The Catholic Reformation INTRODUCTION Counter-Reformation, movement within the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th and 17th centuries that sought to revitalize the Church and to oppose Protestantism. Some historians object to the term as implying only the negative elements in the movement, and they prefer designations such as Catholic Reformation or Catholic Restoration. They stress the high spirituality that animated many leaders of the movement, which often had no direct relation to the Protestant Reformation.DEMAND for Reformation Cries for reform of the Church characterized the 15th century.