calvinism

ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE
COUNCIL
Reform of Abuses

Bishops must reside in their diocese

No pluralism or simony
Forbid the sale of indulgences
Priests must give up mistresses
Bishops authority over the clergy in his diocese is absolute
Bishops must visit each parish in diocese every two years
Every diocese must set up a seminary that teaches a set
curriculum by educated professors
Religious vocations must be the result of a calling, not
predetermined by parents
Marriage became the jurisdiction of the Church to stipulate
validity
Must have consent of both parties and witnesses

ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE
COUNCIL
What the Council did not do
Reconciliation with Protestants
Reforms were not immediate

CREATION OF RELIGIOUS
ORDERS
Supported the effort to reform and to stop
and turn back the spread of Protestantism
throughout Europe

Angela Merici

Ignatius of Loyola

CREATION OF RELIGIOUS
ORDERS
Ursulines were founded by Angela Merici,
daughter of a country gentleman who was
known for her work with the poor. The
purpose of the nuns order was to combat
heresy through the education of girls.
They thought they could help reChristianize society by training future
wives and mothers

CREATION OF RELIGIOUS
ORDERS
Society of Jesus (Jesuits) organized by Ignatius
of Loyola (1491-1566)
A Spanish noble who was wounded in battle and
spent his recuperation time reading various Catholic
tracts. After undergoing a religious conversion, he
attempted, not unlike Luther, to reconcile himself to
God through austere behavior. He became a hermit
but still felt something was amiss. While Luther, in his
search for spiritual contentment, decided that the
Bible was the sole source of faith, Loyola hit on the
idea that even if the Bible did not exist there was still
the spirit.

Society of Jesus
Loyolas ideas are laid out in his Spiritual
Exercises; one passage in particular states his
belief in total obedience to the Church:
To arrive at complete certainty, this is the attitude that
we should maintain. I will believe that the white object
I see is black if that should be the desire of the
hierarchical church for I believe that linking Christ our
Lord the Bridegroom and His Bride the church, where
is one and the same Spirit, ruling and guiding us for
our souls good. For our Holy Mother the church is
guided and ruled by the Spirit, the Lord who gave the
Ten Commandments

Society of Jesus
This total and complete loyalty is why the Jesuit order,
although at first under suspicion by a cautious papacy
with Loyolas fervor, would be accepted as an official
order of the church in a papal bull in 1510.
Jesuits opened school, became confessors and advisors
to the nobility (resulting in great political influence),
became missionaries, and sometimes resorted to the
ends justifies the means mentality by spying and
fighting in wars. They were instrumental in returning
most of southern Germany and Eastern Europe to
Catholicism

THE ROMAN INQUISITION

Established to stamp out heresy. It was governed by a committee of

six cardinals called the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office. It
was led by the fanatical Cardinal Caraffa who vehemently attacked
heresy. The Inquisition used roman law principles, including relying
on hearsay evidence, not informing the accused of the charges, and
at times, applying torture. Among their steps was the creation of the
notorious Index of Prohibited Books including works by writers such
as Erasmus and Galileo.

The Inquisition had a huge influence on the Papal States, but was
less successful in other areas. Because the banning of books cut
into the profitable book trade in places such as Venice, the
Inquisition had little effect when local concerns were compromised
by restriction.

THE RELIGIOUS
SITUATION ABOUT
1560 By 1560, Luther,
Zwingli, and Loyola
were dead, Calvin was
near the end of his life,
the English break from
Rome was complete,
and the last session of
the Council of Trent
was about to assemble.
This map shows
religious geography of
western Europe at the
time.