Jacob Schulman
AP Euro
October 20, 2006
Ms. Kim
Days 7 & 8: The Catholic Counter-Reformation
I. The Catholic Reformation and the Counter-Reformation:
A. After 1540: No new large areas of Europe (Except Netherlands) accepted Prot. Beliefs
B. Catholic Reformation began before 1517Sought to renew through spiritual stimulation
C. Counter-Reformation started as a reaction to the rise/spread of Protestantism
- Tried to convince people to return to the church too prevent society from corruptness
D. Catholic Reformation & Counter-Reformation weren’t exclusive-after 1540, simultaneous
E. The Slowness of Institutional Reform:
1. Renaissance princes weren’t blind to problems in the church
- 1512: Latheran Council by Julius II- modest reform efforts begin
- Dutch Pope Adrian VI- basically recognized the problems in the church
2. Change took so long because of the pope’s more focus on politics and the difficulty of
reforming a complicated bureaucracy as the Roman curia
3. Clement VII- more interested in material things than theological disputes
Must take some of the responsibility for the spread of Protestantism
- When Charles V and Fr were fighting over Italy, papacy worried about Papal States
Clement backed the Emperor first and then the French ruler
- Battle of Pavia (1525): Francis I was capturedPope switched to support Fr.
Caused Charles V to send German/Spanish troops to sack Rome & Pope
4. Idea of reform was linked to the idea of a general council representing the Church
- Many nations wanted to reform the bureaucracyPopes resisted calls for a council
(Remembered the Conciliar Movement) (Advisors said to avoid, would lead to loss of
power)
F. The Council of Trent:
1. Pope Paul III promised that if elected pope, he would call a council
- Roman Aristocrat, humanist, astrologerDidn’t seem like the reforming type
2. Paul appointed cardinals (Gian Pietro Caraffa)set up the Papal States Inquisition
- Called a council that met at Trent
3. 1545-1563: Council called to reform the church and to secure reconciliation w/ Prot.
- Politics played a major role in debatesCharles V opposed discussions on anything
that would further alienate Lutheran subjects; French kings were against reconciliation
of Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism
4. Another problem- persistence of the conciliar theory of church gvtCentralizing tenet
was established that all acts of the council required papal approval
5. Achievements in both doctrinal and disciplinary matters:
- Gave equal validity to the Scriptures and to tradition as sources of authority
- Reaffirmed the 7 Sacraments and Transubstantiation
- Tridentine decrees required bishops to reside in their own dioceses, rid pluralism and
simony, *Forbid the sale of indulgences*
- Jurisdiction of bishops over the clergy was almost absoluteHad to establish a
seminary for the education and training of the clergy- council made curriculum
Seminary instructors decided if candidates were right for the church
- Great emphasis was placed on preaching and instructing the laity
- Clandestine unions (Private marriages w/o witnesses)Led to issues
Tridentine decree Tametsi: stipulated that for a marriage to be valid, consent as
given in the vows had to be made publicly before witnesses (incl parish priest)
6. Council didn’t meet everyone’s expectations:
- No reconciliation with Protestantism
- Tridentine decrees still laid foundation for spiritual renewal of the church
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G. New Religious Orders:
1. Establishment of new religious orders within the church reveals a central feature of the
Catholic ReformationEducation was a major goal
2. Ursuline order of nuns (Angela Merici)Education of women
- Established to combat heresy through Christian education
- Sought to re-Christianize society by training future wives and mothers
- Claustration (strict enclosure of religious women)Angela had issues getting
approval from the pope
- Ideas and schools spread to France and New WorldInculcated spiritual ideas
3. Society of Jesus: (Ignatius Loyola- former Spanish soldier)Resisted Prot Spreading
- Converted Asians and Latin Americans to Catholicism
- Loyola studied the life of Christ during recovery from a woundGave up military
career and became a follower of Christ
- Spiritual Exercises (1548): Directed the individual imagination and will to the reform of
life and new spiritual piety (over a 4 week period)
- Members called “Jesuits”- recruited from wealthy merchant classes saw Reformation
as a pastoral problem (related to people’s spiritual condition)
- Had no goals of trying to reform the church
- Society of Jesus developed into a centralized, tight knit organization
- Members lived very simple, devout livesFlexibility and willingness to respond to the
needs of time and circumstance formed Jesuit tradition
- Achieved great success for the papacy and reformed the Catholic church
- Jesuit schools adopted the modern humanist methods and educated poor and nobles
- Used “The end sometimes justifies the means”Spied on people
- Carried Christianity to India +Japan, then Brazil, N.A. and the Congo
H. The Congregation of the Holy Office:
1. 1542: Pope Paul III established Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office- had jurisdiction
over the Roman InquisitionVery powerful (Committee of 6 Cardinals)
2. Roman Inquisition operated under Roman LawHad some unjust policies
- Published Index of Prohibited Books- catalogue of forbidden reading
3. Inquisition successfully defeated heresy within the Papal StatesHad little influence
outside of them
- Venetians and Italians were not cut off from the main currents of European learning
I. The Reformations: Revolutionary or Continuity?
1. First critical moment came when Martin Luther criticized the Roman Papacy
- Does this reflect Revolution or Discontinuity?
2. Revolution- rejection of the status quoProt. Rejected the authority of the Roman
Papacy
3. The appearance of new churches in the 17th-18th centuries represent radical
discontinuity from the religious situation in Europe over the previous years
- Before 1555, there was only 1 main churchProtestantism=Fragmentation
4. Protestantism is identified with “modernity”Not only the rejection of old ideas, but the
embrace of light and genius
- Some students of the Roman Church see it as continuityBrethren of Common Life,
preaching programs of friars, Lateran Council of 1512 pre-date Martin Luther
5. After 1550, focus shifted from emphasis on the church as an institution (powers and
prerogatives) to “What’s good for souls”
- Pastoral and missionary Church
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