Catolicismo De Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre El catolicismo (del griego καθολικός 'universal, que comprende todo') es la rama del cristianismo con mayor número de fieles, seguido por el protestantismo. Se dividió en cismas respectivos, los principales: la Iglesia Romana, la Iglesia Ortodoxa y la Iglesia Anglicana. Existen varias denominaciones cristianas que se declaran católicas. La más numerosa es la Iglesia Católica Romana, que abarca el conjunto de iglesias que se declaran en comunión con la autoridad del obispo de Roma, el Papa. Existen, además, denominaciones católicas independientes de Roma, como es la Iglesia Ortodoxa, que depende de los distintos Patriarcados, habiendo uno que es primus inter pares entre los patriarcas, el Patriarca de Constantinopla. El caso de la Iglesia Anglicana, que se forma por el cisma de la reforma (incluso mucho más tarde), mantuvo por mucho tiempo el mismo dogma y doctrina de la iglesia romana, pero hoy tiene diferencias, producto de la evolución de cada una. La Comunión Anglicana abarca a todas las iglesias que siguen dicha comunión, y que se sienten en directa relación con el Arzobispo de Canterbury, que es la cabeza de la iglesia por concesión del Monarca británico. Una denominación cristiana se declara católica cuando su credo coincide en lo esencial con la doctrina católica. Esta coincidencia puede ser menor o incluso muy diferente en otros ámbitos como la aceptación de concilios históricos, la liturgia o la eclesiología.
Iglesia Católica Apostólica Romana  Porcentaje de la población católica La Iglesia Católica Apostólica Romana se extiende principalmente en países de Europa del sur-oeste, Europa central y de América Latina y en Filipinas. Es la iglesia cristiana con mayor extensión y de la cual se derivan otras iglesias autodenominadas católicas, su centro actual es el Vaticano, en Roma (Italia), donde reside el Papa, quien es considerado por los católicos romanos como cabeza del Colegio de los Obispos, en tanto que sucesor de San Pedro, Vicario de Cristo y Pastor de la Iglesia. La sede papal residió en Aviñón, Francia, en un breve período de tiempo de la Baja Edad Media.
Dogmas católicos Los dogmas católicos son las creencias esenciales que identifican y definen el credo católico frente a otras confesiones cristianas, si bien algunas de estas creencias son comunes a otras denominaciones cristianas (e.g. Encarnación, Trinidad). Para un católico el dogma es una verdad revelada por Dios y propuesta por la Iglesia, para la creencia de los fieles. Los dogmas católicos se basan en la Biblia y en la Tradición Apostólica. Así como los hebreos tenían su tradición (que fue la base de gran parte de los libros del Antiguo Testamento), así los católicos tienen la tradición apostólica transmitida de generación en generación de forma escrita y oral. Algunos dogmas esenciales son: - Trinidad de Dios (hay tres personas divinas, que son el Padre, el Hijo y el Espíritu Santo)
- Eucaristía (pan y vino transformados en el Cuerpo y la Sangre de Cristo)
- Inmaculada Concepción (la Virgen concebida sin pecado original)
- Maternidad Divina (la Virgen es la madre de Dios)
- Virginidad Perpetua (María siempre Virgen)
- Asunción de la Virgen (María es asunta llena de gloria a los cielos y es coronada como "Reina y Madre de todo lo creado")
Sacramentos | | Existen desacuerdos sobre la neutralidad en el punto de vista de la versión actual de este artículo o sección.
En la página de discusión puedes consultar el debate al respecto. | Los católicos reconocen siete sacramentos, los cuales según su doctrina fueron instituidos por el mismo Jesucristo:
Sacramentos de iniciación cristiana
Nominalmente, la palabra bautizar significa "sumergir", "introducir dentro del agua"; la inmersión en el agua simboliza el acto de sepultar al catecúmeno en la muerte de Cristo de donde sale por la resurrección con El (cfr. Rm. 6, 3-4; Col 2, 12) como nueva criatura (2 Co. 5, 17; Ga. 6, 15) (Catecismo, n. 1214). Entre los sacramentos, ocupa el primer lugar porque es el fundamento de toda la vida cristiana, el pórtico de la vida en el espíritu y la puerta que abre el acceso a los otros sacramentos. Según el catecismo (n. 1213), por el Bautismo los cristianos son liberados del pecado y regenerados como hijos de Dios, llegan a ser miembros de Cristo y son incorporados a la Iglesia y hechos partícipes de su misión. - San Pablo lo denomina baño de regeneración y renovación del Espíritu Santo (Tit. 3, 5);
- San León Magno compara la regeneración del bautismo con el seno virginal de María;
- Santo Tomás, asemejando la vida espiritual con la vida corporal, ve en el bautismo el nacimiento a la vida sobrenatural.
La Sagrada Eucaristía culmina la iniciación cristiana. Los que han sido elevados a la dignidad del sacerdocio real por el Bautismo y configurados más profundamente con Cristo por la Confirmación, participan por medio de la Eucaristía con toda la comunidad en el sacrificio mismo del Señor. [1] Cabe mencionar que para el catolicismo romano la Eucaristía no representa un símbolo sino que es Jesucristo mismo con su cuerpo, sangre, alma y divinidad presentes en la Eucaristía, debido a esto es llamado El Santísimo Sacramento.
Con el Bautismo y la Eucaristía, el sacramento de la Confirmación constituye el conjunto de los "sacramentos de la iniciación cristiana", cuya unidad debe ser salvaguardada. Es preciso, pues, explicar a los fieles que la recepción de este sacramento es necesaria para la plenitud de la gracia bautismal (cf OCf, Praenotanda 1). En efecto, a los bautizados "el sacramento de la confirmación los une más íntimamente a la Iglesia y los enriquece con una fortaleza especial del Espíritu Santo. De esta forma se comprometen mucho más, como auténticos testigos de Cristo, a extender y defender la fe con sus palabras y sus obras" (LG 11; cf OCf, Praenotanda 2) [2]
Sacramentos de curación
De acuerdo con el catecismo de la Iglesia católica: - Se le denomina sacramento de conversión porque realiza sacramentalmente la llamada de Jesús a la conversión (cf Mc 1,15), la vuelta al Padre (cf Lc 15,18) del que el hombre se había alejado por el pecado.
- Se denomina sacramento de la Penitencia porque consagra un proceso personal y eclesial de conversión, de arrepentimiento y de reparación por parte del cristiano pecador.
- Es llamado sacramento de la confesión porque la declaración o manifestación, la confesión de los pecados ante el sacerdote, es un elemento esencial de este sacramento. En un sentido profundo este sacramento es también una "confesión", reconocimiento y alabanza de la santidad de Dios y de su misericordia para con el hombre pecador.
- Se le llama sacramento del perdón porque, por la absolución sacramental del sacerdote, Dios concede al penitente "el perdón y la paz" (OP, fórmula de la absolución).
- Se le denomina sacramento de reconciliación porque otorga al pecador el amor de Dios que reconcilia: "Dejaos reconciliar con Dios" (2 Co 5,20). El que vive del amor misericordioso de Dios está pronto a responder a la llamada del Señor: "Ve primero a reconciliarte con tu hermano" (Mt 5,24). [3]
Con la sagrada unción de los enfermos y con la oración de los presbíteros, toda la Iglesia entera encomienda a los enfermos al Señor sufriente y glorificado para que los alivie y los salve. Incluso los anima a unirse libremente a la pasión y muerte de Cristo; y contribuir, así, al bien del Pueblo de Dios" (LG 11). [4]
Sacramentos de servicio a la comunidad
"La alianza matrimonial, por la que el varón y la mujer constituyen entre sí un consorcio de toda la vida, ordenado por su misma índole natural al bien de los cónyuges y a la generación y educación de la prole, fue elevada por Cristo Nuestro Señor a la dignidad de sacramento entre bautizados" (⇒ CIC, can. 1055,1) [5]
El Orden es el sacramento gracias al cual la misión confiada por Cristo a sus Apóstoles sigue siendo ejercida en la Iglesia hasta el fin de los tiempos: es, pues, el sacramento del ministerio apostólico. Comprende tres grados: el episcopado, el presbiterado y el diaconado. [6]
Conceptos
Los mandamientos de Dios Los diez mandamientos: según el Catecismo de la Iglesia Católica, adaptados de los libros de Éxodo (20, 2-17) y Deuteronomio (5, 6-21), son los siguientes: - Amar y adorar a Dios sobre todas las cosas.
- Respetar el Nombre del Señor.
- Guardar el Día del Señor.
- Honrar al padre y madre.
- No matar.
- No cometer acciones impuras.
- No robar.
- No levantar falso testimonio ni mentir.
- No consentir en pensamientos impuros.
- No codiciar bienes ajenos.
Todos éstos se resumen en uno solo: Amarás a Dios sobre todas las cosas y a tu prójimo como a ti mismo.
Los cinco preceptos de la Iglesia[1] - celebrar la eucaristia entera todos los domingos y fiestas de guardar.
- Confesar los pecados mortales al menos una vez al año, y en peligro de muerte, y si se ha de comulgar.
- Comulgar al menos por Pascua de Resurrección.
- Ayunar y abstenerse de comer carne cuando lo manda la Santa Madre Iglesia.
- Ayudar a la Iglesia en sus necesidades.
- Bienaventurados los pobres de espíritu, porque de ellos es el Reino de los cielos
- Bienaventurados los mansos, porque ellos poseerán la tierra
- Bienaventurados los que lloran, porque ellos serán consolados
- Bienaventurados los que tienen hambre y sed de justicia, porque ellos serán saciados
- Bienaventurados los misericordiosos, porque ellos alcanzarán misericordia
- Bienaventurados los limpios de corazón, porque ellos verán a Dios
- Bienaventurados los que trabajan por la paz, porque ellos serán llamados hijos de Dios
- Bienaventurados los perseguidos a causa de la injusticia, porque de ellos es el Reino de los cielos
- Bienaventurados seréis cuando os injurien, os persigan y digan contra vosotros toda clase de calumnias por mi causa. Alegraos y regocijaos porque vuestra recompensa será grande en el cielo
Los siete pecados capitales
A los pecados capitales se les oponen siete virtudes:
Además, se consideran las Virtudes Teologales y las Cardinales.
Virtudes teologales
Virtudes cardinales
Pecados veniales y mortales Con base en lo anterior el catecismo de la Iglesia Católica reconoce dos tipos de pecados, veniales y mortales.[2] Para que un pecado sea mortal (infracción grave que destruye la caridad del hombre) se requieren tres condiciones: ‘Es pecado mortal lo que tiene como objeto una materia grave (falta a uno de los 10 mandamientos) que sea cometido con pleno conocimiento (que la persona sepa que la falta es un pecado) y deliberado consentimiento (que la persona esté consciente de lo que hace y no lo haga bajo presión de personas o circunstancias). El pecado venial es una infracción leve, que si bien no rompe la relación de amistad del hombre con Dios, como lo hace el pecado mortal, sí deteriora esa relación, y dispone al hombre para caer en pecado mortal. En palabras del padre Jorge Loring, en el libro "Para Salvarte", una tos pequeña, pero descuidada, puede llevar a la sepultura. Un punto negro en un diente no es nada, pero si no se lo enseñas al dentista, pronto todo el diente quedará dañado, y hasta puede ser necesaria la extracción.
Actos buenos y actos malos Según el catecismo de la Iglesia católica, existen actos buenos y actos malos (cf. 1755-1756), donde un acto moralmente bueno supone al mismo tiempo la bondad del objeto, del fin y de las circunstancias. Una finalidad mala corrompe la acción, aunque su objeto sea de suyo bueno (como orar y ayunar "para ser visto por otros"). En cambio un acto malo puede ser malo ya sea porque el objeto de la elección sea malo (como blasfemar) o porque la finalidad de ese acto sea ilícita. Independientemente de las circunstancias y de las intenciones, son siempre gravemente ilícitos por razón de su objeto; por ejemplo, la blasfemia y el perjurio, el homicidio y el adulterio. No está permitido hacer el mal para obtener un bien.
Dones del Espíritu Santo Son siete:
Catolicismo en el mundo actual
Catolicismo liberal La corriente que durante el siglo XIX se denominó catolicismo liberal, tiene raíces que se remontan varios siglos atrás. En este caso, a la época del Renacimiento, ligadas al llamado humanismo cristiano, cuyo principal exponente fue Desiderius Erasmus de Rotterdam, y para el caso español, el grupo de intelectuales reunidos en torno a la Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, fundada por el cardenal Jiménez de Cisneros. Más adelante, en el siglo XVIII, la Ilustración influyó en varios círculos de católicos franceses, belgas, alemanes y holandeses, constituyéndose doctrinas (regalismo, galicanismo, molinismo, febronianismo y josefismo, entre otras) que exaltaban el individualismo y la racionalización de las concepciones y expresiones religiosas (libre albedrío, moral austera, rechazo a las prácticas barrocas) al igual que una modificación de la organización religiosa, al apoyar los intentos de creación de Iglesias nacionales.
Posición de la Iglesia Católica Apostólica Romana El catolicismo contemporáneo se distingue por sus intentos de conciliar su doctrina con los conocimientos científicos y proclamar la Doctrina Social de la Iglesia Católica Apostólica Romana como forma de influir en la vida sociopolítica mundial. - Posición contraria al aborto y a la eutanasia: El aborto es considerado por la Iglesia Católica el asesinato de un ser humano inocente (ya que consideran que el huevo o cigoto ya es un ser humano desde el mismo momento de la concepción). La eutanasia no es aceptada porque la Iglesia Católica cree que sólo Dios tendría derecho a quitarle la vida a un ser humano.
- Oposición a la planificación familiar mediante métodos anticonceptivos: se basa en el concepto de sexualidad que tiene la Iglesia Católica, por la que la sexualidad es a la vez expresión de «amor y unión», de un lado, y fuerza de «procreación», del otro. Los dos aspectos, según la Iglesia Católica, no se pueden separar el uno del otro. La iglesia sí acepta el método de Billings y el método Ogino-Knaus a los que considera naturales.
- Oposición a la clonación: Dado que para conseguir un solo feto "viable" se debe "sacrificar" innumerables fetos que no cumplen los requisitos, la Iglesia se muestra en contra de tales prácticas, abarcados en lo que se conoce como "Fecundación in Vitro".
- Además, afirman que la dignidad humana exige que un niño nazca de un acto de amor sexual de dos personas de distinto sexo.
A partir del Concilio Vaticano II, la iglesia católica ha mostrado una actitud mucho más ecuménica frente a las otras iglesias cristianas. Sin embargo, este movimiento de apertura y modernización empezó a ser corregido con la llegada de Juan Pablo II y está siendo muy cuestionada por el actual Papa, Benedicto XVI.
Críticas La Iglesia Católica ha recibido muchas críticas a lo largo de su historia. Entre ellas se puede mencionar las referentes a la Inquisición, por la cual se torturaba y se entregaba a la justicia del brazo secular a las personas que no abjuraran de las doctrinas contrarias a la Iglesia Católica. Como ejemplo se puede mencionar la Inquisición Española, creada en 1478 por una bula papal con la finalidad de combatir las prácticas judaizantes de los judeoconversos españoles, esto es, de los "cristianos nuevos" que mantenían la fe judía de sus mayores. También se critica que basan gran parte de sus doctrinas en creencias extrabíblicas o en libros que no se encuentran dentro del canon de la Biblia judía o protestante. Por ejemplo, la santísima trinidad, la inmortalidad del alma, la transubstanciación, la eucaristía, la existencia del purgatorio, la inmaculada concepción, la maternidad divina, la virginidad perpetua, la asunción de la virgen, y la veneración de imágenes, no se enseñan en la Biblia. Sin embargo, los judíos no basan su fe únicamente en la escritura, por ejemplo, los libros Deuterocanónicos, como Eclesiástico, Sabiduría o Tobías, en los cuales se habla de la oración a los difuntos. El purgatorio, es otra de las doctrinas bíblicas no canónicas según judíos o protestantes, ya que se encuentra en el libro deuterocanónico de 2 Macabeos. Aunque los cristianos no estuvieron presentes en el Concilio de Janmia y se escogió esa versión en oposición a que los cristianos usaban la Septuaginta También se pueden mencionar los Concilios como los de Nicea. En el Concilio de Nicea II, se acordó la veneración de las imágenes como los expresa el siguiente extracto del Catecismo de la Iglesia Católica: 2131 Fundándose en el misterio del Verbo encarnado, el séptimo Concilio Ecuménico (celebrado en Nicea el año 787), justificó contra los iconoclastas el culto de las sagradas imágenes: las de Cristo, pero también las de la Madre de Dios, de los ángeles y de todos los santos. El Hijo de Dios, al encarnarse, inauguró una nueva ‘economía’ de las imágenes.[3] Lo anterior dicen los protestantes está prohibido de acuerdo con los Diez Mandamientos del Antiguo Testamento. Sin embargo los judíos veneraron y aceptaron el uso de imágenes, por ejemplo al construir el Arca de la Alianza (que tenía imágenes de querubines y la que se le sacrificaba animales), o el Templo de Jerusalén en tiempos de Salomón (decorado con animales, querubines y plantas), eso sin mencionar la serpiente de bronce que según la Biblia, Dios mandó a Moisés que la hiciera para sanar a los israelitas, aunque más delante el texto menciona que uno de los reyes mando destruir dicha serpiente porque el pueblo la idolatraba igual que a Dios. Por parte de grupos protestantes, se critica el voto de celibato de los sacerdotes, con el fundamento de que el apóstol Pedro, era casado.[4] Sin embargo esta crítica no toma en cuenta que el apóstol San Pablo era soltero, y que el mismo recomienda el celibato para quienes se dedican a las cosas de Dios, tampoco toma en cuenta que en la Iglesia católica, hay sacerdotes casados, ya sea en las iglesias católicas orientales (véase Uniatas) o a los ex pastores protestantes que deciden ordenarse sacerdotes católicos Ha recibido diversas críticas de parte de grupos feministas debido a su ideología considerada machista, considerando que la prohibición moral del uso de métodos anticonceptivos privan de libertad sexual a la mujer.[cita requerida] La iglesia se encuentra actualmente en una situación de oposición contra las uniones homosexuales, por entenderlas como un grave ataque a lo que consideran la verdadera familia.
Véase también
Referencias
Enlaces externos Commons
Categoría: Catolicismo
Catholicism From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole.[1] Depending on the understanding of the word "Catholic", it may refer to the Roman Catholic Church, namely the Christians living in communion with the See of Rome.[2] More broadly, it may refer to many churches, including the Roman Catholic Church and others not in communion with it, that claim continuity with the Catholic Church before separation into Greek or Eastern and Latin or Western.[3] Churches that make this claim of continuity include the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, the Old Catholic churches and the churches of the Anglican Communion.[4] The claim of continuity may be based on Apostolic Succession, especially in conjunction with adherence to the Nicene Creed.[5] Some interpret Catholicism as adherence to the traditional beliefs that Protestant Reformers denied, as with the Oxford Movement.[6] Catholicism is distinguished from other forms of Christianity in its particular understanding and commitment to tradition, the sacraments, the mediation between God, and communion.[1] Catholicism can include a monastic life, religious orders, a religious appreciation of the arts, a communal understanding of sin and redemption, missionary activity, and, in the Roman Catholic Church, papacy.[2]
[edit] History of use of "Catholic Church" The earliest recorded evidence of the use of the term "Catholic Church" is the Letter to the Smyrnaeans that Ignatius of Antioch wrote in about 107 to Christians in Smyrna.[7][8] Saint Ignatius used the term to designate the Christian Church possessing true traditions, excluding heretics, such as those who "confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of His goodness, raised up again."[9] Exhorting Christians to remain closely united with their bishop, he wrote: "Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church."[7] Yet more explicit was the manner in which Cyril of Jerusalem (circa 315–386) used the term "Catholic Church" precisely to distinguish it from other groups that also claimed the title of "Church."[10] Only slightly later, Saint Augustine of Hippo (354–430) wrote: In the Catholic Church, there are many other things which most justly keep me in her bosom. The consent of peoples and nations keeps me in the Church; so does her authority, inaugurated by miracles, nourished by hope, enlarged by love, established by age. The succession of priests keeps me, beginning from the very seat of the Apostle Peter, to whom the Lord, after His resurrection, gave it in charge to feed His sheep (Jn 21:15–19), down to the present episcopate. And so, lastly, does the very name of Catholic, which, not without reason, amid so many heresies, the Church has thus retained; so that, though all heretics wish to be called Catholics, yet when a stranger asks where the Catholic Church meets, no heretic will venture to point to his own chapel or house. Such then in number and importance are the precious ties belonging to the Christian name which keep a believer in the Catholic Church, as it is right they should ... With you, where there is none of these things to attract or keep me... No one shall move me from the faith which binds my mind with ties so many and so strong to the Christian religion... For my part, I should not believe the gospel except as moved by the authority of the Catholic Church. —St. Augustine (354–430): Against the Epistle of Manichaeus called Fundamental, chapter 4: Proofs of the Catholic Faith.[11] On 27 February 380, by an edict issued in Thessalonica and published in Constantinople, Emperor Theodosius declared Catholic Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, and defined the term "Catholic" in Roman Imperial law as follows: It is our desire that all the various nations which are subject to our clemency and moderation, should continue the profession of that religion which was delivered to the Romans by the divine Apostle Peter, as it has been preserved by faithful tradition and which is now professed by the Pontiff Damasus and by Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic holiness. According to the apostolic teaching and the doctrine of the Gospel, let us believe in the one Deity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in equal majesty and in a holy Trinity. We authorize the followers of this law to assume the title Catholic Christians; but as for the others, since in our judgment they are foolish madmen, we decree that they shall be branded with the ignominious name of heretics, and shall not presume to give their conventicles the name of churches. They will suffer in the first place the chastisement of divine condemnation and the second the punishment of our authority, in accordance with the will of heaven will decide to inflict.[12]Theodosian Code XVI.i.2 A contemporary of Augustine, St. Vincent of Lerins, wrote in 434 under the pseudonym Peregrinus a work known as the Commonitoria ("Memoranda"). While insisting that, like the human body, Church doctrine develops while truly keeping its identity (sections 54–59, chapter XXIII), he stated: "[I]n the Catholic Church itself, all possible care must be taken, that we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all. For that is truly and in the strictest sense 'Catholic,' which, as the name itself and the reason of the thing declare, comprehends all universally. This rule we shall observe if we follow universality, antiquity, consent. We shall follow universality if we confess that one faith to be true, which the whole Church throughout the world confesses; antiquity, if we in no wise depart from those interpretations which it is manifest were notoriously held by our holy ancestors and fathers; consent, in like manner, if in antiquity itself we adhere to the consentient definitions and determinations of all, or at the least of almost all priests and doctors" (section 6, end of chapter II).
[edit] Divergent interpretations of the term "Catholic" Many individual Christians and Christian denominations consider themselves "catholic" on the basis, in particular, of Apostolic Succession. They fall into five groups: - The Western and Eastern Churches of the Roman Catholic Church (which is often referred to simply as "the Catholic Church").[13] These understand "Catholic" to involve unity with the Bishop of Rome,[14] and hold that "the one Church of Christ ... subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him, although many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure."[15]
- Those, like the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox, that claim unbroken Apostolic Succession from the early Church and identify themselves as the Catholic Church; they see themselves (along with the See of Rome) as part of a patriarchal structure that developed in the East but never developed in the West. To disassociate the See of Rome from this equalisation of the "five Patriarchal Sees," Pope Benedict XVI dropped the title "Patriarch of the West," seeing the designation as an attempt to Orientalize Western ecclesiology. [16][17]
- Those, like the Old Catholic, Anglican, and some Lutheran and other denominations, that claim unbroken Apostolic Succession from the early Church, and see themselves as a constituent part of the Church.
- Those who claim to be spiritual descendants of the Apostles but have no discernible institutional descent from the historic Church, and normally do not refer to themselves as catholic.
- Those who have acknowledged a break in Apostolic Succession, but have restored it in order to be in full communion with bodies that have maintained the practice. Examples in this category include the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada vis-à-vis their Anglican and Old Catholic counterparts.
For some confessions listed under category 3, the self-affirmation refers to the belief in the ultimate unity of the universal church under one God and one Saviour, rather than in one visibly unified institution (as with category 1, above). In this usage, "catholic" is sometimes written with a lower-case "c". The Western Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed, stating "I believe in ... one holy catholic ... church", are recited in worship services. Among some denominations in category 3, "Christian" is substituted for "catholic" in order to denote the doctrine that the Christian Church is, at least ideally, undivided.[18][19][20]
[edit] Brief organizational history of the Church According to the theory of Pentarchy, the early Catholic Church came to be organised under the three patriarchs of Rome, Alexandria and Antioch, to which later were added the patriarchs of Constantinople and Jerusalem. The Bishop of Rome was at that time recognized as first among them, as is stated, for instance, in canon 3 of the First Council of Constantinople (381)—many interpret "first" as meaning here first among equals—and doctrinal or procedural disputes were often referred to Rome, as when, on appeal by St Athanasius against the decision of the Council of Tyre (335), Pope Julius I, who spoke of such appeals as customary, annulled the action of that council and restored Athanasius and Marcellus of Ancyra to their sees. The Bishop of Rome was also considered to have the right to convene ecumenical councils. When the Imperial capital moved to Constantinople, Rome's influence was sometimes challenged. Nonetheless, Rome claimed special authority because of its connection to Saint Peter.[21][22] and Saint Paul, who, all agreed, were martyred and buried in Rome, and because the Bishop of Rome saw himself as the successor of Saint Peter. The 431 Council of Ephesus, the Third Ecumenical Council, was chiefly concerned with Nestorianism, which emphasised the distinction between the humanity and divinity of Jesus and taught that, in giving birth to Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary could not be spoken of as giving birth to God. This Council rejected Nestorianism and affirmed that, as humanity and divinity are inseparable in the one person of Jesus Christ, his mother, the Virgin Mary, is thus Theotokos, God-bearer, Mother of God. The first great rupture in the Church followed this Council. Those who refused to accept the Council's ruling were largely Persian and are represented today by the Assyrian Church of the East and related Churches, which, however, do not now hold a "Nestorian" theology. They are often called Ancient Oriental Churches. The next major break was after the Council of Chalcedon (451). This Council repudiated Eutychian Monophysitism which stated that the divine nature completely subsumed the human nature in Christ. This Council declared that Christ, though one person, exhibited two natures "without confusion, without change, without division, without separation" and thus is both fully God and fully human. The Alexandrian Church rejected the terms adopted by this Council, and the Christian Churches that follow the tradition of non-acceptance of the Council—they are not Monophysite in doctrine—are referred to as Pre-Chalcedonian or Oriental Orthodox Churches. The next great rift within Christianity was in the 11th century. Longstanding doctrinal disputes, as well as conflicts between methods of Church government, and the evolution of separate rites and practices, precipitated a split in 1054 that divided the Church, this time between a "West" and an "East". England, France, the Holy Roman Empire, Poland, Bohemia, Slovakia, Scandinavia, the Baltic countries, and Western Europe in general were in the Western camp, and Greece, Romania, Russia and many other Slavic lands, Anatolia, and the Christians in Syria and Egypt who accepted the Council of Chalcedon made up the Eastern camp. This division is called the East-West Schism. The fourth major division in the Church occurred in the 16th century with the Protestant Reformation, after which many parts of the Western Church either entirely rejected the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and became known as "Reformed" or "Protestant", or else repudiated Roman papal authority and accepted decisions by the civil ruler in religious matters (e.g., in Anglicanism and parts of the Lutheran Church). A much less extensive rupture occurred when, after the Roman Catholic Church's First Vatican Council, in which it officially proclaimed the dogma of papal infallibility, clusters of Catholics in the Netherlands and in German-speaking countries formed the Old-Catholic (Altkatholische) Church.
[edit] Roman Catholic Church The Roman Catholic Church is the world's largest single religious body and the largest Christian church, comprising over half of all Christians (1.1 billion Christians) and one-sixth of the world's population.[23][24] It comprises 23 "particular churches" (also popularly called "rites" in the Official Catholic Directory and on Eastern Church parish websites)[25], all of which acknowledge a primacy of jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome and are in full communion with the Holy See and each other. These particular churches are the one Latin Rite or Western Church (which uses a number of different liturgical rites, of which the Roman Rite is the best known) and 22 Eastern Catholic churches. Of the latter particular churches, 14 use the Byzantine liturgical rite.[26] Each Eastern rite is equal to the Latin rite within the Church.[27]  Ancient statue of Saint Peter in the Basilica dedicated to him in the Vatican
[edit] Sui iuris (i.e., self-governing) Churches in communion with the Holy See
[edit] Eastern Christianity The Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches, as well as the Assyrian Church of the East, each consider themselves to be the universal and true Catholic Church. Each of these three regards the others — since the divisions at the Councils of Ephesus (431) and Chalcedonia (451) — as heretical or at least as schismatic and as having thus left the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. The patriarchs of the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches are autocephalous hierarchs, which roughly means that each is independent of the direct oversight of another bishop, although still subject, according to their distinct traditions, either to the synod of bishops of each one’s jurisdiction, or to a common decision of the patriarchs of their own communion. Today, the Orthodox believe that among the five original Patriarchs and ancient Patriarchates (i.e., Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem) a special place of honor belongs to the pope, a "primacy of honor," but not of supremacy.[28] In this context, the Orthodox are willing to concede a primacy of honor to the See of Rome, but not of authority; nor do they accept its claim to universal and immediate jurisdiction. This is similar to the position taken by the Lutheran World Federation, the Anglican Communion, and the Old Catholic Church. There are about 250 million Orthodox, comprising 11.4% of global Christianity.[29]
[edit] Eastern Christian Churches
[edit] Eastern Orthodox Churches in communion
[edit] Eastern Orthodox Churches not in communion
[edit] Oriental Orthodox Churches
[edit] The Assyrian Church of the East
[edit] Other Catholics and Anglicans Within Western Christianity, the churches of the Anglican Communion, the Old Catholics, the Liberal Catholic Church, the Aglipayans (Philippine Independent Church), the Polish National Catholic Church of America, and many Independent Catholic Churches, which emerged directly or indirectly from and have beliefs and practices largely similar to Latin Rite Catholicism, regard themselves as "Catholic" without full communion with the Bishop of Rome, whose claimed status and authority they generally reject. The Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, a division of the People's Republic of China's Religious Affairs Bureau exercising state supervision over mainland China's Catholics, holds a similar position, while attempting, as with Buddhism and Protestantism, to indoctrinate and mobilize for Communist Party objectives.[30]
[edit] Anglicanism Main article: Anglicanism Introductory works on Anglicanism, such as The Study of Anglicanism, typically refer to the character of the Anglican tradition as "Catholic and Reformed",[31] which is in keeping with the understanding of Anglicanism articulated in the Elizabethan Settlement and in the works of the earliest standard Anglican divines such as Richard Hooker and Lancelot Andrewes. Yet different strains in Anglicanism, dating back to the English Reformation, have emphasized either the Protestant, Catholic, or "Reformed Catholic" nature of the tradition. Anglican theology and ecclesiology has thus come to be typically expressed in three distinct, yet sometimes overlapping manifestations: Anglo-Catholicism (or "high church"), "Evangelicalism" (or "low church"), and Latitudinarianism (or "broad church"), whose beliefs and practices fall somewhere between the two. Though all elements within the Anglican Communion recite the same creeds, Evangelical Anglicans regard the word catholic in the ideal sense given above. In contrast, Anglo-Catholics regard the communion as a component of the whole Catholic Church, in spiritual and historical union with the Roman Catholic, Old Catholic and several Eastern Churches. Broad Church Anglicans tend to maintain a mediating view, or consider the matter one of adiaphora. These Anglicans, for example, have agreed in the Porvoo Agreement to interchangeable ministries and full eucharistic communion with Lutherans.[32][33] The Catholic nature or strain of the Anglican tradition is expressed doctrinally, ecumenically (chiefly through organisations such as the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission), ecclesiologically (through its episcopal governance and maintenance of the historical episcopate), and in liturgy and piety. Anglicans (except neo-evangelicals) maintain belief in the Seven Sacraments, Anglo-Catholics practice Marian devotion, recite the rosary and the angelus, practice Eucharistic adoration, and seek the intercession of saints. In terms of liturgy, most Anglicans use candles on the altar, many churches use incense and sanctus bells in the Eucharist, which is often referred to by the Latin-derived word "Mass". In a small number of churches the Eucharist is still celebrated facing the altar (often with a tabernacle) by a priest assisted by a deacon and subdeacon. Some Anglicans believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Others don't. Likewise, different Eucharistic prayers contain different, if not necessarily contradictory, understandings of salvation. For this reason, no single strain or manifestation of Anglicanism can speak for the whole, even in ecumenical statements (as issued, for example, by the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission).[34][35][36] This "ecumenical inconsistency," to quote ecumenist, Edward Yarnold, is especially true in recent agreements made between parts of the Anglican Communion and different Lutheran Churches, where decisions (pertaining to traditions and doctrines dating back to the churches of the first millennium) are entrusted to local and national Anglican church bodies.[37] The growth of Anglo-Catholicism is strongly associated with the Oxford Movement of the nineteenth century. Two of its leading lights, John Henry Newman and Henry Edward Manning, both priests, ended up joining the Roman Catholic Church, becoming cardinals. Others, like John Keble, Edward Bouverie Pusey, and Charles Gore became influential figures in the Anglican Church. The current Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, is a patron of the Anglican organisation, Affirming Catholicism, a liberal movement within catholic Anglicanism. Conservative catholic groups also exist within the tradition, such as Forward in Faith. There are about 80 million Anglicans in the world, comprising 3.6% of global Christianity.[29]
[edit] Provinces of the Anglican Communion As in Orthodoxy, all thirty-eight provinces of the Anglican Communion are independent, each with its own primate and governing structure. These provinces may take the form of national churches (such as in Canada, Uganda, or Japan) or a collection of nations (such as the West Indies, Central Africa, or Southeast Asia). All are in union with the see of Canterbury. The 38 provinces include: In addition, there are six extraprovincial churches, five of which are under the metropolitical authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
[edit] Protestant churches There are Catholic groups among the Protestant churches. For example, The 20th century "High Church Lutheranism" movement developed an Evangelical Catholicity, combining justification by faith with Catholic doctrine on sacraments, in some cases also restoring lacking Apostolic Succession, especially in Germany. In Reformed churches there is a Scoto-Catholic grouping within the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Such groups point to their churches' continuing adherence to the 'Catholic' doctrine of the early Church Councils. The Articles Declaratory of the Constitution of the Church of Scotland of 1921 defines that church legally as 'part of the Holy Catholic or Universal Church'.[31] However, as with the Anglican Church, the Roman Catholic Church does not accept that these other churches are Catholic, as it views communion with the Bishop of Rome as being an indispensable part of what it means to be Catholic; the maintenance of Apostolic Succession is also necessary to be considered a Church.[38][39]
[edit] Distinctive beliefs and practices Due to the divergent interpretations of the word "Catholicism," any listing of beliefs and practices that distinguish Catholicism from other forms of Christianity must be preceded by an indication of the sense employed. If Catholicism is understood as the Roman Catholic Church understands it, identification of beliefs is relatively easy, though preferred expressions of the beliefs vary, especially between the Latin Church, the Eastern Catholic Churches of Greek tradition, and the other Eastern Catholic Churches. Liturgical and canonical practices vary between all these particular Churches constituting the Roman Catholic Church. In the understanding of another Church that identifies Catholicism with itself, such as the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches, clear identification of certain beliefs may sometimes be more difficult, because of the lack of a central authority like that of the Roman Catholic Church. On the other hand, practices are more uniform, as indicated, for instance, in the single liturgical rite employed, in various languages, within the Eastern Orthodox Church, in contrast to the variety of liturgical rites in the Roman Catholic Church. In all these cases the beliefs and practices of Catholicism would be identical with the beliefs and practices of the Church in question. If Catholicism is extended to cover all who consider themselves spiritual descendants of the Apostles, a search for beliefs and practices that distinguish it from other forms of Christianity would be meaningless. Only if Catholicism is understood in the sense given to the word by those who use it to distinguish their position from a Calvinistic or Puritan form of Protestantism is it meaningful to attempt to draw up a list of common characteristic beliefs and practices of Catholicism. In this interpretation, evidently by no means shared by all, Catholicism includes the Roman Catholic Church, the various Churches of Eastern Christianity, the Old Catholic Church, Anglicanism, and at least some of the "independent Catholic Churches". The beliefs and practices of Catholicism, as thus understood, include: - Direct and continuous organizational descent from the original church founded by Jesus Matthew 16:18, who, according to tradition, designated the Apostle Peter as its first leader.[40]
- Belief that Jesus Christ is Divine, a doctrine officially clarified in the First Council of Nicea and expressed in the Nicene Creed.
- Belief that the Eucharist is really, truly, and objectively the Body and Blood of Christ, through the Real Presence. Many Catholics additionally believe that adoration and worship is due to the Eucharist, as the body and blood of Christ.
- Possession of the "threefold ordained ministry" of Bishops, Priests and Deacons.
- All ministers are ordained by, and subject to, Bishops, who pass down sacramental authority by the "laying-on of hands", having themselves been ordained in a direct line of succession from the Apostles (see Apostolic Succession).
- Belief that the Church is the vessel and deposit of the fullness of the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles from which the Scriptures were formed. This teaching is preserved in both written scripture and in unwritten tradition, neither being independent of the other.
- A belief in the necessity and efficacy of sacraments.
- The use of sacred images, candles, vestments and music, and often incense and water, in worship.
- Veneration of Mary, the mother of Jesus as the Blessed Virgin Mary or Theotokos (i.e., "God-bearer" or "Mother of God"), and veneration of the saints.
- A distinction between adoration (latria) for God, and veneration (dulia) for saints. The term hyperdulia is used for a special veneration accorded to the Virgin Mary among the saints.
- The use of prayer for the dead.
- Requests to the departed saints for intercessory prayers.
[edit] Sacraments or Sacred Mysteries Churches in the Catholic tradition administer seven sacraments or "sacred mysteries": Baptism, Confirmation or Chrismation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony." In some Catholic churches this number is regarded as a convention only. In Catholicism, a sacrament is considered to be an efficacious visible sign of God's invisible grace. While the word mystery is used not only of these rites, but also with other meanings with reference to revelations of and about God and to God's mystical interaction with creation, the word sacrament (Latin: a solemn pledge), the usual term in the West, refers specifically to these rites. - Baptism - the first sacrament of Christian initiation, the basis for all the other sacraments. Churches in the Catholic tradition consider baptism conferred in most Christian denominations "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (cf. Matthew 28:19) to be valid, since the effect is produced through the sacrament, independently of the faith of the minister, though not of the minister's intention. This is not necessarily the case in other churches. As stated in the Nicene Creed, Baptism is "for the forgiveness of sins", not only personal sins, but also of original sin, which it remits even in infants who have committed no actual sins. Expressed positively, forgiveness of sins means bestowal of the sanctifying grace by which the baptized person shares the life of God. The initiate "puts on Christ" (Galatians 3:27), and is "buried with him in baptism ... also raised with him through faith in the working of God" (Colossians 2:12).
- Confirmation or Chrismation - the second sacrament of Christian initiation, the means by which the gift of the Holy Spirit conferred in baptism is "strengthened and deepened" (see, for example, Catechism of the Catholic Church, §1303) by a sealing. In the Western tradition it is usually a separate rite from baptism, bestowed, following a period of education called catechesis, on those who have at least reached the age of discretion (about 7) and sometimes postponed until an age when the person is considered capable of making a mature independent profession of faith. It is considered to be of a nature distinct from the anointing with chrism (also called myrrh) that is usually part of the rite of baptism and that is not seen as a separate sacrament. In the Eastern tradition it is usually conferred in conjunction with baptism, as its completion, but is sometimes administered separately to converts or those who return to Orthodoxy. Some theologies consider this to be the outward sign of the inner "Baptism of the Holy Spirit," the special gifts (or charismata) of which may remain latent or become manifest over time according to God's will. Its "originating" minister is a validly consecrated bishop; if a priest (a "presbyter") confers the sacrament (as is permitted in some Catholic churches) the link with the higher order is indicated by the use of chrism blessed by a bishop. (In an Eastern Orthodox Church, this is customarily, although not necessarily, done by the primate of the local autocephalous church.)
- Eucharist - the sacrament (the third of Christian initiation) by which the faithful receive their ultimate "daily bread," or "bread for the journey," by partaking of and in the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ and being participants in Christ's one eternal sacrifice. The bread and wine used in the rite are, according to Catholic faith, in the mystical action of the Holy Spirit, transformed to be Christ's Body and Blood—his Real Presence. This transformation is interpreted by some as transubstantiation or metousiosis, by others as consubstantiation or Sacramental Union.
- Penance (also called Confession and Reconciliation) - the first of the two sacraments of healing. It is also called the sacrament of conversion, of forgiveness, and of absolution. It is the sacrament of spiritual healing of a baptized person from the distancing from God involved in actual sins committed. It involves the penitent's contrition for sin (without which the rite does not have its effect), confession (which in highly exceptional circumstances can take the form of a corporate general confession) to a minister who has the faculty to exercise the power to absolve the penitent,[41] and absolution by the minister. In some traditions (such as the Roman Catholic), the rite involves a fourth element — satisfaction — which is defined as signs of repentance imposed by the minister. In early Christian centuries, the fourth element was quite onerous and generally preceded absolution, but now it usually involves a simple task (in some traditions called a "penance") for the penitent to perform, to make some reparation and as a medicinal means of strengthening against further sinning.
- Anointing of the Sick (or Unction) - the second sacrament of healing. In it those who are suffering an illness are anointed by a priest with oil consecrated by a bishop specifically for that purpose. In past centuries, when such a restrictive interpretation was customary, the sacrament came to be known as "Extreme Unction", i.e. "Final Anointing", as it still is among traditionalist Catholics. It was then conferred only as one of the "Last Rites". The other "Last Rites" are Penance (if the dying person is physically unable to confess, at least absolution, conditional on the existence of contrition, is given), and the Eucharist, which, when administered to the dying, is known as "Viaticum", a word whose original meaning in Latin was "provision for a journey".
- The Sacrament of Holy Orders - that which integrates someone into the Holy Orders of bishops, priests (presbyters), and deacons, the threefold order of "administrators of the mysteries of God" (1 Corinthians 4:1), giving the person the mission to teach, sanctify, and govern. Only a bishop may administer this sacrament, as only a bishop holds the fullness of the Apostolic Ministry. Ordination as a bishop makes one a member of the body that has succeeded to that of the Apostles. Ordination as a priest configures a person to Christ the Head of the Church and the one essential Priest, empowering that person, as the bishops' assistant and vicar, to preside at the celebration of divine worship, and in particular to confect the sacrament of the Eucharist, acting "in persona Christi" (in the person of Christ). Ordination as a deacon configures the person to Christ the Servant of All, placing the deacon at the service of the Church, especially in the fields of the ministry of the Word, service in divine worship, pastoral guidance and charity. Deacons may later be further ordained to the priesthood, but only if they do not have a wife. In some traditions (such as those of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches), while married men may be ordained, ordained men may not marry. In others (such as the Anglican), clerical marriage is permissible as is the ordination of women to the priesthood and episcopacy.[42] [43]
- Marriage (or Holy Matrimony) - is the sacrament of joining a man and a woman (according to the churches' doctrines) for mutual help and love (the unitive purpose), consecrating them for their particular mission of building up the Church and the world, and providing grace for accomplishing that mission. Western tradition sees the sacrament as conferred by the canonically expressed mutual consent of the partners in marriage; Eastern and some recent Western theologians not in communion with the see of Rome view the blessing by a priest as constituting the sacramental action.
[edit] See also
[edit] References - ^ a b McBrien, Richard P. (1994). Catholicism. HarperCollins. pp. 3–19. ISBN 9780060654054.
- ^ a b Rausch, Thomas P.; Catherine E. Clifford (2003). Catholicism in the Third Millennium. Liturgical Press. ISBN 9780814658994.
- ^ McBrien, Richard P. (1995). The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism. Theodore M. Hesburgh. HarperCollins. p. 52. ISBN 9780060653385.
- ^ Gros, Jeffrey; Eamon McManus, Ann Riggs (1998). Introduction to Ecumenism. Paulist Press. pp. 154–155. ISBN 9780809137947.
- ^ Parsons, Evelyn C. (2007). It Makes a Difference Being a Catholic. AuthorHouse. p. 40. ISBN 9781434314772.
- ^ Connor, Charles Patrick (2001). Classic Catholic Converts. Ignatius Press. ISBN 9780898707878.
- ^ a b "Chapter VIII.—Let nothing be done without the bishop". Christian Classics Ethereal Library. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.v.vii.viii.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
- ^ Angle, Paul T. (2007). The Mysterious Origins of Christianity. Wheatmark, Inc.. ISBN 9781587368219.
- ^ "Chapter VII.—Let us stand aloof from such heretics". Christian Classics Ethereal Library. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.v.vii.vii.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
- ^ Knight, Kevin. "Catechetical Lecture 18 - #26". New Advent. http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/310118.htm. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
- ^ "Chapter 5.—Against the Title of the Epistle of Manichæus". Christian Classics Ethereal Library. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf104.iv.viii.vi.html?. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
- ^ Bettenson, Henry (1967). Documents of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press US. p. 22. ISBN 9780195012934. http://books.google.com/books?id=k9L2UaDJLGkC&pg=PP1&dq=.
- ^ This Church is commonly referred to by this name even by others (see for instance Cultural Portraits: A Synoptic Guide, by Byron P. Palls (AuthorHouse, 2008 ISBN 1434388670) and even by those who are hostile to it mention that it is "commonly called the Catholic Church" (A discourse on the worship of Priapus, and its connection with the mystic theology of the ancients).
- ^ Porvaznik, Phil. "Papal Authority and the Primacy of Rome". Evangelical Catholic Apologetics. http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/num12.htm. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
- ^ "Dogmatic Constitution on the Church - Chapter 1: The Mystery of the Church". The Vatican. 1964-11-21. http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
- ^ John Allen, "the 'Patriarch of the West' retires," The National Catholic Reporter April 7, 2006, 21.
- ^ Joseph Ratzinger, "Sister Churches," The Tablet 9 September, 2000, 1205.
- ^ "Apostles' Creed". The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=3355. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
- ^ "Nicene Creed". Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. http://www.wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?2617&collectionID=711&contentID=4334&shortcutID=2077#nicene. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
- ^ "Texts of the Three Chief Symbols are taken from the Book of Concord, Tappert edition". The International Lutheran Fellowship. http://www.ilflutheran.org/page11.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
- ^ Radeck, Francisco; Dominic Radecki (2004). Tumultuous Times. St. Joseph's Media. p. 79. ISBN 9780971506107.
- ^ "The Hierarchical Constitution of the Church - 880-881". The Vatican. http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_P2A.HTM#RC. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
- ^ "Number of Catholics and Priests Rises". Zenit News Agency. 12 February 2007. http://www.zenit.org/article-18894?l=english. Retrieved on 21 February 2008.
- ^ "CIA World Factbook". United States Government Central Intelligence Agency. 2008. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/xx.html#People. Retrieved on 22 December 2008.
- ^ Official Catholic Directory (New Providence, NJ: P.J.Kenedy, 2009), A-8
- ^ Annuario Pontificio, 2007 edition, pages 1169–1170 (ISBN 978-88-209-7908-9).
- ^ Official Catholic Directory, 19.
- ^ Timothy Ware, The Orthodox Church (London: Penguin Press, 1993), 27.
- ^ a b David Barrett, "Christian World Communities: Five Overviews of Global Christianity, AD 1800-2025," in International Bulletin of Missionary Research January, 2009, Vol. 33, No 1, pp. 31.
- ^ Simon Scott Plummer, "China's Growing Faiths" in The Tablet, March, 2007. Based on a review of Religious Experience in Contemporary China by Kinzhong Yao and Paul Badham (University of Wales Press).
- ^ a b Fahlbusch, Erwin; Geoffrey William Bromiley (2005). The Encyclopedia of Christianity. David B. Barrett. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 269,494. ISBN 9780802824165.
- ^ Anglican-Lutheran agreement signed," The Christian Century 13 November, 1996, 1005.
- ^ "Two Churches Now Share a Cleric," New York Times, 20 October, 1996, 24.
- ^ Rowan A. Greer," "Anglicanism as an ongoing argument," The Witness May, 1998, 23.
- ^ Matt Cresswell, "Anglican conservatives say 'second reformation' is already under way," The Tablet 28 June, 2008, 32.
- ^ Philip Jenkins, "Defender of the Faith," The Atlantic Monthly Novermber, 2003, 46-9.
- ^ Edward Yarnold, S.J., "A word in due season," The Tablet 18, July, 1998, 935-6. Yarnold, a Jesuit ecumenist and former member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, says this: "The recent agreements made between parts of the Anglican Communion and different Lutheran Churches are a case in point [of this inconsistency] -- in Germany (Meissen), in northern Europe (Provoo), and in the United States (though the Lutherans failed to ratify this third scheme). Each of these documents involves not only the mutual participation of Anglican and Lutheran bishops in future ordinations, but in the interim recognizes orders as they stand, even though there was an acknowledged breach in the episcopal succession. Yet when Anglicans are talking to Catholics, a different principle is accepted: both the Final Report of the first Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) and the Clarifications to that report affirm the need for ordination to take place within an unbroken episcopal succession. I am glad to acknowledge that the drafters of Porvoo made an effort not to contradict ARCIC, but although I have looked again and again, I cannot see that they were successful. The problem once again illustrates the impossibility of deciding which voice speaks for the Anglican Communion."
- ^ Fowler, Jeaneane D. (1997). World Religions. Sussex Academic Press. p. 82. ISBN 9781898723486.
- ^ Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, 1206. Ratzinger put it this way (in discussing "Sister Churches"), in much more explicit terms: "Finally, it must also be borne in mind that the expression Sister Churches in the proper sense, as attested by the common Tradition of East and West, may only be used for those ecclesial communities that have preserved a valid episcopate and Eucharist." He specifically singles out "the Anglican Communion and non-Catholic ecclesial communities" in this regard.
- ^ "And I tell you, you are Peter [Πετρός, meaning "rock"], and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it." (Mt 16:18)
- ^ "Chapter II : The Minister of the Sacrament of Penance". IntraText. http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P3F.HTM. Retrieved on 2008-11-21.
- ^ In regard to the ordination of women to the episcopacy, one cannot underestimate the chasm that is currently developing between the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental and Roman Catholic Chuches, on the one hand, and the Lutheran, Anglican and Independent Catholic Churches, on the other hand. Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, for example, noted this when he addressed some Anglican bishops in 2006. Quoting St. Cyprian of Carthage (d. 258), he said the episcopate is one, which means that "each part of it is held by each one for the whole"; that bishops were instruments of unity not only within the contemporary Church, but also across time, within the universal Church. This being the case, he continued, "the decision for the ordination of women to the Episcopal office ... must not in any way involve a conflict between the majority and the minority." Such a decision should be made "with the consensus of the ancient Churches of the East and West." To do otherwise "would spell the end" to any kind of unity. James Roberts, "Women bishops 'would spell the end of unity hopes'" in The Tablet, 10 June, 2006, 34.
- ^ Russia's Orthodox Church went even further than simply raise concerns. It offered, for example, to restore relations with those Anglican dioceses in the US that refused to recognize the election of Katharine Jefferts Schori as their Church's presiding bishop. Johnthan Luxmoore, "Orthodox overture to Episcopalians," The Tablet, 2 September, 2006, 33.
[edit] Further reading - Without Roots: The West, Relativism, Christianity, Islam by Pope Benedict XVI, formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Basic Books, 0465006345, 2006).
- Catechism of the Catholic Church English translation (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2000). ISBN 1-57455-110-8
- H. W. Crocker III, Triumph—The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church: A 2,000-Year History (Prima Publishing, 2001). ISBN 0-7615-2924-1
- Leo J. Trese, The Faith Explained Third Edition (Fides/Claretian, 2001). ISBN 1-889334-29-4
- Eamon Duffy, Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes (Yale Nota Bene, 2002). ISBN 0-300-09165-6
- K. O. Johnson, Why Do Catholics Do That? (Ballantine, 1994). ISBN 0-345-39726-6
- Ludwig von Pastor, History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages; Drawn from the Secret Archives of the Vatican and other original sources, 40 vols. St. Louis, B.Herder 1898
- Basic Catechism Seventh Revised Edition (Pauline Books & Media, 1999). ISBN 0-8198-0623-4
- Peter Lynch, The Church's Story: A History of Pastoral Care and Vision (Pauline Books & Media, 2005). ISBN 0-8198-1575-6
[edit] External links
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