The Roman Catholic Response

The Roman Catholic Response Order Description LECTURE TEN: THE CATHOLIC RESPONSE: TRENT, TERROR, TREACHERY AND TEACHING I) Introduction: As one might expect, the supporters and representatives of the Roman Catholic Church did not sit idly by while their power, authority, wealth, and history were being questioned and attacked. In truth, the hierarchy of the Roman church was well aware of the need for reform; but their vision did not allow them to look past the obvious need for moral reform, both among the lay and clergy alike. They were either ignorant or unprepared to question the theological foundations on which they felt the church stood. Nor did they limit their responses to just one or two areas. The fear, real or imagined, was that not only was their spiritual and theological world being threatened, but their very culture as well. Much of Medieval society was focused on maintaining the church; music, literature, education. The church was intimately involved in every important aspect of peoples lives; birth, marriage, death. Therefore, not only did the church hierarchy fear what the Protestants were saying and doing, but much of the population did as well. Of course, the degree that certain segments of society were exposed to the truth of what was happening depended on the degree to which the local lords allowed the populace to be exposed to the conflict. It seems that the people in Spain and Italy, in particular, were almost totally untouched by the societal upheaval, while England, Germany, Switzerland, the Low Countries, and the Nordic populations were deeply effected. The Catholic Response was three fold, and although it was not coordinated in any sense of the world, together, these responses, ultimately, were quite effective in “stopping the bleeding.” I have termed these responses the Theological (Council of Trent), Institutional (the Society of Jesus), and the Military (the Religious Wars). We will look at each of these in turn, and attempt to ascertain to what degree each was in stemming the tide toward Protestantism. II) The Council of Trent (1545-1563): The Council of Trent was held at Trent in northern Italy between 1545 and 1563. It marked a major turning point in the efforts of the Catholic church to respond to the challenge of the Protestant Reformation and formed a key part of the Counter-Reformation. The need for such a council had long been perceived by certain church leaders, but initial attempts to organize it were opposed by Francis I of France, who feared it would strengthen Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and by the popes themselves, who feared a revival of Conciliarism. The council eventually met during three separate periods (1545-47, 1551-52, 1562-63) under the leadership of three different popes (Paul III, Julius III, Pius IV). All of its decrees were formally confirmed by Pope Pius IV in 1564. In the area of religious doctrine, the council refused any concessions to the Protestants and, in the process, crystallized and codified Catholic dogma far more than ever before. It directly opposed Protestantism by reaffirming the existence of seven sacraments, transubstantiation, purgatory, the necessity of the priesthood, and justification by works as well as by faith. Clerical celibacy and monasticism were maintained, and decrees were issued in favor of the efficacy of relics, indulgences, and the veneration of the Virgin Mary and the saints. Tradition was declared coequal to Scripture as a source of spiritual knowledge, and the sole right of the Church to interpret the Bible was asserted. At the same time, the council took steps to reform many of the major abuses within the church that had partly incited the Reformation: decrees were issued requiring episcopal residence and a limitation on the plurality of benefices, and movements were instigated to reform certain monastic orders and to provide for the education of the clergy through the creation of a seminary in every diocese. Attendance at the council was often relatively meager, and it was dominated by Italian and Spanish prelates. Several European monarchs kept their distance from the council's decrees, only partially enforcing them or, in the case of the French kings, never officially accepting them at all. The Council of Trent helped, however, to catalyze a movement within the Catholic clergy and laity for widespread religious renewal and reform, a movement that yielded substantial results in the 17th century. III) Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) and the Society of Jesus (Jesuits): Jesuits or Society of Jesus, religious order of men founded by Ignatius of Loyola in 1534 and confirmed by Pope Paul III in 1540. The motto of the order is Ad majorem Dei gloriam (Latin for “to the greater glory of God”), and its object is the spread of the church by preaching and teaching or the fulfillment of whatever else is judged the most urgent need of the church at the time. Education has been its chief activity almost from the outset, and it has made contributions to scholarship in both theology and the secular disciplines. The preparation required of a candidate, especially for membership as a priest rather than as a brother (temporal coadjutor), is considerably longer than that required for the secular priesthood or for membership in other religious orders. After two years in seclusion and prayer as a novice, the candidate takes simple vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and becomes a scholastic. He then typically spends two years of study in review of classical subjects and three years studying philosophy, mathematics, and the physical sciences. Several years of teaching follow, succeeded by three years' study of theology, after which ordination to the priesthood takes place. Following a fourth year of theological study and a year of retirement and prayer, the candidate is awarded his final grade, becoming either a coadjutor or a professed. The coadjutors take final simple vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, but the professed take these vows as solemn vows and add an additional solemn vow to go wherever the pope may send them; furthermore, the professed take five simple vows, among them the renunciation of ecclesiastical office beyond their order unless by directive of the order. The order is governed by a superior general, residing in Rome, who is elected for life by the general congregation of the order, consisting of representatives of the various provinces; there are now more than 90 regional provinces in the world, each under its own father provincial. The aim of Ignatius in forming his band was to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to convert the Muslims; all access to the Holy Land was barred, however, by the outbreak of war with the Ottoman Empire, and the members of the order submitted to the pope a constitution that bound them to go as missionaries to any place for the Papacy. The development of the order was rapid. Its members took leading parts in the Counter Reformation, establishing schools and colleges throughout Europe. For 150 years they were the leaders in European education; by 1640 they had more than 500 colleges throughout Europe; by about a century later the number of colleges had increased to more than 650 and, in addition, the order had total or partial charge of two dozen universities. More than 200 seminaries and houses of study for Jesuits had also been established. The education of Jesuits in the period of the Counter Reformation was designed to strengthen Roman Catholicism against Protestant expansion. Among the laity the Jesuits were concerned chiefly with the education of the nobility and those of wealth, although they did conduct trade schools and, in mission countries, schools for the poor. IV) The Huguenots and the French Wars of Religion (1562-1598) A) The First War (April 1562-March 1563): The Huguenot Condé was captured by the Catholics and the Catholic Montmorency was captured by the Huguenots. This allowed Catherine de Medici to negotiate the Pacification of Amboise in March 1563. This allowed Huguenot nobles to worship freely but limited commoner worship to one town in each judicial district - not including Paris. B) The Second War (Sept 1567-March 1568): This began with a botched attempt by the Huguenots to capture the French king. This was followed with a general uprising by the Huguenots. Spain aided the Catholics and the son of the Elector of the Palatinate (a Protestant) aided the Huguenots. C) The Third War (August 1568 to 1570): The nobility of France gathered in Paris in August 1572 for the wedding between Margaret of Valois, Catherine’s daughter, and Henry of Navarre. Catherine persuaded Charles that there was a plan to murder him and that they had to strike first or be murdered. Charles listened to his mother and what was meant to have been the selected killing of the Huguenot leaders, turned into a full scale massacre. Coligny was murdered and his death seems to have sparked off a spontaneous attack on the Huguenots in general and between August 23rd and 24th 1572, about 3,000 were murdered in Paris alone. Murder occurred throughout France. In total about 10,000 Huguenots were murdered. D) The Fourth War (Dec 1572-June 1573): This war is famous for the siege of La Rochelle by the Duke of Anjou, the future Henry III. La Rochelle, a base for Huguenot privateers, refused to give access to a royal governor and this stimulated a response. However, the siege ended when Henry signed the Treaty of La Rochelle in 1573 which re-introduced the terms of Saint Germain. E) The Fifth War (Dec 1575-May 1576): In December 1574 the Huguenots had effectively created an independent state in the south. This was a direct act of defiance aimed at the crown. The Guise (pronounced “geeze”) family took up the cause of Henry and defeated an English financed German army in 1575. However, this victory worried Henry who feared a resurgent Guise family in France which would threaten his position. F) The Sixth War (March to Dec 1577): The Guise family had formed the Catholic League (Holy League) in 1576. At a meeting of the Estates-General held at Blois in December 1576, a large majority of those present voted for the cancellation of Monsieur. The meeting was dominated by the presence of the Guise family. Henry III (of France) put himself at the head of the Catholic League which had been established to rid France of Huguenots and to give the Catholics of France some form of military back-up at times of confrontation. By putting himself at the head of the League, Henry was giving out a very clear message. His campaign against the Huguenots was successful and the Huguenot gains of Monsieur were withdrawn. The Treaty of Bergerac imposed Huguenot worship to the suburbs of one town in each judicial district. From 1577 to 1584, France experienced relative peace except for the so-called Lovers War (the Seventh War from November 1579 to November 1580) when nothing of importance happened except that the treaty of Bergerac was confirmed. G) The Seventh War (November 1579 to November 1580): See above. H) The Eighth War (March 1585-August 1589): In June 1584, the heir to the throne, the Duke of Alencon died leaving no heir to the throne from the line if Henry II. By law, the next legal heir was Henry of Navarre. Henry III recognized this as being so. Navarre was a Protestant who had briefly converted to Catholicism during the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in an effort to save his life. He had quickly converted back to Protestantism when it was safe to do so. In December 1584, the Duke of Guise signed a secret treaty with Spain which stated that both would put the claim of Navarre to one side and support the claim of the Cardinal de Bourbon - who was the Duke of Guise’s uncle. Spain would provide the Guise family with 50,000 escudos per month to wipe out heresy in France. The Catholic League was revived in 1585 and Guise hoped to tap into the anti-Huguenot feeling that existed in the cities, though primarily in Paris. I) The Ninth War (Aug 1589-May 1598): Navarre was now king. His sole aim initially was to defeat the League. His plan was to buy off support for the League and open combat. Henry IV had one major advantage over all his opponents - he was the legal and legitimate heir to the French throne In June 1593, Henry converted to Catholicism again and in March 1594 he entered Paris. In September 1585, Henry received absolution from the pope, Clement VIII and Mayenne submitted to the king in October 1595. In January 1596, the League was formally disbanded and the French nobility was bought off with titles and money. In 1595, he declared war on Spain. Four separate Spanish forces were in France up to 1597 and it was only in 1598 that the last great nobleman (Mercouer of Brittany) submitted to Henry. In April 1598, the wars officially ended with the Edict of Nantes signed with the Huguenots and in May 1598, the Treaty of Vervins ended the war with Spain. Answer the following question in the Turabian format: What are your thoughts on the canon law regarding Justifiction by Faith found in the Council of Trent's documents.?