By PAUL LIKOUDIS
In a letter commemorating the 450th anniversary of the closing of the Council of Trent, Pope Francis affirmed the importance of the doctrines the council defined as the Protestant Reformation raged across the Europe.
The Council of Trent, held in 25 sessions over three periods between December 13, 1545 and December 4, 1563, under the guidance of three Popes, Paul III, Julius III, and Pius IV, had two main purposes: to refute and condemn the principles of Protestantism, and to reform the discipline and administration of the Church.
In a letter to Walter Cardinal Brandmüller, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Historical Sciences, dated November 19, Pope Francis said the event of the anniversary “behooves the Church to recall with more prompt and attentive eagerness the most fruitful doctrine which came out of that council convened in the Tyrolese region.
“Certainly not without cause, the Church has for a long time already accorded so much care to the Decrees and Canons of that Council that are to be recalled and observed, since, indeed the most grave affairs and questions having appeared at that time, the Council Fathers summoned all diligence that the Catholic Faith appear more clearly and be better understood.
“No doubt,” the letter continued, “with the Holy Ghost inspiring and suggesting, it especially concerned the Fathers not only to guard the sacred deposit of Christian doctrine, but also to more clearly enlighten mankind, so that the saving work of the Lord may be poured out onto the whole world and the Gospel be spread through the entire world.”
The Holy Ghost, continued Francis, “even now, continues to restore and meditate upon the most abundant doctrine of Trent. As a matter of fact, the ‘hermeneutic of renewal’ (interpretatio renovationis) which Our Predecessor Benedict XVI explained in 2005 before the Roman Curia, refers not only to the Tridentine Council but also to the Vatican Council. The mode of interpretation, certainly, places one honorable characteristic of the Church in a brighter light that is given by the Same Lord (Benedict XVI): ‘She is a subject which increases in time and develops, yet always remaining the same, the one subject of the journeying People of God’ (Christmas Address to the Roman Curia).”
The Holy Father’s letter concluded:
“Therefore, we rejoice and express gladness that, glowing with such splendor of the Church, this event is celebrated in a more solemn manner in the City of Trent. Wherefore, the Venerable Brother Luigi Bressani, Metropolitan Archbishop of Trent, requested that We assign some honorable Prelate who, on the 3rd of the following December, may pronounce the exhortatory words to all who shall attend this gladsome commemoration.
“Deeming this request, therefore, as just, and willing to designate You, Our Venerable Brother, who indeed have expertly investigated and have wisely carried forward the decrees of this Council. We, therefore, name You in these letters Our Extraordinary Envoy to the celebrations of the 450th anniversary of the day on which the Conciliar Fathers completed the works of the Council of Trent.
“Indeed, You will exhort all who shall participate in this event, that, souls joined together with the soul of the Most Holy Redeemer, they may be fully conscious of all the fruits derived from this Council, and that they may unite themselves in bringing these fruits to others and in propagating them in every way. You shall greet on Our behalf the Metropolitan Archbishop of Trent and all other attending holy Bishops, priests, religious men and women, and lay faithful of Christ, and You shall show them Our benevolence.”
A Timely Reminder
One of the greatest achievements of the Council of Trent was the order to produce a catechism — The Catechism of the Council of Trent — designed mainly for priests as an aid to help them explain the doctrines of the Church to their people, with explanations of the Apostles’ Creed, the sacraments, the Ten Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer.
That catechism was issued three years after the close of the council, in 1566. The first English translation of the catechism was published in 1687, and was commissioned by the last Catholic king of England, James II.
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