History

The issues put forth before the Council of Trent between 1545 and 1563, addressed many of the contentions of the Protestant faith toward the Catholic Church. Touching on the disagreements over issues concerning original sin in relation to  infant baptism, as well as the sacraments of confirmation, the Eucharist, penance, extreme, unction, order, and matrimony, the hierarchy of the clergy, saints, celibacy, and what was termed the indulgences of the clergy, the Council of Trent sought to defend their own practices against the onslaught of Protestantism. However, in many respects the Catholic Church provided little defense against their critics, instead they adhered to their principles out of, it appears, almost sheer tenacity. In calling the disbelievers in their tenets of faith “anathema” they are condemning those who do not believe in their ways and defending their position through completely offensive tactics. Relying on the rhetoric central to the ideals of the church, they simply reiterate long held beliefs that have come under attack by Protestantism. Rather than a new look at the faith, it is a reaffirmation of old principles geared toward the disbelieving. Primarily the Council of Trent illustrated how central the ideals of ritual and organization of power were to the church during the period. If anything, through the Council of Trent, the church merely reinforced the stereotypes set forth by Protestants of a kind of exclusive club. While trying to defend themselves against the Protestant beliefs in a more humble church where the sacrament of the Eucharist and the powers of communication with God are not the intellectual and religious responsibility of the church, the Catholic Church provided additional fuel for the fire.