Catholicism and the Church

Protestants felt that the old church had allowed mere human authorities, traditions and practices to take over the church. The most obvious objection was the pope's usurpation in their view of christ's role as the head of the church. No longer, they argued, was christ's sacrifice on the cross at the centre of belief. Instead, they saw the worship of idols, in the use of saints as intercessors,. A doctrine of transubstantiation which they described as bread worship and the mass itself was compared to a conjuring trick or magic. They claimed, guilt could not be assuaged by some external religious observance or act of clerical absolution. Catholicism