The Reformation In Europe
...characteristics that pertain to a 16th century Roman Catholic Church priest. Upset by these actions and seeking a reform to the Catholic Church, Martin Luther, a German priest, appealed to the pope. He was ignored, thus motivating him to write the 95 theses, a document that described how the Roman Catholic Church's selling of indulgences undermined the sacrament of penance. This propelled what would later on be called, the Reformation, a movement to reform the Catholic Church in Western Europe. This movement spread throughout all Europe, some monarchies welcomed it, converting their territories to Protestantism or one of its several branches while others rejected it and worked against the Reformation due to political, economical or social reasons. The monarchies of England, Holland and Germany were decisively in favor of a reformation to the Catholic Church. Other monarchies, like the French, and Italian opposed this, remaining attached to their Roman Catholic history and roots.
In 1519, Luther published his 95 Theses; they were spread throughout Germany, which produced protests against the religious misdeeds of the Roman Church. Luther was called to defend his viewpoints in Leipzig in 1519. He vigorously defended his ideas and hence, the Reformation was born in Germany. The Reformation was welcomed in Germany because Luther made Germans aware that the selling of indulgences on behalf of the church was just a deceiving way of the Pope raising the money that was needed to build the St. Peter's Basilica. Since the 15th century, the German government had expressed their disagreement on giving the clergy privileges and immunities. This upset the people because even though they did not have to pay taxes or comply with civic duties, the clergy owned most of the taxable properties. Rejecting Roman Catholic Church would mean that Catholic possessions, such as lands...
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