The saint who opposed Luther

Catholic Herald ^ | August 7, 2012

[NYer]

St Cajetan (1480-1547) was, like his contemporary Martin Luther, deeply concerned by the worldliness and decadence he saw among the clergy. He, however, sought to reform the Church from within, founding the Order of the Theatines.

This was the first congregation of regular clergy. Its aims were to preach sound doctrine, to tend the poor and the sick, to restore frequent use of the sacraments and to inspire better priestly conduct.

Born into the nobility of Vicenza as Gaetano dei Conti di Tiene, Cajetan lost his father at two. His mother brought him up to be both studious and devout.

After becoming a doctor in civil and canon law at Padua in 1504, he was protonotary to Pope Julius II in Rome from 1506 to 1513. Ordained in 1516, he returned to Vicenza two years later.

In Rome he had been associated with a group of zealous clergy styling themselves the Oratory of Divine Love. Back in Vicenza, he entered the Oratory of St Jerome and founded a hospital for incurables.

“In the Oratory,” he said, “we try to serve God by worship; in our hospital we may say that we actually find Him.” He went on to create hospitals in Verona and Venice.

Distressed by what he saw of the clergy, Cajetan returned to Rome in 1523 to confer with his friends in the Oratory of Divine Love. These included Pietro Carafa, Bishop of Chieti, a fiercely intransigent prelate who would be elected Pope Paul IV in 1555. With Carafa, Cajetan established in 1524 a new order, naming them the Theatines, after the Latin name for Chieti (Theate Marricinorum). There was particular emphasis on poverty and on thorough biblical training.

Carafa became the first superior-general, though Cajetan filled that office from 1530 to 1533. Perhaps due to Carafa’s uncompromising nature, the order did not immediately flourish. Moreover, it had to flee to Venice when the Emperor Charles V sacked Rome in 1527.

After 1533 Carafa sent Cajetan first to Verona, and then to Naples, where the Theatines gradually became respected for their stand against the city’s corruption and indifference to the poor. Cajetan established pawnshops which were run purely for the benefit of their users.

Among the Theatines at Naples from 1547 was the Englishman Thomas Goldwell, who had fled from Henry VIII’s regime. In 1555, under Queen Mary, he was appointed Bishop of Asaph, before once again being obliged to leave England under Queen Elizabeth. From 1561 Goldwell was briefly superior-general at Naples. He would live to be the last survivor of Mary’s bishops.

For 250 years the Theatines flourished in western Europe, as well as conducting foreign missions. In the 19th century, however, they fell into decline. In 2005 they numbered only some 200 religious, mainly in Spain and South America.

[Salvation]

PLUS — Luther added to the Bible and then took books away from it.

You and I know that those are not deeds of a true believer in Christ and Christ’s word.

[Salvation]

The saint who opposed Luther [St. Cajetan]
Novena to Saint Cajetan, Patron of the Unemployed [Ecumenical Prayer Thread]
SAINT CAJETAN of THIENA

[rabidralph]

Well said. There’s a big difference.

[vladimir998]

You wrote:

“That is called repetition rather than an answer.”

He asked “how”. I answered with the “how”.

[vladimir998]

Got that right. Neither is lying, vow breaking, encouraging theft or rebellion.

[DesertRhino]

He just realized that papacy was a man made institution, some good, some bad, nothing holier than any other christian believer. Probably really realized it when they threatened to arrest him if he didnt recant. Jesus didn’t arrest many people. Good thing Prince Frederick III, Elector of Saxony protected him.

It’s like math. You dont need to know 2+3=5 to know that 765 is the incorrect answer. Nothing in Christs life or words suggests the creation of a hierarchical government, living in spendor, ruling by fear, and suggesting that it is the necessary intermediary between a man and Christ.

If fact, Christ said no man comes to the father except by me. He could have said “or the pope, or a Bishop of Antioch, or an deacon, etc. But he didn’t.
Now I’m ready for you to snidely tell me that Jesus himself started the papacy by pointing to the Peter/Rock verse in the Bible. Then of next course, without a hint of irony, you’ll tell how a Christian cannot go solo scriptura.

You guys got away with *a lot* back when translating or reading the Bible was against your rules for the laity.

[Natural Law]

"Except that he did it. He certainly did not try to avoid it now did he?"

No honest Catholic will argue that certain practices and disciplines of the Church and certainly certain members of the clergy were not in need of reform. In the ensuing years and with the assistance of the Councils of Trent were largely rectified. The problem is that Luther went well beyond that and initiated and orchestrated an attack on key doctrines and dogmas.

His primary issue was with the authority of the Church which caused him to disregard Tradition, the Magisterium and a considerable amount of Scripture to establish himself and the sole authority. It wasn't about the sufficiency of Scripture, it was about HIS interpretation of Scripture. He never intended "every milkmaid and farmhand" to assume the ability to disagree with his interpretations.

Peace be with you.

[what's up]

Everyone knows Luther was personally involved.

That's no answer.

[what's up]

Everyone knows Luther was personally involved.

That's no answer.

[DManA]

Sorry but he tried. The roman church wasn’t ready to reform.

[vladimir998]

You wrote:

“Nothing in Christs life or words suggests the creation of a hierarchical government, living in spendor, ruling by fear, and suggesting that it is the necessary intermediary between a man and Christ.”

Actually everything in Christ’s life suggests (and proves) He willed and created a hierarchical Church (hierarchical literally means “rule by priests). Living in splendor is essentially irrelevant since no one who lived in it actually owned it. Also, the Church herself, willed and created by God serves His purposes no matter how sinful her members. Protestants invented the straw man of the Church as an “intermediary between a man and Christ.” In reality the Church is Christ’s bride and inseperable from Him.

“You guys got away with *a lot* back when translating or reading the Bible was against your rules for the laity.”

You’re living in a fantasy world. A dark, twisted, paranoid fantasy world.

[vladimir998]

Personally involved? He was a leader. In many ways he was THE leader. He chose what he did.

[the invisib1e hand]

So did Luther.

greatest heretic since lucifer.

[OKSooner]

Can you help me out by answering a face-value question?

How was Luther a heretic?

[DManA]

Lucifer laughs at Christians hating each other.

[redgolum]

Don’t bother. These circular firing squads are one of the reasons I don’t come to the religion forum much any more.

[onedoug]

Martin Luther: The Jews and Their Lies (1543)

[Persevero]

It is true. The RC church forbade its people to read the Bible.

“The Council of Trent (1545-1564) placed the Bible on its list of prohibited books, and forbade any person to read the Bible without a license from a Roman Catholic bishop or inquisitor. The Council added these words: “That if any one shall dare to read or keep in his possession that book, without such a license, he shall not receive absolution till he has given it up to his ordinary.” “

Also, Luther can hardly “stick with” a church once he is kicked out of it! As he was declared an outlaw, you know, he was essentially sentenced to death.

“His refusal to retract all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in 1521 resulted in his excommunication by the pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the Emperor.”

“In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute or kill them. Outlawry was thus one of the harshest penalties in the legal system.”

[what's up]

Personally involved?

Yes, that was YOUR answer.

Which didn't answer the question put to you.

[Secret Agent Man]

And it wasn’t really “reform” in the sense that that word is often kicked around today. Luther was really talking about restoration, a return - not some kind of progressive reform that never existed in the first place like liberals think of “reform”.