The Church’s Response to Luther

The list of Martin Luther’s errors, taken from his 95 Theses and from other writings, is found in the papal bull (official document) of 1520 of Pope Leo X called Exurge Domine. The Church reforms that were developing at the time were not directly related to Luther’s objections, although they concern many, if not all, of the same areas. These reforms are found in the decrees of the Council of Trent. The main concern here is that even when we recognize the need for reform, this does not mean that we should separate from the communion of the Catholic Church, setting up our own version of the church, but remain in her communion and work for reform in the unity of orthodox faith and charity.