The Protestant Reformation seriously weakened the power of the Roman Catholic Church.

Many Catholics left the Church and joined Protestant churches. By losing people, the Church lost land and wealth. Protestant countries took church lands and fewer people paid Church taxes.

Officials of the Roman Catholic Church tried to stop the spread of Protestantism by making changes.

This movement to stop the spread of Protestantism was called the Catholic Counter Reformation.

The Roman Catholic Church was going to fight back!

Between 1545 and 1563, officials of the Roman Catholic Church met at the Council of Trent. Church officials redefined Catholic beliefs and created strategies to stop the spread of Protestantism.

The Council of Trent ended the sale of indulgences.

The Inquisition or Catholic courts were created to punish Catholics suspected of Protestant beliefs in Catholic countries.

Many suspected heretics or nonbelievers of Catholic doctrine were tortured and even killed.

The Inquisition was a sad chapter in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.

A new Catholic order was founded by Ignatius Loyola. It was called the Jesuits. The Jesuits were dedicated to spreading and defending the Catholic faith.

The Jesuits brought the Roman Catholic faith to the American Indians.

And sometimes these differences of faith led to war. In Germany, the Thirty Years’ War was a conflict between Protestants and Catholics.

But even after the Catholic Counter Reformation, Western Europe was no longer united by a single church.

Catholic Counter Reformation