User:NancyHeise/Catholic Church medium version

"Catholic Church" redirects here. For other uses, see Catholic Church (disambiguation).

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church,[note 1] is the world's largest Christian church representing over half of all Christians[12][13] and more than one-sixth of the world's population. It is comprised of the Western Church and 22  Eastern Catholic Churches, counting 2,795 dioceses in 2008. The Church's highest earthly authority in matters of faith, morality and governance is the Pope,[14] currently Pope Benedict XVI, who holds supreme authority in concert with the College of Bishops, of which he is the head.[15][16][17] The Catholic community is made up of an ordained ministry and the laity; members of either group may belong to organized religious communities.[18]

The Church defines its mission as spreading the message of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity.[19] It operates social programs and institutions throughout the world, including schools, universities, hospitals, missions and shelters, as well as organisations such as Catholic Relief Services, Caritas Internationalis and Catholic Charities that help the poor, families, the elderly and the sick.[20]

The Church believes itself to be the continuation of the Christian community founded by Jesus in his consecration of Saint Peter. It has defined its doctrines through various ecumenical councils, following the example set by the first Apostles in the Council of Jerusalem.[21] On the basis of promises made by Jesus to his apostles, described in the Gospels, the Church believes that it is guided by the Holy Spirit and so protected from falling into doctrinal error.[22][23][24] Catholic beliefs are based on the Bible and on traditions handed down from the time of the Apostles, which are interpreted by a teaching authority. Those beliefs are summarized in the Nicene Creed and formally detailed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.[25] Formal Catholic worship, termed the liturgy, 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.

With a history spanning almost two thousand years, the Church is the world's oldest and largest institution[26] and has played a prominent role in the history of Western civilization since the 4th century.[27] In the 11th century, a major split (the Great Schism) occurred between Eastern and Western Christianity. What had previously been a single entity divided into the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Despite the split, a handful of Eastern Churches remained in (or later re-established) communion with the Pope of Rome, forming the Eastern Catholic Churches. Later, 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.

Although the Catholic Church maintains that it is the "one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church" founded by Jesus, it acknowledges that the Holy Spirit can make use of other Christian communities to bring people to salvation.[28] The Church teaches that it is called by the Holy Spirit to work for unity among all Christians—a movement known as ecumenism.[29] Modern challenges facing the Church include the rise of secularism and opposition to its pro-life stance on abortion, contraception and euthanasia.[30]

  1. ^ "Concise Oxford English Dictionary" (online version). Oxford University Press. 2005. Retrieved 10 April 2009.
  2. ^ Marthaler, Berard (1993). The Creed. Twenty-Third Publications. p. 303. ISBN 9780896225374. Retrieved 9 May 2008.
  3. ^ a b McBrien, Richard (2008). The Church. Harper Collins. p. xvii. Online version available here. Quote: The use of the adjective "Catholic" as a modifier of "Church" became divisive only after the East-West Schism ... and the Protestant Reformation ... In the former case, the West claimed for itself the title Catholic Church, while the East appropriated the name Holy Orthodox Church. In the latter case, those in communion with the Bishop of Rome retained the adjective "Catholic", while the churches that broke with the Papacy were called Protestant.
  4. ^ Libreria Editrice Vaticana (2003). "Catechism of the Catholic Church." Retrieved on: 2009-05-01.
  5. ^ The Vatican. Documents of the II Vatican Council. Retrieved on: 2009-05-04. Note: The Pope's signature appears in the Latin version.
  6. ^ Declaration on Christian Formation, published by National Catholic Welfare Conference, Washington DC 1965, page 13
  7. ^ Whitehead, Kenneth (1996). ""How Did the Catholic Church Get Her Name?" Eternal Word Television Network. Retrieved on 9 May 2008.
  8. ^ Example: 1977 Agreement with Archbishop Donald Coggan of Canterbury
  9. ^ Walsh, Michael (2005). Roman Catholicism. Routledge. p. 19. Online version available here
  10. ^ Beal, John (2002). New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law. Paulist Press. ISBN 9780809140664. Retrieved 13 May 2008. p. 468
  11. ^ The New Catholic Encyclopedia states: "There is a further aspect of the term Roman Catholic that needs consideration. The Roman Church can be used to refer, not to the Church universal insofar as it possesses a primate who is bishop of Rome, but to the local Church of Rome, which has the privilege of its bishop being also the primate of the whole Church."
  12. ^ "CIA World Factbook". United States Government Central Intelligence Agency. 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
  13. ^ "Major Branches of Religions Ranked by Number of Adherents". adherents.com. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
  14. ^ Schreck, pp. 158–159.
  15. ^ Paul VI, Pope (1964). "Lumen Gentium chapter 3, section 22". Vatican. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
  16. ^ Code of Canon Law, canons 331 and 336
  17. ^ Teaching with Authority, by Richard R. Gaillardetz, p. 57
  18. ^ Schreck, p. 153.
  19. ^ Barry, p. 50–51.
  20. ^ Barry, p. 98–99.
  21. ^ Schreck, p. 152.
  22. ^ Barry, p. 37, 43–44.
  23. ^ Matthew 16:18–19
  24. ^ John 16:12–13
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference cat was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ O'Collins, p. v (preface).
  27. ^ Orlandis, preface
  28. ^ Paragraph number 865 (1994). "Catechism of the Catholic Church". Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Retrieved 8 February 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  29. ^ Kreeft, p. 110.
  30. ^ Shorto, Russel (8 April 2007). "Keeping the Faith". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 March 2008.


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