The Protestant Reformation was the natural culmination of the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church. For centuries before the time of Martin Luther and the period recognized as "The Reformation", clergy and laity alike had complained of the abuses of the Church. Had the Church listened sooner, the abuses could have been rectified, and the protests could have been quelled. Once the Roman Catholic Church realized that something must be done (around the time Luther …showed first 75 words of 1074 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1074 total…is invaded and only a little over half survive, it is not considered something joyous or lucky. Most of Europe was still Catholic, but a startlingly large minority converted. The Church failed in the beginning to hear requests to reform, the Church failed during the Reformation to extinguish adequately Protestantism, and the Church failed the people by ignoring to see how devastating the Reformation would be on the future of Europe until after the matter.