There is some validity in this statement as there is evidence to support this claim that the Church was spiritually unhealthy in the pre-reformation period as argued by traditionalists such as John Lotherington, editor of 'Years of Renewal.' However, the statement made is rather too simplistic. There is strong evidence that there were several reasons other than the weaknesses of the Catholic Church that played an important role in causing the German Reformation. Michael …showed first 75 words of 1716 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1716 total…exaggerated by many Lutheran reformers and in fact Luther himself. Yes, the abuses were there but as stated by Lotherington, they were a natural order, and as Mullett and Randell state, most of the population did not know about the abuses. Therefore, the internal weaknesses of the Church cannot be acknowledged as the real reason for the German Reformation. Rather than one main factor, it was rather a number of factors behind the German Reformation