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Answer After the separation of the Eastern and Western churches in 1054, the holding of councils by the pope became a way to give guidance to the church, both locally and ecumenically (for the entire church), on varying ecclesiastical matters. One of the most significant of these was the Council of Trent, held in the mid-1500s, which considered such weighty matters as the Lutheran Protestant Reformation and how to counter it, disciplinary reforms in the church, the definition of dogma, and ways to establish key tenets of Roman Catholicism. In fact, the growing complexities of the issues at stake grew so voluminous that it took 18 years, spanning the reigns of five popes, for the Council of Trent to actually convene.During the Council of Trent, both Scripture and tradition were declared authoritative for the Roman Catholic Church, with tradition just as authoritative as Scripture. Salvation by grace alone through faith alone, one of the Reformers’ rallying cries, was rejected in favor of sacramental grace and a righteousness based on an admixture of grace and works. There are seven sacraments instituted by Christ, according to the Council of Trent: baptism, confirmation, communion, penance, unction, orders, and marriage. The council condemned anyone who said the sacraments were not necessary for salvation or that man can be justified through faith alone without any sacrament. For all the talk in Catholicism of “grace,” the Council of Trent’s attack of justification by faith alone results in a theology of works-based righteousness; on some level, sinners must “earn” grace, or the sacraments would be unnecessary. The council also confirmed the belief in transubstantiation, that the substance of bread and wine given during communion (the “Eucharist”) is changed into the actual body and blood of Christ, while the appearance of bread and wine remains. Trent attendees stressed man’s incapacity to save himself, yet confirmed the necessity for the cooperation of his free will, including his resolve to receive baptism and begin a new life. They denied that predestination to salvation can be known with certainty (one rebuttal to this belief is found in Romans 8:28-30). Modern Roman Catholicism, in general, continues to hold to the beliefs put forward and accepted at Trent. Return to:Questions about Church History What happened at the Council of Trent?
IF 1517 MARKS THE BEGINNING of the Protestant Reformation, then 1540 (the founding of the Jesuit order) and 1545 (the opening of the Council of Trent) mark the beginning of the Catholic Reformation, also known as the Counter-Reformation. When Luther sounded the call for reform, not all Catholics fled their church and became Protestants. Instead, many stayed, hoping for renewal. Pleasure-loving Pope Leo X was not the right person to bring reform. But a later pope, Paul III (1534–1549), appointed a commission to examine the state of the church. The commission’s report, Concerning the Reform of the Church, was pointed: Popes and cardinals had become too worldly; bribery to gain church office was widespread; monasteries had lost their discipline; and the selling of indulgences was widely abused. (Protestants obtained a copy and published it as evidence of the church’s corruption.) Conflicting InterestsIn 1537, Paul III called for a council, but political squabbles postponed its opening for eight years. The council finally began, in the northern Italian city of Trent, in 1545. The council held a number of meetings, with the three main sessions occurring in 1545–7, 1551–2, and 1562–3. The drawn-out sessions, and long delays between them, meant that representatives changed over the course of the council. And attendance was small; the opening session attracted only 34 leaders, and the largest meeting of the third session had only 255. The council brought together a variety of competing agendas. Some churchmen, particularly members of the papal curia, resisted any reforms that would hinder their lifestyles. Bishops from Spain and France wanted a stronger, independent role. The Jesuits, on the other hand, stood firmly for papal supremacy. Some council delegates, like Emperor Charles V (who faced a Protestant challenge in his realm, the vast Holy Roman Empire), wanted Protestants and Catholics to reach a compromise. (Under his pressure, the council allowed Protestants to attend the second session, and informal talks were held. But when Protestant demands were not put on the agenda, the Protestants left, in 1552.) In a few instances, the delegates came to blows. ResolutionsReform was high on the agenda. On the issue that had sparked the Reformation—the selling of indulgences—the council abolished indulgence sellers and halted some of the worst abuses. In addition, the council passed numerous measures to halt clerical corruption. Acknowledging that Luther’s revolt had been prompted by the “ambition, avarice, and cupidity” of clergy, it called for leaders to avoid “even the smallest faults.” Many abuses were condemned, such as holding several cathedral churches, offering favors to relatives, and having mistresses. The council dealt extensively not only with morality, but also with doctrine. It reaffirmed the traditional medieval understanding—and rejected contemporary Protestant teaching—on nearly every subject. The council held that there are seven sacraments, not two as the Protestants claimed, and that these are necessary for salvation. All the Protestant interpretations of Communion were condemned, and transubstantiation (the belief that the bread and wine become in substance the body and blood of Christ) was re-affirmed. Protestants were worshiping in their own languages, but the council upheld the Latin Mass, and it defined more precisely the sacrificial understanding of the Mass. On the critical issue of justification, the council could not support the Reformation understanding of salvation by faith alone. It affirmed that no person can know for certain he or she is justified, and that good works do contribute to a right standing with God. On the issues of Scripture and authority, the Catholic church moved further from Protestants. Reformers such as Luther had been translating the Bible into the common language of the people. The council held instead that the only official version of the Bible was the Latin Vulgate, and that no private interpretations of Scripture could depart from the church’s teachings. It also rejected the Protestant view of “Scripture alone” and declared that along with the Scriptures, tradition as preserved by the church was a source of authority. ResultsThe Council of Trent helped to bring much-needed reform to the Catholic church. It also refined the church’s structure and marshalled its forces for the years ahead. On matters of doctrine, however, the council made the gulf between Catholics and Protestants deep and lasting. Any remaining hopes of reunion were dashed. The Council of Trent defined what the church would be for four centuries. Not until Vatican II, in the 1960s, did a major reexamination take place. CH By
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In order to continue enjoying our site, we ask that you confirm your identity as a human. Thank you very much for your cooperation. The Council of Trent (1545-1563) was a meeting of Catholic clerics convened by Pope Paul III (served 1534-1549) in response to the Protestant Reformation. In three separate sessions, the council reaffirmed the authority of the Catholic Church, codified scripture, reformed abuses, and condemned Protestant theology, establishing the vision and goals of the Catholic Counter-Reformation. The Counter-Reformation (also known as the Catholic Reformation, 1545 to c. 1700), which was launched to affirm the Church's vision of Christianity and reform abuses, is understood to begin with the Council of Trent, convened to address these matters. Initially, the meeting was supposed to be ecumenical, involving both Protestant and Catholic clergy, and set for 1537, but war and various disagreements postponed the council until 1545, by which time the Catholic clergy had voted to deny Protestants the right to vote on any decisions or decrees. Although Protestants were invited, none participated. Many Catholic clergy from France and Germany also refused to attend for various reasons, including the difficulty of travel to the site in Northern Italy. Although the Council of Trent has sometimes been characterized as one overly long meeting, it only met for three sessions (consisting of a total of 25 actual meetings) between 1545-1563:
The first and second sessions were prorogued (discontinued without dissolving a body of delegates), and so the council's dates are given as 1545-1563 because that is how long it was officially in session. The delegates did not meet regularly for 18 years, however, and many who attended the first differed from those at the last. The outcome was a series of decrees reforming abuses within the Church, condemning the Protestant Reformation and Protestant theology, affirming the truths of the Catholic Church and its spiritual authority, and codifying scripture. Background & NecessityThe Protestant Reformation began in the Germanic territories of the Holy Roman Empire in 1517 with Martin Luther's 95 Theses. Martin Luther (l. 1483-1546) was a Catholic monk and theologian who only issued the theses as an invitation to fellow clerics to debate the issue of the sale of indulgences. Indulgences were writs guaranteeing one's soul (or that of a loved one) a shorter stay in purgatory after death, and Luther objected to their sale as well as to the pope's authority over souls in purgatory and the apparent greed behind the policy. In objecting to the sale of indulgences, Luther challenged the authority of the pope and, therefore, the Church. The Council of Trent became a Catholic conference whose goal was to reform the abuses of the Church & affirm the Church's authority. The Church responded by excommunicating Luther in 1521 and branding him a heretic and an outlaw at the Diet of Worms, but by that time, his 95 Theses and other works had been published, widely circulated, and translated from Latin into the vernacular. Other priests, such as Huldrych Zwingli (l. 1484-1531), initiated their own challenges, and the Reformation spread in Switzerland and then France. In June 1530, the Diet of Augsburg was convened by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (r. 1519-1556), in an attempt to reunify the Church. The Lutherans presented the Augsburg Confession (written by Philip Melanchthon, Luther's right-hand man, l. 1497-1560) while the Catholics offered the Confutatio Augustana (mainly written by Johann Eck, l. 1486-1543). Neither party accepted the confessions of faith of the other, and nothing was resolved. Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter! Pope Paul III and Charles V made another attempt at reconciliation of Catholics and Protestants in 1537, but this meeting was never convened due to the military conflicts between Charles V and King Francois I (Francis I of France, r. 1515-1547). Charles V was still anxious to effect some form of reconciliation, not only because of the civil unrest and violence that accompanied the Reformation but because he needed his subjects united against a possible invasion by the Ottoman Empire. This next attempt was scheduled for 13 December 1545 in Trento (anglicized as Trent), Northern Italy. First SessionAlthough it was called as an ecumenical conference, the Catholic contingent barred Protestants from voting or having any meaningful voice in the proceedings from the beginning. In response, Protestant clergy refused to attend (even though some, like Melanchthon, made initial attempts). The Council of Trent then became a Catholic conference whose goal was to reform the abuses of the Church (like the sale of indulgences), address claims of error in Church teaching and practice, and affirm (or reaffirm) the Church's authority and centrality in the lives of the people. The Protestant Reformation may never have happened – or certainly would have developed differently – if the Church had simply considered Luther's early objection to the sale of indulgences instead of trying to silence him. As it was, however, he proceeded from that criticism to a rejection of the Church entirely, and central to his claim was that one was justified before God by faith alone and for communion with God one needed only the Bible. The Church claimed that one was justified by one's faith and the works which proceeded from that faith, citing the biblical book of I Corinthians 15:58, "Abound in every good work, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord," and other similar passages. Luther responded with his own biblical texts, including, "For by grace you have been saved, through faith; and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). The first issue to be addressed, therefore, was how one was justified in the eyes of God. In order to fully address that concern, however, they had to first unanimously agree on what books of the Bible constituted Holy Scripture. The Lutherans had rejected certain books and, by this time, Luther had published his own translation of the Bible, and to counter this, an 'authoritative' version of scripture had to be decided on. This was concluded in April 1546 when the Vulgate translation of Saint Jerome was affirmed as the only authoritative text. By June 1546, they had unanimously agreed on the truth of the original sin which separated the soul from God and made justification necessary at all. They reached their conclusions on justification in January 1547 after months of debate. Scholar Diarmaid MacCulloch comments:
In March 1547, the council also agreed on the spiritual necessity of infant baptism (a rejection of the claim of the Anabaptists that only adult baptism was valid) and the importance of and rites concerning confirmation in the Church. Further sessions were interrupted due to the plague, and, although there were meetings, no other decrees were issued, and the council was prorogued in September 1549. Decrees & Canons of First SessionThe first session issued a number of decrees (edicts) and canons (rules or laws) which reaffirmed Church teaching and practice while rejecting and condemning Protestant claims (it also reaffirmed and approved Pope Paul III's 1542 creation of the Holy Office, better known as the Inquisition). The decrees focused primarily on justification and how the Church's teachings provided the spiritual guidance for the soul to merit eternal life in heaven while Protestant works led one astray and would lead the soul to hell after death. The decrees included:
The other decrees also had to do with justification directly or indirectly, and the canons followed this same paradigm but were a careful and direct rejection of Protestant theology, criticisms, and practice. Each canon concludes with the statement, "Let him be anathema," meaning "cursed," excommunicated from the Church, and doomed to hell. They primarily target the Lutheran claim that faith alone and scripture alone are all one needs to be saved. Drawing on Proverbs 3:5 – "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding" – the Council determined that Protestants were relying on their own judgment as to what constituted salvation and were rejecting any trust in God by denying the authority of the Church which claimed direct commission from Jesus Christ. Two examples of canons going directly to this point are 13 and 14:
The canons condemned the Protestant Reformation as heresy and its supporters as heretics. The underlying warrant (authority) for the Church's argument was that if anyone could claim to know 'truth' simply by concluding that what they knew was truth, then there was no truth, only individual opinion. Further, if anyone who could read the Bible could interpret it for themselves, there was no 'true' understanding of scripture possible, only individual interpretations. Since it was understood that people were born into sin and their will corrupted, one could not rely on one's own insight to interpret scripture but should adhere to the written works of the Church Fathers and traditional understanding and practice. Second & Third SessionsThe second session convened in May 1551 under Pope Julius III (served 1550-1555) with the goal of resolving questions concerning the Eucharist. Some Protestant sects (beginning with Zwingli in Switzerland) claimed the celebration of the Mass was only a memorial of Christ's sacrifice and denied that God was present in the consecration or that the bread and wine were transformed into Christ's body and blood. The Council rejected this as heresy and decreed that Christ was substantially present in the Eucharist, condemning anyone who disagreed in Canon 1 from 1551:
They proceeded along the same lines with penance and extreme unction, maintaining that these rites, as with the others, were instituted by Christ himself and could not be denied without placing one's soul in peril of eternal damnation. The session was set to continue on to other subjects, but it was prorogued when the Protestant prince Maurice, Elector of Saxony (l. 1521-1553), formerly an ally of Charles V in the Schmalkaldic War (1546-1547), deserted him to ally with the French King Henry II in 1552 in the Second Schmalkaldic War. The Council next convened under Pope Pius IV (served 1559-1565) in January 1562. This session dealt primarily with reforming abuses in the Church, including poorly educated clergy who lived off tithes of parishioners without providing spiritual guidance or comfort. Decrees were issued for establishing seminaries and reforming the requirements for clergy. Ignatius of Loyola (l. 1491-1556) had already formed his Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1534 and, once approved by the pope, had begun an initiative regarding education which, by 1562, had taken root and spread. The Council approved the establishment of more seminaries and more in-depth study by clerical candidates in 1563. In response to the Protestant claim that clergy could marry, the Council maintained that neither Christ nor his apostles were married and noted that Saint Paul had addressed the issue in the biblical passage, "It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am" (I Corinthians 7:7). It was decided that the clergy would follow Paul's suggestion and example and remain unmarried. The Protestant objection to the sale of indulgences was addressed in that the writs would no longer be sold but could be had for a donation, and the process would be regulated. Protestant rejection of icons and religious art was condemned, as well as their objection to the veneration of the saints and relics. In countering the iconoclasm of the Protestants, the Council approved the commissioning of religious art and musical compositions (Händel's Messiah is a direct result of the Catholic Counter-Reformation and the Council of Trent), which gave birth to the baroque style. Catholic churches would henceforth be grander and more elevating than the modest Protestant houses of worship, and the architecture, art, and music would work together to bring a congregant into a closer relationship with God and the Church. Music, especially, was to be used to celebrate the sacred mysteries of faith and encourage one to open oneself to divine joy and contemplation of the wonder and majesty of God. At the same time, to prevent the spread of Protestant thought, the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (Index of Prohibited Books), created in 1559, was approved by a decree in 1563, which began by specifically naming the works of Reformers such as Luther, Zwingli, John Calvin (l. 1509-1564), and others. The Index was detailed in its prohibitions but, essentially, stated any book condemned by the pope or Holy Office or by one's priest or bishop was to be rejected by a Catholic in good standing with the Church. Unrepentant reading of books on the Index was understood as a grave sin and an act of rebellion that imperiled the soul. The Index continued in effect until 1967 when it was suspended. Religions in Europe in the 16th Century ConclusionThe delegates who established Church doctrine and issued the decrees of the Council of Trent were not representative of the whole Catholic clergy at that time. Delegates from France only participated in the third session, German delegates made uneven appearances, and most of the decisions were made by Italian clergy who lived in relative proximity to Trent and had an easier time traveling for meetings. Even so, their decrees were met with approval, and the petition to ratify the decrees was granted by Pope Pius IV in January 1564. The decisions, decrees, and canons of the Council of Trent became the blueprint for the Catholic Counter-Reformation, which reestablished the Church's authority through clear rules, regulations, and definitions of what it meant to be Catholic. The Council essentially upheld all of the policies and traditions of the medieval Church while reforming any of their abuses as well as errors in policy. Having addressed these problems, the Council affirmed the Church's primacy as the sole authority of the Christian vision. Although some of the decrees, such as the Index, have since been suspended, the decisions of the Council of Trent continued to inform Catholic belief and practice up through the 1960s and, in part, continue to in the present. Page 2Fresco que representa el Concilio de Trento El Concilio de Trento (1545-1563) fue una reunión de clérigos católicos convocada por el Papa Pablo III (en funciones entre 1534 y 1549) en respuesta a la Reforma Protestante. En tres sesiones distintas, el concilio reafirmó la autoridad de la Iglesia católica, codificó las escrituras, reformó los abusos y condenó la teología protestante, estableciendo la visión y los objetivos de la Contrarreforma católica. Se entiende que la Contrarreforma (también conocida como Reforma católica, de 1545 a c. 1700), que se inició para afirmar la visión de la Iglesia sobre el cristianismo y reformar los abusos, comenzó con el Concilio de Trento, convocado para tratar estos asuntos. Inicialmente, la reunión iba a ser ecuménica, con la participación del clero protestante y católico, y se fijó para 1537, pero la guerra y diversos desacuerdos pospusieron el concilio hasta 1545, momento en el que el clero católico había votado para negar a los protestantes el derecho a votar sobre cualquier decisión o decreto. Aunque se invitó a los protestantes, ninguno participó. Muchos clérigos católicos de Francia y Alemania también se negaron a asistir por diversas razones, entre ellas la dificultad de viajar al lugar en el norte de Italia. Aunque se ha afirmado que el Concilio de Trento fue una reunión demasiado larga, solo tuvo tres sesiones (con un total de 25 reuniones reales) entre 1545 y 1563:
La primera y la segunda sesión se prorrogaron (se interrumpieron sin disolver el cuerpo de delegados), por lo que el concilio se ubica entre 1545 y 1563, porque ese es el tiempo que estuvo oficialmente en sesión. Sin embargo, los delegados no se reunieron con regularidad durante 18 años, y los integrantes del primero no fueron los mismos que los del último. Como resultado, se emitieron una serie de decretos que reformaban los abusos dentro de la Iglesia, condenaban la Reforma protestante y la teología protestante, afirmaban las verdades de la Iglesia Católica y su autoridad espiritual, y codificaban las Escrituras. Antecedentes y necesidadLa Reforma protestante comenzó en los territorios germánicos del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico en 1517 con las 95 Tesis de Martín Lutero. Martín Lutero (1483-1546) era un monje y teólogo católico que solo emitió las tesis como una invitación a sus compañeros clérigos para debatir la cuestión de la venta de indulgencias. Las indulgencias eran escrituras que garantizaban al alma de uno (o de un ser querido) una estancia más corta en el purgatorio después de la muerte, y Lutero se oponía a su venta, así como a la autoridad del Papa sobre las almas del purgatorio y a la aparente codicia que había detrás de esta política. Al oponerse a la venta de indulgencias, Lutero desafió la autoridad del Papa y, por tanto, de la Iglesia. El Concilio de Trento se convirtió en una conferencia católica cuyo objetivo era reformar los abusos de la Iglesia y afirmar su autoridad. La Iglesia respondió excomulgando a Lutero en 1521 y tachándolo de hereje y declarado criminal en la Dieta de Worms, pero para entonces, sus 95 Tesis y otras obras habían sido publicadas, ampliamente difundidas y traducidas del latín a la lengua vernácula. Otros sacerdotes, como Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531), iniciaron sus propios desafíos, y la Reforma se extendió en Suiza y luego en Francia. En junio de 1530, Carlos V, emperador del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico (de 1519 a 1556), convocó la Dieta de Augsburgo en un intento de reunificar la Iglesia. Los luteranos presentaron la Confesión de Augsburgo (escrita por Felipe Melanchthon, mano derecha de Lutero, 1497-1560), mientras que los católicos ofrecieron la Confutatio Augustana (escrita principalmente por Johann Eck, 1486-1543). Ninguna de las partes aceptó las confesiones de fe de la otra, y no se resolvió nada. ¡Suscríbete a nuestro boletín electrónico semanal gratuito! El Papa Pablo III y Carlos V hicieron otro intento de reconciliación de católicos y protestantes en 1537, pero esta reunión nunca se convocó debido a los conflictos militares entre Carlos V y el rey Francisco I (Francisco I de Francia, en el cargo de 1515 a 1547). Carlos V seguía ansioso por llegar a alguna forma de reconciliación, no solo por los disturbios civiles y la violencia que acompañaban a la Reforma, sino porque necesitaba que sus súbditos estuvieran unidos contra una posible invasión del Imperio otomano. El siguiente intento estaba previsto para el 13 de diciembre de 1545 en Trento (anglicismo Trento), en el norte de Italia. Primera sesiónAunque se convocó como una conferencia ecuménica, el contingente católico impidió desde el principio que los protestantes votaran o tuvieran alguna voz significativa en los procedimientos. En respuesta, el clero protestante se negó a asistir (aunque algunos, como Melanchthon, hicieron los primeros intentos). El Concilio de Trento se convirtió entonces en una conferencia católica cuyo objetivo era reformar los abusos de la Iglesia (como la venta de indulgencias), abordar las reclamaciones de error en la enseñanza y la práctica de la Iglesia, y afirmar (o reafirmar) la autoridad y la centralidad de la Iglesia en la vida del pueblo. Es posible que la Reforma protestante nunca se hubiera producido (o ciertamente se hubiera desarrollado de forma diferente) si la Iglesia se hubiera limitado a considerar la temprana objeción de Lutero a la venta de indulgencias en lugar de intentar silenciarlo. Sin embargo, Lutero pasó de esa crítica a un rechazo total de la Iglesia, y el punto central de su afirmación era que uno estaba justificado ante Dios solo por la fe y que para la comunión con Dios solo se necesitaba la Biblia. La Iglesia afirmaba que uno era justificado por su fe y las obras que procedían de esa fe, citando el libro bíblico de I Corintios 15:58, "Por lo tanto, mis queridos hermanos, manténganse firmes e inconmovibles, progresando siempre en la obra del Señor, conscientes de que su trabajo en el Señor no es en vano", y otros pasajes similares. Lutero respondió con sus propios textos bíblicos, entre ellos: "Porque por gracia ustedes han sido salvados mediante la fe; esto no procede de ustedes, sino que es el regalo de Dios, 9 no por obras, para que nadie se jacte" (Efesios 2:8-9). Por lo tanto, la primera cuestión que hay que abordar es cómo se justifica uno ante los ojos de Dios. Sin embargo, para poder abordar plenamente esta cuestión, primero debían ponerse de acuerdo por unanimidad sobre qué libros de la Biblia constituían la Sagrada Escritura. Los luteranos habían rechazado ciertos libros y, para entonces, Lutero había publicado su propia traducción de la Biblia, y para contrarrestar esto, había que decidir sobre una versión "autorizada" de las Escrituras. Esto se concluyó en abril de 1546, cuando se afirmó la traducción de la Vulgata de San Jerónimo como único texto autorizado. En junio de 1546, se habían puesto de acuerdo de forma unánime sobre la verdad del pecado original que separaba el alma de Dios y hacía necesaria la justificación. Llegaron a sus conclusiones sobre la justificación en enero de 1547, tras meses de debate. El erudito Diarmaid MacCulloch comenta:
En marzo de 1547, el concilio también se puso de acuerdo sobre la necesidad espiritual del bautismo de niños (un rechazo a la pretensión de los anabaptistas de que solo era válido el bautismo de adultos) y la importancia y los ritos relativos a la confirmación en la Iglesia. Otras sesiones se interrumpieron debido a la peste y, aunque hubo reuniones, no se emitieron más decretos, y el concilio se prorrogó en septiembre de 1549. Decretos y cánones de la primera sesiónLa primera sesión emitió una serie de decretos (edictos) y cánones (reglas o leyes) que reafirmaban la enseñanza y la práctica de la Iglesia, al tiempo que rechazaban y condenaban las reivindicaciones protestantes (también reafirmó y aprobó la creación del Santo Oficio por parte del Papa Pablo III en 1542, más conocido como la Inquisición). Los decretos se centraban principalmente en la justificación y en cómo las enseñanzas de la Iglesia proporcionaban la guía espiritual para que el alma mereciera la vida eterna en el cielo, mientras que las obras protestantes lo desviaban a uno y lo llevaban al infierno después de la muerte. Los decretos incluían:
Los otros decretos también tenían que ver con la justificación directa o indirectamente, y los cánones seguían este mismo paradigma pero eran un rechazo cuidadoso y directo de la teología, las críticas y la práctica protestantes. Cada canon concluye con la declaración: "sea excomulgado", que significa "maldito", excomulgado de la Iglesia y condenado al infierno. Se dirigen principalmente a la afirmación luterana de que solo la fe y las escrituras son todo lo que se necesita para salvarse. Basándose en Proverbios 3:5: "Confía en el Señor de todo corazón, y no en tu propia inteligencia", el Concilio determinó que los protestantes estaban confiando en su propio juicio en cuanto a lo que constituía la salvación y estaban rechazando cualquier confianza en Dios al negar la autoridad de la Iglesia que reclamaba una comisión directa de Jesucristo. Dos ejemplos de cánones que van directamente a este punto son el XIII y el XIV:
Los cánones condenaron la Reforma protestante como herejía y a sus partidarios como herejes. La justificación (autoridad) subyacente para el argumento de la Iglesia era que si cualquiera podía afirmar que conocía la "verdad" simplemente concluyendo que lo que sabía era la verdad, entonces no había verdad, solo opinión individual. Además, si cualquiera que pudiera leer la Biblia podía interpretarla por sí mismo, no era posible una comprensión "verdadera" de las Escrituras, sino solo interpretaciones individuales. Como se entendía que las personas nacían en pecado y su voluntad se corrompía, no se podía confiar en la propia perspicacia para interpretar las Escrituras, sino que había que atenerse a las obras escritas de los Padres de la Iglesia y a la comprensión y práctica tradicionales. Segunda y tercera sesiónLa segunda sesión se convocó en mayo de 1551 bajo el Papa Julio III (sirvió entre 1550 y 1555) con el objetivo de resolver las cuestiones relativas a la Eucaristía. Algunas sectas protestantes (empezando por Zwinglio en Suiza) afirmaban que la celebración de la misa era solo un memorial del sacrificio de Cristo y negaban que Dios estuviera presente en la consagración o que el pan y el vino se transformaran en el cuerpo y la sangre de Cristo. El Concilio rechazó esto como una herejía y decretó que Cristo estaba sustancialmente presente en la Eucaristía, condenando a cualquiera que estuviera en desacuerdo en el Canon 1 de 1551:
En la misma línea se procedió con la penitencia y la extremaunción, sosteniendo que estos ritos, al igual que los demás, fueron instituidos por el propio Cristo y no podían ser negados sin poner el alma en peligro de condenación eterna. La sesión debía continuar con otros temas, pero fue prorrogada cuando el príncipe protestante Mauricio, Elector de Sajonia (1521-1553), antes aliado de Carlos V en la Guerra de Esmalcalda (1546-1547), lo abandonó para aliarse con el rey francés Enrique II en 1552 en la Segunda Guerra de Esmalcalda. El Concilio se reunió de nuevo bajo el mandato del Papa Pío IV (1559-1565) en enero de 1562. En esta sesión se trató principalmente de reformar los abusos en la Iglesia, incluido el clero mal educado que vivía de los diezmos de los feligreses sin proporcionarles guía espiritual ni consuelo. Se promulgaron decretos para establecer seminarios y reformar los requisitos del clero. Ignacio de Loyola (1491-1556) ya había formado su Compañía de Jesús (jesuitas) en 1534 y, una vez aprobada por el Papa, había comenzado una iniciativa en materia de educación que, en 1562, había echado raíces y se había extendido. El Concilio aprobó en 1563 la creación de más seminarios y la profundización de los estudios por parte de los candidatos a clérigos. En respuesta a la pretensión protestante de que el clero pudiera casarse, el Concilio sostuvo que ni Cristo ni sus apóstoles estaban casados y señaló que San Pablo había abordado la cuestión en el pasaje bíblico: "En realidad, preferiría que todos fueran como yo. No obstante, cada uno tiene de Dios su propio don: este posee uno; aquel, otro." (I Corintios 7:7). Se decidió que el clero siguiera la sugerencia y el ejemplo de Pablo y permaneciera soltero. La objeción protestante a la venta de indulgencias se abordó en el sentido de que las escrituras ya no se venderían, sino que podrían obtenerse a cambio de un donativo, y el proceso estaría regulado. Se condenó el rechazo protestante a los iconos y al arte religioso, así como su objeción a la veneración de los santos y las reliquias. Para contrarrestar la iconoclasia de los protestantes, el Concilio aprobó el encargo de arte religioso y de composiciones musicales (el Mesías de Händel es un resultado directo de la Contrarreforma católica y del Concilio de Trento), que dio origen al estilo barroco. Las iglesias católicas serían en adelante más grandiosas y elevadas que las modestas casas de culto protestantes, y la arquitectura, el arte y la música trabajarían juntos para llevar a los feligreses a una relación más estrecha con Dios y la Iglesia. La música, especialmente, debía utilizarse para celebrar los sagrados misterios de la fe y animar a abrirse a la alegría divina y a la contemplación de la maravilla y la majestuosidad de Dios. Al mismo tiempo, para evitar la difusión del pensamiento protestante, se aprobó por decreto en 1563 el Index Librorum Prohibitorum (Índice de libros prohibidos), creado en 1559, que comenzaba nombrando específicamente las obras de reformadores como Lutero, Zwinglio, Juan Calvino (1509-1564) y otros. El Índice era detallado en sus prohibiciones pero, esencialmente, establecía que cualquier libro condenado por el Papa o el Santo Oficio o por el propio sacerdote u obispo debía ser rechazado por un católico en buena posición con la Iglesia. La lectura no arrepentida de los libros del Índice se entendía como un pecado grave y un acto de rebeldía que ponía en peligro el alma. El Índice continuó en vigor hasta 1967, cuando fue suspendido. Religiones en Europa en el siglo XVI ConclusiónLos delegados que establecieron la doctrina de la Iglesia y emitieron los decretos del Concilio de Trento no eran representativos de todo el clero católico de la época. Los delegados de Francia solo participaron en la tercera sesión, los delegados alemanes tuvieron apariciones irregulares, y la mayoría de las decisiones fueron tomadas por el clero italiano, que vivía en relativa proximidad a Trento y tenía más facilidad para viajar a las reuniones. Aun así, sus decretos fueron recibidos con aprobación, y la petición de ratificar los decretos fue concedida por el Papa Pío IV en enero de 1564. Las decisiones, los decretos y los cánones del Concilio de Trento se convirtieron en el proyecto de la Contrarreforma católica, que restableció la autoridad de la Iglesia a través de normas, reglamentos y definiciones claras de lo que significaba ser católico. El Concilio mantuvo esencialmente todas las políticas y tradiciones de la Iglesia medieval, a la vez que reformaba todos sus abusos y errores de política. Tras abordar estos problemas, el Concilio afirmó la primacía de la Iglesia como única autoridad de la visión cristiana. Aunque algunos de los decretos, como el Índice, han sido suspendidos desde entonces, las decisiones del Concilio de Trento continuaron informando la creencia y la práctica católica hasta la década de 1960 y, en parte, continúan haciéndolo en el presente. * * * [1] http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ESL0057/_PD.HTM [2] http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ESL0057/_PM.HTM |
What did the Council of Trent say?
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