What was the cause and effect of the Catholic Counter-Reformation?

Answer 1

Catholic AnswerThe cause of the Catholic Reform was the protestant revolt when dissidents in collision with disaffected rulers managed to drag thousands of people out of the Church, away from the Sacraments, thus denying them salvation. The effect was a major overhaul of the Church from top to bottom beginning with the Papacy and the Council of Trent. There was a real, positive effect on religious orders, on education for the clergy, on reform in the monasteries, plus a new beginning in religious orders such as the Jesuits and a reform of some of the older ones, like the Carmelites. The reform was not totally successful in reconverting the peoples that had been lost to the Church, although in some areas, such as Geneva with Bishop St. Francis de Sales, there was a wholesale return to the Church due to the Bishop's preaching and his example.

from

Modern Catholic Dictionary by John A. Hardon, S.J. Doubleday & Co., Inc. Garden City, NY 1980

A period of Catholic revival from 1522 to about 1648, better know as the Catholic Reform. It was an effort to stem the tide of Protestantism by genuine reform within the Catholic Church. There were political movements pressured by civil rules, and ecclesiastical movements carried out by churchmen in an attempt to restore genuine Catholic life by establishing new religious orders such as the Society of Jesus and restoring old orders to their original observances, such as the Carmelites under St. Teresa of Avila (1515-98). The main factors responsible for the Counter Reformation, however, were the papacy and the council of Trent (1545-63). Among church leaders St. Charles Borromeo (1538-84), Archbishop of Milan, enforced the reforms decreed by the council, and St. Francis de Sales of Geneva (1567-1622) spent his best energies in restoring genuine Catholic doctrine and piety. Among civil rulers sponsoring the needed reform were Philip II of Spain (1527-98) and Mary Tudor (1516-58), his wife, in England. Unfortunately this aspect of the reformation led to embitterment between England and Scotland, England and Spain, Poland and Sweden, and to almost two centuries of religious wars. As a result of the Counter Reformation, the Catholic Church became stronger in her institutional structure, more dedicated to the work of evangelization, and more influential in world affairs.

Answer 2

The cause of the Catholic Counter-Reformation was the Protestant Reformation, which challenged the authority and practices of the Catholic Church. The effect was that the Catholic Church responded with reforms, such as the Council of Trent and the founding of new religious orders like the Jesuits, to address internal issues and regain lost territory in Europe.