Renewing the Mind

Catholicism: A Very Short Introduction written by Gerald O’Collins is a short read that gives an insight to the Catholic church without getting confusing to the reader. It touches on the basics of Catholicism such as the history, practices, and core beliefs. Through each chapter Gerald O’Collins a research professor in the field of Theology at St. Mary’s University College and Twickenham, as well as formally Dean in Gregorian University for the faculty of Theology, shares his knowledge on the Catholic religion one question at a time.

The Pope is the head of the Church: he represents the ultimate religious authority. However, as a Bishop of Rome, the Pope is also in command of certain secular affairs, including some military aspects. Certainly, the Pope is a link between the earthly and the divine realms. Problems arise when the imperfect world the Pope physically lives in interferes with his heavenly objectives. Taking Pope Gregory I as an example, I am going to look at his letters to analyze how he reconciled his political and spiritual goals, whether he valued one category over the other, and how he justified it.

Towards the end of the Middle Ages and into the duration of the Renaissance, the Medieval Church’s social and political power dwindled. Centuries prior the Catholic Church gained a surplus of control, largely due to the stability it maintained during the chaotic breakdown of the Western Roman Empire . Yet toward the end of the Middle Ages the Church set in motion factors that would ultimately lead to its downfall as the definitive figure of authority. However, despite political and social controversy surrounding the church, the institutions it established cleared a path for a new way of thinking, shaping society in an enduring way.

In the United States, there has often been debate over whether the U.S. Constitution is a “living constitution.” A “living constitution” is the idea that the interpretation of constitutional phrases should take into account the contemporaneous society. In other words, practices and traditions of the government have the ability to change and transform over time in accordance with the changes in society. Similarly, there has often been debate in the religious community as to whether the practices and traditions of the church have the ability to change and transform in order to better suit the needs of its constituents. Two Popes in the Roman Catholic church, Pope Francis and Pope Pius IX, have published documents with opposing viewpoints about the church’s ability to change and transform over time. The aforementioned documents also highlight other issues commonly debated within the church. Ultimately, Pope Francis favors a more progressive church, that is opento change, while Pope Pius IX favors a church with more rigid guidelines that follow traditional practices.

The Catholic Church is the oldest major religion in the Western world. Littered with peace, love, and humility, along with violence, turmoil, and controversy this institution has seen, heard, led, and had influence over the majority of everything and everybody that there was in the last two millennia. This has included ordinary people, Kings, Queens, Generals, Nobleman, Royalty, and everything in between, and has endured since the beginning of the modern era, Anno Domini. They great spiritual and monetary machine created a powerful reign over the entire world’s Catholics, and remains so to this day. For the purpose of background for my visit to a Catholic Church, being Presbyterian, I did historical research before I visited. I

As time constantly presses forward and the earth continues to revolve, the world will never stop progressing and adapting to better suit the needs of mankind. The evolution of religion has greatly enhanced the quality of life for humanity by providing individuals with a strong belief system that is now the foundation of many peoples’ core values. One universal religion that has undergone extensive amounts of reform is Christianity. In particular, the Catholic church is well-known for the development of their famous ecumenical council meetings that help determine the future of the church. Numerous Councils have been conducted throughout the course of history, but none more significant than the most recent, the Second Vatican Council or Vatican II. The Catholic church was operating as if it was still the medieval period and desperately needed to be modernized. As a result, every Roman Catholic Church official was gathered to meet and devise a plan for how to introduce the church to the modern world. Consequently, the following will reveal the Second Vatican Council and the ramifications of the agenda, history and theology evolution, significant texts, and new developments.

Due to Christianity’s importance, the Church consequently held significant power during the Medieval times. In a decree titled the “Unam Sanctam,” Pope Boniface VIII wrote, “URGED BY FAITH, we are obliged to believe and to maintain that the Church is one, holy, catholic, and also apostolic. We believe in her firmly and we confess with simplicity that outside of her there is neither salvation nor the remission of sins” (Dennis). In other words, the Pope established that all answers to Christianity exist solely in the Church, including on the basis of salvation and the forgiveness of sins. Further on in the “Unam Sanctum,” he proclaimed his part in the equation: “Furthermore, we declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff” (Dennis). In this instance, the Pope arguably assumes the role of God on earth, defining that he is absolutely necessary for salvation, not solely Jesus Christ. His assertion provides further evidence for the

Despite the age of these systems, the Catholic Church continues to operate close to them, similar to when they were adopted. The misunderstanding and prejudice towards these systems cause many people to adopt anti-Catholic beliefs for contemporary issues in America. The democratic political system in America clashes with the hierarchical lineage that the Catholic Church possesses. The problem arises when anti-Catholics claim that Catholics are un-American because they follow a hierarchy, rather than the “American” system of democracy. The democratic system allows the people to vote for their leader to govern them, however, the Catholic leader, the Pope, is not chosen by the people of the Catholic Church. Un-American criticism continues with the debates and movements on Sexism and Feminism. As women’s roles are changed, the Catholic Church is keeping true to its origins by keeping the governing body, the priesthood, bishops, Cardinals, and the Pope, a completely male role. The Church is criticized by many as being sexist and by that, un-American, for not allowing ordination for women. “Many Americans / view the church’s ban on women’s ordination largely in terms of democratic principles, or ‘rights’ and representation’” (Martin). Anti-Catholics throw up these accusations of sexism without contemplating the true role of women in the Catholic Church. Pope Francis said in an interview “’Look, in the Church women are more important than men, because the church is a woman / The Church is the bride of Jesus Christ. And the Madonna is more important that popes and bishops and priests’” (Ruiz). This governing structure, as well as other beliefs of the Catholic Church, seem confusing or silly to post-enlightenment ideas. As human philosophy has developed after the Enlightenment, the Church has kept the doctrine the same. This has not caused the anti-Catholic community to criticize

Before the 16th century, the only form of government in most parts of the world is under some type of monarchy or church. Churches and the King are almost inseparable elite God followers as they hold the central power in their territory. However, the church’s strength soon begins to weaken when Martin Luther posts his Ninety-Five theses on a church’s door in 1517. What made it stand out and supportive by the public is the essays are discussing about the Pope’s not doing what God appointed him to do. The church is abusing their power to perform unethical and ungodly acts such as the sale of indulgences under the name of God, “…the pope coins money out of everything—indulgences, ceremonies, dispensations,

The Roman Catholic Church is presented as an institution of knowledge and power, influencing the lives of the people. The clear boundaries in catholic society are presented here, by the “right and wrong”, indicating that there was little variation in beliefs and practice in those following Catholicism. However, even though religion is presented as an important part of life, determining people’s decisions and behaviour, it is also presented as something which is taught, rather than followed willingly, indicating that while children, such as Frank, may have no wish to become “good Catholics”, they were forced to do so by society; their parents and teachers. Frank presents the attitude towards religion in school through the following quote, telling the children to: “Know and remember all the questions and answers in catechism, became good Catholics, to know the difference between right and wrong, to die for the Faith if called on”

During the 14 and 1500’s, the Catholic Church was the major powerhouse on the world stage. The church became the largest land owner, giving them massive amounts of economical power. With limitless amounts of power for the church, they were even more powerful than the king himself; they had their own taxes, laws, and they even could excommunicate the king if they chose to do so. The church made royal officials fear it while also gaining the support of the people, sometimes unwilling support was given. Indulgences were purchased in the hopes that their loved ones would be saved from Purgatory or even Hell. The church’s goal used to be helping all people and preaching the word of God, but now the church was corrupt and blinded by power and money, only one man could initiate the change needed, Martin Luther.

At the beginning of the 16th Century, Europe was dominantly Catholic. The Catholic Church not only controlled vast economic resources, but wielded enormous political and social power. Reformers believed that the Catholic church had overstepped their jurisdiction in overseeing people’s faith, for example by limiting the printing of bibles to languages that only priests could read, and that the Church had become corrupted by practices such as the sale of indulgences.

In this report I will be both contrasting and comparing the religious view of Catholicism and the world view of Secular Humanism. The three questions I will be analysing through the religious view of Catholicism and the world view Secular Humanism include:

Throughout the semester, we examined many different topics that are important to know and which are beneficial to the priestly ministry. One of these is the church’s Magisterium which is held as the authoritative teaching office of those who teach the community in the name of Christ. It serves its role to safeguard the truth of God by faithfully interpreting and applying God’s revelation. It seems that, in our current society, many people don’t know what to believe anymore. This crisis of people not knowing what to believe has affected the Catholic Church even moreso because of the whole sex scandal in recent years. Because of incidents like this, Catholics no longer trust nor do they know what to believe when it comes to morality, faith, and

The Papacy is the office of the Pope. The word pope comes from the Latin form of the word “Papa” which means father. The office of the Pope or rather the papacy is responsible for a wide variety of things. Specifically the Papacy’s main responsibility is the spiritual well being of the members of the Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church rose to power in the 6th century and lasted throughout the 9th century. There were several different circumstantial and also coincidental factors that contributed to the high regard of the church by the 6th century. The beginning was the church’s unsolicited popularity. This could be linked to its relationship with the early apostles. The Roman Church was the first in the empire