The Council of Trent

The Council of Trent

The Council of Trent played an important part in determining the outcome of the Counter-Reformation[1]. Along with the part played by the Jesuits[2] and certain individuals[3], the Council of Trent was a central feature of the Counter-Reformation. But whether Trent represented a positive move by the Catholic Church remains contentious.

Any long term change in the Catholic Church depended on the attitude of the pope in power at one particular time. If there was no desire for change, then there would be no change! Julius III (1550 to 1555) showed little interest in reform. There were those popes who were the opposite and were truly interested in moving forward the Catholic Church such as Sixtus V (1585 to 1590).

The Council of Trent was called by Paul Ill who was pope from 1534 to 1549 and it first sat in December 1545. It was finally disbanded in 1563 but though it would appear to have a life span of 18 years, it was only engaged in talks for four and a half years. Most of the popes at this time did not want to lose power and "they did not feel any enthusiasm for the abolition of abuses which were lucrative for the Papacy." (Cowie)

The pope did not attend the meetings of the Council and he took no formal part in it. But his legates ensured that the pope’s views would always be put forward and this meant that there was no danger in the revival of conciliarism (the Council being superior to the pope).

700 bishops could have attended the Council but to start with only 31 turned up along with 50 theologians. By 1563, a total of 270 bishops attended and the vast majority of them were Italian which was a great bonus for the pope as they were under his control and it was the pope who effectively controlled promotion to cardinal etc. and these men would not be seen in public doing anything other than what the pope wanted. The bishops also insisted that they vote as individuals rather than as a block-country vote and as there were 187 Italian bishops, 32 Spanish, 28 French and 2 German the Italians vastly outnumbered the other three countries put together! As such what was to be passed at Trent was what the pope accepted as being acceptable to him.

The Council had been called to examine doctrine and reform. Charles V had wanted abuses looked at first in an attempt to please the Protestants and hopefully tempt them back to the church. Once they were back they could look at doctrine. Paul III did not want this as reforms could financially damage him and concessions could diminish his authority. The result was that two separate sections dealt with reform and doctrine simultaneously.

The First Session (1545 to 1547)

This dealt with doctrine only and made no concessions whatsoever to Protestants. A definite Catholic doctrine was established to show clearly the differences between Catholics and Protestants. This was to prevent any doubts in the future. Five statements came out of this first session:

1) Scripture and tradition were to be of equal authority - this denied the fundamental Protestant belief that the Bible alone was the basis of Christian belief.

2) The Catholic Church was to have the sole right in interpreting the Bible and the authority of the Vulgate was asserted. (The Vulgate was the ancient Latin version of the Scriptures produced by St. Jerome in the C4th.

3) Good works were upheld.

4) The seven sacraments were "absolutely necessary channels of divine salvation."

5) Communion in both kinds was forbidden except by express permission of the pope.

This definition was a triumph for Paul Ill and in return he agreed that

* Bishops and priests were to preach regularly (but how could this be enforced?)

* Plurality in bishoprics was forbidden

Neither of these affected the power and position of the pope. All of this angered Charles V as the first session served no other purpose than highlighting the differences between Catholics and Protestants. By 1547, Charles V was in the process of defeating the Schmalkaldic League and fearing that he might use his military power to lean on the Council, it was moved to Bologna where it was safe from the pressure of Charles V. Charles refused to let any more Spanish bishops attend and the Diet of Augsburg (1548) refused to recognize it or be bound by any of Bologna’s decrees. Paul Ill therefore suspended the Council in 1548. He died in 1549 and was succeeded by Julius III in 1550.

The Second Session 1551 to 1552

The Council was recalled to Trent. On the insistence of Charles V, Protestants were invited to attend. The Protestants came with two demands;

1) All bishops should be relieved from an oath of obedience to the Papacy.

2) The authority of the councils should be made superior to the Papacy.

Clearly this was unacceptable to the Church but the second session did declare that

* Pilgrimages and penances were to be upheld

* The doctrine of transubstantiation was affirmed

* Communion in both kinds was condemned as were other aspects of the Protestant view of the Eucharist.

This was an obvious snub against the Protestants and it also lead to an increase in the absolute power of the pope. The second session ended in 1552 as a result of the collapse of Charles V’s position in Germany and the menacing advance of Maurice of Saxony.

The Third Session (1562 to 1563)

The pope was now Pius IV. By 1562 the Jesuits had become far more powerful in the Council and this was at a time in Europe when there was general chaos. Ferdinand, the brother of Charles, still hoped for reconciliation with the Protestants; Charles IX of France supported this in an effort to stave off religious problems in France; Spanish bishops wanted the authority of the bishops to be declared superior to that of the pope and in this they were supported by Philip II of Spain. The Italian bishops at Trent would have none of this.

The third session declared:

* Clerical celibacy was upheld

* Communion in one kind for the laity was upheld

* The veneration of images and relics was upheld

* Bishops were to ordain only suitable men to holy orders and to supervise their moral life clergy were to reside in their parishes and to perform regular duties.

* A seminary was to be established in every diocese

This session put an emphasis on the quality of the clergy.

But the Council left the pope to decide on the revision of the Index, the compilation of the catechism and the revision of the Missal and the Breviary. This greatly extended the influence of the pope and it was the position of the pope that emerged victorious from the Council of Trent and the Council formally recognized the pope as Vicar of Christ on Earth.

Also any reforms passed by Trent did not become church law until they were accepted (promulgated) by the pope. The ultimate authority the pope had was still his right to appoint bishops in the majority of Catholic countries (though not in Spain and France) and should a future Council be ordered to meet it would be flooded with Papal appointees who would progress only through the patronage of the pope. Hence by 1563, the pope was probably in a much stronger position than he had been in 1545.

What emerged from the Council of Trent?

1) The principle that the pope was supreme in the Catholic Church. Only those reforms agreed to by the pope were passed.

2) The decisions of Trent were very conservative. They made no allowance for Christian Humanism or liberal Catholicism.

3) It greatly improved the quality of bishops and clergy to give a proper lead to the Catholic laity. "This emphasis was one of the characteristics of the Counter-Reformation." (Cowie)

4) There was a clearly defined Catholic doctrine.

5) There was a greater centralization of government.

The decrees of Trent were confirmed by Pius IV in January 1564.

"They armed the Church with the two chief weapons: doctrinal clarity and ecclesiastical discipline, with which it waged the war of the Counter-Reformation over the next two centuries." (E. N. Williams)

The clear doctrine made agreement and unity with other Christians impossible.

"It presented a bold intellectual front to all outside its ranks" (Cowie)

The results of Trent were quickly accepted in Italy and the Catholic German states. They were only accepted by France in 1615 though the problems of the French Wars of Religion may well have hampered a speedier acceptance. The decrees of Trent were accepted in Spain as long as they did not conflict with the rights of the crown. France and Spain continued with their right to pick their own bishops.

"The Council of Trent did mark a turning-point in the history of the Catholic Church…..it gave Catholics a certainty about their own beliefs and practices that had previously been lacking the Church’s foundations had been strengthened, to give a firm base on which the spiritual life of the Catholic world could be reconstructed."

--Lockyer

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[1] The Counter-Reformation was the attempt by the Catholic Church to reform itself in the face of the progress made by Luther and Calvin in parts of Western Europe

[2] The Jesuits played a very important role in the Counter-Reformation. The founder of the Jesuits, Ignatius Loyola, must be seen as a key player during it. Loyola was the son of a Basque nobleman and was born in 1491. He became a soldier who was fond of women and gambling - and he had a typical upbringing for a rich man’s son with enjoyment taking precedence within his life with no obvious professional calling.

In 1521 he fought in the army of Charles V. While defending Pampuna he was hit by a cannonball and badly damaged his left leg. While recovering from this injury, he suffered a crisis believing that his life seemed purposeless. He took to reading about the life of Christ and the saints. He saw a vision of the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus and he went to the shrine of Our Lady at Montserrat in Aragon and became a hermit living in a cave near Mantua in 1522. He spent his time in rags confessing and scourging himself whilst helping the sick. "I will follow like a puppy dog if I can only find a way to salvation." Loyola threw himself at the mercy of God and this crisis (be it psychological or not) is similar to what Luther went through.

However, unlike Luther, he found his salvation in mystical experiences and not in the Scriptures. He was willing to accept the beliefs already available so he felt no desire to develop a new creed. He had complete obedience to the Catholic Church and its faith.

In 1523, he went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem as he wished to communicate his love and knowledge to others. He intended a mission to the Turks but he was sent back by the Franciscans to Italy. He spent the next seven years learning Theology and Latin at Barcelona, Alcara and Salamanca and after this he went to the college of Montaigu in Paris. He arrived in Paris at the same time as Calvin was leaving!

While in Paris he collected around himself six companions. Xavier, who was a Basque, three men from Castille, one from Savoy and a Portuguese. In 1534 they all swore an oath of poverty, chastity and obedience to the pope. They made a promise to go to Palestine if the pope agreed to this. Loyola was ordained as a priest in Venice in 1537. Here he helped the sick and the poor. After Venice, Loyola went to Rome. He could not go to Palestine as the Muslim Turks barred his way. In Rome he met many other Counter-Reformers.

In September 1540, Pope Paul III licensed the Society of Jesus for the care of souls in life and for teaching and preaching the faith. Loyola felt that he had to start a fresh order rather than work within an already existing one as existent orders were tainted.

In 1541, Loyola was elected as first General of the Society - a position he held until his death in 1 556. Training in the Society was long and hard. You were a novice for two years doing theory and practical work in hospitals. You went on pilgrimages and you had to spend time begging. If you ‘passed’ this part, you then spent between 10 and 12 years as a scholar studying Theology, Philosophy and the Humanities. You also learnt how to teach others.

Loyola’s "Constitutions" did not reach its final form until 1558. This laid down the rules for the Society

1) The Jesuits were to be at the disposal of the pope.

2) They were to go wherever he ordered them to go to save souls.

3) They were never to accept a bishopric etc. unless the pope ordered it.

4) They were to wear no special habit.

5) There were to be no special mortification’s, e.g. no fasting without a medical report.

6) They were excused from communal prayer and masses.

7) All members were to take the three traditional monastic vows. An elite would take a fourth vow of direct obedience to the pope if he sent them on a foreign mission.

8) Faith was to be spread by preaching, spiritual exercises, charity and education in Christianity.

Loyola’s other major work was "Spiritual Exercises". This he had begun in 1522 and it was completed in 1548. This was designed for Jesuits to become mystics and to have less attachment to things of the world. It informed Jesuits on how "to master the soul to manipulate the body."

A series of mental exercises was developed concentrating on sin and conscience, on the life of Christ - directing the mind to complete union with Him. It outlined the correct posture for meditation. These exercises toughened the mind for the work that was to follow. Loyola placed high value on meditation but he was also an active and able organizer.

Like Luther, his conversion was a emotional experience and like Calvin he had an iron logic which placed an emphasis on education and a desire to create a powerful spiritual religious order that was, nevertheless, realistic in its approach. All Jesuits had a sense of commitment, a capacity for organization and a high level of intellectual ability and this helped to preserve and transmit much of the new learning of the Renaissance.