Grade 11 World Religions

Christianity

Council of Trent: The Response to the Reformation

Please fill in the blanks of the notes from the PowerPoint.

The Council of Trent and the Catholic Counter-Reformation

•  The Catholic Church reacted to the Protestant Reformation by calling the ______from 1545-1563. The process of renewal was called the ______.

•  Up until the Council of Trent, the Catholic Church was still looking backwards at the past when everyone was united in the same faith. Christianity was not the same, Europe was divided.

•  Pope Paul III(3rd) understood that the Church needed to move forward to create a new reality.

The Purpose of the Council:

1.  Bring the Reformers back into the Catholic Church

2.  Clarify and define basic Catholic teachings and beliefs

Three Installments

1. ______
•  24 bishops (mostly Italian and some Spanish).
•  There is an illness outbreak in Trent so the Council is moved to Bologna. When it is moved into the Papal States the Emperor refutes his support and the council collapses. / 2. ______
•  Brief reconvening.
•  Paul III’s (3rd) successor Paul IV (4th) is very anti-council. He sees no need for the Church to move forward and surrender but to hold on to the idea that the Pope will end it all. / 3.______
•  200 bishops representing the Church.
•  Bishops represent a European Church from all over the continent.
•  The Council says that Luther did point out some problems that did exist in the Church.
•  The break was not only the problems the Church had with them but the problems the Church had within itself.

The Council Aimed to: Identify, Clarify, and Reform

Clarity

•  Distinctive Catholic ______.

•  ______is formally defined.

•  Defined the ______of the Church.

•  Real presence of Christ in the ______.

•  Doctrine of ______.

•  Mass as a true and visible continuation of the sacrifice of Christ

Result: The Roman Catechism released in 1566. This explains exactly what Catholics believe and why.

______

Identity

•  Teachings of the Catholic Church genuinely differed from the reformers.

•  Refuted the idea of ______alone and ______alone.

•  Refuted the idea of a priesthood of all believers.

•  Result: the Roman Missal in 1570.

______

Reform

•  Institute reforms to serve the faith of the members.

•  Reform of the bishops and Curia. Removal of simony and other abuses of the church.

•  Creation of seminaries.

What Is the Outcome of the Council of Trent?

1.  Renewal and re-invigorated Catholicism. It is no longer primarily directed against Protestantism (forward looking).

2.  Many of the abuses in the Church were corrected. (Indulgences, corrupt clergy, simony).

3.  Beliefs and teachings were clarified (i.e. both faith and good works are equally needed for salvation; celibacy of priest, supremacy of the Papacy, authority of tradition).

4.  New religious orders and communities formed (and older ones reformed): Jesuits, Carmelites, and Franciscans. They implemented these reforms. For example, The Society of Jesus was founded (1534) by Ignatius Loyola to spread the Catholic faith through education and missionary work. Today, there are over 20,000 Jesuits who continue this work.

5.  Spirituality becomes sacramental. The Sacraments that used to be received once a year, move to being received weekly.

6.  The 30 Years’ War (1618-1648) and Peace of Westphalia creates unity of Medieval Christendom.

Summary

1.  View the understanding of the mass as a sacrifice.

2.  Reaffirmed the authority of the institutional tradition with scripture.

3.  Upheld the function of priests as intermediaries.

4.  Reaffirmed the tradition of celibacy for priests and instituted seminaries for training.