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AN OVERVIEW OF CHURCH HISTORY

(PART TWO)

Events Leading to Protestant Reformation

“Dark Ages” of the Church during which the practice of simony and lay investiture were rampant and

the discipline of celibacy was lifted

Lay Investiture

The “Inquisition” to root out heresies

during the 13th century

The transfer of

the center of

the Church to Avignon

in the 14th century

The scandal of multiple claimants

to the papacy in the 15th century

Bishops debating with the pope at the Council of Constance

The selling of indulgences

in the 16th century

The Protestant Reformation

Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk,

attacked the selling of indulgences

and sought to reform corrupt practices

in the Church

Beset by his own personal struggle with sin, he subsequently questioned the teaching of

the Church in regard to how salvation is attained

He went on

to challenge the teaching authority

of the Church

by rejecting most of the sacraments

and promoting the doctrine

of private judgment of scripture

(“Throwing the baby with the bathwater”).

Luther himself saw the futility of privately interpreting scriptures. When he saw the numerous sects growing and multiplying, he said – “There are almost as many sects and beliefs as there are heads; this one will not admit Baptism; that one rejects the Sacrament of the altar; some teach that Jesus Christ is not God. There is not an individual, however clownish he may be, who does not claim to be inspired by the Holy Ghost, and who does not put forth as prophesies his ravings and dreams.”

(An Meine Kritiker, p. 423)

The Catholic Reformation

In 1545, the Council of Trent was convened.

It suppressed abuses, clarified challenged doctrines, and tightened discipline in the Church.

St. Pius V in 1567 issued a decree which states that the Church …

“permanently revoke, void, invalidate, and annul and render profitless each and every indulgence . . . for the gaining of which an alms must be offered, and contains in any way permission to make

collections.”

God raised great saints in the Church like:

– Francis Xavier– Therese of Avila– John of the Cross– Ignatius of Loyola – etc.

Francis Xavier

The Age of Enlightenment (17th and 18th century)

The faith is put into question

by the advance of science,

technology and

philosophy (promotion of “religion of reason”).

Rise of Representative Government (19th century)

With the rise of

freedom and democracy

comes the end of monarchy and dictatorship

and the end of Church-State alliance.

The First Vatican Council (1869-70)

Pope Pius IX reminded the Church

of the primacy of faith over reason

in his “Syllabus of Errors”

Teaching of Papal

Infallibility

was formally promulgated

Surrender of

Papal Estates

Pius XI surrendered the papal estates to Mussolini’s control when he signed the Lateran Treaty in 1922 in exchange of independence and

sovereignty over 109 acres of land.

Rise of Fascism, Nazism and Communism

Church was neutral during World Wars I & II

The Second Vatican Council

Seeking

unity of Christianity

through “Ecumenism”

The threat of “Modernism”

Pope John Paul II

“Call for Purification”

Admission of error and begging forgiveness

was the soul of John Paul’s call for purification.

Among others, he begged forgiveness

for religious wars waged by, or on behalf of,

the Church, and the Inquisition.

The “Catechism of the Catholic Church”

CCC 11

11 This catechism aims at presenting an organic synthesis of the essential and fundamental contents of Catholic doctrine, as regards both faith and morals, in the light of the Second Vatican Council and the whole of the Church's Tradition. Its principal sources are the Sacred Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church, the liturgy, and the Church's Magisterium. It is intended to serve "as a point of reference for the catechisms or compendia that are composed in the various countries."

Pope Benedict the XVI

Tirade against

the “Dictatorship of

Relativism”

End

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