Catholic News Service
Although Catholics generally banded together during the Reformation against the Lutheran threat and the growing number of Protestant dissidents, popes and bishops did recognize that the church had to respond to this crisis and, with humility, acknowledged that some reform was necessary.
In general this reform would be carried out by the popes, but there were other reformers, such as Ignatius of Loyola, a Spanish priest who in 1540 founded a men’s religious order, the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) to respond to the Protestants and to strengthen the Catholic Church. Some Jesuits enjoyed considerable success, but clearly the reform of the church had to be carried out in Rome.
Most of the hierarchy of that era came from wealthy, noble families, and they moved in high clerical circles. They were not always aware of the problems facing the church. But that all changed with the 1534 election of Pope Paul III (1534-1549). He recognized the Protestant threat and weakness of the Catholic response.
Pope Paul III acted quickly and decisively. He approved the foundation of the Jesuits, sent numerous bishops back from the Roman court to their dioceses, and, most important of all, he called an ecumenical council to deal on the highest level with the Protestant challenge.
He convened the council for Trent, a city in northern Italy. The council would last from 1545 until 1563, although the council was twice interrupted by political issues, which delayed its work. No fewer than five popes reigned during this time, and this naturally made the council’s work difficult.
The bishops at Trent concluded early on that the central problem was not Protestant teaching but rather the lack of clarity in Catholic teaching, an optimistic view that proved to be correct. This sensible approach, clarifying Catholic teaching rather than debating with Protestants proved very fruitful.
For example, Protestants claimed that the Bible does not mention seven sacraments, since the word “sacrament” does not explicitly appear in Scripture, but the Tridentine (an adjective for Trent) bishops responded in part by clarifying teaching on Scripture and tradition.
The council stated that “the written books and unwritten traditions which have come down to us, having been received by the apostles from the mouth of Christ himself or from the apostles by dictation of the Holy Spirit” contain “all saving truth.”
Trent’s response was a careful exposition of what the sacraments are and do.
The bishops acknowledged that for all seven sacraments there may not have been a specific biblical verse mentioning each sacrament but the practices went back to the apostolic era. Catholics could accept some notion of development, but strict Protestants demanded a direct scriptural reference. The issue of sacraments clarified how Catholics and Protestants approach different issues.
Naturally the bishops wondered why so much Catholic teaching was so poor, and the answer was a poorly educated clergy. Training of priests varied from diocese to diocese, and in rich, sophisticated ones priestly training was often good, but in poor rural ones it was very weak. The council’s solution was the establishment of the seminary system to guarantee that all priests had a sound education for their pastoral work; the system is still successfully used today.
Trent also responded to some Protestant critiques, such as the veneration of relics. The bishops realized that such veneration could lead to superstitious practices, but they wisely defended the veneration relics while addressing the problems. More and more the bishops saw the strong need for clarity and modesty in so much of the church’s teaching.
Trent was a marvelous council but also a marvelously difficult one. The bishops had to face Protestant critiques and a constantly changing membership because in the course of 18 years, in addition to five popes, there were hundreds of bishops, many of whom could attend only some of the session, due inevitably to some deaths and many illnesses.
The bishops were also hampered by supposedly loyal Catholics. Catholic nobles and monarchs, especially the kings of France and Spain, constantly interfered, even to point of preventing bishops from going to Trent.
In retrospect Trent accomplished a great deal, yet there was still work to do. The council wanted teaching clarified, but only after the council did theologians and papal officials put together a good, clear catechism based upon solid doctrine. The council could insist on seminaries, but the diocesan bishops faced the difficulties of funding them, building them and attracting priestly candidates to attend them, and so much more.
The Council of Trent closed in 1563; the next ecumenical council, the First Vatican Council, did not meet until 1869, more than three centuries later — the longest period ever between two councils. That Trent met the church’s basic needs for such a long time testifies to its greatness.
(Joseph F. Kelly is retired professor at John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio.)
