The Reformation was a decisive period in history not only for the Catholic Church, but also for the entire world. The causes of this tumultuous moment in history did not erupt all at once, but slowly grew in size like a boil that slowly festers through time before finally bursting. The Reformation of the Church was inevitable due to the abuses the Church suffered during this period. By the time of the Reformation, part of the Church had moved away from its mission of bringing Christ and salvation to the world. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Church gradually weakened due to abusive leadership, philosophical heresy, and the revival of a form of Pelagian heresy. The Church has not been blind in its need for reform. Many leaders had encouraged Pope Julius II to call a council. In 1512, he convened the Fifth Lateran Council. Popes had become reluctant to convene ecumenical councils because of the heresy of conciliarism. The weakness caused by the Avignon papacy and the Western schism led to conciliarism. Conciliarism held the idea that a general council was greater than that of the Pope. In fact, a council had no authority in church affairs unless it was convened and approved by the resident pope. Thus, by the close of the Fifth Lateran Council in 1517, he had failed to reform the abuses occurring in the Church. The climate was ripe for the reformers' message when Martin Luther appeared on the world stage in the 16th century. The Church had experienced the greatness of the High Middle Ages, marked by the strong papacy of Pope Innocent III, until the Great Western Schism, which was a low point in papal history. The Church... middle of paper ...... Catholics and Protestants need to understand the history and development of the Reformation movement. Only after both sides begin to listen to each other and try to understand each other can they reach out to each other, and only then with God's help and grace can the Church be united and restored. Works Cited Chadwick, Owen. A History of Christianity. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 1995. Johnson, Rev. George, Rev. Jerome D. Hannan, and Sister M. Dominica. The history of the Church: its founding, its mission and its progress; A Textbook of Church History. Rockford: Tan Book and Publishers Inc., 1980. Pinkaers, Servais. The source of Christian ethics. Translated by Sister Mary Thomas Noble. Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1995. The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved February 21, 2010 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org