The Consilium de Emendanda Ecclesia was a report commissioned by Pope Paul III

Pope Paul III

Pope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation...

 on the abuses in the Catholic Church in 1536.

The commission appointed to review the abuses in the church was presided over by Gasparo Cardinal Contarini

Gasparo Contarini

thumb|240px|Gasparo Contarini.Gasparo Contarini was an Italian diplomat and cardinal. He was one of the first proponents of the dialogue with Protestants, after the Reformation.-Biography:...

 and consisted of eight additional cardinals

Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...

: Girolamo Aleandro, Tommaso Badia

Tommaso Badia

Tommaso Badia was an Italian Dominican cardinal.Badia was born in Modena.He contributed to the establishment of the Jesuits. He was theological advisor of cardinal Gasparo Contarini. He was disputant in Worms 1540 and Regensburg 1541...

, Giovanni Pietro Carafa (the later Pope Paul IV), Gregorio Cortese, Federigo Fregoso

Federigo Fregoso

Federigo Fregoso , was an Italian nobleman, prelate and general.-Biography:Fregoso was born to the Fregosi family, a family who in the late fourteenth century gave two Doges of Genoa to the Republic of Genoa...

, Gianmatteo Giberti, Reginald Pole, and Jacopo Sadoleto

Jacopo Sadoleto

Jacopo Sadoleto was Catholic Bishop and Cardinal, loyal to the Catholic Church.-Life:He was born at Modena in 1477, the son of a noted jurist, he acquired reputation as a neo-Latin poet, his best-known piece being one on the group of Laocoön. In Rome, he obtained the patronage of Cardinal Carafa...

. Their finished report was read to Paul III on 9 March 1537. It dealt mainly with the fiscal abuses of the papacy.

Paul III accepted the recommendations but did not commit himself to any immediate changes. The confidential report was published illegally in 1538 and enjoyed a wide circulation. Martin Luther

Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...

 published a German version, completed with sarcastic side margins. Johannes Sturm

Johannes Sturm

Johannes Sturm, Latinized as Ioannes Sturmius was a German educator, influential in the design of the Gymnasium system of secondary education.- Biography :...

 approached the Consilium more seriously, applauding the effort made by the Catholic Church to abolish some of its most pressing abuses, but showing great concern whether the church could revitalisize itself without giving greater importance to the Gospel

Gospel

A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...

.

The Consilium de emendanda ecclesia was never put into effect, although many of the proposed changes were implemented in later reforms.