Possibility for the Catholic Church to Stamp Out Heresy during the 16th Century - Essay Example

Why It Was Not Possible for the Catholic Church To Stamp out Heresy During the 16th Century The origin, the spread, and the persistenceof heresy are due to different causes and influenced by many external circumstances. The undoing of faith infused and fostered by God Himself is possible on account of the human element in it, namely man's free will. The will determines the act of faith freely because its moral dispositions move it to obey God, whilst the non-cogency of the motives of credibility allows it to withhold its consent and leaves room for doubt and even denial. St. Thomas defines heresy: "a species of infidelity in men who, having professed the faith of Christ, corrupt its dogmas"(Wilhelm). How did the Catholic Church respond to heresy Heresy, being a deadly poison generated within the organism of the Church, must be ejected if she is to live and perform her task of continuing Christ's work of salvation. Each pastor in his parish, each bishop in his diocese, is in duty bound to keep the faith of his flock untainted; to the supreme pastor of all the Churches is given the office of feeding the whole Christian flock (Wilhelm). The power granted to the Catholic Church of expelling heresy is an important factor in the constitution of the Church. The power of rejecting heresy however needs to adapt into the social and political circumstances of the time. In the beginning, the Catholic Church exercises its power without an organization. The bishops were able to find heresies in their congregation and checking the progress with all its power vested upon it by the hierarchy. When a heresy gathered support and proved a danger to the Church, the bishops assembled in councils, provincial, metropolitan, national, or ecumenical to discuss the matter (Wilhelm). In the early church, heresies were sometimes determined by a selected council of bishops, or ecumenical council, such as the First Council of Nicaea. Actually, the Catholic Church had little power to punish heretics in the early years, other than by excommunication, a spiritual punishment. Excommunication was the worst form of punishment possible because it separated the believer from the body of Christ or the Church. Excommunication, or even the threat of excommunication, was enough to convince many a heretic to renounce his views (Heresy). In the years that followed, the Catholic Church instituted the Inquisition (Latin: Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis Sanctum Officium), an office of the Roman Catholic Church charged with suppressing heresy. The Inquisition was a permanent institution in the Catholic Church charged with the eradication of heresies (Inquisition). The Inquisition was active in several nations of Europe, particularly where it had fervent support from the civil authority (Heresy). The Catholic Church however, never had executed anyone for heresy. Rather, the Church turned over heretics to the respective governments for execution. Thus making heresy a part of political self-definition and exclusion (Bambrick et al). When Constantine had taken upon himself the office of lay bishop, episcopus externus, and put the secular arm at the service of the Church, the laws against heretics became more and more rigorous. Under the purely ecclesiastical discipline no temporal punishment could be inflicted on the obstinate heretic, except the damage which might arise to his personal dignity through being deprived of all intercourse with his former brethren (Wilhelm). Why it was not possible for the Catholic Church to stamp out heresy During the 16th century During the 16th century, stamping out heresy became more difficult due to varied reasons such as the Black Death, changes in the society, especially the corruption and moral decay within the Catholic Church. The 16th century is the period in which the medieval Church was defining itself and unifying its identity (Bambrick et al). The Catholic Church during the 16th century has become influential but very corrupt. As early as the twelfth century onward, there are already calls for reform. Between 1215 and 1545 nine church-councils are held with church reforms as their primary intent. The councils all fail to reach significant accord. The clergy is unable to live according to church doctrine, and the abuse of church ceremonies and practices continues (Protestant Reformation in Europe). This period of moral decline was instrumental in leading to a Western Schism within Christendom, in which three Popes and anti-Popes concurrently contested control over the See of Peter. The popes refused to convene councils to effect reform, and they failed to bring about reform themselves, rather busying themselves with Italian politics and being patrons of the arts. "Thus the papacy emerged as something between an Italian city-state and a European power, without forgetting at the same time the claim to be the vice-regent of Christ. The pope often could not make up his own mind whether he was the successor of Peter or of Caesar. Such vacillation had much to do with the rise and success of heresy and the Protestant reformation (qtd. from 14th n 15th Centuries: Church in Moral Crisis). The outcome of the Black Death encouraged a radical reorganization of the economy and eventually European society that leads to increased in heresy. The famine, plague, and pestilence, contributed to loss of faith for most believers especially after witnessing clergy men died of the plague and realizing the ineffectiveness of prayers. In the emerging urban centers, however, the calamities of the fourteenth and early fifteenth century, and the resultant labor shortages, provided a strong impetus for economic diversification and technological innovations. (Protestant Reformation). But as recovery and prosperity progressed, enabling the population to reach its former levels in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the combination of both a newly abundant labor supply as well as improved productivity, were mixed blessings for many segments of Western European society. Despite tradition, landlords started the move to exclude peasants from common lands. With trade stimulated, landowners increasingly moved away from the manorial economy. Woolen manufacturing greatly expanded in France, Germany, and the Netherlands and new textile industries began to develop. The humanism of the Renaissance stimulated academic revolution and concern for academic freedom. Ongoing, earnest theoretical debates occurred in the universities about the nature of the church, and the source and extent of the authority of the papacy, of councils, and of princes. These factors contributed to the rise in heresy and made stamping it out a difficult task. Additionally, the development of the printing press made the task of suppressing heretics more difficult for the Catholic Church. Reformist such as Martin Luther, a German Augustinian friar, was able to successfully fight the Papacy and forge the Protestant Reformation (Protestant Reformation). The Reformation movement began in 1517 when Martin Luther posted a list of grievances, called the "Ninety-Five Theses", against the Roman Catholic Church. As the spirit of reform spreads other leaders appear: Ulrich Zwingli in Switzerland, French-born John Calvin who settles in Geneva, and John Knox who carries Calvin's teachings to Scotland (Protestant Reformation in Europe). The growth of heresy, like any other movements, depends greatly on social and political climate at a time. Philosophies, religious ideals and aspirations, social and economic conditions, are brought into contact with revealed truth, and from the impact result both new affirmations and new negations of the traditional doctrine. The first requisite for heresy to be successful is to have a charismatic leader, not necessarily of great intellect and learning, but of strong will and daring action. Men such as Martin Luther and the other leaders of the protestant reformation who have given their names to new sects. The second requisite is the acceptance of the new doctrine to the contemporary mentality, to social and political conditions. The last, but by no means the least, is the support of secular rulers (Wilhelm). All these three conditions existed during the 16th century which made the protestant reformation and other heresies came into being thus making the task of stamping them out difficult for the Catholic Church. Works Cited "The 14th and 15th Centuries: Church in Moral Crisis." Australian Catholic University 22 Oct. 2005. . Bambrick, Courtney, Tim Mutrie, and Mary Beth Wilson. "Heretics." Kenyon College. 22 Oct. 2005.. "Heresy." Wikipedia. 17 Oct. 2005. Wikimedia. 22 Oct. 2005. . "Inquisition." Wikipedia. 20 Oct. 2005. Wikimedia. 22 Oct. 2005. . "Prostestant Reformation in Europe." Orange Pages. 2005. 22 Oct. 2005.. "Protestant Reformation." Wikepedia. 19 Oct. 2005. Wikimedia. 22 Oct. 2005.. Wilhelm, J. "Heresy." The Catholic Encyclopedia on CD Rom. 2003. Read More