The ''Consilium de Emendanda Ecclesia'' was a report commissioned by

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

on the abuses in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in 1536. The commission appointed to review the abuses in the church was presided over by Gasparo Cardinal Contarini and consisted of eight additional cardinals:

Girolamo Aleandro Girolamo Aleandro (also Hieronymus Aleander; 13 February 14801 February 1542) was an Italian cardinal, and . Life Aleandro was born on 13 February 1480 in Motta di Livenza, in the province of Treviso, part of the Republic of Venice. He studie ...

, Tommaso Badia, Giovanni Pietro Carafa (the later Pope Paul IV),

Gregorio Cortese Giovanni Andrea Cortese (his name in the Benedictine Order was Gregorio) (1483 in Modena – September 21, 1548) was an Italian Cardinal and monastic reformer. Life After receiving a training in the Humanities at Modena under the learned Ciste ...

, Federigo Fregoso,

Gianmatteo Giberti Gian Matteo Giberti (20 September 1495 – 30 December 1543) was an Italian diplomat, Bishop of Verona. Biography Born at Palermo, he was the natural son of Francesco Giberti, a Genoese naval captain. In 1513 he was admitted to the household of ...

Reginald Pole Reginald Pole (12 March 1500 – 17 November 1558) was an English cardinal of the Catholic Church and the last Catholic archbishop of Canterbury, holding the office from 1556 to 1558, during the Counter-Reformation. Early life Pole was bor ...

, and

Jacopo Sadoleto Jacopo Sadoleto (July 12, 1477 – October 18, 1547) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal and counterreformer noted for his correspondence with and opposition to John Calvin. Life He was born at Modena in 1477, the son of a noted jurist, he a ...

. Their finished report was read to Paul III on 9 March 1537. It dealt mainly with the fiscal abuses of the

papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

. Paul III accepted the recommendations but did not commit himself to any immediate changes. The confidential report was published illegally in 1538 and enjoyed a wide circulation.

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Luther ...

published a German version, completed with sarcastic side margins.

Johannes Sturm Johannes Sturm (also known as Jean Sturm; Latinized as Ioannes Sturmius; 1 October 1507 – 3 March 1589), was a German educator and Protestant reformer, who was influential in the design of the gymnasium system of secondary education. Biog ...

approached the ''Consilium'' more seriously, applauding the effort made by the Catholic Church to abolish some of its most pressing abuses, but showing great concern whether the church could revitalize itself without giving greater importance to

the Gospel The gospel or good news is a theological concept in several religions. In the historical Roman imperial cult and today in Christianity, the gospel is a message about salvation by a divine figure, a savior, who has brought peace or other benefit ...

. The ''Consilium de emendanda ecclesia'' was never put into effect, although many of the proposed changes were implemented in later reforms.

External links

''Consilium de Emendanda Ecclesia''
Romæ, 1538.
Consilium de emendanda ecclesia (1537), Part I, Societas Christiana (1.0), Tim Enloe
1538 books 16th-century Christian texts 16th-century Catholicism 16th-century Latin books Books about Christianity Pope Paul III {{RC-document-stub