August 2, 2007
Defending the Council of Trent
The Council of Trent, as is every council, was much needed injection of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church in 1545. Unfortunately, people who misunderstand the teachings of Vatican II like to dismiss and use Vatican II to nullify this very important event in Church history.
To fully understand and appreciate the council, one must put himself in the context of the times. The corruption within the Catholic Church and the Protestant Revolution (the Reformation was more of a revolution than a reformation) severely hindered the flourishing of the Faith in Europe. At the beginning of the Council there was a debate as to whether the reform of the Church should take place first, in order to win over the Protestants, or whether the dogmatic decrees should take precedence. The bishops finally decided that the work of defining the Faith and reform should occur simultaneously.
During the Council, the bishops clarified the teachings that the Protestants were rejecting. Some of the most important doctrines defined were on the authority of Scripture and Tradition, the Sacraments, and Justification. If one looks at the canons on Justification, he will see that Trent elucidated the Church’s constant teaching that faith and works must not be separated. It never taught that works alone can earn one salvation. Canon I makes that explicitly clear. Earning salvation through works alone is just as theologically erroneous as earning it through faith alone. (Ironically, these extremes are very close; if a Protestant decides he has faith, he ‘earns’ salvation by deciding to get baptized).
Great fruit came forth from the Council, and it is generally known as the Catholic Reformation or Counter Reformation. A wonderful tool to counter the tracts and pamphlets that the Protestants were flooding the continent with, was the Roman Catechism. This catechism brought about a much-needed uniformity in teaching the Catholic faith. Great saints like St. Charles Borromeo, St. Philip Neri, and St. Peter Canisius were zealous for the Faith and formed by Scripture and the Roman Catechism. Even St. Vincent de Paul, known much for his work for the materially poor, was also a passionate reformer for the spiritually poor in the spirit of Trent.
I urge anyone who might have some misunderstandings of the Council of Trent to read about it, or actually read some of the document itself.
In Christ,
Daniel
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