The Church Founded by Christ: One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic

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

-  The “Inquisition” to root out heresies during the 13 th 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

-  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 bath water”)

-  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.

·  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 X 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” (See CCC 11)

·  Pope Benedict the XVI

-  Tirade against the “Dictatorship of Relativism”