TRIDENTINE PERIOD

1545 - 1963

• The Tridentine Period extends from the start of the Council of Trent to the start of the Second Vatican Council

• Called “Tridentine” because it stems from the Council of Trent

- Advances in science led many away from God. The philosophy that people do not need God is called rationalism

EVENTS:

* The American Revolution – 1776-1783and formation of the United States republic

=> the First Amendment to the Constitution provides for all US citizens to have freedom of religion

=> Separation of Church and State refers to the policy that government is not dictated by any religion

• The French Revolution – 1789 – 1799- Attacked the existing French government as well as the Church

- Monestaries, churches and missions were burned

- French Catholics were forbidden to practice their faith openly

- St. Julie Billiart defied the government and continued to teach and preach the faith

- She founded the Sisters of Notre Dame

• Revolutions spread across Europe, and the Church suffered persecution

• Church leaders began to lose their political power, allowing them to focus once again on the mission of spirituality

• The Industrial Revolution – 1760 – 1840 brought advances in technology into the

Nineteenth Century

• First Vatican Council – 1868- at first, the Church saw science as a threat

- Pope Pius IX issued a document condemning rationalism

- in 1868, he convened an ecumenical council, the First Vatican Council

Þ The First Vatican Council: - clarified the role of the Church in the changing

world

- approved the doctrine of papal infallibility~ this doctrine states that when a pope

officially proclaims a teaching on faith and morals, that teaching is without error

• The First Vatican Council was interrupted by the Franco-Prussian war in 1870 and never resumed

• Baltimore Catechism- In 1884, US bishops commissioned the writing of a standard religion text for all Catholic children

- This was called the Baltimore Catechism

- This text was used from 1885 until the late 1960s

• In response to the unjust working conditions that came out of the Industrial Revolution, Pope Leo XIII wrote Rerum Novarum (“On New Things”) in 1891

• Rerum Novarum was an encyclical (a papal writing) on social justice

- In this encyclical, Pope Leo XIII states:- workers should receive a fair wage- employers should treat workers fairly- workers should defend their rights

* Every pope since then has followed Pope Leo XIII’s lead and discussed social justice and mercy

• During the 20th Century:

- World War I – 1914-1918- World War II – 1939 – 1945- Various military conflicts- Government oppression in many countries- Widespread poverty

* Throughout these challenging times, the Church has called for justice and worked to ensure that basic human rights and needs are fulfilled

• Second Vatican Council – 1962 – 1965- Convened by Pope John XXIII

- studied the role of bishops in the Church

- addressed the relationship between the Church and the modern era

- Pope John XXIII dies during the council; it continued under Pope Paul VI