Why did Martin Luther and other Protestant leaders reject Pope Paul III’s proposed council?

Martin Luther and other Protestant leaders rejected the Council of Trent, which was convened by Pope Paul III, primarily because they fundamentally disagreed with the Roman Catholic Church's approach to authority and doctrine.12

By the time the council finally convened in 1545, the religious divide had become entrenched. Protestant reformers, including Luther, had previously declared that Scripture alone—rather than the authority of the pope or church councils—was the sole basis of authority. Consequently, they demanded a council that would reconsider previous doctrinal decrees and acknowledge that a council’s authority was superior to that of the pope, a condition the papacy would not accept.13

Furthermore, the Council of Trent was explicitly designed to enact a formal reply to Protestant challenges, ultimately anathematizing core Protestant tenets such as justification by faith alone. Because the council sought to consolidate Catholic doctrine and reaffirm the authority of both Scripture and tradition, it was viewed by Protestants not as a platform for reconciliation, but as an instrument of the Counter-Reformation intended to condemn their beliefs.124