Roman Catholic Church
The
Roman Catholic Church, commonly called the
Catholic Church, is the
Christian Church in
full communion with the
Pope, who is currently
Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins in the
original undivided Christian community founded by
Jesus, with its traditions first established by the
Twelve Apostles and maintained through unbroken
Apostolic Succession.
The Church is not only the largest Christian
Church, but also the largest organized body of any world religion.
According to the
Statistical Yearbook of the Church, the Church's worldwide recorded membership at the end of 2004 was 1,098,366,000, or approximately 1 in 6 of the world's population.
[Statistical Yearbook of the Church 2004 (ISBN 88-209-7817-2)] According to
canon law, members are those who have been baptized in, or have been received into, the Catholic Church on making a profession of faith, provided they have not formally renounced membership.
While the
Holy See of
Rome is seen as central, the Catholic Church is a worldwide organization made up of one
Western and 22
Eastern Rite particular Churches. The Church is divided into jurisdictional areas, usually on a territorial basis. The standard territorial unit is called, in the Latin Rite, a
diocese, and in the Eastern Rites, an
eparchy, each of which is headed by a bishop. At the end of 2004, the total number of all these jurisdictional areas or sees was 2755.
[(Annuario Pontificio 2005).]The term
catholic is derived from the
Greek adjective
καθολικός (
katholikos), which means "general", "universal".
[Greek Lexicon of Liddell and Scott] Churches that call themselves
catholic do so with an implicit claim to be (or at least be part of) the one, whole, universal Church founded by Jesus.
The proper name of this Church is the
Catholic Church. The Catholic Church has consistently referred to itself by this name at least since the early second century, when the term
Catholic Church appears in the writings of
St. Ignatius of Antioch.The
Roman in
Roman Catholic Church has its origins in sixteenth century England in the wake of the English Reformation. Disdain for
Pope Clement VII and succeeding Popes was expressed in England in slurs aimed at Rome such as
Romish,
papist,
Romanish, and
papistical. While the use of
Roman no longer is a slur and usually does not carry a negative connotation, the proper name of the Church remains the
Catholic Church.There are many Christians, primarily
Anglicans, who do not recognize this as the proper name of the Church, hence
Roman has become attached in various uses:
#Members of other Churches which consider themselves Catholic, use the term
Roman to distinguish the Church from their own use of the terms "Catholic," "Catholicism," and "Catholic Church." (See
Catholic,
Catholicism)#The Church has on rare occasions used the term
Roman Catholic Church for itself in authoritative documents as a matter of emphasis on the authoritative role of the
Petrine Office in relation to doctrines on faith and morals and in the governance of the Church. The last occurrence of this use was in the encyclical
Humani Generis, by Pope Pius XII in 1950.
[Humani Generis, 27]#As a courtesy, the Church refers to itself as the
Roman Catholic Church in some diplomatic communications with other Churches. However, in all official, authoritative teaching documents, even those written on ecumenical matters, the Church refers to itself as the
Catholic Church.[How did the Catholic Church get its name?]#
Roman Catholic Church in some contexts, refers only to the
Western or Latin Church, excluding the
Eastern Rite Catholic Churches which are
particular churches of the Catholic Church but are not
Roman.
[Melkite Information Center] Parishes and other institutions sometimes use
Roman in their name, which is a reference to the Western Rite, not to the entire Catholic Church.
Roman in this use is parallel to
Ukrainian in Ukrainian Catholic Church. Both the Roman Rite and the Ukrainian Rite are
particular churches within the one, universal
Catholic Church.For reasons of simplicity and clarity, the term
Catholic Church is freely used within this article without suggesting acceptance of any claims thought to be implicit in that term, while
Roman Catholic Church is used without endorsing the view that the Church in question is merely part of some larger
Catholic Church. Both terms are treated within this article simply as alternative names for the entire Church "which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him."
The Church traces its institution to Jesus and the
Twelve Apostles, in particular
Saint Peter, the leader of the Apostles, who is regarded as the first Pope.
[: "And I say to you: That you are Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."] The first known use of term "Catholic Church" was in a letter by
Ignatius of Antioch in 107, who wrote: "Where the bishop appears, there let the people be, just as where Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church."
[Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Smyrnaeans 8] Additionally, Catholic writers list a number of references which point to at least a '
first among equals' status for the See of Rome from the very earliest times.
[Answers list of Church Fathers on Papal Primacy]Central to the claims of the Catholic Church is
Apostolic Succession, the belief that the
bishops are the spiritual successors of the original twelve apostles, through the historically unbroken chain of consecration (see:
Holy Orders). The
New Testament contains warnings against teachings considered to be only masquerading as Christianity,
[see, for instance, 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; 2 Peter 2:1-17; 2 John 7-11; Jude 4-13] and shows how reference was made to the leaders of the Church to decide what was true doctrine.
[: "And some, coming down from Judea, taught the brethren: That, except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved. And when Paul and Barnabas had no small contest with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of the other side should go up to the apostles and priests to Jerusalem, about this question."] The Catholic Church claims to be the continuation of those who remained faithful to the apostolic and episcopal leadership and rejected false teachings.
After an initial period of sporadic but intense persecution, Christianity was legalized in the fourth century, when
Constantine I issued the
Edict of Milan in 313. From 380 on, Christianity was the Roman state
religion. Constantine was instrumental in the convocation of the
Council of Nicea, which sought to address the
Arian heresy and formulated the
Nicene Creed which is used by the Catholic Church,
Eastern Orthodoxy, and various
Protestant churches.
Following the decline of the Roman Empire, the Church underwent a time of missionary activity and expansion. The success of monasticism gave rise to various centers of learning, most famously in Ireland and Gaul, and contributed to the
Carolingian Renaissance. Later in the medieval period, cathedral schools developed into Universities (see
University of Paris,
University of Oxford, and
University of Bologna), the direct ancestors of modern Western institutions of learning.
During the 11th century, through a gradual process over a number of decades, the Church underwent the
Great Schism in which the Catholic Church and
Eastern Orthodoxy divided over a number of administrative, liturgical and doctrinal issues, most notably the
Filioque and
papal primacy of jurisdiction. Both the
Second Council of Lyons (1274) and the
Council of Basel (1439) attempted to reunite the Churches, but in both cases the Orthodox rejected the councils. The Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodoxy remain in schism to the present day, although
excommunications were lifted in 1965, and efforts to end the schism continue. Some Eastern churches have since been reunited with the Catholic Church, acknowledging the primacy of the pope, and together form the
Eastern Catholic (sometimes referred to as "Uniate") Churches.
Beginning in 1092 the
Crusades, a series of military campaigns, especially those in the
Holy Land and sanctioned by the
Papacy, began under the pontificate of
Urban II in response to pleas from the Byzantine Emperor Alexis I for aid against Turkish expansion. The actions of the crusaders in this and subsequent crusades, such the sacking of Constantinople in the
Fourth Crusade, would become the subject of much controversy.
Beginning around 1184, and continuing through the Reformation, a number of historical movements involving the Catholic Church, broadly referred to as the Inquisition, were aimed at securing religious and doctrinal unity within Christianity through conversion, and sometimes persecution, of alleged
heretics. A conviction of heresy, seen as
treason against
Christendom, could involve penalties ranging from a fine to a sentence of
capital punishment such as
burning at the stake. For an example of the rarity of this sentence, from 1540 to 1700 of all the cases brought before the Spanish Inquisition only 2-3% per year resulted in execution, lower than virtually any secular court of the time.
[Diarmaid MacCulloch, The Reformation (Penguin Group, 2003) p 412; MacCulloch adds "admittedly, that might not have been much consolation to those burned at the stake."; see also H. Kamemn, Inquisition pp59-60, 189-90, 203, 301] Historians distinguish between the
Medieval Inquisition, the
Spanish Inquisition, the
Roman Inquisition, and
Portuguese Inquisition as distinct historical events. The extent of the Inquisition's activity, and particularly the exact number of deaths, has been the subject of much subsequent
propaganda.
The second great rift in the history of Christianity was the
Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, in which various groups repudiated the primacy of the pope, various other Catholic doctrines and practices as well as abuses (such as
simony) common at the time. Reformers within the Catholic Church launched the
Counter Reformation, a period of doctrinal clarification, reform of the clergy and the liturgy, and re-evangelization begun by the
Council of Trent.
The Council of Trent and its reforms provided the theme for the next 300 years of Catholic history. The period lay an emphasis on catechesis and missionary work, in both of which the
Jesuit and
Franciscan orders were prominent. The 18th and 19th century Church found itself facing not only the teachings of Protestantism, but also
Enlightenment and
Modernist teachings about the nature of the human person, the state, and morality. With the coming of the
Industrial Revolution, and the increased concern about the conditions of urban workers, 19th and 20th century popes issued encyclicals (notably
Rerum Novarum) explicating
Catholic Social Teaching.
The
First Vatican Council (1869â€"1870) affirmed the doctrine of
papal infallibility which Catholics hold to be in continuity with the history of
Petrine supremacy in the Church, but
Eastern Orthodox and
Protestant churches consider a theological innovation.
The
Second Vatican Council (1962â€"1965) was convened by
Pope John XXIII primarily as a pastoral but authoritative council, to make the historic teachings of the Catholic Church clear to the modern world. It issued documents on a number of topics, including the nature of the Church, the mission of the laity, and religious freedom. It also issued directions for a revision of the liturgy, the implementation of which resulted in, among other things, the celebration of
Mass and the other sacraments in the living language of the people as well as in
Latin, although some hold that the Council intended Latin to have priority.
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The Crucifix, bearing the image of Jesus suffering on a cross, often serves as a symbol of the Catholic Church, in contrast with some other Christian denominations, which use only a cross. |
The core beliefs of the Catholic Church are shared by the majority of other Trinitarian Christian groups. Its
catechesis makes use of the
Nicene Creed and the
Apostles' Creed, which are accepted also by most major Christian
denominations. The
Catechism of the Catholic Church (964 pages in the Latin edition) gives a rather detailed account of its beliefs. The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, first published in 2005 and in English in 2006, is a much more concise version of the Catechism, in question and answer form.
Catholics place particular importance on the Church as an institution founded by Christ and kept from doctrinal error by the presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit, and as the font of salvation for humanity. The seven
sacraments, of which the most important is the
Eucharist, are of prime importance in obtaining salvation.
Scripture and Tradition
The principal sources for the teachings of the Catholic Church are the
Sacred Scriptures and Sacred Tradition. The original language of most of the
Old Testament is
Hebrew or
Aramaic, but several books or portions of books were written in
Greek. The
New Testament was also written in Greek.
In his 1943 encyclical letter,
Divino Afflante Spiritu,
Pope Pius XII encouraged Biblical scholars to study diligently these original languages and other cognate languages, so as to arrive at a deeper and fuller knowledge of the meaning of the sacred texts, stating that "the original text ... having been written by the inspired author himself, has more authority and greater weight than any even the very best translation, whether ancient or modern" (
Divino Afflante Spiritu, 16).
There is a variety of sources for knowledge of Sacred Tradition, originally passed from the apostles in the form of oral tradition. Many of the writings of the Early Church Fathers reflect teachings of Sacred Tradition, such as
apostolic succession.
Nature of God
Catholicism is
monotheistic: it acknowledges that God is one, eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing and omnipresent. God exists as distinct from and prior to his creation (that is, everything which is not God, and which depends directly on him for existence) and yet is still present intimately in His creation. In the
First Vatican Council the Church has taught that, while by the natural light of human reason God can be known in his works as origin and end of all created things,
God has also chosen to reveal himself and his will supernaturally in the ways indicated in the Letter to the Hebrews 1:1â€"2.
Catholicism is also
Trinitarian: it believes that, while God is one in nature, essence, and being, this one God exists in three divine persons, each identical with the one essence, whose only distinctions are in their relations to one another: the Father's relationship to the Son, the Son's relationship to the Father, and the relations of both to the Holy Spirit, constitute the one God as a Trinity.
A Catholic is baptized in the name (singular) of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit â€" not three gods, but one God subsisting in three Persons. While sharing in the one divine essence, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct, not simply three "masks" or manifestations of one Person. The faith of the Church and of the individual Christian is based on a relationship with these three Persons of the one God.
The Catholic Church believes that God has revealed himself to humanity as Father to his only-begotten Son, who is in an eternal relationship with the Father: "No one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."
Catholics believe that God the Son, the
Divine Logos, the second of the three Persons of God, became
incarnate as
Jesus Christ, a human being, born of the
Virgin Mary. He remained truly divine and was at the same time truly human. In what he said, and by how he lived, he taught how to live, and revealed God as Love, the giver of unmerited favours or Graces.
After Jesus'
crucifixion and
resurrection, his followers, foremost among them the
Apostles, spread more and more extensively their faith in Jesus Christ with a vigour that they attributed to the presence of the Holy Spirit, the third of the three Persons of God, sent upon them by Jesus Christ.
Humanity's separation from God
Human beings, in Catholic belief, were originally created to live in union with God. Through the disobedience of the first humans, that relationship was broken and sin and death came into the world.
left humans in a state called
original sin, that is, separated from their original state of intimacy with God which carried into death through the idea of the individual human soul being immortal. But when Jesus came into the world, being both God and man, he was able through his sacrifice to reconcile humanity with God. By becoming one in Christ, through the Church, humanity was once again capable of intimacy with God but also offered a much more amazing gift: participation in the Divine Life on Earth, which will reach its fullness in heaven in the
Beatific Vision.
The Church
The Church is, as scripture states, "the body of Christ,"
and Catholics teach that it is one united body of believers both in heaven and on earth. There is therefore only one true, visible and physical Church, not several. And to this one Church, originally founded on Peter and the Apostles, Jesus gave a mandate to be the authoritative teacher and guardian of the faith. To transmit Christ's divine revelation, the apostles were given the mandate to "preach the Gospel," which they performed both orally and in writing, and which they preserved by leaving bishops as their successors. Thus, the
Catechism states "the apostolic preaching, which is expressed in a special way in the inspired books, was to be preserved in a continuous line of succession until the end of time. This living transmission, accomplished in the Holy Spirit, is called
Tradition, since it is distinct from
Sacred Scripture, though closely connected to it."
[CCC 77-78] The Church is also a fount of divine grace which is administered through the
sacraments (see below). The Church claims infallibility in teaching the faith, based on Jesus's scriptural promises to remain with His Church always,
and to maintain it in truth through the Holy Spirit.
Furthermore, Jesus promised divine protection to the teachings and judgements of the Apostles,
and those who succeeded them in their teaching office (i.e. the bishops). Moreover, Jesus set up the Church as the final arbiter between all believers:
"And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer."
In this, it bases its doctrines both on the written Apostolic record, (The New Testament), and upon the oral traditions passed down from the Apostles to their successors (the bishops) through the continuous witness of the Church.
Section 8 of the
Second Vatican Council's Decree on the Church,
Lumen Gentium[http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html] states that "the one Church of Christ which in the Creed is professed as
one, holy, catholic and apostolic" subsists "in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him." (The term
successor of Peter refers in
Catholic understanding to the Bishop of Rome, the
Pope.)
 |
The Basilica of St John Lateran, cathedral of the diocese of Rome and so of the Pope. |
The
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 85 states that authentic interpretation of the Word of God is entrusted to the living Magisterium of the Church, namely the bishops in communion with the successor of Saint Peter.
[Catechism of the Catholic Church, 85] Catholic theology places the authoritative interpretation of Scripture in the hands of the consistent judgment of the Church down the ages (what has always and everywhere been taught) rather than the private judgment of the individual. The Magisterium does, however, encourage its flock to read Sacred Scripture.
According to the
Catechism of the Catholic Church, "the Church's first purpose is to be the sacrament of the inner union of men with God." Thus the Church's "structure is totally ordered to the holiness of Christ's members."
[Catechism of the Catholic Church, 773, 775]Salvation
The Church teaches that salvation to eternal life is God's will for all people, and that God grants it to sinners as a free gift, a grace, through the sacrifice of Christ. Man cannot, in the strict sense, merit anything from God.
[Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2007] It is God who justifies, that is, who frees from sin by a free gift of holiness (sanctifying grace, also known as habitual or deifying grace). Man can accept the gift God gives through faith in Jesus Christ
and through baptism.
Man can also refuse the gift. Human cooperation is needed, in line with a new capacity to adhere to the divine will that God provides.
[Response of the Catholic Church to the Joint Declaration of the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation on the Doctrine of Justification, 2â€"3[1]] The faith of a Christian is not without works, otherwise it would be dead.
In this sense, "by works a man is justified, and not by faith alone,"
and eternal life is, at one and the same time, grace and the reward given by God for good works and merits.
[Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1987â€"2016] Faith, and subsequently works, are a result of God's grace - thus, it is only because of grace that the believer can be said to "merit" salvation.
The Catholic Church teaches that through the graces Jesus won for humanity by sacrificing himself on the cross, salvation is possible even for those outside the visible boundaries of the Church. Christians and even non-Christians, if in life they respond positively to the grace and truth that God reveals to them through the mercy of Christ may be saved. This may sometimes include awareness of an obligation to become part of the Catholic Church. In such cases, "they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it, or to remain in it."
[Second Vatican Council: Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 14]Catholic life
Following baptism, a Catholic endeavours to be a true disciple of Jesus. The believer seeks forgiveness of subsequent sins, and follows the example and teaching of Jesus. Catholics believe that Jesus has provided seven sacraments (see below), which give Grace from God to the believer.
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A distinct sacrament in the Catholic Church is confession, which it connects with the "power to loose and to bind." (Mt 18:18). |
Unless a Catholic dies in unrepented
mortal sin, which is remitted in the
Sacrament of Confession, it is believed that person has God's promise of inheriting eternal life. Before entering heaven, some undergo a purification, known as
Purgatory.
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A typical Low Mass in Bohermeen, Ireland, c. 1950, in the presence of a bishop and several priests and with the altar arranged for Eucharistic devotions to follow. |
Catholics believe that God works actively in the world. Catholics grow in grace through participation in the sacramental life of the Church, and through prayer, the work of mercy, and spiritual disciplines such as fasting and pilgrimage.
Prayer for others, even for enemies and persecutors.
is a Christian duty. There are four types of prayer: adoration, thanksgiving, contrition, and supplication. Catholics may address their requests for the intercession of others not only to people still in earthly life, but also to those in heaven, in particular the Virgin Mary and the other
Saints. As Mother of Jesus, the Virgin Mary is also considered to be the spiritual mother of all Catholics.
Catholic social teaching
Catholic teachings stress forgiveness, doing good to others, especially those most in need, and on the sanctity of life. Though Catholics were pacifists in the earliest days of the Church (witnessed by the fact that Christians were forbidden to join the Roman Army, part of the reason behind their political persecution in the empire, as explained in even high school history textbooks such as Carl Koch's "The Catholic Church"), only some Catholics hold that position today, with various analyses of "just war theory" more widely held. (However, it should be noted that the point of the Catholic just war criteria is to prevent and limit war rather than to justify it â€" as explained by Thomas Aquinas in the Summa Theologiae, Secunda Pars, Q. 40., and virtually every theologian who followed him). Also, though capital punishment has not itself been absolutely condemned by the Church, it has come under increasing criticism by theologians and Church leaders â€" Pope John Paul II, for instance, himself opposed capital punishment in all instances as being immoral because there are other options for punishment and deterrence in the modern world and he, along with most other modern Catholic theologians, held that if capital punishment were ever moral (a position some dispute), it would only be justifiable when there was no other option for the protection of the lives of others. In his encyclical "Evangelium Vitae" (The Gospel of Life) issued March 25, 1995 after four years of consultations with the world's Catholic bishops, John Paul II wrote that execution is only appropriate "in cases of absolute necessity, in other words, when it would not be possible otherwise to defend society. Today, however, as a result of steady improvement in the organization of the penal system, such cases are very rare, if not practically nonexistent." This position is also held by Avery Cardinal Dulles, Msgr. William Smith, Germain Grisez and the other major thinkers among Catholic moral theologians today.
Catholic teachings on human life and sexuality
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Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam. Pope John Paul II taught that, "by means of his corporality, his masculinity and femininity, (man) becomes a visible sign of the economy of truth and love, which has its source in God himself." [Pope John Paul II, General Audience, February 20, 1980.] |
The Catholic Church affirms the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. The Church believes that each person is made in the "image and likeness of God," and that human life should not be weighed against other values such as economy, convenience, personal preferences, or social engineering. Therefore, the Church opposes activities that they believe destroy or devalue divinely created life, including
euthanasia,
eugenics and
abortion.
Many believe that the Church teaches that sex is sinful and an impairment to a grace filled life. In fact, the Church teaches that
Manichaeism, the belief that the spirit is good while the flesh is evil, is a
heresy. As God created the human body in his own image and likeness, and because he found everything he created to be "very good,"
[Genesis 1:31] then the human body and sex must likewise be good. Far from teaching that our bodies are evil, the Catechism teaches that "the flesh is the hinge of salvation."
[ Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1015.]Pope John Paul II's first major teaching was on the
Theology of the Body. Over the course of five years he elucidated a vision of sex that was not only positive and affirming but was about redemption, not condemnation. He taught that by understanding God's plan for physical love we could understand "the meaning of the whole of existence, the meaning of life."
[Pope John Paul II, General Audience, October 29, 1980.] It is "the body, in fact, and it alone [that] is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and divine. It was created to transfer into the visible reality of the world, the mystery hidden since time immemorial in God, and thus to be a sign of it."
[Pope John Paul II, General Audience, February 20, 1980.]The Catholic Church is fundamentally liturgical in its public life of worship. Liturgy is derived from the Greek for "work of the people." The Second Vatican Council stated that "it is in the liturgy, especially in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, that 'the work of our redemption is accomplished,' and it is through the liturgy especially that the faithful are enabled to express in their lives and manifest to others the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church." (
Sacrosanctum Concilium 2;
CCC 1068-69)
Sacraments
The seven Sacraments in the
Catholic Church are efficacious signs and instruments, perceptible to the senses, of
grace. According to the Church's theology, they have been instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, and through them divine life is bestowed on us. They are means by which Christ gives the particular grace indicated by the sign aspect of the sacrament in question, helping the individual to advance in holiness, and contributing to the Church' s growth in charity and in giving witness.The Sacraments are:
*
Baptism*
Eucharist*
Confirmation*
Reconciliation, also called Confession and Penance
*
Anointing of the Sick, formerly or less frequently called Extreme Unction
*
Holy Orders*
MatrimonyDevotional life of the Church
In addition to the
sacraments, instituted by Christ, there are many
sacramentals, sacred signs (rituals or objects) that derive their power from the prayer of the Church. They involve prayer accompanied by the sign of the cross or other signs. Important examples are blessings (by which praise is given to God and his gifts are prayed for), consecrations of persons, and dedications of objects to the worship of God.Popular devotions are not strictly part of the liturgy, but if they are judged to be authentic, the Church encourages them. They include veneration of
relics of saints, visits to sacred shrines,
pilgrimages, processions (including Eucharistic processions), the
Stations of the Cross (also known as the Way of the Cross), Holy Hours, Eucharistic Adoration, Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, and the
Rosary.
Personal prayer
Likewise, the great variety of
Catholic spirituality enables individual Catholics to pray privately in many different ways. The fourth and last part of the Catechism thus summarized the Catholic's response to the mystery of faith: "This mystery, then, requires that the faithful believe in it, that they celebrate it, and that they live from it in a vital and personal relationship with the living and true God. This relationship is prayer." (
CCC 2558)
Unlike "families" or "federations" of Churches formed through the grant of mutual recognition by distinct ecclesial bodies, the Catholic Church considers itself a single Church ("one Body") composed of a multitude of local or
particular Churches, each of which embodies the fullness of the one Catholic Church. The universal Church, however, is believed to be "a reality ontologically and temporally prior to every individual particular Church."
[Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on some aspects of the Church understood as communion, 28 May 1992, 9[2]]However, the Catholic Church attaches great importance to the
particular Churches within it, whose theological significance the Second Vatican Council highlighted. Two uses of the term
particular Church are distinguished.
:* Autonomous (
sui iuris) particular Churches or Rites.
See:Eastern Rite Catholic Churches::* Particular or local Churches (Dioceses and National Conferences of Bishops).
See: Particular churchWhile the Catholic Church sees itself as the Church founded by Christ, it recognizes that many of the salvific elements of the Gospel are found in other Churches also. The
Second Vatican Council document,
Lumen Gentium, 8, says that the sole Church of Christ as "
subsists in", rather than simply "is" the Catholic Church, in view of its following statement: "Nevertheless, many elements of sanctification and truth are found outside its visible confines. Since these are gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, they are forces impelling towards Catholic unity."
The Catholic Church has, since the Second Vatican Council, reached out to Christian bodies, seeking reconciliation to the greatest degree possible. Significant agreements have been achieved on Baptism, ministry and the Eucharist with
Anglican theologians. With
Lutheran bodies a similar agreement has been reached on the theology of justification. These landmark documents have brought closer fraternal ties with those Churches. However, recent developments, such as the ordination of women and accepting of couples living in homosexual relationships, present new obstacles to reconciliation with, in particular,
Anglican,
Lutheran and
Reformed Churches. Consequently, in recent years the Catholic Church's has focused its efforts at reconciliation with the
Orthodox Churches of the East, with which the theological differences are great. While relations with the
Eastern Orthodox Churches were strained in the 1990s over property issues in countries that were formerly Soviet-dominated, these differences are not solved (
Lviv-
Kiev). Fraternal relations with the Eastern churches continue to progress.
The Church is a
hierarchical organization headed by the Pope, with
ordained clergy divided into the
orders of
bishops,
priests, and
deacons.
Episcopate
The
Bishops, who possess the fullness of Christian priesthood, are as a body (the
College of Bishops) the successors of the
Apostles [Canon 42, Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches] and are "constituted Pastors in the Church, to be the teachers of doctrine, the priests of sacred worship and the ministers of governance."
[Canon 375, 1983 Code of Canon Law]The pope, cardinals, patriarchs, primates, archbishops and metropolitans are all bishops and members of the Catholic episcopate or college of bishops.
The Pope
What most obviously distinguishes the Catholic Church from other Christian bodies is the link between its members and the Pope. The
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 882, quoting the Second Vatican Council's document
Lumen Gentium, states: "The
Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter's successor, ‘is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful.'"
[http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p123a9p4.htm#I]The Pope is referred to as the Vicar of Christ and the Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church. He may sometimes also use the less formal title of "Servant of the Servants of God". Applying to him the term "absolute" would, however, give a false impression: he is not free to issue decrees at whim. Instead, his charge forces on him awareness that he, even more than other bishops, is "tied", bound, by an obligation of strictest fidelity to the teaching transmitted down the centuries in increasingly developed form within the Catholic Church.
In certain limited and extraordinary circumstances, this papal primacy, which is referred to also as the Pope's Petrine authority or function, involves
papal infallibility, i.e. the
definitive character of the teaching on matters of faith and morals that he propounds solemnly as visible head of the Church. In any normal circumstances, exercise of this authority will involve previous consultation of all Catholic bishops (usually taking place in holy
synods or an
ecumenical council).
College of cardinals
[[Image:Angelo sodano.jpg|250px|right|thumb|{{Angelo Cardinal Sodano|His Eminence AngeloCardinal Sodano}} (right) is the {{Dean of the College of Cardinals}} and {{Cardinal Secretary of State}}. Pictured here with {{Condoleezza Rice}}, {{United States Secretary of State}}.]]
Cardinals are appointed by the Pope, generally choosing bishops who head
departments of the Roman Curia or important
episcopal sees, Latin or Eastern, throughout the world. The cardinals make up the
College of Cardinals which advises the pope, and those cardinals under the age of 80 elect a new pope during a
papal vacancy.
The cardinalate is not an integral part of the theological structure of the Catholic Church, but largely an honorific distinction that has its origins in the 1059 assignation of the right of electing the Pope exclusively to the principal clergy of Rome and the bishops of the seven "suburbicarian" sees. Because of their resulting importance, the term "cardinal" (from Latin "cardo", meaning "hinge") was applied to them. In the twelfth century the practice of appointing ecclesiastics from outside Rome as cardinals began. Each cardinal is still assigned a church in Rome as his "titular church" or is linked with one of the
suburbicarian dioceses.
Priesthood
Bishops are assisted by
priests and
deacons.
Parishes, whether territorial or person-based, within a diocese are normally in the charge of a priest, known as the parish priest or the pastor.
Priests may perform many functions not directly connected with ordinary pastoral activity, such as study, research, teaching or office work. They may also be rectors of churches or chaplains of communities or special groups. Other titles or functions held by priests include those of
Archimandrite,
Canon Secular or Regular,
Chancellor,
Chorbishop, Confessor, Dean of a Cathedral Chapter, Hieromonk, Prebendary, Precentor, etc.
In the Latin Rite or particular Church, only celibate men, as a rule, are ordained as priests, while the Eastern Rites, again as a rule, also ordain married men. Among the Eastern particular Churches, the
Ethiopic Catholic Church ordains only celibate clergy, while also having married priests who were ordained in the Orthodox Church, while other Eastern Catholic Churches, which do ordain married men, do not have married priests in certain countries, such as the United States of America. The Western or Latin Rite does sometimes, but very rarely, ordain married men, usually Protestant clergy who have become Catholics. All Rites of the Catholic Church maintain the ancient tradition that, after ordination, marriage is not allowed. Even a married priest whose wife dies may not then marry again.
Diaconate
Since the
Second Vatican Council, the Latin Church admits married men of mature age to ordination as Permanent deacons. "Deacons are ordained as a sacramental sign to the Church and to the world of Christ, who came 'to serve and not to be served.' The entire Church is called by Christ to serve, and the deacon, in virtue of his sacramental ordination and through his various ministries, is to be a servant in a servant-Church. As ministers of Word, deacons proclaim the Gospel, preach, and teach in the name of the Church. As ministers of Sacrament, deacons baptize, lead the faithful in prayer, witness marriages, and conduct wake and funeral services As ministers of Charity, deacons are leaders in identifying the needs of others, then marshalling the Church's resources to meet those needs. Deacons are also dedicated to eliminating the injustices or inequities that cause such needs."[
3].
Candidates for the Diaconate go through a Diaconate Formation program that is designed based on the contemporaneous needs of their Diocese but must meet minimum standards set by the Bishops Conference in their home country. Upon completion of their formation program and acceptance by their local Bishop, Candidates receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders through Ordination. Generally, following Ordination, a Deacon is assigned by his Bishop to a local Parish in which he will perform his ministry and serve the local church and community.
All baptized members of the Catholic Church are called
faithful, truly equal in dignity and in the work to build the Church. All are called to share in Christ's priestly, prophetic, and royal office.
[CCC 871-2] While a certain percentage of the faithful perform roles related to serving the ministerial priesthood (hierarchy) and giving eschatological witness (consecrated life), the great majority of the faithful perform a specific role of exercising the three offices of Christ by "engaging in temporal affairs and directing them according to God's will...to illuminate and order all temporal things."
[CCC 898] These are the
laity, whom John Paul II urged in
Christifideles laici "to take an active, conscientious and responsible part in the mission of the Church," for they not only belong to the Church, but
"are the Church." (Italics in the original)
Equipped with the common priesthood in
baptism, these ordinary Catholics â€" e.g., mothers, farmers, businessmen, writers, politicians â€" are to take initiative in "discovering or inventing the means for permeating social, political, and economic realities with the demands of Christian doctrine and life."
[CCC 899] They exercise the (common, non-sacramental)
priestly office by offering their works as spiritual sacrifices,
[CCC 901] the
prophetic office by their word and testimony of life in the ordinary circumstances of the world,
[CCC 905] and the
kingly office by self-mastery and conforming worldly institutions to the norms of justice.
[CCC 908-9]This theology of the laity, called a "characteristic mark" of Vatican II by Paul VI and John Paul II, was complemented, and in some cases influenced, by the rise of many lay ecclesial movements and structures in the 20th century: examples are
Focolare,
Neocatechumenal Way,
Communion and Liberation, and the
personal prelature of Opus Dei.
|
St Benedict of Nursia (c. 480-543), who wrote the leading religious rule for monastic living, "evokes the Christian roots of Europe," says Benedict XVI. |
Within the Catholic Church, the Consecrated Life refers to the following: the Religious Life, eremitical life, consecrated virginity, societies of consecrated life and secular institutes. All of these are ways of Christian living by those who have made the prescribed public profession and vow that is recognized in Church Law.
[canons 573â€"746 of the Code of Canon Law] Those who have made their profession and vow are not, however, part of the Church hierarchy, unless they are also ordained priests.
[Chart showing the place of consecrated persons among the People of God] They commit themselves, for the love of God, to observe as binding certain counsels from the Christian Gospel.Most who feel called to following Christ in a more exacting way join what are called
Religious Institutes,
[canons 573â€"602, 605â€"709] often referred to in everyday life as religious orders or religious congregations, in which they follow a common rule under the leadership of a superior. They usually live in community, although some may for a shorter or longer time live the Religious Life as
Hermits without ceasing to be a member of the Religious Institute.
Canons 603 and 604 give official recognition also to consecrated hermits and consecrated virgins who are not members of religious institutes (see below).
Worldwide distribution
|
Map showing Catholic Church membership as a percentage of each country's population. |
The number of Catholics in the world continues to increase, particularly in
Africa and
Asia, although the religion has lost much of its political influence in the "First World" (e.g. Europe, USA). The increase between 1978 and 2000 was 288 million.
Protestant evangelicals have succeeded in making inroads into parts of Latin America, but remain a small percentage of the population. In most industrialized countries, church attendance has decreased since the 19th century, though it remains higher than that of other "mainline" Churches.
According to
Canon law, members are those who have been baptized in or, on making a profession of faith, have been received into the Catholic Church. They remain members, even if unfaithful to their obligations or even if excommunicated, unless they formally renounce membership by, for instance, joining another religion or denomination. However, in countries where a question on religion is included in the census, the number given in the
Statistical Yearbook of the Church (see above) is that of the census returns; thus, for instance, in the case of New Zealand, where 27.5% of the population classified themselves in the 2001 census as being of no religion, the number of canonical Catholics is doubtless higher than the number appearing in the
Statistical Yearbook of the Church. Furthermore, since Catholic population is the usual basis for assessing each diocese's contribution to national-level offices and services and the levy on each parish for diocesan initiatives, there is a temptation, not always resisted, for bishops and parish clergy in countries that do not have detailed census reports on religion to under-report the number of Catholics in their area.
Over the centuries, the Catholic Church has encountered criticisms for numerous reasons. (Some particular controversies are discussed in separate articles. See, for instance, on the charge of anti-Semitism,
Relations between Catholicism and Judaism.)
Pope John Paul II acknowledged publicly that certain members (including leadership) of the Catholic Church have sometimes been involved in questionable activities, and asked God to forgive the sins of its members, both in action and omission.
See also: Criticism of the Catholic Church.
And at the same time, it has been seen by many people of different religions as a great force for good, as an "expert in humanity" and even as a model of management being seen by them as the oldest and biggest existing institution in the world.
John Paul II was hailed upon his death as an outstanding world leader esteemed as having helped the world progress towards moral regeneration.
The number of criticisms and persecutions it has received through the centuries and his reading of sacred scripture inspired John Paul II to suggest that the term
sign of contradiction is a "distinctive definition of Christ and of his Church."
Church doctrine and science
Many
enlightenment philosophers perceived the Church's doctrines as superstitious and hindering the progress of civilization. In the most famous instance, many criticized it for the 1633 trial of
Galileo Galilei, in which the Church condemned his advancement of the heliocentric system of Catholic priest
Nicolaus Copernicus, in favour of a geocentric system.
Pope John Paul II publicly apologized for the Church's actions in that trial on
31 October 1992. An abstract of the acts of the process against Galileo is available at the
Vatican Secret Archives, which reproduces part of it on its website.
|
A map of medieval universities shows the universities established by the Catholic Church in Europe. Attacked in the 18th century as an enemy of progress, the Church is now seen by many modern historians as a major contributor to modern science, economics, and international law. |
Recently, the Church is criticized for its opposition to scientific research in fields such as
embryonic stem cell research, which the Church teaches would cause the utilitarian destruction of a human being, or simply put, an act of murder. The Church argues that advances in medicine can come without the destruction of human embryos; for example, in the use of adult or umbilical stem cells in place of embryonic stem cells.
Historians of science including non-Catholics such as
J.L. Heilbron,
[http://www.lrb.co.uk/contribhome.php?get=heil01] Alistair Cameron Crombie,
David Lindberg,
[http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/15758.ctl] Edward Grant,
[http://www.indiana.edu/~alldrp/members/grant.html] Thomas Goldstein,
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0306806371] and Ted Davis have been revising the common notion â€" the product of
black legends say some â€" that the Church has had a negative influence in the development of civilization. They argue that not only did the monks save and cultivate the remnants of ancient civilization during the barbarian invasions, but the Church promoted learning and science through its sponsorship of many
universities which, under its leadership, grew rapidly in Europe in the 11th and 12th centuries. St. Thomas Aquinas, the Church's "model theologian," not only argued that reason is in harmony with faith, he even recognized that reason can contribute to understanding revelation, and so encouraged intellectual development.
[http://www.ewtn.com/library/ENCYC/JP2FIDES.HTM#Ch4b] The Church's priest-scientists, many of whom were Jesuits, were the leading lights in
astronomy,
genetics,
geomagnetism,
meteorology,
seismology, and
solar physics, becoming the "fathers" of these sciences.
John Cardinal Newman used to say in the nineteenth century that those who attack the Church can only point to the Galileo case, which to many historians does not prove the Church's opposition to science since many of the churchmen at that time were encouraged by the Church to continue their research.
[http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/history/world/wh0101.html]Church, art, and literature
While some critics accuse members of the Catholic Church of destroying the art of some of the colonized natives, several historians credit the Catholic Church for the brilliance and magnificence of Western
art. They refer to the Church's fight against
iconoclasm, a movement against visual representations of the divine, its insistence on building structures befitting worship,
Augustine's repeated reference to Wisdom 11:21 (God "ordered all things by measure, number and weight") which led to the geometric constructions of Gothic architecture, the
scholastics' coherent intellectual systems called the
Summa Theologiae which influenced the intellectually consistent writings of
Dante, its creation and sacramental theology which has developed a
Catholic imagination influencing writers such as
J.R.R. Tolkien[http://www.crisismagazine.com/november2001/feature7.htm] and
William Shakespeare[http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/arts/al0147.html]and lastly, the patronage of the Rennaisance popes for the great works of Catholic artists such as
Michaelangelo,
Rafael,
Bernini,
Borromini and
Leonardo da Vinci.
Church and economic development
Francisco de Vitoria, a disciple of
Thomas Aquinas and Catholic thinker who studied the issue regarding the human rights of colonized natives, is recognized by the United Nations as a father of international law, and now also by historians of economics and democracy as a leading light for the West's democracy and rapid economic development.
[http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/politics/pg0010.html]Joseph Schumpeter, a great economist of the twentieth century, in his
History of Economic Analysis (1954), referred to the scholastics thus: "[I]t is they," he wrote, "who come nearer than does any other group to having been the ‘founders' of scientific economics." Other economists and historians have also said something similar:
Raymond de Roover,
Marjorie Grice-Hutchinson, and
Alejandro Chafuen. Historian Paul Legutko of Stanford University said: The Catholic Church is "at the center of the development of the values, ideas, science, laws, and institutions which constitute what we call Western civilization." Benedict XVI says that the Catholic religion is the religion according to reason (the
Logos, Word) and the Enlightenment itself â€" with its emphasis on brotherhood, freedom and equality â€" is an exclusive product of the Christian West who see the fundamental concepts of the Enlightenment as being of Christian origin.
Social justice, care-giving, and the hospital system
|
Historian of hospitals, Guenter Risse, says that the Church spearheaded the development of a hospital system geared towards the marginalized. |
While it is criticized in many places, the Catholic Church also has contributed much to society through its Social Doctrine which has guided leaders to promote social justice and by setting up the
hospital system in Medieval Europe, a system which was different from the merely reciprocal hospitality of the Greeks and family-based obligations of the Romans. These hospitals begun to cater to "particular social groups marginalized by poverty, sickness, and age," according to historian of hospitals,
Guenter Risse.
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195055233] The Catholic Church as
opus proprium, says Benedict XVI in
Deus Caritas Est, has conducted throughout the centuries from its very beginning and continues to conduct many charitable services â€" hospitals, schools, poverty alleviation programs, among others. The Catholic Church remains the largest humanitarian organization in the world and is a leading voice for the poor.
Throughout the centuries, the Church has had to respond to many criticisms, some of which are now considered outright
heresies. Lately, criticisms tend to focus on a few issues, many of which deal with sex and gender themes. To these criticisms and controversies over traditional Church doctrine, the basic response of Benedict XVI, a renowned theologian, can be found in some statements before his election to the papacy: the Church is
ecclesia sua, "his [God's] Church", and not the laboratory of theologians.
[See John Allen, Rise of Benedict XVI; and Two Say Why: Why I am still a Christian (1971), co-written with Hans Urs Von Balthasar.]Ordination reserved to men
The Church is convinced it is not free to change this practice, which is traced back to Jesus' choice of apostles, and to the practice of the apostles and their successors, and has declared the matter closed for discussion, the latest declaration being John Paul II's
Ordinatio Sacerdotalis in 1994.
|
Coronation of the Blessed Virgin. Criticized for reserving the priesthood to men, the Church states that "The greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven are not the ministers but the saints." |
The Church claims that the reservation of the priesthood to men does not mean that the Catholic Church does not value women, since non-priests, men and women alike, can become saints just as easily as priests can.
Inter Insigniores, Declaration on the Admission of Women to the Ministerial Priesthood (15 October 1976)Clerical celibacy
The Catholic Church requires
celibacy for Latin-Rite priests (with some minor exceptions) and all bishops. Voluntary celibacy has always been common in the Church and was generally the preferred state for priests and bishops. It is claimed that celibacy became mandatory for priests only in the eleventh century; others say, for instance: "(I)t may fairly be said that by the time of St. Leo the Great the law of celibacy was generally recognized in the West,"[
4] that the eleventh-century regulations on this matter, as on simony, should clearly not be interpreted as meaning that either non-celibacy or simony were previously permitted, [
5], and that the rule of total continence by the clergy (refraining from sexual relations with a wife married before ordination - thus, logically, not marrying after ordination) dates back to the origin of the Church.[
6] [
7]
Pope John Paul II in
Pastores Dabo Vobis stated that the "unchanging" essence of ordination "configures the priest to Jesus Christ the Head and Spouse of the Church." Thus, he said, "The Church, as the Spouse of Jesus Christ, wishes to be loved by the priest in the total and exclusive manner in which Jesus Christ her Head and Spouse loved her."
This teaching continues to be debated for a variety of reasons. First, many believe celibacy was not required of the apostles, though others think the apostles did leave their wives (cf. Luke 18:28-30). Second, this requirement excludes a great number of otherwise qualified men from the priesthood, qualifications which according to the defenders of celibacy should be determined not by merely human hermeneutics but by the hermeneutics of the divine will. Third, some say that resisting the natural sexual impulse in this way is unrealistic and harmful for a healthy life, a criticism which is countered by the faith in the power of grace and of man, made in the image of God who is Love. Sexual scandals among priests, the defenders say, are a breach of the Church's teaching, not a result of it, especially since only a small percentage of priests have been involved. Fourth, it is said that mandatory celibacy distances priests from this experience of life, compromising their moral authority in the pastoral sphere, although its defenders argue that the Church's moral authority is rather enhanced by a life of total self-giving in imitation of Christ, a practical application of Vatican II teaching that "man cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself." (
Gaudium et spes 26)
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger in
Salt of the Earth also explained that this practice is based on Jesus' preaching on the
eunuchs or celibates "for the sake of the kingdom of heaven" which links with God's decision in the Old Testament to confer the priesthood to a specific tribe, that of Levi, and who unlike the other tribes did not receive from God any land â€" an essential need for one's posterity as a wife and children are today â€" but had "God himself as its inheritance." (Num 1:48-53)
Reforms of the Second Vatican Council
The Catholic Church undertook one of the most comprehensive reforms in its history during the
Second Vatican Council (1962â€"1965) and the decade which followed. For changes in the liturgy, see
Mass of Paul VI. The Church stressed more than before what it saw as positive rather than what it saw as negative in other Christian communities, other religions, and the aspirations of human beings in general. It encouraged the up-to-date renewal of religious life. And it empowered episcopal conferences to enact adaptations in disciplines such as abstinence from meat on Fridays.
Some Catholics, who have become known as
traditionalist Catholics, rejected many of these changes, which they viewed as inconsistent with what the Church had always taught. Among the most controversial of changes was the adoption of a new rite of Mass, which traditionalist Catholics view as watered down, "protestantized", or even invalid.
Catholic teachings on human sexuality
The Catholic Church teaches that human life and human sexuality are both inseparable and sacred. Some criticize the Church's teaching on
sexual and
reproductive matters.
[http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt3sect2chpt2art6.htm] The Church requires members to eschew
masturbation,
fornication,
pornography,
prostitution,
rape,
homosexual practices,
[CCC 2351-2357] and
artificial contraception.
[CCC 2370] The procurement or assistance in
abortion can carry the penalty of excommunication,
[CCC 2272] as a specific offence.
|
AIDS education in Uganda. Although doubted by some, the Church's teaching on abstinence has been seen as a contribution to Uganda's success against AIDS. |
Some criticize the Church's teaching on
fidelity,
sexual abstinence and its opposition to promoting the use of
condoms as a strategy to prevent the spread of
HIV/
AIDS (or teen pregnancy or
STD) as counterproductive. On the other hand, the Church's insistence on abstinence as practiced in Uganda shows that so far it has been one of the most successful strategies against AIDS.
[http://www.aidsmap.com/en/news/ed007047-0e93-4964-9fba-aa887d42817e.asp]Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragán, President of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, has stated that Pope Benedict XVI asked his department to study the issue as part of a broad look at several questions of bioethics.
[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12615605/site/newsweek/] However, the president of the
Pontifical Council for the Family,
Cardinal López Trujillo, in an interview reported by Catholic News Agency on
May 4,
2006, said that the Church "maintains unmodified the teaching on condoms", and added that the Pope had "not ordered any studies about modifying the prohibition on condom use."
[http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=6641]Catholic teaching on Scripture
Some critics of the Catholic Church have misrepresented a teaching document entitled "The Gift of Scripture", which the bishops of England and Wales and those of Scotland issued in 2005. [
8] The text of the document is available
here for downloading.
For instance, these critics claim the bishops "assert that (the) Biblical creation story is just a myth" (though the word "myth" appears nowhere in the document) and that "they advise that Christians should not expect 'total accuracy' from the Bible", which is a distortion of the statement: "We should not expect total accuracy from the Bible in other, secular matters", where the word "other" stands in contrast to "the truth which God wished to be set down in the sacred writings for the sake of our salvation."
The British bishops taught that the Bible must be approached with the understanding that it is "God's word expressed in human language", giving proper acknowledgement both to the word of God and its human dimensions.
This understanding of the Scriptures is opposed to a
fundamentalist interpretation that "disregards the various human dimensions of the Scriptures, and thereby undervalues the gift of Scripture and the 'divine condescension' which gives us God's word in human language."
The Bible, they said, is not intended to give teaching on scientific or historical matters, but, as the Second Vatican Council's document
Dei Verbum states, contains instead "the truth which God wished to be set down in the sacred writings for the sake of our salvation." Thus, "the material found in (the opening eleven) chapters of Genesis could not simply be described as historical writing. Though they may contain some historical traces, the primary purpose was to provide religious teaching." A similar observation was made about the apocalyptic visions in the Book of Revelation, recalling those in the Book of Daniel.
Section 51 of the British document is entitled "Jews and Christians in Matthew". It states: "Theantagonism between the Jewish Christians and Jews who did not accept Jesus has profoundly influenced the gospel" of Matthew. And it declares: "The attitudes and language offirst century quarrels between Jews and Jewish Christians should never again be emulated in relations between Jews and Christians."
In 2002, a major scandal erupted in the U.S. Catholic Church when a wealth of allegations of priests sexually abusing children surfaced. Adding to the furor were revelations that the Church was aware of some of the abusive priests, and simply shuffled them from congregation to congregation instead of taking action. The scandal led to the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law from the Boston archdiocese. It also led to a common perception â€" 64% of those polled, in one survey â€" that Catholic priests "frequently abused children," while the data show that only 1.5-1.8% of Catholic priests are accused of child sexual abuse. [
9]
In Ireland, a number of high-profile cases of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests and brothers have contributed to a significant decline in influence of the Church in recent years.
Since 2001, the adjudication of charges of sexual abuse by clergy is no longer within the competence of the local bishop, but is reserved to the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome, in accord with Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter
Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela and its
accompanying norms (both documents in Latin). Under the Church's 1983
Code of Canon Law (
canon 1395) clerical sexual abuse against a minor can be punished with dismissal from the clerical state ("laicization").
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Annuario Pontificio, 2006 edition (ISBN 88-209-7806-7)
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* H. W. Crocker III. (November 13, 2001).
Triumph: The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church: A 2,000-Year History. Prima Lifestyles
* Thomas Woods, Jr. (May 2, 2005).
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization. Regnery Publications. * Warren Carrol.
History of Christendom.* Philip Hughes.
A History of the Church: The World in Which the Church Was Founded. Sheed & Ward
*Adam S. Miller. (1997, 2006 ).
The Roman Catholic Church: A Divine Institution or a Human Invention? Tower of David Publications. [
10] Discusses 1.The scriptural attributes
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Church Fathers.
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