The Transformation Of The Medieval Into The Modern Church

â€Å"Assembled under trying conditions, it was almost doomed to failure before it commenced; the task, which confronted this reform council, was gigantic. For it was asked to revitalize and renew the Church weighed down with the burden of the centuries. In effect, the reform, which the Fathers of this Council achieved, initiated the transformation of the medieval into the modern Church.† This assembly, the Council of Trent of the sixteenth century, known as the Council of Trent, in which Robert E. McNally, S.J., a historian of the medieval Church, describes, is considered to have the greatest impact upon the whole of Christendom. The course of church history was dramatically changed as Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the†¦show more content†¦This response was formulated after years of pressure from the various reformers and the Church engaged in an effort that extended eighteen years with crises after crises overrunning their desire for reconciliatio n with the reformers. Prior to the Council of Trent, concerns over the teachings, practices and actions of the Catholic Church caused great controversy that extended far beyond Luther’s original appeal. It hosted a wide spectrum of theological debates concerning doctrine, the sacraments, abuse of authority within the clergy and many other essential issues of the Church. These issues required answers that demanded moral reform at all levels of the Church. The Church was experiencing moral lapses that caused the people to lose trust in the Church and the clergy. A deep dissatisfaction and skepticism was widespread throughout the Church. Luther’s Theses, extended far beyond struggles within the Catholic Church, it unofficially gave permission to others, even in this modern world to listen to our own consciousness and not a single authority, challenging all to cross beyond a once very rigid line created between the authority of the church and the laity. Luther’s courageous act provided a gift and a foundation for us today, to seek answers and accept the difficult questions from the depth of our very being. When our spirit is