Fr. John Hardon, S.J., provides a detailed account of the differences between the Holy Catholic Church and the Protestant ecclesial communities which arose as a result of Luther's rebellion of 1517. The effect of Luther's wholesale abandonment of the sacramental and doctrinal life of the Church was far reaching, leading directly to the ascendancy of the secular state and the acceptance of the secular state in modern times as having rights over the Church. De-sacralising of marriage led to acceptance of divorce, quickie weddings, and eventually to the notion now prevalent that marriage is whatever the state says it is, hence gay-marriage now legislated for by most western countries in spite of Christ's specific teaching that marriage is a sacred union (when he said that what God has brought together no man may split asunder). This book contains a wealth of information for both the Catholic and Protestant reader who wants to know the true historical facts of the Reformation and it's ongoing ramifications in modern life,