Roman Catholic Church
The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church,[McClintock, Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature (1889), p. 71, quote: "The name may be found in a number of Roman Catholic writers, and is generally used in the constitution of those states in which the Roman Catholic Church is recognized as one of the recognized or tolerated State churches. It is, however, not the official name used by the authorities of the Church–who rather dislike it, and substitute for it the name 'Catholic' or 'Holy Catholic' Church. The name 'Roman Church' is applied, in the language of the Church, to the Church or diocese of the Bishop of Rome."][Though much less frequently than "Catholic Church", at times "Roman Catholic Church" has been and is used by the Church on Internet sites, as in Roman Catholic Church, Namibia, in its official representation before civil courts, as in Roman Catholic Church v Hadba (2005) and Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church v Ellis & Anor, but also in documents of the Roman Curia, as in Notes on the correct way to present the Jews and Judaism in preaching and catechesis in the Roman Catholic Church and in many documents to which links are given from the Internet page of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity , and even in papal documents, as in Divini illius Magistri and Humani generis] is the world's largest Christian church and represents over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world's population.[ The Church looks to the Pope, currently Benedict XVI, as its highest human authority in matters of faith, morality and Church governance.][ The Church community is composed of an ordained ministry and the laity.][Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), p. 153] Either may be members of religious communities like the Dominicans, Carmelites, Jesuits and Salesians.
The Catholic Church defines its mission as spreading the message of Jesus Christ, found in the four Gospels, administering sacraments that aid the spiritual growth of its members and exercising charity.[Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), pp. 50–1] To further its mission, the Church operates social programs and institutions throughout the world. They include schools, universities, hospitals, missions and shelters, as well as Catholic Relief Services, Caritas Internationalis and Catholic Charities that help the poor, families, the elderly and the sick.[Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), pp. 98–9]
Through apostolic succession, the Church believes itself to be the continuation of the Christian community founded by Jesus in his consecration of Saint Peter.[Hitchcock, Geography of Religion (2004), p. 281, quote: "Some (Christian communities) had been founded by Peter, the disciple Jesus designated as the founder of his church. ... Once the position was institutionalized, historians looked back and recognized Peter as the first pope of the Christian church in Rome"][ The Church has defined its doctrines through various ecumenical councils, following the example set by the first Apostles in the Council of Jerusalem.][ Catholic faith is summarized in the Nicene Creed and detailed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.][ Formal Catholic worship is ordered by the liturgy, which is regulated by Church authority. The Eucharist, one of seven Church sacraments and a key part of every Catholic Mass, is the center of Catholic worship.][Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), p. 71]
With a two thousand year history, the Church is among the world's oldest Christian institutions.[Orlandis, A Short History of the Catholic Church (1993), preface] In the 11th century, the Eastern, Orthodox Church and the Western, Catholic Church split, largely over disagreements regarding papal primacy.[Vidmar, The Catholic Church Through the Ages (2005), pp. 97, 100][Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), p. 91] Eastern churches, which maintained or later re-established communion with Rome, form the Eastern Catholic Churches. In the 16th century, partly in response to the Protestant Reformation, the Church engaged in a substantial process of reform and renewal, known as the Counter-Reformation.
The Catholic Church maintains that it is the "one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church" founded by Jesus, but acknowledges that the Holy Spirit can make use of Christian communities separated from itself to bring people to salvation.[Kreeft, Catholic Christianity (2001), p. 110] Modern challenges facing the Church include the rise of secularism and opposition to its pro-life stance on abortion, contraception and euthanasia.
Origin and mission
The Catholic Church traces its foundation to Jesus and the Twelve Apostles. It sees the bishops of the Church as the successors of the apostles and the pope in particular as the successors of Peter, the leader of the apostles.[Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), p. 46] Catholics cite Jesus' words in the Gospel of Matthew to support this view: "... you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church ... I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."[Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), p. 1]
Scholars like Edward Norman note that the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus and that the historical record confirms that it was considered a Christian doctrinal authority from its beginning.[Norman, The Roman Catholic Church an Illustrated History (2007), pp. 11, 14, quote: "The Church was founded by Jesus himself in his earthly lifetime.", "The apostolate was established in Rome, the world's capital when the church was inaugurated; it was there that the universality of the Christian teaching most obviously took its central directive–it was the bishops of Rome who very early on began to receive requests for adjudication on disputed points from other bishops."][McManners, Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity (1990), p. 36, Chapter 1 The Early Christian Community subsection entitled "Rome" by Henry Chadwick, quote: "Towards the latter part of the first century, Rome's presiding cleric named Clement wrote on behalf of his church to remonstrate with the Corinthian Christians who had ejected clergy without either financial or charismatic endowment in favour of a fresh lot; Clement apologized not for intervening but for not having acted sooner."] Others, like Eamon Duffy, acknowledge the existence of a Christian community in Rome and that Peter and Paul "lived, preached and died" there[Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), p. 6, quote: "For all these reasons, most scholars accept the early Christian tradition that Peter and Paul died in Rome. Yet, though they lived, preached and died in Rome, they did not strictly 'found' the Church there. Paul's Epistle to the Romans was written before either he or Peter ever set foot in Rome, to a Christian community already in existence."] but doubt that there was a ruling bishop in the Roman church in the first century, and question the concept of apostolic succession.[Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), p. 7] Duffy described the second-century list of popes by Irenaeus as "suspiciously tidy", and stated that "There is no sure way to settle on a date by which the office of ruling bishop had emerged in Rome, and so to name the first pope, but the process was certainly complete by the time of Anicetus in the mid-150s, when Polycarp, the aged bishop of Smyrna, visited Rome, and he and Anicetus debated amicably the question of the date of Easter".[Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), pp. 9–11]
The Church believes that its mission is founded upon Jesus' command to his followers to spread the faith across the world:[Norman, The Roman Catholic Church an Illustrated History (2007), p. 11] "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you: and Lo, I am with you always, until the close of the age".[Norman, The Roman Catholic Church an Illustrated History (2007), p. 12] Pope Benedict XVI summarized the Church's mission as a threefold responsibility to proclaim the word of God, celebrate the sacraments, and exercise the ministry of charity. He has stated that these duties presuppose each other and are thus inseparable.
Beliefs
The Catholic Church's beliefs are detailed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.[Marthaler, Introducing the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Traditional Themes and Contemporary Issues (1994), preface][ The first such council, the Council of Jerusalem, was convened by the apostles around the year 50.][ The most recent was the Second Vatican Council, which closed in 1965.][Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), pp. 275, 281] The Nicene Creed dating back to the First Council of Nicaea (325), is the core statement of Catholic Christian belief.[ This creed is recited at Sunday Masses and is also the central statement of belief of many other Christian denominations.][Schaff, Creeds of Christendom, With a History and Critical Notes (1910), pp. 24, 56][Richardson, The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology (1983), p. 132] Eastern Orthodox Christians do not accept the filioque clause.[Langan, The Catholic Tradition (1998), p. 118][Parry, The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity (1999), p. 292] Protestant churches vary in their beliefs, but generally accept the Nicene Creed with reservations regarding the term "Catholic". They generally differ from the Catholic Church regarding the authority of the Pope, Church Tradition, the Eucharist, and on issues pertaining to divine grace, good works and salvation.[McManners, Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity (1990), pp. 254–60, Chapter 7 The Late Medieval Church and its Reformation by Patrick Collinson (University of Cambridge)]
Teaching authority
The Catholic Church believes that it is guided by the Holy Spirit and so protected from falling into doctrinal error. It bases this belief on biblical promises that Jesus made to his apostles.[Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), pp. 37, 43–4] In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells Peter, "the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against church",
The Church teaches that the Holy Spirit reveals God's truth through Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium. The sacred scriptures consist of the 73 books of the Catholic Bible. These are made up of those contained in the Greek version of the Old Testament—known as the Septuagint[Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), p. 21, quote "Catholics recognize as divinely inspired the writings included in the ancient Greek version of the Old Testament that was used in the early church, known as the Septuagint. Protestants accept only the writings found in an early Hebrew version of the Bible, which did not include the books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. These books are sometimes referred to by Protestants as "the Apocrypha."]—and the 27 New Testament writings found in the Codex Vaticanus and listed in Athanasius' Thirty-Ninth Festal Letter.[Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), p. 23, quote "In caring for the flock of Christ, one of the bishop's chief tasks was to ensure that correct doctrine was taught. So it was the bishops who needed to discern which writings and teachings being widely distributed were truly God's word for the whole church-and which were not. Their determination was officially announced in a decree of the Council of Rome in A.D. 382, under Pope Damasus, and confirmed by the Third Council of Carthage in A.D. 397. The present list of New Testament writings was first founded in the Codex Vaticanus from Rome around A.D. 340, and in St. Athanasius' Thirty-Ninth Festal Letter of A.D. 367."] Sacred Tradition consists of those teachings believed by the Church to have been handed down since the time of the Apostles.[Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), pp. 15–9] Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition are collectively known as the "deposit of faith". These are in turn interpreted by the Magisterium, or the teaching authority of the Church. The Magisterium includes infallible pronouncements of the pope,[ pronouncements of ecumenical councils, and those of the college of bishops acting in union with the pope to define truths or to condemn interpretations of scripture believed to be false.][Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), p. 30]
According to the Catechism, Jesus instituted seven sacraments and entrusted them to the Church.[Kreeft, Catholic Christianity (2001), pp. 298–9][Mongoven, The Prophetic Spirit of Catechesis: How We Share the Fire in Our Hearts (2000), p. 68] Differing liturgical traditions, or rites, exist throughout the worldwide Church. These reflect historical and cultural diversity rather than a diversity in beliefs.
God the Father, original sin and Baptism
Catholic belief holds that God is the source and creator of nature and all that exists.[Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), p. 45] as expressed in the opening statement of the Nicene Creed, "We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen ...". The Church perceives him as a loving and caring God who is involved in the world and in people's lives[Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), p. 7] and who desires his creatures to love him and to love each other.[Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), pp. 91–92] Before the creation of mankind, however, the scriptures teach that God made spiritual beings called angels. In an event known as the "fall of the angels", a number of them chose to rebel against God and his reign.[Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), p. 57] One of these fallen angels is believed to have tempted the first humans, Adam and Eve, whose act of original sin brought suffering and death into the world.
This event is known as the Fall of Man and according to Catholic belief, left humanity isolated from their original state of intimacy with God.[Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), pp. 18–9][ The Church believes that people can be cleansed of original sin and all personal sins through Baptism.][Kreeft, Catholic Christianity (2001), p. 308] This sacramental act of cleansing admits one as a full member of the natural and supernatural Church and is only conferred once in a person's lifetime.
Jesus, sin and Penance
In the messianic texts of the Jewish Tanakh which make up much of the Christian Old Testament, Christians believe God promises to send his people a savior.[Kreeft, Catholic Christianity (2001), pp. 71–2] The Church believes that this savior was Jesus who is described in the Nicene Creed as "... the only begotten son of God, ... one in being with the Father. Through him all things were made ...". In an event known as the Incarnation, the Church teaches that God descended from heaven for the salvation of humanity, and became man through the power of the Holy Spirit and was born of a virgin Jewish girl named Mary. Jesus' mission on earth is believed to have included giving people his word and example to follow, as recorded in the four Gospels.[McGrath, Christianity: An Introduction (2006), pp. 4–6] The Church teaches that following the example of Jesus helps believers to become closer to him, and therefore to grow in true love, freedom, and the fullness of life.[Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), pp. 264–5] Sinning is considered to be the opposite to following Jesus, robbing people of their resemblance to God and turning their souls away from his love.[ Per Catholic teaching, people can sin by failing to obey the Ten Commandments, failing to love God, or failing to love other people. Some sins are held to be more serious than others. Sins range from lesser or venial sins, to grave or mortal sins which end a person's relationship with God.][Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), p. 77]
Through the passion of Jesus and his crucifixion, the Church teaches that all people have an opportunity for forgiveness and freedom from sin, and so can be reconciled to God.[Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), p. 26][Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), p. 100]
Since Baptism can be received only once, the sacrament of Penance (informally known as Confession) is the principal means by which Catholics can obtain forgiveness for subsequent sin and receive God's grace and assistance not to sin again. Catholics believe Jesus gave the apostles special authority to forgive sins in God's name based on Jesus' words to his disciples in the Gospel of John 20:21–23.[Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), p. 242] A penitent confesses his sins to the priest, who may then offer advice. After the priest has imposed a particular penance to be performed, the penitent then prays an act of contrition and the priest administers absolution, formally forgiving the person of his sins.[Kreeft, Catholic Christianity (2001), pp. 343–4] A priest is forbidden under penalty of excommunication to reveal any sin or disclosure heard under the seal of confession. Penance helps prepare Catholics before they can licitly receive the sacraments of Confirmation and the Eucharist.
Holy Spirit and Confirmation
Jesus told his apostles that after his death and resurrection he would send them the "Advocate", the "Holy Spirit", who " ...will teach you everything and remind you of all that (I) told you".[Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), p. 37] In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus told his disciples "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"[Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1997), pp. 230–1]
The Nicene Creed states that the Holy Spirit is one with God the Father and God the Son. Thus the Church teaches that receiving the Holy Spirit is an act of receiving God.[Kreeft, Catholic Christianity (2001), p. 88] Through the sacrament of Confirmation, Catholics ask for and are taught by the Church to receive the Holy Spirit. Confirmation is sometimes called the "sacrament of Christian maturity" and is believed to increase and deepen the grace received at Baptism.[ Spiritual graces or gifts of the Holy Spirit may include the wisdom to see and follow God's plan, as well as judgment, love, courage, knowledge, reverence and rejoicing in the presence of God.][ The corresponding fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.][Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), p. 277]
To be licitly confirmed, Catholics must be in a state of grace, in that they cannot be conscious of having committed a mortal sin. They must also have prepared spiritually for the sacrament, chosen a sponsor or godparent for spiritual support, and selected a saint to be their special patron and intercessor.[ Baptism in the Eastern rites, including infant baptism, is immediately followed by the reception of Confirmation and the Eucharist.]
Nature of the Church and social teaching
Catholic belief holds that the Church " ...is the continuing presence of Jesus on earth."[Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), p. 131] Jesus told his disciples to "Remain in me, as I remain in you ... I am the vine, you are the branches."[Kreeft, Catholic Christianity (2001), pp. 113–4] This unity of the Church in heaven and on earth is the "Communion of Saints".[Kreeft, Catholic Christianity (2001), p. 114]
While the Catholic Church believes and teaches that it is the "one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church" founded by Jesus,[Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), p. 46] In its apostolic constitution Lumen Gentium, the Church acknowledges that the Holy Spirit is active in diverse Christian churches and communities, and that Catholics are called to work for unity among all Christians.
The Church operates numerous social ministries throughout the world but teaches that individual Catholics are required to practice spiritual and corporal works of mercy as well. Corporal works of mercy include feeding the hungry, welcoming strangers, immigrants or refugees, clothing the naked, taking care of the sick and visiting those in prison. Spiritual works require the Catholic to share their knowledge with others, to give advice to those who need it, comfort those who suffer, have patience, forgive those who hurt them, give correction to those who need it and pray for the living and the dead.[ In conjunction with the work of mercy to visit the sick, the Church offers the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, performed only by a priest who will anoint with oil the head and hands of the ill person and pray a special prayer for them while laying on hands.][Kreeft, Catholic Christianity (2001), p. 373]
Church teaching on works of mercy and the new social problems of the industrial era led to the development of Catholic social teaching. Emphasizing human dignity, it criticizes elements of both capitalism and socialism[Rerum_Novarum">Leo XIII in Rerum Novarum][Pius XI in Quadragesimo Anno ] and commits Catholics to the welfare of others.[Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), pp. 98–99] The seven main themes are respect for human life and the dignity of each person, the strengthening of the family unit, respect for the rights and responsibilities of each person, the care for the poor, the rights and dignity of the worker, and, the subsidiarity and solidarity of all humans as one family.[ Modern application of Catholic social teaching has resulted in significant Church efforts to fight what it sees as violations of immigrant, worker, and family rights. In addition, the Church is known for its staunch opposition to abortion and euthanasia. Further matters of concern have included capital punishment and environmental issues.][Massaro, Living Justice: Catholic Social Teaching in Action (2001), pp. 116–7]
Final judgment and afterlife
Catholic teaching includes belief in an afterlife as described in the final statement of the Nicene Creed, "We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come." The Church teaches that each soul will be judged by Jesus immediately after death and receive a particular judgment based on the deeds of their earthly life.[Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), pp. 379–86] Chapter 25:35–46 of the Gospel of Matthew underpins the Catholic belief that a day will also come when Jesus will sit in a universal judgment of all mankind.[Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), p. 98, quote: "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me ... amen I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me."][Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), p. 397]
There are three states of afterlife in Catholic belief. Purgatory is a temporary condition for the purification of souls who, although saved, are not free enough from sin to enter directly into heaven. It is a state requiring penance and purgation of sin through God's mercy aided by the prayers of others.[Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), p. 105] The Church teaches that no one is condemned to hell without having freely decided to reject God and his love.
Prayer and worship
In the Catholic Church, a distinction is made between the formal, public liturgy and other prayers or devotions. The liturgy is regulated by Church authority[Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), p. 141] and consists of the Eucharist and Mass, the other sacraments, and the Liturgy of the Hours. All Catholics are expected to participate in the liturgical life of the Church but individual or communal prayer and devotions, while encouraged, are a matter of personal preference.[Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), p. 193] The Church provides a set of precepts that every Catholic is expected to follow.
Eucharist
The Eucharist, also known as Holy Communion, or the Lord's Supper,[Kreeft, Catholic Christianity (2001), p. 320] The Church believes that at the Last Supper, Jesus ratified a New Covenant with humanity by instituting the Eucharist and that the bread and wine brought to the altar at each Mass are changed through the power of the Holy Spirit into the true body and the true blood of Christ through transubstantiation.[Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), pp. 232–7][Kreeft, Catholic Christianity (2001), p. 328] The Eucharist is distributed to worshippers through the eating of the consecrated unleavened bread, or bread-like wafer, or the drinking of consecrated wine from a common cup. Catholicism teaches that just as God's first covenant or solemn agreement with Moses and the Hebrew people was sealed with the blood of sacrificial animals, his new covenant with humanity was sealed with the blood of Jesus.[ The words of institution for this sacrament are found in the three synoptic Gospels of Matthew,]
The celebration of the Eucharist in the Eastern Catholic Churches is termed Divine Liturgy. Variations in this liturgy between the different Eastern Churches reflect different cultural traditions. The ordinary form of the Eucharist in the Latin rite, the Mass of Paul VI, is most often celebrated in the vernacular. It is separated into two parts. The first, called Liturgy of the Word, consists of readings from the Old and New Testaments, a Gospel passage and the priest's homily or explanation of one of those passages.[ The second part, called Liturgy of the Eucharist is the celebration of the Eucharist.][Kreeft, Catholic Christianity (2001), p. 325] According to professor Alan Schreck, in its main elements and prayers, the Catholic Mass celebrated today "bears striking resemblance" to the form of the Mass described in the Didache and First Apology of Justin Martyr in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries.[Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), pp. 189–90, quote: "Some of the earliest Christian writings, such as the Didache, or the 'Teaching of the Twelve Apostles,' chapters 9–10 (late first and early second century), and the First Apology of Justin Martyr, chapters 65–67 (about A.D. 155), describe the primitive form of the Mass and its prayers in a way that bears striking resemblance to the basic format of the Mass today. In fact, the main elements of St. Justin's description of the Mass are almost identical to the form Catholics now employ."]
An alternate or extraordinary form of Mass, celebrated primarily in Latin, is that used prior to the Second Vatican Council. Called the Tridentine Mass, it derives from the missal promulgated by Pope Pius V after the Council of Trent. It was intended to reaffirm, in opposition to Protestant belief, that the Mass is the same sacrifice of Jesus' death as the one he suffered on Calvary.[Traufler, The Mass (1927), p. 79] Although this form was superseded by the vernacular as the primary form after the Second Vatican Council, it was not forbidden; it was offered by an indult since Pope John Paul II's 1988 motu proprio, Ecclesia Dei
Because the Church teaches that Christ is present in the Eucharist,[Kreeft, Catholic Christianity (2001), p. 326] there are strict rules about its celebration and reception. The ingredients of the bread and wine used in the Mass are specified and Catholics must abstain from eating for one hour before receiving Communion.[Kreeft, Catholic Christianity (2001), p. 331] Those who are conscious of being in a state of mortal sin are forbidden from this sacrament unless they have received absolution through the sacrament of Penance.[ According to Church belief, receiving the Eucharist forgives venial sins.][ Because the Church respects their celebration of the Mass as a true sacrament, intercommunion with the Eastern Orthodox in "suitable circumstances and with Church authority" is both possible and encouraged.][ Although the same is not true for Protestant churches, in circumstances of grave necessity, Catholic ministers may give the sacraments of Eucharist, Penance and Anointing of the Sick to Protestants if they freely ask for them, truly believe what the Catholic Church teaches regarding the sacraments, and have the proper disposition to receive them.]
Liturgy of the Hours and the liturgical year
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus instructs his disciples to "pray always".[Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), p. 198] It makes particular use of the Psalms as well as readings from the New and Old Testament, and various prayers.[ It is an adaptation of the ancient Jewish practice of praying the Psalms at certain hours of the day or night. Catholics who pray the Liturgy of the Hours use a set of books issued by the Church that has been called a breviary. By canon law, priests and deacons are required to pray the Liturgy of the Hours each day.]
The liturgical year is the annual calendar of the Catholic Church.[ The Church sets aside certain days and seasons of each year to recall and celebrate various events in the life of Christ.][ The Byzantine liturgical year, like the former imperial calendar, starts on 1 September, while in the Western Church the liturgical year begins with Advent, the time of preparation for both the celebration of Jesus' birth, and his expected second coming at the end of time.][ Christmastide follows, beginning on the night of 24 December (Christmas Eve), and ending with the feast of the baptism of Jesus.][ Lent is the period of purification and penance that in the Latin church begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Thursday.][ (In the Byzantine Catholic churches, "Great Lent" begins on Clean Monday and, counting the Sundays as part of the forty days of Lent, ends on Lazarus Saturday, being followed immediately by Great and Holy Week.) The Holy Thursday evening Mass of the Lord's Supper marks the beginning of the Easter Triduum which includes Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday.][ These days recall Jesus' last supper with his disciples, death on the cross, burial and resurrection.][ The seven-week liturgical season of Easter immediately follows the Triduum climaxing at Pentecost. This recalls the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus' disciples after the Ascension of Jesus.][ The rest of the liturgical year is known as Ordinary Time.][Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), p. 116]
Devotional life, prayer, Mary and the saints
In addition to the Mass, the Catholic Church considers prayer to be one of the most important elements of Christian life. The Church considers personal prayer a Christian duty, one of the spiritual works of mercy and one of the principal ways its members nourish a relationship with God.[Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), pp. 86, 98] The Catechism identifies three types of prayer: vocal prayer (sung or spoken), meditation and contemplative prayer. Quoting from the early church father John Chrysostom regarding vocal prayer, the Catechism states, "Whether or not our prayer is heard depends not on the number of words, but on the fervor of our souls."
Prayers and devotions to the Virgin Mary and the saints are a common part of Catholic life but are distinct from the worship of God.[Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), pp. 199–200] Explaining the intercession of saints, the Catechism states that the saints "... do not cease to intercede with the Father for us ... so by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped."[ The Church holds Mary, as ever Virgin and Mother of God". in special regard. She is believed to have been conceived without original sin, and was assumed into heaven. These dogmas, focus of Roman Catholic Mariology, are considered infallible. She is honored with many titles such as Queen of Heaven. Pope Paul VI called her Mother of the Church, because by giving birth to Christ, she is considered to be the spiritual mother to each member of the Body of Christ.][Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), p. 106] Because of her influential role in the life of Jesus, prayers and devotions, such as the Rosary, the Hail Mary, the Salve Regina and the Memorare are old Catholic practices.[Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), pp. 122–3] Pilgrimages to Marian shrines such as Lourdes and Fátima are popular devotions. The Church celebrates several liturgical Marian feasts throughout the Church Year.
Church organization and community
Although the Church considers Jesus to be its ultimate spiritual head, as an earthly organization its spiritual head and leader is the pope.[Kreeft, Catholic Christianity (2001), p. 109] The pope governs from Vatican City in Rome, a sovereign state of which he is also the civil head of state.
Worldwide, the Catholic Church comprises a Western or Latin and 22 Eastern Catholic autonomous particular churches. The Latin Church divides into jurisdictional areas known as dioceses, or eparchies in the Eastern Church. Each is headed by a bishop, patriarch or eparch, appointed by the pope. By 2007, including both dioceses and eparchies, there were 2,782 sees.[Vatican, Annuario Pontificio (Pontifical Yearbook) (2007), p. 1172] Each diocese is divided into individual communities called parishes, which are staffed by one or more priests.[Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), p. 52]
The community is made up of ordained members and the laity. Members of religious orders such as nuns, friars and monks are considered lay members unless individually ordained as priests.
Ordained members and Holy Orders
Lay men become ordained through the sacrament of Holy Orders, and form a three-part hierarchy of bishops, priests and deacons. As a body the College of Bishops are considered to be the successors of the apostles.[Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), p. 114] While bishops are responsible for teaching, governing and sanctifying the faithful of their diocese, priests and deacons have these same responsibilities at a more local level, the parish, subordinate to the ministry of the bishop. Priests, bishops and deacons preach, teach, baptize, witness marriages and conduct wake and funeral services, but only priests and bishops may celebrate the Eucharist or administer the sacraments of Penance and Anointing of the Sick.
Although married men may become deacons, only celibate men are ordained as priests in the Latin Rite.[Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium 1990, Code of Canon Law for the Eastern Catholic Churches, Canons 285, 373, 374, 758] All rites of the Catholic Church maintain the ancient tradition that, after ordination, marriage is not allowed. Men with transitory homosexual leanings may be ordained deacons following three years of prayer and chastity, but homosexual men who are sexually active, or those who have deeply rooted homosexual tendencies cannot be knowingly ordained.
All programs for the formation of men to the Catholic priesthood are governed by Canon Law.[USCCB, Program for Priestly Formation (2006), preface] In some countries, priests are required to have a college degree plus another four years of full time theological study in a seminary. In other countries a degree is not strictly required, but seminary education is longer. Candidates for the priesthood are also evaluated in terms of human, spiritual and pastoral formation.[USCCB, Program for Priestly Formation (2006), paras. 72, 243] The sacrament of Holy Orders is always conferred by a bishop through the laying-on of hands, following which the newly ordained priest is formally clothed in his priestly vestments.
Because the twelve apostles chosen by Jesus were all male, only men may be ordained in the Catholic Church.[Bokenkotter, A Concise History of the Catholic Church (2004), p. 496] the Church believes that Jesus called women to different yet equally important vocations in Church ministry.[Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth (2008), pp. 180–1, quote: "The difference between the discipleship of the Twelve and the discipleship of the women is obvious; the tasks assigned to each group are quite different. Yet Luke makes clear—and the other Gospels also show this in all sorts of ways—that 'many' women belonged to the more intimate community of believers and that their faith—filled following of Jesus was an essential element of that community, as would be vividly illustrated at the foot of the Cross and the Resurrection."] Pope John Paul II, in his apostolic letter Christifideles Laici, states that women have specific vocations reserved only for the female sex, and are equally called to be disciples of Jesus.
Lay members, Marriage
The laity consists of those Catholics who are not ordained clergy. Saint Paul compared the diversity of roles in the Church to the different parts of a body—all being important to enable the body to function.[Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), p. 153] The Church therefore considers that lay members are equally called to live according to Christian principles, to work to spread the message of Jesus, and to effect change in the world for the good of others. The Church calls these actions participation in Christ's priestly, prophetic and royal offices.[ In Eastern rites, the priest or bishop administers the sacrament after the spouses grant mutual consent.][Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), p. 350] Natural family planning is approved.[Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), p. 315]
Lay ecclesial movements consist of lay Catholics organized for purposes of teaching the faith, cultural work, mutual support or missionary work.[ Such groups include: Communion and Liberation, Neocatechumenal Way, Regnum Christi, Opus Dei, Life Teen and many others.][USCCB, Co–Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord (2005), p. 9]
Religious orders
Both the ordained and the laity may enter the religious or consecrated life—either as monks or nuns if cloistered, or friars and sisters if not. A candidate takes vows confirming their desire to follow the three evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience.
The majority of those wishing to enter the consecrated life join one of the religious institutes which are also referred to as monastic or religious orders. They follow a common rule such as the Rule of St Benedict and agree to live under the leadership of a superior.
Tertiaries are laypersons who live according to the third rule of orders such as the Franciscans or Carmelites, either within a religious community or outside.[ Although all tertiaries make a public profession, participate in the good works of their order and can wear the habit, they are not bound by public vows unless they live in a religious community.]
The Church recognizes several other forms of consecrated life, including secular institutes, societies of apostolic life and consecrated widows and widowers.[ It also makes provision for the approval of new forms.]
Membership
According to canon law, membership of the Catholic Church is attained through Baptism.[Barry, One Faith, One Lord (2001), p. 56]
A person can excommunicate themselves or be excommunicated by committing particularly grave sins.
Catholic institutions, personnel and demographics
In 2000, worldwide Catholic institutions totalled 408,637 parishes and missions, 125,016 primary and secondary schools, 1,046 universities, 5,853 hospitals, 8,695 orphanages, 13,933 homes for the elderly and handicapped and 74,936 dispensaries, leprosaries, nurseries and other institutions.[Froehle, Global Catholicism (2003), pp. 17–20 ] Many of these institutions are at least partially staffed by religious sisters who comprise over two thirds of all Church personnel. As of 2000, there were 769,142 religious sisters and 194,454 religious priests and brothers in Africa, the America's, Asia, Europe and Oceania.[Froehle, Global Catholicism (2003), pp. 41–3 ] In addition, there were 3,475 bishops, 914 archbishops, 183 cardinals, 405,178 diocesan and religious priests, 27,824 permanent deacons and 110,583 diocesan and religious seminarians (men studying for the priesthood).[Froehle, Global Catholicism (2003), pp. 30–5 ]
Church membership in 2007 exceeded 1.131 billion people;[Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), preface] as such, it is known for its ability to use its transnational ties and organizational strength to bring significant resources to needy situations.[Froehle, Global Catholicism (2003), p. 132 ] Although the number of practicing Catholics worldwide is not reliably known,
Some parts of Europe and the Americas have experienced a priest shortage in recent years as the number of priests has not increased in proportion to the number of Catholics.
The Latin American Church, known for its large parishes where the parishioner to priest ratio is the highest in the world, considers this to be a contributing factor in the rise of pentecostal and evangelical Christian denominations in the region.[ Secularism has seen a steady rise in Europe yet the Catholic presence there remains strong as evidenced by a large presence of Catholic institutions and personnel.]
With an unusually high number of adult baptisms, the Church is growing faster in Africa than anywhere else even though the continent is a center of strife between Islam and Christianity and suffers the world's highest rate of AIDS.[Froehle, Global Catholicism (2003), pp. 127–8 ]
The Church in Asia is a significant minority among other religions yet its vibrance is evidenced by the large proportion of women religious, priests and parishes to total Catholic population.[Froehle, Global Catholicism (2003), pp. 128–9 ]
Oceania is overwhelmingly Christian with Catholic the majority denomination. There, the Church faces challenges in reaching indigenous populations where over 715 different languages are spoken.[ Of the 1.5 billion worldwide Catholics, 12% reside in Africa, 50% in the American continent, 10% are in Asia, 27% in Europe and 1% live in Oceania.][Froehle, Global Catholicism (2003), p. 10 ]
Cultural influence
The cultural influence of the Catholic Church has been vast, particularly upon western society. Many historians credit the Catholic Church for the brilliance and magnificence of Western art, citing the Church's consistent opposition to Byzantine iconoclasm, the development of Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance art and the patronage of the Church for the great works of artists such as Giotto, Michelangelo, Raphael, Bernini and Leonardo da Vinci. Catholic monks developed the first forms of musical notation, and consequently an enormous body of religious music has been composed for the Catholic Church through the ages. This led directly to the emergence and development of the European tradition of classical music, and all its derivatives.
The church has been responsible for the development of several major orders of architecture. Early medieval Romanesque architecture combined massive walls, rounded arches and ceilings of masonry. To compensate for the absence of large windows, interiors were brightly painted with scenes from the Bible and the lives of the saints. Gothic architecture with its large windows and high, pointed arches, improved lighting and geometric harmony in a manner that was intended to direct the worshiper's mind to God who "orders all things".[Woods, How the Church Built Western Civilization (2005), p. 122] The Baroque style in art, music and architecture developed as a means of religious expression that was stirring and emotional, intended to stimulate religious fervor.
Historians of science, including non-Catholics such as J.L. Heilbron,
Roman Empire
The Catholic Church believes it came fully into being on the day of Pentecost when, according to scriptural accounts, the apostles emerged from hiding following the death of Jesus to preach and spread his message.[Vidmar, The Catholic Church Through the Ages (2005), pp. 19–20][Schreck, The Essential Catholic Catechism (1999), p. 130] According to church tradition, the apostles traveled to northern Africa, Asia Minor, Arabia, Greece, and Rome to found the first Christian communities.[ Historians believe that over 40 such communities were established by the year 100.][ Hitchcock, Geography of Religion (2004), p. 281, quote: "By the year 100, more than 40 Christian communities existed in cities around the Mediterranean, including two in North Africa, at Alexandria and Cyrene, and several in Italy."][Bokenkotter, A Concise History of the Catholic Church (2004), p. 18, quote: "The story of how this tiny community of believers spread to many cities of the Roman Empire within less than a century is indeed a remarkable chapter in the history of humanity."] From the first century, the Church of Rome was recognized as a doctrinal authority because it was believed that the Apostles Peter and Paul had led the Church there.[Vidmar, The Catholic Church Through the Ages (2005), pp. 40–2, quote: "Several pieces of evidence indicate that the Bishop of Rome even after Peter held some sort of preeminence among other bishops. ... (lists several historical documents) ... None of these examples, taken by themselves, would be sufficient to prove the primacy of the successors of Peter and Paul. Taken together, however, they point to a Roman authority which was recognized in the early church as going beyond that of other churches."][McManners, Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity (2002), p. 36, Chapter 1 The Early Christian Community subsection entitled "Rome" by Henry Chadwick, quote: "Towards the latter part of the first century, Rome's presiding cleric named Clement wrote on behalf of his church to remonstrate with the Corinthian Christians ... Clement apologized not for intervening but for not having acted sooner. Moreover, during the second century the Roman community's leadership was evident in its generous alms to poorer churches. About 165 they erected monuments to their martyred apostles ... Roman bishops were already conscious of being custodians of the authentic tradition or true interpretation of the apostolic writings. In the conflict with Gnosticism Rome played a decisive role, and likewise in the deep division in Asia Minor created by the claims of the Montanist prophets to be the organs of the Holy Spirit's direct utterances."]
The apostles had already convened the first Church council, the Council of Jerusalem, in or around the year 50 to reconcile differences concerning the Gentile mission.[McManners, Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity (2002), p. 37, Chapter 1 The Early Christian Community subsection entitled "Rome" by Henry Chadwick, quote: "In Acts 15 scripture recorded the apostles meeting in synod to reach a common policy about the Gentile mission."] Although competing forms of Christianity emerged early and persisted into the fifth century, the Roman Church retained the practice of meeting in ecumenical councils to ensure that any internal doctrinal differences were quickly resolved.[McManners, Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity (2002), pp. 37–8, Chapter 1 The Early Christian Community subsection entitled "Rome" by Henry Chadwick, quote: "The 'synod' or, in Latin, 'council' (the modern distinction making a synod something less than a council was unknown in antiquity) became an indispensable way of keeping a common mind, and helped to keep maverick individuals from centrifugal tendencies. During the third century synodal government became so developed that synods used to meet not merely at times of crisis but on a regular basis every year, normally between Easter and Pentecost."] In the first few centuries of its existence, the Church formed its teachings and traditions into a systematic whole under the influence of theological apologists such as Pope Clement I, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr and Augustine of Hippo.[Norman, The Roman Catholic Church an Illustrated History (2007), pp. 27–8, quote: "A distinguished succession of theological apologists added intellectual authority to the resources at the disposal of the papacy, at just that point in its early development when the absence of a centralized teaching office could have fractured the universal witness to a single body of ideas. At the end of the first century there was St. Clement of Rome, third successor to St. Peter in the see; in the second century there was St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Irenaeus of Lyons and St. Justin Martyr; in the fourth century St. Augustine of Hippo, the greatest theologian of the Early Church."]
Because early Christians refused to offer sacrifices to the Roman gods or to defer to Roman rulers as gods, they were frequently subject to persecution.[ Hitchcock, Geography of Religion (2004), p. 282 ]
Beginning under Nero in the first century, peresecution, at first intermittent, became more extensive by the mid-third century, culminating in the great persecution of Diocletian and Galerius, which was seen as a final attempt to wipe out Christianity.[Collins, The Story of Christianity (1999), pp. 53–5] In spite of these persecutions Christianity continued to spread. The Edict of Milan of the Emperor Constantine I finally legalized Christianity in 313.
In 325, the First Council of Nicaea was convened in response to the Arian challenge concerning the trinitarian nature of God. The council formulated the Nicene Creed as a basic statement of Christian belief.[ Hitchcock, Geography of Religion (2004), p. 283 ] Emperor Constantine I commissioned the first Basilica of St. Peter and several other sites of lasting importance to Christianity.[Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), p. 18] The observation of Sunday as the official day of worship, the use of the altar as the focal point of each church, the sign of the cross, and the liturgical calendar had been established by this time.[Hitchcock, Geography of Religion (2004), p. 284] By 380, Christianity had become the official religion of the Empire.[ Hitchcock, Geography of Religion (2004), p. 286]
In subsequent decades a series of ecumenical christological councils codified critical elements of the Church's theology. The Council of Rome in 382 set the Biblical canon, listing the accepted books of the Old and New Testament, and in 391 the Vulgate Latin translation of the Bible was made.[Collins, The Story of Christianity (1999), pp. 61–2] The Councils of Ephesus in 431, and Chalcedon two decades later, clarified the nature of Jesus' incarnation.[Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), p. 35][Bokenkotter, A Concise History of the Catholic Church (2004), pp. 84–93] These definitions sparked Monophysite disagreements which led to the first of the Oriental Orthodox Churches breaking away from the Catholic Church.[McManners, Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity (2002), p. 142, Chapter 4 Eastern Christendom by Kallistos Ware ]
Early Middle Ages
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, the Catholic faith competed with Arian Christianity for the conversion of the barbarian tribes.[Le Goff, Medieval Civilization (1964), pp. 5–20] The 496 conversion of Clovis I, pagan king of the Franks, marked the beginning of a steady rise of the Catholic faith in the West.[Le Goff, Medieval Civilization (1964), p. 21]
In 530, Saint Benedict wrote his monastic Rule, which became a blueprint for the organization of monasteries throughout Europe.[Woods, How the Church Built Western Civilization (2005), p. 27] The new monasteries preserved classical craft and artistic skills while maintaining intellectual culture within their schools, scriptoria and libraries. As well as providing a focus for spiritual life, they functioned as agricultural, economic and production centers, particularly in remote regions, becoming major conduits of civilization.[Le Goff, Medieval Civilization (1964), p. 120] From 590 Pope Gregory the Great dramatically reformed church practice and administration, launching renewed missionary efforts.[Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), pp. 50–2] As the Visigoths and Lombards moved from Arianism toward Catholicism,[ missionaries such as Augustine of Canterbury, Saint Boniface, Willibrord and Ansgar took Catholic Christianity to the Germanic, Irish and Slavic peoples of northern Europe. Later missions reached the Vikings and other Scandinavians.][Collins, The Story of Christianity (1999), pp. 84–6]
In the early 700s, iconoclasm became a major source of conflict between the Eastern and Western churches. Under the direction of the Byzantine emperors, iconoclasts ordered the destruction of all religious images. Iconodules supported by the pope and the Western Church strongly opposed this.[Vidmar, The Catholic Church Through the Ages (2005), pp. 102–3][Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), p. 63, quote: "Leo's edict was the product of profound social panic, several generations of theological reflection by bishops and theologians, and the cumulative impact of controversy about the person and natures of Christ. Whatever the causes however, the Emperor's attack on images, and the resulting wave of image-breaking or 'iconoclasm', fell like a thunderbolt in the West. ... and Pope Gregory II saw in it yet another example of the empire espousing heresy. Indignantly, he rejected Leo's decree, and warned him that as a layman he had no right to interfere in theological matters. The Emperor ordered the new Exarch to depose the Pope, provoking a series of uprisings ... Gregory did what he could to prevent this feeling escalating into revolution, urging loyalty to the imperial ideal, but the Iconoclastic crisis deepened under his successor Gregory III (731–41)."] The dispute was resolved in 787 when the Second Council of Nicaea ruled in favor of icons.[Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), pp. 63, 74] In 800, continuing disagreements with the east culminated when the pope crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor in the west. Charlemagne attempted to unify Western Europe through the common bond of Christianity, creating an improved system of education and establishing unified laws. However imperial interest created a problem for the church as succeeding emperors sought to impose increasingly tight control over the popes.[Vidmar, The Catholic Church Through the Ages (2005), pp. 107–11][Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), p. 78, quote: "By contrast, Paschal's successor Eugenius II (824–7), elected with imperial influence, gave away most of these papal gains. He acknowledged the Emperor's sovereignty in the papal state, and he accepted a constitution imposed by Lothair which established imperial supervision of the administration of Rome, imposed an oath to the Emperor on all citizens, and required the Pope–elect to swear fealty before he could be consecrated. Under Sergius II (844–7) it was even agreed that the Pope could not be consecrated without an imperial mandate, and that the ceremony must be in the presence of his representative, a revival of some of the more galling restrictions of Byzantine rule."] Disagreements between the Eastern and Western churches arose again in 858, when Patriarch Ignatius of Constantinople, favored by the pope, was deposed for the more extreme Photios.[Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), p. 82] The pope declared the election of Photios invalid and excommunicated him. The consequent long-running dispute added to the growing alienation between the churches.[Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), pp. 81–2, quote: "Relations between Rome and Constantinople had been poor for generations, and since the creation of the Carolingian empire and the Iconoclastic controversy what little contact there was between the Latin and Greek Churches was charged with mutual suspicion. The Photius affair crystallised that hostility."]
After a particularly acrimonious dispute over whether Constantinople or Rome held jurisdiction over the church in Sicily, the two Churches mutually excommunicated each other in 1054, resulting in the East-West Schism.[ The Western (Latin) branch of Christianity has since become known as the Catholic Church, while the Eastern (Greek) branch became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church.][Collins, The Story of Christianity (1999), p. 103][Vidmar, The Catholic Church Through the Ages (2005), p. 104] The Second Council of Lyon (1274) and the Council of Florence (1439) both failed to heal the schism.[Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), pp. 119, 131] Some Eastern churches have subsequently reunited with the Catholic Church.[Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), p. 278]
High Middle Ages
The Cluniac reform of monasteries that had begun in 910 sparked a great monastic renewal.[Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), pp. 88–9] Monasteries introduced new crops, developed technologies such as metallurgy, and fostered the creation and preservation of literature. They could also function as credit establishments promoting economic growth. Monasteries, convents and cathedrals still operated virtually all schools and libraries.[Woods, How the Church Built Western Civilization (2005), pp. 40–4][Le Goff, Medieval Civilization (1964), pp. 80–2] After 1100, some cathedral schools split into lower, grammar, schools and higher schools for advanced learning. First in Bologna, then at Paris and Oxford, some of these higher schools developed into universities, the direct ancestors of the modern Western institutions.[Woods, How the Church Built Western Civilization (2005), pp. 44–8] Notable theologians such as Thomas Aquinas worked to explain the connection between human experience and faith.[ His Summa Theologica was a key intellectual achievement in its synthesis of Aristotelian thought and Christianity.][Bokenkotter, A Concise History of the Catholic Church (2004), pp. 158–9]
In 1095, Byzantine emperor Alexius I appealed to Pope Urban II for help in warding off a Turkish invasion.[Riley-Smith, The First Crusaders (1997), p. 8] Urban launched a military campaign known as the First Crusade, believing that it might help to bring about reconciliation with Eastern Christianity.[Vidmar, The Catholic Church Through the Ages (2005), pp. 130–1][Bokenkotter, A Concise History of the Catholic Church (2004), p. 140 quote: "And so when Urban called for a crusade at Clermont in 1095, one of his motives was to bring help to the beleaguered Eastern Christians."] Fueled by reports of Muslim atrocities against Christians,[Bokenkotter, A Concise History of the Catholic Church (2004), p. 155 quote: "Stories were also circulating about the harsh treatment of Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem at the hands of the infidel, inflaming Western opinion."] the series of military campaigns that followed were intended to return the Holy Land to Christian control. The goal was not permanently realized, and episodes of brutality committed by the armies of both sides left a legacy of mutual distrust between Muslims and Western and Eastern Christians.[Le Goff, Medieval Civilization (1964), pp. 65–7] The sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade left Eastern Christians embittered, despite the fact that Pope Innocent III had expressly forbidden any such attack.[Tyerman, God's War: A New History of the Crusades (2006), pp. 525–60] In 2001, Pope John Paul II apologized to the Orthodox Christians for the sins of Catholics including the sacking of Constantinople in 1204.
Cistercian monk Bernard of Clairvaux exerted great influence over the eight new monastic orders founded in the 12th century, including the Military Knights of the Crusades.[Norman, The Roman Catholic Church (2007), p. 62] His influence led Pope Alexander III to begin reforms that would lead to the establishment of canon law.[Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), p. 101] In the following century, new mendicant orders were founded by Francis of Assisi and Dominic de Guzmán which brought consecrated religious life into urban settings.[Le Goff, Medieval Civilization (1964), p. 87]
In the 12th century, members of the Dominican order attempted to convert the Cathars, a powerful heretical movement centered in southern France. Cathars held a dualistic belief in extreme asceticism, taught that all matter was evil, accepted suicide and denied the value of Church sacraments. After a papal legate was murdered by them in 1208, Pope Innocent III declared the Albigensian Crusade.[Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), p. 112] Concern that matters had grown so out of hand prompted Innocent III to informally institute the first papal inquisition to to bring people considered heretics to trial.[Vidmar, The Catholic Church Through the Ages (2005), pp. 144–7, quote: "The Albigensian Crusade, as it became known, lasted until 1219. The pope, Innocent III, was a lawyer and saw both how easily the crusade had gotten out of hand and how it could be mitigated. He encouraged local rulers to adopt anti-heretic legislation and bring people to trial. By 1231 a papal inquisition began, and the friars were given charge of investigating tribunals."][Bokenkotter, A Concise History of the Catholic Church (2004), p. 132, quote: "A crusade was proclaimed against these Albigenses, as they were sometimes called ... It was in connection with this crusade that the papal system of Inquisition originated-a special tribunal appointed by the Popes and charged with ferreting out heretics. Until then the responsibility devolved on the local bishops. However, Innocent found it necessary in coping with the Albigensian threat to send out delegates who were entrusted with special powers that made them independent of the episcopal authority. In 1233 Gregory IX organized this ad hoc body into a system of permanent inquisitors, who were usually chosen from among the mendicant friars, Dominicans and Franciscans, men who were often marked by a high degree of courage, integrity, prudence, and zeal."] Formalized under Gregory IX, this Medieval inquisition executed an average of three people per year for heresy at its height.[ Over time, other inquisitions were launched by the Church or secular rulers to prosecute heretics, to respond to the threat of Moorish invasion or for political purposes.][ Accused persons were encouraged to recant their heresy and those who did not could be punished by penance, fines, imprisonment, torture, and for repeated offences, execution by burning.][Casey, Early Modern Spain: A Social History (2002), pp. 229–30][Black, Early Modern Italy (2001), pp. 200–2] King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella formed an inquisition in 1480, originally to deal with distrusted ex-Jewish and ex-Muslim converts.[Kamen, The Spanish Inquisition (1997), pp. 48–9] Over a 350-year period, this Spanish Inquisition executed between 3,000 and 4,000 people,[Vidmar, The Catholic Church Through the Ages (2005), pp. 150–2] representing around two percent of those accused.[Kamen, The Spanish Inquisition (1997), pp. 59, 203] In 1482, Pope Sixtus IV condemned its excesses but Ferdinand ignored his protests.[Kamen, The Spanish Inquisition (1997), p. 49, quote: "In this bull the pope protested ... the Inquisition has for some time been moved not by zeal for the faith and the salvation of souls, but by lust for wealth, and that many true and faithful Christians, on the testimony of enemies, rivals, slaves and other lower and even less proper persons, have without any legitimate proof been thrust into secular prisons, tortured and condemned as relapsed heretics, deprived of their goods and property and handed over to the secular arm to be executed, to the peril of souls, setting a pernicious example, and causing disgust to many."] Despite their severities many historians consider that for centuries popular literature and Protestant propaganda have exaggerated the horrors of these inquisitions.[Armstrong, The European Reformation (2002), p. 103, quote: "Contrary to subsequent Protestant propaganda the procedure followed by the (Papal) Inquisition was careful and respectful with regard to legal rights. Clear proof was required, along with two witnesses, and rarely was torture used to extract confessions. Anonymous denunciations were illegal, while a defence lawyer was guaranteed for the suspect. Punishments were generally lenient and designed to bring the guilty party back into the fold. The public abjuration of protestantism before a congregation might suffice, for example."][McManners, Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity (1990), p. 215, Chapter 5 Christianity and Islam by Jeremy Johns (University of Oxford), quote: "The inquisition has come to occupy such a role in European demonology that we must be careful to keep it in proportion. ... and the surviving records indicate that the proportion of executions was not high."][Vidmar, The Catholic Church Through the Ages (2005), p. 146, quote: "The extent of the Inquisition trials for heresy has been highly exaggerated. Once the Inquisition was established ... the pyromania which had characterized lay attempts to suppress heresy came to an end. Ninety percent of the sentences were "canonical" or church-related penances: fasting, pilgrimage, increased attendance at Mass, the wearing of distinctive clothing or badges, etc. The number of those who were put to death was very small indeed. The best estimate is that, of every hundred people sentenced, one person was executed, and ten were given prison terms. Even these latter could have their sentences reduced once the inquisitors left town."][Norman, The Roman Catholic Church an Illustrated History (2007), p. 93, quote: "... subsequent Protestant propaganda for centuries identified the entire Catholic Church in Spain, and elsewhere, with their occasional excesses. By the 19th century political liberals and religious dissenters took the 'crimes' of the Inquisition to be the ultimate proofs of the vile character of 'popery', and an enormous popular literature on the subject poured from the presses of Europe and North America. At its most active, in the 16th century, nevertheless, the Inquisition was regarded as far more enlightened than the secular courts: if you denied the Trinity and repented you were given penance; if you stole a sheep and repented you were hung. It has been calculated that only one per cent of those who appeared before the Inquisition tribunals eventually received death penalties. But the damage wrought by propaganda has been effective, and today the 'Spanish' Inquisition, like the Crusades, persists in supplying supposedly discreditable episodes to damn the memory of the Catholic past."] Over all, one percent of those tried by the inquisitions received death penalties, leading many scholars to consider them rather lenient when compared to the secular courts of the period.
A growing sense of church-state conflicts marked the 14th century. Clement V in 1309 became the first of seven popes to reside under French influence in the fortified city of Avignon.[Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), p. 122] What became known as the Avignon Papacy ended in 1378 when, at the urging of Catherine of Siena and others, the papacy finally returned to Rome.[McManners, Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity (1990), p. 232, Chapter 6 Christian Civilization by Colin Morris (University of Southampton)][Vidmar, The Catholic Church Through the Ages (2005), p. 155] With the death of Pope Gregory XI later that year, the papal election was strongly disputed. Supporters of Italian and French-backed candidates were unable to come to agreement, resulting in the Western schism in which for 38 years, separate claimants to the papal throne sat in Rome and Avignon. Efforts at resolution further complicated the issue when a third, compromise, pope was elected in 1409.[McManners, Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity (1990), p. 240, Chapter 7 The Late Medieval Church and its Reformation by Patrick Collinson (University of Cambridge)] The matter was finally resolved in 1417 at the Council of Constance where the cardinals called upon all three claimants to the papal throne to resign, and held a new election naming Martin V pope.
Late Medieval and Renaissance
In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, European explorers and missionaries spread Catholicism to the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Pope Alexander VI, had awarded colonial rights over most of the newly discovered lands to Spain and Portugal.[Koschorke, A History of Christianity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America (2007), pp. 13, 283] Under the patronato system, however, state authorities, not the Vatican, controlled all clerical appointments.[Dussel, Enrique, A History of the Church in Latin America, Wm B Eerdmans Publishing, 1981, pp. 39, 59] In December 1511, Antonio de Montesinos, a Dominican friar, openly rebuked the Spanish rulers of Hispaniola for their mistreatment of the American natives, telling them "... you are in mortal sin ... for the cruelty and tyranny you use in dealing with these innocent people".[Woods, How the Church Built Western Civilization (2005), p. 135][Johansen, Bruce, The Native Peoples of North America, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, 2006, pp. 109, 110, quote: "In the Americas, the Catholic priest Bartolome de las Casas avidly encouraged enquiries into the Spanish conquest's many cruelties. Las Casas chronicled Spanish brutality against the Native peoples in excruciating detail."][Koschorke, A History of Christianity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America (2007), p. 287] King Ferdinand enacted the Laws of Burgos and Valladolid in response. However enforcement was lax, and while some blame the Church for not doing enough to liberate the Indians, others point to the Church as the only voice raised on behalf of indigenous peoples.[Dussel, Enrique, A History of the Church in Latin America, Wm B Eerdmans Publishing, 1981, pp. 45, 52, 53 quote: "The missionary Church opposed this state of affairs from the beginning, and nearly everything positive that was done for the benefit of the indigenous peoples resulted from the call and clamor of the missionaries. The fact remained, however, that widespread injustice was extremely difficult to uproot ... Even more important than Bartolome de Las Casas was the Bishop of Nicaragua, Antonio de Valdeviso, who ultimately suffered martyrdom for his defense of the Indian."] The issue resulted in a crisis of conscience in 16th-century Spain.[Johansen, Bruce, The Native Peoples of North America, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, 2006, pp. 109, 110, quote: In large part because of Las Casas's work, a movement arose in Spain for more humane treatment of indigenous peoples.][ The reaction of Catholic theologians, such as Bartolome de Las Casas and Francisco de Vitoria, led to debate on the nature of human rights][ and the birth of modern international law.][Woods, How the Church Built Western Civilization (2005), p. 137][Chadwick, Owen, The Reformation, Penguin, 1990, p. 327]
In 1521 Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan made the first Catholic converts in the Philippines.[Koschorke, A History of Christianity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America (2007), p. 21] The following year, the first Franciscan missionaries arrived in Mexico, establishing schools, model farms and hospitals. When some Europeans questioned whether the Indians were truly human and worthy of baptism, Pope Paul III in the 1537 bull Sublimis Deus confirmed that "the souls of the Indians were as immortal as those of Europeans".[Johansen, Bruce, The Native Peoples of North America, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, 2006, p. 110, quote: "In the Papal bull Sublimis deus (1537), Pope Paul III declared that Indians were to be regarded as fully human, and that their souls were as immortal as those of Europeans. This edict also outlawed slavery of Indians in any form ..."][Koschorke, A History of Christianity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America (2007), p. 290] Over the next 150 years, missions expanded into southwestern North America.[Jackson, From Savages to Subjects: Missions in the History of the American Southwest (2000), p. 14] Native people were often legally defined as children, and priests took on a paternalistic role, sometimes enforced with corporal punishment.[Jackson, From Savages to Subjects: Missions in the History of the American Southwest (2000), p. 13] Elsewhere, Portuguese missionaries under the Spanish Jesuit Francis Xavier evangelized in India and Japan.[Koschorke, A History of Christianity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America (2007), pp. 3, 17] By the end of the 16th century tens of thousands of Japanese followed Roman Catholicism. Church growth came to a halt in 1597 under the Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu who, in an effort to isolate the country from foreign influences, launched a severe persecution of Christians.[Koschorke, A History of Christianity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America (2007), pp. 31–2] Despite enforced isolation, a minority Christian population survived into the 19th century.[McManners, Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity (1990), p. 318, Chapter 9 The Expansion of Christianity by John McManners]
In Europe, the Renaissance marked a period of renewed interest in ancient and classical learning. It also brought a re-examination of accepted beliefs. Cathedrals and churches had long served as picture books and art galleries for millions of the uneducated. The stained glass windows, frescoes, statues and paintings retold the stories of the saints and of biblical characters. The Church sponsored great Renaissance artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.[Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), p. 133] In 1509, however, the most famous scholar of the age, Erasmus, wrote The Praise of Folly, a work which captured a widely held unease about corruption in the Church.[Norman, The Roman Catholic Church an Illustrated History (2007), p. 86] In this period, powerful and worldly men like Roderigo Borgia, (Pope Alexander VI) had been able to win election to the papacy.[Bokenkotter, A Concise History of the Catholic Church (2004), pp. 201–5][Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), p. 149] Simony, nepotism, clerical wealth and hypocrisy all contributed to a general feeling among educated people that reform of some sort was necessary.[ In 1517, Martin Luther included his Ninety-Five Theses in a letter to several bishops.][Vidmar, The Catholic Church Through the Ages (2005), p. 184][Bokenkotter, A Concise History of the Catholic Church (2004), p. 215] His theses protested key points of Catholic doctrine as well as the sale of indulgences.[ Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin, and others further criticized Catholic teachings. These challenges developed into the Protestant Reformation.][Vidmar, The Catholic Church Through the Ages (2005), pp. 196–200][Bokenkotter, A Concise History of the Catholic Church (2004), pp. 223–4] In Germany, the reformation led to a nine-year war between the Protestant Schmalkaldic League and the Catholic Emperor Charles V. In 1618 a far graver conflict, the Thirty Years' War, followed.[ In France, a series of conflicts termed the French Wars of Religion were fought from 1562 to 1598 between the Huguenots and the forces of the French Catholic League. King Henry IV's 1598 Edict of Nantes, which granted civil and religious toleration to Protestants was hesitantly accepted by Pope Clement VIII.][Vidmar, The Catholic Church Through the Ages (2005), p. 233][Duffy, Saints and Sinners (1997), pp. 177–8]
The English Reformation was occasioned by Henry VIII's desire for annulment of his marriage with Catherine of Aragon. The Acts of Supremacy made the English monarch head of the Church of England. Beginning in 1536, some 825 monasteries throughout England, Wales and Ireland were dissolved and Catholic churches were confiscated.[Schama, A History of Britain 1: At the Edge of the World? (2003), pp. 309–11][Vidmar, The Catholic Church Through the Ages (2005), p. 220, quote: "Henry, seeing how far Cranmer had tried to take him in making the land Lutheran or Calvinist, pulled the plug in September 1538 and passed the Six Articles, which tried to restore the ancient faith, including the practice of celibacy for the clergy. By 1543 most of the Reformation legislation was reversed. One man, John Lambert, was made an example in November 1538. He was burned by being dragged in and out of the fire for holding the very same beliefs about the Eucharist that Cranmer held. Cranmer was made to watch the whole brutal event. He also had to send his wife back to Germany."] Henry VIII executed those like Thomas More who opposed him, but reaffirmed Catholic doctrines such as transubstantiation and the celibacy of the clergy in the Six Articles of 1539.[Bokenkotter, A Concise History of the Catholic Church (2004), p. 236 quote: "While no longer the powerful spiritual force and centers of learning they were in the early Middle Ages, the monasteries were an important part of traditional church life and their destruction was an important factor in the gradual triumph of reformation ideas in England. The spread of these ideas occurred in spite of Henry, who though defiant of the Pope remained deeply devoted to traditional Catholicism and was determined to maintain its substance. It is true that under the pressure of political necessity Henry allowed the publication of the ambiguous Ten Articles (1536) and he also approved of the Act that set up the English Bible in all the churches. But his Six Articles (1539) reaffirmed Catholic doctrine and imposed savage penalties for denial of transubstantiation, private Masses, private confession, or the need for clerical celibacy."][Haigh, The English Reformation Revised (1987), p. 10, quote: "The dominance of the evangelicals was broken in the coups of 1539–40, when Henry's distaste for radical religion and for Anne of Cleves allowed conservatives to reverse religious policy and overthrow Cromwell."] This affirmation did not extend to papal authority or the dissolution of monasteries, and when he died in 1547 all monasteries, convents and shrines were gone.[Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity, Volume 2 (1985), p. 75, quote: "In England, he took steps to make the church conform as much as possible to Roman Catholicism, except in the matter of obedience to the pope. He also refused to restore monasteries, which he had suppressed and confiscated under the pretense of reformation, and whose properties he had no intention of returning."] Mary I of England reunited the Church of England with Rome and, against much advice, persecuted Protestants.[Vidmar, The Catholic Church Through the Ages (2005), pp. 225] | |
