By the late 1500s, Christian denominations were springing up all over Europe. This was in response to reports of indulgences (selling freedom from purgatory), clerical immorality, money abuse, as well as many other evil doings that were rampant within the Church. It was these issues that caused Luther and others to rebel and create their own religions. With the rise of these Reform movements, the Church had to undertake certain reforms itself. These reforms took the form of the education of the clergy, the opening of monasteries, the Inquisition and the organization of councils. In fact, even though Protestant attacks brought about these reforms, many of these reforms were necessary anyway. The Church's problems were so severe that it would not have survived if the problems had not been resolved. Although there were movements to stop Protestantism, the Catholic Reformation was more a self-reformation within the Church than opposition to the Protestant movement. One of the first reform movements within the Church was the Jesuit order (also called the Society of Jesus). of priests. Instead of the common idea of ​​fighting Protestantism, the Jesuits simply wanted to “help souls” (Lindberg 333). A Jesuit is a “soldier of God under the banner of the cross” (Lindberg 334). This kind of mentality mainly came from the order's founder Ignatius Loyola. Loyola was raised in a noble family to become a soldier (Holder 196; Lindberg 334). His dream was dashed when his leg was crushed in battle (Holder 196; Lindberg 334). After months in bed and a failed mission trip, Loyola went to school because he found his education too insufficient to convert people (Holder 197). So he created the Society of Jesus, with his classmates as...... middle of paper ...... with doctrine. These people simply wanted to help Catholicism, not destroy it. They recognized the problems that the Church Fathers had chosen to ignore and found active ways to solve them. For Loyola and Teresa, this solution was to reorganize (or create) convents or orders to be more pious and faithful. For the bishops and theologians of the Council of Trent, this solution solidified the doctrines of the Church. Works Cited Cunningham, Lawrence S. An Introduction to Catholicism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Print.Holder, R. Ward. Crisis and renewal: the era of reforms. Kentucky: WestminsterJohn Knox Press, 2009. Print. Lindberg, Carter. European reforms. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. Print. Miller, Richard W., ed. Women and the formation of Catholicism: women through the ages. Missouri: Liguori Publications, 2009. Print.