Today Pope Paul III issued a Papal Bull titled “Laetare Jerusalem.” The bull invites leaders of the Catholic Church to gather in the city of Trentino in Northern Italy. The Pope extended this invitation to the leaders of the Protestant Churches who are welcomed to discuss the matters of this council. The council will be set out in sessions with months in between them.
Of the bishops I have interviewed it seems that the Pope has some sort of agenda to meet. From this council he plans to achieve four outcomes.
-To Clarify the debated practices and doctrines of the Churches
-To renew and revitalise the Church
-To try and encourage and renew friendships between Catholics and Protestants
-To ammend bad practices in the Church
These goals certainly are not easy and will take alot of perseverance and time to achieve. The first session of the council is due to start in 1545 in the City of Trent. Until that time, we will keep you posted with any updates.