The Catholic and the Counter Reformation

In 1517, the Catholic Reformation began. This was a movement to renew the rigor of the Catholic church. In the 1540s, the Counter Reformation began and it was a movement to stop the spread of Protestantism and have people return to the catholic church. However around the 1540s these two movements progressed simultaneously.

There were three main parts of the Catholic/ Counter Reformation: The Council of Trent, the Inquisition, and the Jesuits.

The Council of Trent was held from 1545 to 1563. At first it faced many problems. For instance, Charles V looked to reconcile with the Protestants but since the Protestants did not recognize the authority of the pope they would not participate. Furthermore, places like France favored religious turmoil because it divided German states and therefore gave France more power.

 Also, many bishops wanted a council who had supremacy over the pope. But even with theses obstacles the council of Trent did make some achievements. It forbade the selling of indulgences, suppressed pluralism,  and made clerics actually follow the church rules. It also reaffirmed the seven sacraments and transubstantiation which rejected Protestant teachings.

The Inquisition was a committee that worked to make sure everyone was a good catholic. They had the power to punish any one thought to be a heretic and was not required to hold a trial. It was very similar to the witch trials. The Inquisition forced people into Catholicism.  One person very prominent in the Inquisition was Torquemada, who was the head of the Spanish Inquisition.

Lastly, were the Jesuits. The society of Jesus was founded by Ignatius Loyola who sought to spread Catholic education. The Jesuits were like missionaries in that they were able to spread Christianity to Asia and the Americas.