The Catholic Luther

The article traces the changing conceptions of Martin Luther in Protestant and Catholic circles, from the sixteenth century to the present. Catholic theologians first saw Luther as morally flawed, a stubborn heretic whose teaching was in no sense compatible with ancient and medieval Catholic tradition. Though Protestants defended Luther's catholicity, their defense rested in part on a redefinition of what constitutes true catholicity. For modern Catholic theologians, Luther remains both a profound and a problematic figure, but a genuinely Christian voice whose views can edify his Catholic readers, even if his teaching is not fully compatible with the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.