Renewers of the church

Martin Luther, a monk from Wittenberg in Germany began to criticize the power and corruption of the Catholic church in 1517. Luther demanded reform of the church. Some of Luther?s criticisms of the church: ? Indulgences - paying for forgiveness Pardoners, with permission from the Pope, travelled all across Europe selling Indulgences. They said all you had to do was buy one and you could pay for forgiveness - even for someone who had already died. You could buy a ticket to heaven! ? The Bible - only in Latin Luther said it was unfair of the Pope to stop translations of the bible. Ordinary people couldn?t read Latin. Luther said it was unfair because they had to rely on what their priest told them - they couldn?t read it themselves!