Corruption & Reform of the Catholic Church The Reformation Corruption & Reform of the Catholic Church

The Reformation 1. The Reformation is a 16th movement that has been described as a… Time when corruption forced reforms to the Catholic Church, but also led to the creation of Protestant religions. What does “corruption” mean? What does “reform” mean? What is a “movement”? What are some Protestant religions? Thus a reform movement is a time of change for the better.

Corruption of the Catholic Church 1. During the Renaissance, the Church became the main Patron of the Arts. The Church became concerned with secular matters. Examples? Over time, many Catholic clergymen became corrupt, immoral, & uneducated. However, there were some clergymen that recognized these problems & called for reforms. They hoped to return the Church to the time before the Renaissance when Church focused on what they preached rather than what they got paid in offerings.

Corruption of the Catholic Church 2. These early reformers were all clergymen who had been highly trained & had a huge amount of influence within the Church. Whom in the Catholic Church would there reformers have to convince in order to pass these reforms? What if that meant challenging the Pope’s authority or asking him to resign? Would they do this? If they could not get the Pope’s approval, would reform come? Yet, reform did not come for decades because reformers never challenged the authority of the Pope. Why not? Why did no one challenge the Pope? Well…

Corruption of the Catholic Church 3. The first weapon of the Pope was excommunication. Removing a person’s soul from the Church. Heresy is…

Corruption of the Catholic Church 3. The first weapon of the Pope was excommunication. Removing a person’s soul from the Church. Heresy is ideas not supported by the Church. This also included shunning, shaming, & banishment within the community. If you apologized, or recant, your excommunication was lifted. Why would this work? How often would the Pope use this tactic? Why?

Corruption of the Catholic Church 4. The second weapon of the Pope was burning at the stake. If excommunication was not enough for a person to recant or revoke their heretical ideas, the Church would arrest you & place you on trial. If you were found guilty & refused to recant, you were burned alive. How often would the Pope use this tactic? Why? This is why reforms were never successful as the Pope would stop it.

The Little German Monk Martin Luther 1. Despite the concerns & fears, a reformer stood out from the rest as one of the most devout Catholics, but also one of the most upset with Church corruption. His name was Martin Luther.

The Little German Monk Martin Luther 2. Martin Luther (1483-1546) was… A German monk who was highly educated. He held university degrees in both Theology & Law. Experiencing a crisis of faith as he worried about salvation in such a corrupt Church. In order to find an answer to his question, he went to Rome in 1515 to study Scripture, but instead received an education in the corruption of the Church. When he returned to his monastery in southern Germany, Luther made a list of complaints & nailed it to the Church of Wittenberg. It was called the 95 Theses.

The Little German Monk Martin Luther 3. The Ninety-Five Theses was… Written in Latin & was intended to be debated only by the clergy. The door of the Church was like a bulletin board that clergymen used to start debates & discussions. Luther only wanted to debate. However, his ideas spread throughout all of Germany & eventually made it back to the Pope. How did his ideas spread so quickly? Firstly, the 95 Theses was translated into a vernacular language. Common or everyday language; slang. Examples? Vernacular languages were all the rage thanks to the Renaissance & soon Luther himself would write in the vernacular. Why would he write in the vernacular language of Germans? Secondly, the 95 Theses was copied thousands of times using the Printing Press.

The Little German Monk Martin Luther The Printing Press was invented by Johan Gutenberg. It worked by using moveable type & a screw press to create the printing press. As long as the blocks were correct, the accuracy, quality, & quantity of books would increase while price decreased.

The Little German Monk Martin Luther The Ninety-Five Theses outlined Luther’s major complaints within the Church & his solutions to find the true path to salvation. His major complaints were… Clerical Immorality. Many clergymen gambled, drank, broke vows to God, sold fake relics, & spent Church money. Clerical Secularism. Many clergymen were more concerned w/ politics & luxuries than saving souls & helping the poor. Some Popes even waged war against other Christians to become more powerful & wealthy. The sale of Indulgences. An “indulgence” is a Church note promising forgiveness of sins & punishment through prayer & payment. This is how the Church primarily raised money for their expenses.

The Little German Monk Martin Luther How did an indulgence work?

The Little German Monk Martin Luther To raise money for St. Peter’s Basilica, the Pope ordered indulgences to be sold in Germany, which really ticked Martin Luther off.

The Little German Monk Martin Luther 4. In order to generate such a huge sum of money, the Pope sent his best salesman, John Tetzel, to Germany. Tetzel used three devices to sell indulgences:

The Little German Monk Martin Luther 4. In order to generate such a huge sum of money, the Pope sent his best salesman, John Tetzel, to Germany. Tetzel used three devices to sell indulgences: Printing press to copy the indulgences. Emotional appeal to bring people in. Sales pitch to get them to buy it.

The Little German Monk Martin Luther 5. Martin Luther’s complaints with the Catholic Church were not what got him into trouble with the Pope. It is his solutions, his path to salvation that sent him on the path of Reformation. His doctrine of salvation had three basic principles:

The Little German Monk Martin Luther 5. Martin Luther’s complaints with the Catholic Church were not what got him into trouble with the Pope. It is his solutions, his path to salvation that sent him on the path of Reformation. His doctrine of salvation had three basic principles: Scripture is the only authority in the Church. Faith alone brings salvation. Interpret the Bible for yourself. Why would these statements anger the Pope? How would they weaken his authority? Unless Luther found someone to protect him from the Pope, this little German monk would be feeling the heat…like…literary. Let’s watch a movie about Luther’s life & his eventual fate!

Results of the Reformation Political Results: Secular GOV’s gained more power as the Church lost it. Cultural Results: People could choose their own religion, but faced discrimination & persecution. Religious Results: Differences over religion would start wars & distrust for centuries.