The Reformation and the Enlightenment

I received an interesting communication from Fr. Larry Gearhart. He writes that the Reformation and the Enlightenment "movements ultimately forced deep reforms within the Church, but both were greeted by suppression.  It's nearly impossible for any institution to reform itself more than marginally, especially one with so many interests and such great size as the Roman Catholic Church, in the absence of a critical threat to its existence.  While this doesn't justify dissent as it generally plays out in history, it does, I think, help to understand both its inevitability and its indispensability."

Steve