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How did the sale of indulgences contribute to Martin Luther's protest against the church?

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Title page of a 1568 Welsh Christian doctrine book by Morys Clynnog, featuring Welsh text and a woodcut illustration of the crucifixion of Jesus at the center. — Counter-Reformation Title page of *Athravaeth Gristnogavl* (1568; “Christian Doctrine”), a Roman Catholic catechism translated into Welsh by Morys Clynnog as part of the church's Counter-Reformation efforts.

The sale of indulgences served as a primary catalyst for Martin Luther’s protest against the church, as he viewed the practice as a grave theological error and a corrupt abuse of power.12

In 1517, the Dominican friar Johann Tetzel began aggressively marketing plenary indulgences in Germany to fund the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Luther was particularly outraged by the extravagant claims made by vendors, who suggested that purchasing these letters could guarantee the forgiveness of sins or secure the immediate release of souls from purgatory.3425

Luther criticized the church for collecting money from poor believers to support a wealthy papacy, arguing that if the pope truly held jurisdiction over purgatory, he should release souls out of love rather than for financial gain. This controversy prompted Luther to draft the Ninety-five Theses, which challenged the penitential system and eventually led him to develop his doctrine of justification by faith alone, asserting that salvation is a gift of divine grace rather than something earned through good works or monetary payments.1265