He just hated the teachings of the Church, especially on supernatural and interior justification (rebirth) of the soul, and made a mockery of Our Lord’s word on the necessity of good works for salvation. Oh, and he hated the pope(s) (and the papacy). Speaking of the pope, here is what Doctor Martin wrote in 1520:
“If we punish thieves with the yoke, highwaymen with the sword, and heretics with fire, why do we not rather assault these monsters of perdition, these cardinals, these popes, and the whole swarm of the Roman Sodom, who corrupt youth and the Church of God? Why do we not rather assault them with arms and wash our hands in their blood?” On the Pope as an Infallible Teacher, 25 June 1520
Let’s see, however, what we can agree on, and move ahead in our common “search for unity.” Did I say “unity”? Well, perhaps we can agree with the Lutherans, if we accept Archbishop Hughes’ viewpoint, that the “bold, blunt, and vulgar” heretic was “mistreated” by authorities in Rome and by Pope Leo X. Scandalous, and negligent of reform as was the Medici Pope’s legacy (as well as that of his papal court), there were good reforms for the clergy and episcopate issued at the Fifth Lateran Council (1512-1517) which Luther ought to have supported instead of joining in the scandalous behaviors — exceeding them boldly — and worse, justifying his depravities with such utterances as “Sin boldly but have faith.”
Catholic News Service: It was the seminal event of Western Christianity over the past 500 years.
Martin Luther, a German Catholic monk, sent his “95 Theses,” or “Disputation on the Efficacy and Power of Indulgences,” to the local archbishop Oct. 31, 1517. And he set into motion the Protestant Reformation that four years later prompted his excommunication by the Catholic Church and laid the groundwork for denominational splintering that over the centuries has led to the formation of thousands of Christian churches.
Over the past 50 years, especially with the impetus provided by the Second Vatican Council, those divisions between Catholics and Lutherans have begun to heal and the pace of concrete efforts toward restoring unity has quickened, retired Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes of New Orleans told a recent ecumenical gathering at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Kenner. Read more nonsense here.
