What caused the Catholic Reformation?

Answer 1

Basically, Henry VIII wanted a divorce. But, because he was a catholic, it was illegal. So, he shut down the churches and made his own, the church of England. and of course, he was in charge. :)

Your welcome!! :D

Answer 2

Catholic AnswerThere are many contributing factors to what would become the Catholic revolt, which resulted in the multiple protestant heresies. For a complete discussion of them, please get Diane Moczar's book on Catholic History. There was the plague, the rising business class, the general malaise of the people towards religion. Whereas before religion was the beginning and end of each person's life, the rise of the merchant class and the money mentality gave rise to a more secular view of life, where merchants were even keeping two sets of books, one for God, and one for their profits. Into this maelstrom dropped the invention of the printing press and the widespread distribution of Bibles into what was a largely uneducated populace. Even the "scholars" seemed to be remarkably ignorant, one has only to read through Martin Luther's 95 Theses to realize how remarkably uneducated in the faith Fr. Luther was, and he was a professor of theology! So, these uneducated "scholars" got a hold of Bibles, and instead of reading them as they were meant to be read, they would get a hold of one verse or another and base a whole theology on it, thus "challenging", if you will, established Christianity, as taught by the Church that Christ established. Short answer? Because uneducated people started reading The Bible and thinking that they understood it better than the Church that wrote it.

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from

The Catholic Encyclopedia:

The most important occurrence of Leo's pontificate and that of gravest consequence to the Church was the Reformation, which began in 1517. We cannot enter into a minute account of this movement, the remote cause of which lay in the religious, political, and social conditions of Germany. It is certain, however, that the seeds of discontent amid which Luther threw his firebrand had been germinating for centuries. The immediate cause was bound up with the odious greed for money displayed by the Roman Curia, and shows how far short all efforts at reform had hitherto fallen. Albert of Brandenburg, already Archbishop of Magdeburg, received in addition the Archbishopric of Mainz and the Bishopric of Hallerstadt, but in return was obliged to collect 10,000 ducats, which he was taxed over and above the usual confirmation fees. To indemnify him, and to make it possible to discharge these obligations Rome permitted him to have preached in his territory the plenary indulgence promised all those who contributed to the new St. Peter's; he was allowed to keep one half the returns, a transaction which brought dishonour on all concerned in it. Added to this, abuses occurred during the preaching of the Indulgence. The money contributions, a mere accessory, were frequently the chief object, and the "Indulgences for the Dead" became a vehicle of inadmissible teachings. That Leo X, in the most serious of all the crises which threatened the Church, should fail to prove the proper guide for her, is clear enough from what has been related above. He recognized neither the gravity of the situation nor the underlying causes of the revolt. Vigorous measures of reform might have proved an efficacious antidote, but the pope was deeply entangled in political affairs and allowed the imperial election to overshadow the revolt of Luther; moreover, he gave himself up unrestrainedly to his pleasures and failed to grasp fully the duties of his high office.

Answer 3

The English reformation started in the 16th century

Answer 4

16th centry