How did the corruption of the Catholic Church lead to the protestant reform?

Answer 1

Another Answer from our community:

The question, as asked, makes little sense. The "Reformation" - really the revolt - was the abuse of the Catholic Church leading many souls away from the only Church that Our Blessed Lord established for their salvation.

Answer 2

A:

First we need to acknowledge that there really were abuses sufficient to contribute to a reform movement such as the Protestant Reformation. No better witness can be expected than Pope Adrian VI (1522-1523), one of the few genuinely good popes of the Renaissance period. Adrian sent a personal emissary to the Diet of Nuremberg in December 1522, urging that a reform Council be called and had an emissary deliver his personal pleading: "We know very well that even in the Holy See there have occurred over the past years many scandals, abuses in spiritual matters, and violations of the commandments that have become an open scandal to all. Hence it is not surprising that this sickness has been transplanted from the head to the members."

The Vatican had become incredibly wealthy and had a wide range of revenue streams available to it. As an example of the excesses of the Vatican, Pope Leo X had 683 servants, including the keeper of the papal elephant - his personal pet. He showered patronage on members of his own family and undertook a financially disastrous war in an effort to instal his nephew in the Duchy of Urbino. Yet he is best remembered for needing to sell indulgences in order to rebuild St Peter's basilica.

Luther posted his Ninety Five Theses, of which number 86 raised a sore point with a curia with a strong sense of entitlement: "Again: since the pope's income today is larger than that of the wealthiest of wealthy men, why does he not build this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of indigent believers?"

Answer 3

Catholic AnswerI would object to the term "corruption of the Catholic Church". There were indeed individuals in the Church who have been corrupt, from the beginning with the Apostle, Judas. Please keep in mind that the Church is the Body of Christ, but that it is composed exclusively of sinners. However, the Catholic Church, as such, is the Body of Christ, and thus, cannot become corrupt.

As for the protestant revolt, some individuals used the actions of other individuals as an excuse to leave the Church instead of confronting the problems and dealing with them. This was very unfortunate as Jesus Christ only left us ONE Church and anytime we leave that Church, we leave Jesus.

Answer 4

Catholic AnswerThe Holy Spirit has guided the Catholic Church from the beginning, and only He could have lead a reform of the Church, however, the immediate efficient cause was most probably the protestant revolt and the loss of thousands of souls to heresy.

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from A Catholic Dictionary, edited by Donald Attwater, Second edition, revised 1957

The Counter-Reformation is the name given to the Catholic movement of reform and activity which lasted for about one hundred years from the beginning of the Council of Trent (q.v., 1545), and was the belated answer to the threatening confusion and increasing attacks of the previous years. It was the work principally of the Popes St. Pius V and Gregory XIII and the Council itself in the sphere of authority, of SS. Philip Neri and Charles Borromeo in the reform of the clergy and of life, of St. Ignatius and the Jesuits in apostolic activity of St. Francis Xavier in foreign missions, and of St. Teresa in the purely contemplative life which lies behind them all. But these were not the only names nor was it a movement of a few only; the whole Church emerged from the 15th century purified and revivified. On the other hand, it was a reformation rather than a restoration; the unity of western Christendom was destroyed; the Church militant (those still on earth) led by the Company of Jesus adopted offence as the best means of defence and, though she gained as much as she lost in some sense, the Church did not recover the exercise of her former spiritual supremacy in actuality.

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 5

Catholic Answer

The Catholic reform actually began before Martin Luther with two Ecumenical Councils:

Seventeenth Ecumenical Council: Basle/Ferrara/Florence (1431-1439)

The Council of Basle met first in that town, Eugene IV being pope, and Sigismund Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Its object was the religious pacification of Bohemia. Quarrels with the pope having arisen, the council was transferred first to Ferrara (1438), then to Florence (1439), where a short-lived union with the Greek Church was effected, the Greeks accepting the council's definition of controverted points. The Council of Basle is only ecumenical till the end of the twenty-fifth session, and of its decrees Eugene IV approved only such as dealt with the extirpation of heresy, the peace of Christendom, and the reform of the Church, and which at the same time did not derogate from the rights of the Holy See. (See also the Council of Florence.)

Eighteenth Ecumenical Council: Lateran V (1512-1517)

The Fifth Lateran Council sat from 1512 to 1517 under Popes Julius II and Leo X, the emperor being Maximilian I. Fifteen cardinals and about eighty archbishops and bishops took part in it. Its decrees are chiefly disciplinary. A new crusade against the Turks was also planned, but came to naught, owing to the religious upheaval in Germany caused by Luther.

The Catholic Reform came to its fruition in the Council of Trent, probably one of the most influential councils of the church in 20 centuries:

Nineteenth Ecumenical Council: Trent (1545-1563)

The Council of Trent lasted eighteen years (1545-1563) under five popes: Paul III, Julius III, Marcellus II, Paul IV and Pius IV, and under the Emperors Charles V and Ferdinand. There were present 5 cardinal legates of the Holy See, 3 patriarchs, 33 archbishops, 235 bishops, 7 abbots, 7 generals of monastic orders, and 160 doctors of divinity. It was convoked to examine and condemn the errors promulgated by Luther and other Reformers, and to reform the discipline of the Church. Of all councils it lasted longest, issued the largest number of dogmatic and reformatory decrees, and produced the most beneficial results.

The Church produced a plethora of saints during this time, and two of them, in particular, Sts. Francis de Sales, and Ignatius were instrumental in reaching out to the protestant heretics and trying to save them. St. Francis de Sales was remarkably successful, reconverting his entire diocese! St. Ignatius form the Society of Jesus to preach to the protestants, he was less successful than St. Francis.

As for the counter-reformation, as it is called by protestants:

from A Catholic Dictionary, edited by Donald Attwater, Second edition, revised 1957

The Counter-Reformation is the name given to the Catholic movement of reform and activity which lasted for about one hundred years from the beginning of the Council of Trent (q.v., 1545), and was the belated answer to the threatening confusion and increasing attacks of the previous years. It was the work principally of the Popes St. Pius V and Gregory XIII and the Council itself in the sphere of authority, of SS. Philip Neri and Charles Borromeo in the reform of the clergy and of life, of St. Ignatius and the Jesuits in apostolic activity of St. Francis Xavier in foreign missions, and of St. Teresa in the purely contemplative life which lies behind them all. But these were not the only names nor was it a movement of a few only; the whole Church emerged from the 15th century purified and revivified. On the other hand, it was a reformation rather than a restoration; the unity of western Christendom was destroyed; the Church militant (those still on earth) led by the Company of Jesus adopted offence as the best means of defence and, though she gained as much as she lost in some sense, the Church did not recover the exercise of her former spiritual supremacy in actuality.

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 6

There were at least three abuses that were rife in the Catholic Church in the centuries leading up to the Reformation: simony, nepotism and the corrupt sale of indulgences. Sexual licence was frequently the order of the day, particularly in the higher echelons of Rome. Corruption began at the top, with the popes and trickled down through layers of cardinals, bishops and even priests.

Answer 7

The corruption within the Catholic Church, such as the selling of indulgences and wealth accumulation, led to dissatisfaction among some reformers like Martin Luther. Luther's criticisms of the Church's practices sparked the Protestant Reformation, which aimed to reform Christianity and establish new branches of Protestantism.