Download The Catholic Reformation - Northside Middle School

The Catholic
Reformation
The Catholic Church decides… “If
you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”
A.K.A. Four Steps to Cleaning Up
the Image of the Catholic Church
Counter/Catholic Reformation
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As a response to the Protestant Reformation,
the Catholic Church began a program to
enact reform from within called the
Counter Reformation. During the Counter
Reformation, Catholic clergy:
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Clarified teachings
Corrected abuses
Attempted to win people back to Catholicism
Discourage more people from converting to
Protestantism
Step 1: Huddle Up! Here’s the
Gameplan

Pope Paul III called the Council of Trent in 1545
to make reforms. At the Council of Trent:
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Commissioned new schools for priests
Investigated indulgence selling and other abuses by
clergy members
Required priests and bishops to spend more time
preaching
Established rules for church services so they would be
more alike everywhere
Step 2: Get your Story Straight

At the Council of Trent, members of the Catholic
Church agreed on the following doctrines:
 The church’s interpretation of the Bible was final.
Any Christian who substituted his or her own
interpretation of the Bible was a heretic.
 The Bible and Church traditionally were equally
powerful authorities for guiding Christian life.
 The Latin Bible was the only official scripture.
They Also Agreed that….
Christians need faith, seven
sacraments, AND good works
for salvation.
 Indulgences were valid
expressions of faith (but the
false selling of indulgences
was banned).
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Step 3: Appoint a Task Force
The Society of Jesus
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Founded by Ignatius Loyola
Provided strong Catholic leadership to
monarchs across Europe
Jesuit training emphasized spiritual and
moral discipline, as well as strict loyalty
to the Church
Jesuits slowed the spread of the Protestant
Reformation, established universities,
and later became very successful as
missionaries, spreading the Catholic faith
throughout the rest of the world.
Step 4: Squash the Opposition
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To deal with heresies, the Pope
established a new Inquisition.
In Spain, the mission was continued from
the Middle Ages, but this time to stop the
spread of Protestantism in Spain.
The Roman Inquisition sought out and
condemned people, including
churchmen, whose views were
considered dangerous.
The church also published a list of books
that it said offended Catholic faith or
morals called The Index.