With Pope Benedict XVI’s ongoing visit to Germany - the cradle of Protestantism - it seemed only appropriate that we talk about what occasioned the Lutheran split with the Catholic Church. Our first guest on today’s Register Radio program is Father Leonard Klein, former Lutheran pastor and editor of Lutheran Forum. He entered the Church and was ordained a Catholic priest for the Diocese of Wilmington in 2006. We talk with him about Martin Luther’s separation and the resulting divisions.

It’s a fascinating conversation. Father Klein says that the Lutheran church exists because of one particular quarrel in one particular place. In so doing, it disregards the 1500 years of Catholic Christianity which preceded it. Father Klein also describes the troubling shift that’s taken place in most mainline Protestant churches, which he describes as “post-modern sentimentalism.”

We also spoke with Catholic Answers’ apologist and Register blogger Jimmy Akin, who does a fine job of condensing 500 years of Protestantism into about 12 minutes. Jimmy ably outlines the main branches of Protestantism and talks about the beliefs that Protestants hold in common as well as some of their differences. He also answers the question: “Does all Protestantism involve heresy?”

To find out the answer, listen to Register Radio. The program airs on EWTN Radio Friday at 2 pm Eastern, as well as Saturday at 7 pm and Sunday at 11 am, or you can download the podcast version and listen to it whenever is most convenient for you.

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