Catholic Church's teaching that the Mass was a sacrifice and a good work. The work is angry in tone, attacking the papacy. Although Luther had made a link tentatively in the address To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, this was the first time he forthrightly accused the pope of being the Antichrist. It certainly heralded a radicalisation of Luther's views — only a year before he had defended the validity of the sacraments, yet was now attacking them fiercely. Although published in Latin, a translation of this work was quickly published in German by Luther’s opponent, the Strasbourg Franciscan Thomas Murner. He hoped that by making people aware of the radical nature of Luther’s beliefs, they would realise their foolishness in supporting him. In fact, the opposite proved true, and Murner’s translation helped to spread Luther’s views across Germany. The virulence of Luther's language however, was off-putting to some. After the publication of this work, with its harsh condemnation of the papacy, the renowned humanist Erasmus, who had previously been cautiously supportive of Luther's activities, became convinced that he should not support Luther's calls for reform. References Pelikan, Jaroslav and Lehmann, Helmut T, Luther’s Works, 55 vols, (Saint Louis, Philadelphia, 1955–76), Vol 36 External links Full text at Christian Classics Ethereal Library 1520 books 16th-century Christian texts Works by Martin Luther