When Martin Luther (l. 1483-1546) began the Reformation in 1517, the church tried to silence him like previous reformers, but due to the broad support generated mainly by the printing press, it was unable to do so. Around 1530, Luther`s right-hand man, Philipp Melanchthon (l. 1497-1560), had written the Augsburg Confession, which was opposed in the same year by the Catholic confession Confutatio Augustana, and according to some scholars, the Counter-Reformation began here. The Confutatio Augustana clarified the Church`s position on various issues and condemned the Protestant Reformation as heresy. The spirituality of Filippo Neri, who lived in Rome at the same time as Ignatius, was also practice-oriented, but completely opposed to the Jesuit approach. Filippo said: “If I have a real problem, I think about what Ignatius would do. And then I do the exact opposite. [ref. In recognition of their common contribution to spiritual renewal within the Catholic Reformation, Ignatius of Loyola, Filippo Neri, and Teresa of Avila were canonized on the same day, March 12, 1622. Of course, some reform activities could be seen, such as the founding of the Oratory of Divine Love in 1497, a society of lay people and priests dedicated to charity and spiritual sanctification.
But the Fifth Lateran Council (1512-1517) convened by Pope Julius II (1503-1513) prevented any significant reform movement. The secular excesses of the secular Renaissance church, embodied by the era of Alexander VI (1492-1503), became a serious problem under Pope Leo X (1513-1522), who worked to raise funds in German states for the reconstruction of St. Peter`s Basilica in Rome through the pressure sale of indulgences. Adrian VI (1522–1523), who succeeded Leo X but became a reformer, died too soon to obtain anything. During the following pontificate of Clement VII (1523–1534), the Reform Party continued to work quietly, founding the Theatines (1524), Capuchins (1525) and Barnabites (1530), religious orders for evangelization as a counter-proposal to the Lutheran threat. Finally, the sack of Rome in 1525 by Charles V`s troops of the Holy Roman Empire damaged the reputation of the papacy and apparently helped lead the Catholic Church to reform. Ten years after the decree, Paolo Veronese was summoned by the Holy Office to explain why his Last Supper, a huge canvas for the refectory of a monastery, contained in the words of the Holy Office: “Fools, drunken Germans, dwarves and other such bizarre things” as well as extravagant costumes and sets, in fact a fantastic version of a Venetian patrician feast. [28] Veronese was told that he had to change his painting within three months. He only changed the title to The Feast in the House of Levi, still an episode of the Gospels, but a less doctrinally central episode, and nothing more was said. [29] This event is considered by some scholars to be the end of the Counter-Reformation, as it ended a century of conflict encouraged by or directly attributed to differences in religion.
However, according to some views, the Counter-Reformation never ended, as it was, by definition, a response to the challenge of generalized heresy and continues to oppose what it now considers heretical. In this perspective, the Counter-Reformation continues, while the Church continues to claim its claim as the first and therefore truest incarnation of the Christian vision. However, the term, although in use, is misleading: it cannot be applied logically or chronologically to this sudden awakening of a frightened giant, to this wonderful effort of rejuvenation and reorganization which, in thirty years, has given the Church a whole new face. The so-called “Counter-Reformation” did not begin with the Council of Trent, long after Luther; its origins and early achievements preceded the fame of Wittenberg. It was not undertaken in response to the “reformers,” but in obedience to the demands and principles that are part of the Church`s immutable tradition and emanate from her most fundamental loyalties. [14] The message of the Reformation was addressed to all those who felt deprived of their rights by the Church and the social hierarchy, as evidenced by the revolt of the knights (1522-1523), which sought to establish the “new doctrines” in Germany, and the German Peasants` War (1524-1525), an attempt to overthrow the status quo. Around 1530, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, realized that he had to solve these problems and convened the Diet of Augsburg, at which the Protestants of Germany presented their Augsburg Confession (written mainly by Luther`s right-hand man, Philipp Melanchthon, l. 1497-1560) and the Catholics retaliated with their Confutatio Augustana (mainly written by Luther Johann Eck`s opponent, l. 1486-1543). Both sides rejected each other`s beliefs, and the beliefs became rallying points for opposing views. However, many problems had deeper roots that affected the structure of the Church itself.
In 1512, the Fifth Lateran Council attempted a series of reforms for so-called secular priests – that is, clerics who belonged to a regular diocese rather than a religious order. The council had a very limited impact, although it did make a very important convert – Alexander Farnese, a cardinal who would become Pope Paul III in 1534. The main objective of the Counter-Reformation, however, was the establishment (or restoration) of the notion of ultimate and objective truth. The first Catholic argument against Martin Luther`s activism was that if someone who could read the Bible could claim to know the truth, then there was no “truth,” only an opinion, only an interpretation. Without strong, central spiritual authority and to distinguish truth from falsehood, any like-minded person or group of people could claim the “truth” exclusively for themselves. This argument proved prophetic, for this is exactly what happened during and after the Protestant Reformation and continues in the present. Scholars who claim that the Counter-Reformation continues today cite the Church`s current position on various social and cultural issues as evidence of the Counter-Reformation`s assertion that the Catholic Church is the sole arbiter of spiritual truth. The Jesuits focused on opposing the demands of the Reformation and maintaining the absolute authority of the Catholic Church. In his retreat (1548), Loyola made his views clear, writing: The reforms of the Council of Trent, while sincere, were also aimed at undermining Protestant criticism of the Church and marking a clear difference between Protestant and Catholic visions of Christianity. Luther`s rejection of “faith alone” and “Scripture alone” was essential in establishing the Catholic claim as the sole authority in determining spiritual truth. Until 1545, there were many different Protestant sects, each claiming to hold to “true Christianity,” while the church replied that if everyone claimed to be right, none of them could be right, while the church—which had the original mandate of Jesus Christ Himself—could not be wrong. The call for reform of many ecclesiastical figures was fueled by the 15th and 16th centuries.
In the nineteenth century, popular compositional technique, musical material and even accompanying texts of other compositions such as motets, madrigals and songs were used. Several voices singing different lyrics in different languages made it difficult to distinguish between text and mixing words and notes. The parody mass then contained melodies (usually the tenor line) and song lyrics that could have been on sensual themes and often were. [33] The musical liturgy of the Church is increasingly influenced by secular melodies and styles. The Council of Paris, which met in 1528, as well as the Council of Trent sought to restore the sense of holiness in the Church and what was appropriate for the Mass. The councils simply responded to the problems of their time. [36] The number of these decorative treatments of religious themes has greatly decreased, as have the mannerist pieces “arranged in an inappropriate or confused manner”, because a number of books, notably by the Flemish theologian Molanus, Charles Borromeo and Cardinal Gabriele Paleotti, and the instructions of the local bishops expanded the decrees and often went into the smallest details, which was acceptable.
No comment Click here to read/write comments
