TheCounter-reformation
The Catholic Response to the Protestant Reformation
Reformed Papacy
• Pope Paul III (1534-1549)
• Appointed reform-minded cardinals/bishops who:– Improved education for the clergy– Tried to enforce moral standards– Tried to correct most glaring abuses
Pope Paul III
Reformed Papacy
• Papal Reforms of Paul III– Reform Commission
(1537) - determined Church’s problems = corrupt popes/policies
– Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office (1542) – had jurisdiction over the Roman Inquisition
– Council of Trent
Reform Commission
• Est. new religious orders (preached to commoners)
• Ended selling of church offices & pluralism
• Opened seminaries (to train priests)
Roman Inquisition
• Committee of 6 cardinals w/ judicial authority over all Catholics. Power to:– Arrest– Imprison– Execute
• Sought out heretics• Published the Index of
Prohibited Books (handout)
Cardinal Caraffa – Roman Inquisitor
Roman Inquisition
• Accepted hearsay as evidence
• Not obliged to inform accused of charges against them
• Known to use torture
Council of Trent
• 1545-1563 (off/on)• Group of various levels of clergy met • Goals:– Reform church– Reconcile w/ Protestants
• Faced many political obstacles
Council of Trent
• Upheld traditional Catholic teachings• Faith & good works• Seven sacraments• Transubstantiation • Clerical celibacy • Purgatory
Council of Trent
• Reform measures for clergy– Bishops required to reside in own
dioceses– Suppressed pluralism & simony– Forbade sale of indulgences– Clerics to give up concubines
Council of Trent
• Changes for laypeople– Required – witnesses to marriage
• Did not achieve goal of reconciliation w/ Protestants
New Religious Orders
• The Jesuits (aka Society of Jesus)– Ignatius of Loyola = founder– Religious order dedicated to
the pope– Used education to spread their
message– Restored Catholicism (Europe
& World)
New Religious Orders
• The Ursulines– Order of nuns– Founder = Angela
Merici– Prestige for education
of women – – Could re-Christianize
society by training future wives/moms
Reformation Society & Culture
Protestantism & Marriage
• Clerical celibacy = unnatural & against God’s commandments
• Contract, not sacrament• Proper marriage upholds ideals of– Spiritual equality between men &
women– Hierarchy of husband as authority &
wife as submissive
Protestantism & Women
• Opposed medieval misogyny• Respected women, esp. as
mothers/wives• Equal right to divorce• Encouraged education for women• Read handout: Women of the
Reformation
Anti-Semitism
• Jews continued to be persecuted against during the Reformation
• Luther - expected Jews to convert (called for persecution when they did not)
• Catholic states - Jews segregated into ghettos
The Jews & Their Lies
• Discuss with your partner the following:–Were you surprised by what you read?
Why or why not?–What were some of the traits Luther
states that Jews possess?– According to Luther how should Christians
handle the Jews? – How is Luther’s writing/attitude a
reflection of the 16th C.?
Exam
• Potential essay topics: – Compare and contrast the Lutheran and
Catholic Reformations in the 16th C. regarding the reform of both religious doctrine and religious practices.
– Evaluate the influence of Renaissance humanism on the Protestant Reformation and Catholic reforms.