“In Antwerp, Luther’s writings are being printed in Spanish, presumably upon the urging of the Marranos*, whom one ought to ship from Flanders back to Spain; the emperor has promised us his assistance. In Ghent, the Augustinian monks proclaim Luther’s gospel in all the streets as being the teaching of St. Paul, yes, even of Christ. It has been reported to the emperor that the dioceses of Utrecht and Münster, as well as the other bishoprics of Lower Germany, have been corrupted by the rot of this heresy. In Holland, Luther’s doctrine is openly propagated; the only reason this is possible is that Erasmus is a Hollander; even the emperor’s councilors know about this and talk about it freely.”


*Spanish Jews converted to Christianity

Report by the papal representative at the Diet of Worms, an imperial assembly, 1521



Question
In your response, be sure to address all parts of the question. Use complete sentences; an outline or bulleted list alone is not acceptable.


a) Describe one historical development illustrated by the passage.
b) Describe one claim made by the papal representative in the passage.