Catholic Church Essays (Examples)

Catholic Church in Spain and the United States
The Catholic Church has been a very significant religious and political institution in the Europe. Its origins can be traced to a thousand years when Christianity was itself in its infancy. It was a symbol of colossal authority and was much regarded as an institution that was as similar to the installed governmental mechanism of any nation state. Its power and influence spread far and wide across border irrespective of nations, caste and civilization. The Catholic Church gained more recognition and prominence in the medieval ages of history which was better known as the dark ages of Europe. While Europe itself was passing through a phase of disturbing events, timeless conflicts and strife all across its territory, the Catholic Church consolidated its position. It began playing a very significant role in the realm of social politics.

Matters of the state and the society began…

Catholic church and public policy have remarked that the members of American clergy in general, without even excepting those who do not admit religious liberty, are all in favour of civil freedom; but they do not support any particular political system. They keep aloof from parties, and from public affairs. In the United States religion exercises but little influence upon laws, and upon the details of public opinion; but it directs the manners of the community, and by regulating domestic life, it regulates the state. Alexis de Tocqueville
In making this statement, Alexis de Tocqueville sought to record religion's influence on American public life in the 1830's. Today, the intimate relations among political culture, political behavior, and church state circumstances that Tocqueville so aptly described are accurate in describing the relationship between politics and religion in the United States, and abroad.

In recent times and throughout history, politics and religion have been the…

..is particularly strong among younger Catholics and weekly Mass attendees." (Fleming, 2008, p.1) Fleming (2005) writes that the decline in support for capital punishment on the part of Catholics is "a salutary reminder that good arguments can change minds." (Fleming, 2008, p.1)
Summary and Conclusion

This brief review has demonstrated that the earlier views of the Catholic Church on the death penalty has experienced a shift over time and that the majority of today's Catholics strongly oppose the death penalty. In fact, it is younger Catholic individuals and individuals who are attendees weekly at Masses who are most strongly opposed to the death penalty.

Other findings in this brief review include that there are generational differences in support or opposition for the death penalty and as noted by Davidson (2005) only 41% of today's younger Millennial generation approves of the death penalty. In addition, findings show that Catholics who are college-educated and who…

Catholics believe that baptism is necessary for the removal of the inborn sin that is part of all human beings simply because they are human and not divine like God. The second sacrament is confirmation which signifies that "the person has become an adult in the eyes of the church and confirms the promise made by others at baptism" (Thompson, 155).
The third sacrament is of the Eucharist which re-enacts in words and actions Jesus sharing bread and wine with His disciples at the Last Supper. This sacrament is highly liturgical with ornate symbolism. In essence, the bread and the wine "actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ when the priest speaks the words of consecration." Another sacrament is reconciliation or confession in which penitents "confess their sins to God through the priest who in the name of God and with the authority of the church pronounces forgiveness"…

This happened because of the fact that many Catholic individuals could not resist the temptation of joining and supporting the Nazis as their power grew. Considering that doing otherwise would have had terrible consequences for them, it seems normal that they did not dare to rise against Nazism. ith claims like "The Church must enter completely into the Third Reich, it must be co-ordinated into the rhythm of the National Revolution, it must be fashioned by the ideas of Nazism, lest it remain a foreign body in the unified German Nazi community" (Conway 46), it is obvious that most Christians that were at Hitler's mercy at the time struggled to avoid becoming victims of the Nazi regime and chose the only solution that they had. Pius himself was unable to prevent Hitler from appointing his own bishops, given that the German church had virtually merged with the Nazi party…

Jesus of history, is the reflection of the social importance of Jesus in religious pretext, Jesus was famous in his region because he attempted to modify and improve the social and ethical setup of the society.
Christ of Faith is the same Jesus, but not the one who is handling hardships from society, and is the one who struggled to improve the religious understanding and scope of people, to bring them closer to God. Therefore, Christ of Faith, is the personal approach of an individual towards the Jesus Christ to develop religious understanding, where as, the Jesus of History is the approach towards Jesus Christ for improving social and ethical setup of the society, and furthermore, seek assistance from his worldly actions during the time of tribulations and hardships.

What can we learn about Jesus from his words and actions? What are the various models of Jesus we encountered?

Jesus Christ reflected…

" (Overburg, 2000) Jesus implores his followers to turn the other cheek.
The example of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, also reminds Catholics "in the prophetic tradition Jesus rejected violence, oppression and alienation. His life and teachings invited people into a new style of living: the reign of God. Intimacy and trust, compassion and forgiveness, concern for justice and nonviolence were key aspects of this new life." (Overburg, 2000) in other words, it is easy to forgive small offences. To forgive large offenses in the tradition of Christ is what is difficult. "hat should we forgive? The first response to this question is, quite simply, everything we can," as Catholics, suggests Maria Harris. (Harris, 2000)

She provides the humbling examples in other parts of the world where different groups have struggled with the issue of forgiveness of the most horrifying acts. For instance, Australians have proclaimed a day of forgiveness for sins…

Catholic Church in the 16th century and explain what factors/ocial conditions exacerbated the unrest associated with the Protestant Reformation.
Review sources of information.

There were several political, economic and religious factors that led to the Protestant Reformation. Although it did not take place until the 16th century, it had its beginnings in the 14th century.

What were some of the arguments directed against the Catholic Church in the sixteenth century?

The causes of the great religious revolt of the sixteenth century can be traced back as early as the fourteenth century. First, the doctrine of the Church continued its course in several parts of Europe, wholly uninterruptedly. The unhappy conditions that existed were largely due to civil and profane influences or to the exercise of authority by ecclesiastics in civil spheres. Gradually, in many parts of Europe, political and social conditions hampered the reformatory activities of the Church and the forces of heresy…

Catholic Church wielded much power during the Middle Ages, and was a big part of the people living at the time. The popularity of the Catholic Church was partly due to the widespread illiteracy among the population of Europe. Literacy was common among the nobility and the clergy, but such was not the case with the working class public, who often did not have access to education. Since the majority of the population was illiterate, churchgoers acquired their knowledge of the bible from sermons. In order to further instill Biblical stories into the minds of the general population, the very structure of the church was used as an instrument to further advance the biblical knowledge of the general public. Thus, the stained glass windows of many Catholic churches served the purpose of reminding churchgoers of Biblical narratives through visual means, and the Chartres Cathedral was no exception.
Upon entering the…

Location: "ROMAN Catholic Church" in Manchester, NH
The Catholic Church that I visited was Ste. Marie Parish. This is a colorful church that was built in the olden days. The building is ancient, and built in a beautiful design which presents the olden architectural beauty. It is a stone building and represents Rome in its structure. The structures are similar to those used by the Roman Emperors. Outside the building, there is no much decoration but the inside is full of pictures of Jesus, Mary mother of Jesus and several saints. All this art work is on the inside walls. Other than drawn pictures, there are sculptures of the same on the walls. The paintings are beautifully done and they seem to be a modification of Leonardo Da Vinci. These historic art works are quite impressing.

There are some elect structures representing Jesus, Mary, and Joseph among others. They have been…

History of the Catholic Church on the Death Penalty
Traditionally, the Catholic Church has been in favor of the death penalty in some specific circumstances. However, this is a position that has changed in recent times. Currently, the teachings of the Church totally and unequivocally oppose the death penalty. In this text, I concern myself with the history of the Catholic Church on capital punishment. In so doing, I will amongst other things highlight how the position of the Church with regard to the death penalty has changed over time.

The Death Penalty: A Concise Definition

The death penalty is a form of punishment in which case a wrongdoer incurs "a more severe loss, that of life itself" (Pojman and eiman, 1998, p. 46). This is the definition of the death penalty that will be adopted in this text. Some of the wrongdoings which were punishable by death, most particularly in the…

" And even though the "Nazi actions became increasingly brutal, anti-Semitic, and anti-Christian," Pius XII "failed to raise his voice against the German invasion of Poland" (Coppa, p. 9). Pius expressed "no public outrage against [Nazi acts of] mass extermination" nor did he speak out publicly to "elimination of the Jews" even after the horror of the Holocaust had been known for some time.
Coppa wondered on page 9 if Pius XII had actually issued Pius XI's encyclical "stressing the unity of the human race and the incompatibility of racism and Christianity, might more of the millions exterminated have been spared?" The question has no answer, of course. And as Coppa concludes, "e shall never know."

Benjamin Frankel edited the book History in Dispute, Vol. 11: The Holocaust, 1933-1945, and edited the essay in that book ("The Role of Pope Pius in the Holocaust"). Adding to that essay is Newman University's Robert…

J.W (1996) eported that the oman Catholics and Orthodox, continued to ban priestesses as they have for almost 2,000 years, the fate of many evangelical congregations continue to shift back and forth. "Scripture does not support the ordination of women, God created men and women [morally] equal but with different roles" (W, 1996).
The practical argument for opening the priesthood to women and to married men is that there are not enough priests. These steps would provide the church with a wider pool of candidates. However, Woodward (2002) stated that he thought that a married clergy, while possibly solving one problem, would create others in its place. Pastoring a congregation is stress-ridden work. The pay is low and the hours rough on spouses and children. There is no reason to believe that many married men -- or their wives -- would be attracted to the priestly ministry. Moreover, Catholics typically give…

Ustase and the Roman Catholic Church
After the end of World War I, Croatia and lovenia, both Roman Catholic states, united with the Eastern Orthodox state, erbia. Together the three states formed Yugoslavia. It was however not a peaceful union, and almost immediately after the formation of Yugoslavia, the Croats founded the Ustase. This name derives from the noun "ustas," meaning "insurgent." Originally this title was used for erb Orthodox insurgents in the 1975 Hercegovinian rebellion. The fascist connotation of the term thus only emerged later, when Croatian Roman Catholics adopted the name. The Ustase as formed after World War I was a terrorist network aimed mostly against the erbs, formed in response to the banning of all national parties during January 1929. The head of this organization was Ante Pavilec, who founded the party together with Gustav Percec, and it was financed by Mussolini. Pavilec assassinated King Alexander I of…

Judging from these examples, it is entirely possible that the Popes could have set the example from the top and been more trusting of the average people, bringing them into the fold of their own accord, without arm twisting, coercion and threats. An idealistic view this may be, but it is also a viable one given the available literature on this period of history.
More Desirable Course of Action

Having taken a look at what was realistically possible for the Catholic Church from 1100 to 1500, it is now possible to propose a more desirable course of action for the Catholic Church prior to the protestant movement which brought the power of the church as an absolute to an end. To begin, the installation of a Pope, or any ultimate figurehead with so much power vested in them seems to be a poor idea- citing the old adage that absolute power…

Euthanasia and the Traditional Catholic Church
Fr. Mackin is the spiritual leader of a traditional Catholic Church. His worldview is informed by his religious faith and on the subject of voluntary/assisted euthanasia he represented the perspective of the traditional Catholic Church. The stance of the Church on euthanasia, according to Fr. Mackin, is clear: it does not condone the taking of life, including one's own, in any circumstance (except for self-defense or in war time -- cases which do not apply to the taking of one's own life, which Fr. Mackin described as a sin against hope and charity).

Mackin clarified how euthanasia is actually a sin against charity, because it would seem that it might be more charitable to help someone who is suffering from a terminal disease to ease their pain by terminating their suffering (i.e., their life). However, the opinion of the traditional Catholic Church is that the hour…

Sacraments and Learning
Having a Catholic background but not being particularly religious, I learned a lot from this course about the history of the Church's use of sacramentals and sacraments, rituals and symbols. hereas before, I was somewhat aware of these without really understanding their significance or their origins, now I can appreciate what they mean and how they developed out of cultural and historical practices. hat I expected to learn from taking this course was far exceeded by what I actually learned, which was a greater appreciation of the way that the Catholic Church has integrated signs and symbols into Her rites and rituals as a way of conveying a sense of the religious faith and mystery that goes along with religious practice. Before this class, these symbols were like a wall to my understanding but now they are like a door or window into the mindset of the Church…

Protestant Summary
The author of this report is to list and summarize the four major Protestant reform movements. Those movements are the Lutherans, the Zwingli/Anabaptists, the Reformed church (Calvins) and the English church. For each church, the main person who spurred and created the moment will be named, the main theological points and precepts for each movement will be listed and the major events of each reform movement will be listed. While each reform movement bears some similarities, they are also quite different as well.

The Lutheran movement was an offshoot and breakaway of the Catholic Church and was created in the early 1500's by its namesake Martin Luther. Luther, a German monk, chose to take the step to break away from the Catholic Church due to the perceived problems and issues that existed with the Catholic Church at the time. His work started with his treatise known as 95 Theses in…

Medieval Women
To state the obvious, the lives of medieval women were very different than those of women today. The medieval times are often referred to as the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages, the people of Europe often lived in smaller rural communities. The families would make their living off of the land. The women of these families were typically peasants and they would shoulder many of the domestic responsibilities of the home including caring for children, preparing the food and tending to the livestock. The peak time of the year for peasants during medieval times was the harvest. The women of this time would help their husbands bring in the food that was being harvested. ather than stay in the home, the women would go out into the fields and render direct assistance. Women would offer direct assistance in many vital "cottage" industries. These industries would include brewing, textiles…

Pascal & Giussani
The Roman Catholic church is not generally considered doctrinally "broad," and indeed many of its most fascinating theological voices -- ranging from Pelagius in the fifth century to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J., in the twentieth -- have often bordered on, or crossed over into, outright heresy. However, I wish to look at two explicitly Roman Catholic apologies for religious belief -- one written by an actual cleric, Monsignor Luigi Giussani, and the other written by the great French polymath Blaise Pascal -- to compare and contrast the rationales offered for religious belief. Pascal's affiliation with Jansenism -- more of a religious revival within Catholicism, although eventually condemned as heretical by the Vatican -- may have led him to a fraught relationship with organizational structures of the Church (particularly the Jesuits) but I think overall we will find that Pascal's thinking is more in line with the contemporary…

Filipino Culture
The Philippines is a band of islands running north to south between the South China Sea and the Philippine Sea. The country lies to the south of Taiwan, the east of Vietnam and to the north of Indonesia. Prior to colonization by the West in the 16th century, the Philippines consisted primarily of individual tribes. With the Spanish takeover, these tribes were either conquered or converted to Catholicism and brought under the secular rule of the Spanish crown and the spiritual rule of the Roman pontiff. This paper will describe the cultural experience of what is still today Catholic Philippines and what that experience is like.

The Philippines is very much a combination of Eastern and Western cultures, as it consists of an Asian people who have been settled and colonized by Western societies for centuries. Thus, there is a major Catholic presence and culture in the Philippines that is…

It is also recorded that the first utterances of Jesus in the public was that where he proclaimed that he had been anointed to preach the good news to the poor. In that public speech, Jesus also gave a warning to the rich that they have already received their consolation. In a parable, Jesus also warned his followers against greed and the reliance on riches when he narrated the story of the man who had his life taken away from him when he tried to secure wealth for himself (O'Brien & Shannon 71). The story of Lazarus and the rich man is also used as a warning against excessive riches. The pope John Paul II used this parable as a warning to the rich and prosperous. He warned them not to be blind to their great poverty despite their numerous possessions.
The Roman Catholic Church has adopted practices pertaining to…

They reminded readers that Father Cutie joined the priesthood under those rules, with full knowledge of the requirements of priesthood, but that he placed himself above church law (Mayo, May 14, 2009).
Still earlier, in 2006, the Catholic Church in Australia became embroiled in a debate over whether the small and struggling Catholic Church there should cease insisting on clergymen's celibacy when a priests' association said that doing away with the requirement might reverse the decline in the number of priests. More than 40 bishops in Australia and half the Catholic clergy (1,650 in number) wrote to the Vatican's Synod of Bishops requesting they consider changing the requirement to allow married priests to be ordained and to allow priests who had left the church to marry to be reinstated. Father Hal anger pointed out that in Australia many priests converting to Catholicism were married and were allowed to remain married…

Belief that Christ is present in the Eucharist is rooted explicitly in Scripture, while the devotion known as Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament was not practiced until the early 14th century (McBrien). hile the belief in Christ presence will forever remain a part of the deposit of faith as a Tradition, the tradition of Benediction may disappear without consequence (McBrien).
The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation teaches that Scripture and Tradition form one sacred deposit of revelation and that Tradition encompasses the "whole life, witness, teaching and worship of the church," thus Tradition is a living, dynamic reality that "develops in the church with the help of the Holy Spirit" (McBrien).

According to Catholic theologians, Tradition is never independent of Scripture, therefore is something is not found in Scripture, then it is not in Tradition, even if it is a legitimate tradition of the Church (McBrien).

orks Cited

Catechism of the Catholic Church.…

However, Cardinal Gibbons, even after this encyclical by the Pope, "took a dim view of strikes (by the Catholic immigrants)" and any "concrete action by American Catholics was slow in coming, (due to) the conservatism of the clergy and the parochial concerns of the lay leaders" (Carnes 654).
The Catholic church responded in other ways to the crucial needs of immigrant Catholics in the United States, especially in the area of social reform and support. Mother Frances Cabrini, an Italian immigrant, founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart in order to teach Italians in the parochial schools run by the Catholic church, to care for the thousands of homeless children that had been forced to live in the streets because of the deaths of their parents from hatred, and to place nurses in hospitals. Such organizations as the Saint Vincent de Paul Society made it possible for Catholics to…

Catholic Hindu
Throughout my brief time here on planet earth I have realized that philosophy is a very valuable tool that can help guide someone like me into a world of wonderment, awe and excitement. I also realize that I am only equipped with belief systems as everything seems to fail under close scrutiny. My nature, along with the rest of humanity, is to learn, play and experience life to its fullest and most subjective method.

Although I am a Catholic, I realize that this religion is only a tool that I use to help reach what I am truly searching for: the religious experience. The Catholic Church would have its parishioners believe that divinity does not dwell inside the personal soul, but this I where I disagree with my chosen institution. I believe that I am Christ and God and that my divine nature is expressed through my personality and incarnation.

Hinduism…

According to the institutional authority of the Catholic Church, individuals must accept certain principles, go through certain orientation and membership procedures (such as confirmation and confession), and submit to certain authorities, such as priests, bishops, and the Pope.
Give a meaning of sacrament as it applies to church.

Sacraments in the context of a worship community are often defined as the invisible made visible, or how the divine makes itself physically manifest on earth. The most obvious symbol of this is transubstantiation in the Catholic Mass, where God is made present in the form of the host, through the ritual process evident during the ceremony. In other Christian traditions, such as Quakerism, the spirit may be spontaneously present during a communal and nonhierarchical worship ceremony, when it moves ordinary believers to speak. The church during the context of any worship ceremony is supposed to provide a unique space and time for…

They also believe that criticizing people that are intolerant however, like people that are Conservative Catholics, does no good because it only perpetuates harsh feelings toward other which is sinful.
However, there are other individuals like Amy that believe Conservative Catholics are good people because they follow the original doctrine as laid forth by Jesus and God in the Bible. Amy suggests that "it is not ok to let homeless people sleep on their steps" and that regardless of one's faith, any Catholic, whether conservative or not has a job to help that person and provide them with sanctuary. However, she doesn't believe that the church should acknowledge gay marriages, as do some of the liberal churches in California that claim to practice Catholicism.

Many devout Catholics suggest that the conservative approach is much better than the liberal approach quotes Amy, because it is impossible to label a Catholic church as…

n our reflection of Jesus and the scriptures, we are given a doctrine by which to live and a narrative explaining why we should abide this doctrine.
Greeley, a.M. (2001). Sacred Place, Sacred Time, exc. From the Catholic magination. University of California Press.

n 2001, Andrew Greely published the Catholic magination and with it, the excerpt that we consider here. Entitled "Sacred Place, Sacred Time," this carries a similar theme to the work by Cunningham & Egan, making particular reference to the visible presence of God in the surrounding works and creations of the men who worship him. n a compelling description of the city of Koln, the Greely selection lays out the assessment that even in a secular context where survival has been a dominant theme through generations of warfare, spirituality is in stark evidence to the beholder.

Again, we see the them of God's presence in the accomplishments of man.…

Of course, since these views are ased on those who are high-ranking memers of the church, Hennesey's narrative is somewhat iased, yet it does provide an excellent overview of many important topics related to American Catholicism.
Hurley, M. (2002). The unholy ghost: Anti-catholicism in the american experience.

Huntington, IN: Sunday Visitor Press.

In this carefully-documented study of prejudice against Catholics in the United States, Bishop Mark Hurley examines the entire history of prejudice from the 1700's and up to the present day. There are three sections to this work, eing 1776 to Vatican II, post-Vatican II and a final section which focuses upon the issue of aortion and how American Catholics feel aout this very controversial topic.

McAvoy, T.T. (1942). The catholic church in the United States etween two wars. Review of Politics, 4(4), 409-431.

Although somewhat dated, this essay examines in great detail and with much insight how the Catholic Church changed etween…

Cross Culture Catholic Case Study
The impacts of culture on a society can be measured in the collective behaviors that manifest from those who celebrate some sort of culture. Culture is a combination of many aspects, but in totality suggest a background environment of impulses and forces which lay out a pathway of behavior for an individuals. These pathologies are not healthy or unhealthy in themselves, but serve as backdrops or roles for humans to play and interact within society.

Cross cultural psychology aims to examine the impact of culture on mind behavior. The strength and efficiency in which organized religion plays within one's culture cannot be argued. The spiritual content of human beings cannot be denied and the aims of religion is to make sense of these spiritual urges and blend them within our total and whole being. Organized religion makes this very difficult in many aspects and the focus of…

Catholic High School
Choosing the education which will best serve our children is one of the most difficult decisions a parent can make. There is a very real possibility that choosing the wrong institution will destroy or at the very least seriously hinder the future success of your child. Choosing a good school will allow your child to receive a better education, to develop better socially and avoid some of the serious pitfalls which are more often encountered in lesser schools, and will open the doors for future academic successes and subsequent career success as your children progress into adulthood. Private schools have proven statistically to provide a higher quality of education in addition to a pantheon of other benefits. A private Catholic school education provides students with academic, social, and religious benefits which no other school can promise.

Academically, a private education is vastly superior to the education proffered at public…

Key Stakeholders Influencing eligious Education

A basic assumption underlying Catholic education in primary schools is that children are already believers, with God and Jesus already familiar figures (yan 1999). Oddly, the Church itself is less a major player in the development of curricula because this underlying belief already exists (or is perceived to exist). Instead, the major stakeholders that influence the development of religious education includes parents, administrators, and more local representatives of the Church rather than the central powers of the Church (yan 1999; Buchanan 2003). In the modern era, educational and Catholic theorists have gained greater influence over the development of curricula, giving basic religious concepts a more prominent place in education and allowing for greater critical investigation with reduced initial assumptions (Buchanan 2003). The role of Jesus in Catholic education has become less doctrinal and more accessible as a way of improving the level of engagement of Catholic…

More often than not the Catholic instruction would be enhanced by a mutual strengthening of both knowledge and catechesis. Each should inform and empower the other.
The role of the Catholic school is to synthesize and fuse catechesis with religious education, and to imbue all subject areas with Catholic values. Faith becomes an integral part of student life. For example, the students will be given active time for prayer and spiritual -- not just religious -- studies (Crotty, Fletcher & McGrath 1995). Students at Catholic schools are learning how to integrate faith and culture, faith and personal life, faith and all other areas of life. A Catholic education offers a special primer with which to do so.

Graham (1994) points out that Catholic schools need to break free of the "isolationist paradigm that has been their practice and build a genuine catechetical partnership with families," (p. 4). One way of breaking…

n addition to the explicit curriculum of facts and the implicit curriculum of cultural indoctrination, Eisner (1985) argues that there is also a null curriculum that is taught precisely through not teaching certain things -- there is a set of facts and values that is explicitly (and implicitly) not a part of any given educational system, so students are also taught what to discount, ignore, or even simply fail to perceive. This is perhaps the most profound and the most essential part of Eisner's argument in this essay, with definite and resounding implications and ramifications on attempts at a well-rounded religious education.

For Catholic schools, the issues that Eisner raises must be viewed in the context of a school that is at least somewhat explicitly indoctrinating students with specific values and beliefs. That is, a major part of the explicit curriculum in Catholic schools -- the facts and figures that are…

The author then asserts the tenet of natural law that men naturally seek what is good, and that to know the good and not pursue it is to reject God (99, 101-102). Balthasar closes with a comparison of the freedom of an individual and his membership in an aggregate social group -- the only true way to combine the two identities, he says, is in Christ, where the two identities converge.
All three of these discussions attempt to explain a modern facet of Christian belief and practice-Schurmann in his examination of a New Testament interpretation, Ratzinger in his reconciliation of praxis and theory, and Balthasar with his overview of justifications for action based on faith. Each man treats a subject that is distinctly modern in its discussion, most notably Ratzinger's response to the Marxist concept of praxis, but all three topics can be related back to moral theology and trace…

...liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,,: (Luke 4: 18)
Summary & Conclusion

The teaching of the Catholic Church in relation to social rights and responsibilities is quite clear however, it has been noted to be critical by the U.S. ishops that the church teaches these social principles more clearly and more persistently to the church in advancing the Kingdom of God and in fulfillment of the Great Commission.

ibliography

yron, William J. (1998) Ten uilding locks of Catholic Social Teaching. America - the National Catholic Weekly Vol. 196 No. 3-29, January 29. Online available at http://www.americamagazine.org/articles/catholicsocialteachingbryon.cfm.

Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (2004)) Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church- to Hi Holiness Pope John Paul II Master of Social Doctrine and Evangelical Witness to Justice and Peace. 2004. Libreria Editrice Vaticana

ISN 88-209-7716-8. Online available at: www.vatican.va/roman_curia/p ontifical_councils/justpeace/docum ents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html#the%20Church,%20the%20Kingdom%20of%20God%20and% 20 the%20renewal%20of%20social%20relations

Cf. John Paul II,…

2012 annual meeting of the Catholic Bishops of the United States, Dorothy Day, already officially named a "servant of God," was unanimously recommended for canonization, the first step on the path to sainthood. Pope Benedict XVI, in one of his last public speeches said that this remarkable woman was a "…model of conversion." (Forest) Although never raised a Catholic, Dorothy Day would convert to Catholicism and become a major figure in the Catholic orker Movement, a social movement that used Catholic teachings to address the needs of the poor. It would seem that the communist, anarchist, and socialist groups to which she once belonged lacked the spiritual aspect of service that she needed in her life; something she discovered in the Catholic Church. But as she came to the Church as an outsider, she was able to view the institutions of the Church with a more discriminating eye and…

Direct IMPACT that Catholic Voices had on the media contributing to the perceived success of the Pope's visit in 2010 amidst the volatile negative climate surrounding the Catholic Church in that year
Even if people are interested in knowing about various religions and getting inspired from them, a lot many get put off from the topic when religious intolerance begets riots and uproars in a city, an instance that was observed in America when the issue of burning the Korans arose. Also, the issue of the New York Islamic centre sparked a number of controversies (Ingebretsen, 2005). One way that the Catholic Church and Pope have been able to avoid such criticism in the past is by befriending the media. One of the most recent examples of this is the formation of the group -- Catholic Voices -- the primary purpose and objective of this group was to "amplify the voice…

Anglican Church
It is commonly believed that the country of England was a solely Catholic nation until Henry VIII's abrupt break from Catholicism so that they might marry Anne Boleyn. The king was already married and under Catholic law, the only way to end a marriage was through the death of a spouse or through annulment. Henry attempted to annul his first marriage, but the presence of a daughter Mary, showed that his claims that the marriage went unconsummated proved to be completely false. The Catholic Church refused to grant Henry a divorce and vowed to excommunicate him from the church if he went through with it (Dixon 1878,-page 3). In retaliation, King Henry of England decided that, rather than have to obey a religious person in a position of power, he would break off from the Catholic Church entirely and place himself at the head of his new religion. Doing…

People of the parish won't know the difference." But the parishioners will know the difference if they wake up one morning and their church is closed; which many fear will be their fate.
If that happens many parishioners feel they would be lost without their church. Theresa Henry stated "I would be devastated if they closed this church. I found solitude coming here, it's helped me through hard times." Before anyone should panic however, Father Peter was quick to comment on the potential closing of Holy Cross Church stating "There's an ongoing planning process, it would be foolish to close down Holy Cross." He also attempted to raise moods by telling parishioners that there would be no decision any time soon and that a final decision won't be made for at least "two years."

Parishioners at Holy Cross Church in Times Square can read the writing on the wall and many…

St. Peter's Basilica is located in Vatican City, and was consecrated in 1626 (Saint). It is among the largest of the world's churches and is considered to be one of the holiest of Catholic sites on the planet. The church's namesake, St. Peter, is buried there, as well, and believed to be located directly below the altar (Saint). There has been a churched located on that site since oman Times, which is part of the reason St. Peter's in seen as so valuable when it comes to architecture and its place in the Catholic Church. Liturgical functions are held there, and it is also a common and very famous place for pilgrimage.
When the Pope gives services there, several times per year, between 15,000 and 80,000 people come out to hear him speak (St. Peter's). Even those who are not Catholic or religious in any way have often heard of and…

However, Henry VIII was still insistent at that time on Catholicism in everything except loyalty to the Pope. The Pope had named Henry VIII a Defender of the Faith for the opposition that Henry had to Martin Luther, and Henry's theology did not change any because of his rejection of the authority of the Pope.
Thomas Cranmer and some or the other leaders of the Church, however, decided that there was a need to reform what they considered to be the heresies that had developed. Especially important to them were a liturgy and a ible that was printed in English. In addition to this, they also wanted to do away with some of the beliefs and practices that the Catholic Church had and that they believed did not fit in with Scripture, such as veneration of saints, celibacy for the clergy, and Purgatory. Their desire by accomplishing these things was…

onsidering that the old order in Ireland was in place since two millennia and had always been under the control of the Gaelic chieftains, their removal from the leadership of the provinces of Ireland by the English rown was destined to arise the resistance of the majority who sought support in the atholic world and especially hoped in the papal authority. urtis points out that the resistance against the protestant faith that built up after Elisabeth took over Munster and Ulster was coming not only from inside the respective Irish provinces, but also from the dissidents in Italy, Portugal, Spain and the Low countries. On one hand they were gathering in the spirit of preserving the old faith, on the other, the Irish and the Anglo-Irish who opposed the Reformation were changing their ways supported by the Jesuits who helping the process of transforming the faithful into fanatics. On…

Vatican II

Vatican II, officially known as the Second Vatican Council, was a meeting of many leaders of the Catholic Church to discuss both theological and social issues pertaining to the Church in the modern era. Convened by Pope John XXIII in the 1960s and continued by his successor Paul VI, the main goal of the Second Vatican Council was to establish the Church's role and meaning in the modern world, which it recognized as fundamentally changed from the role of the Church in previous eras. Many different topics of concern were examined during the many phases of Vatican II, and the Council produced a number of documents on these varying subjects that help to define Church doctrine and perspectives on the modern world. When it comes to the social thought and action of the Catholic Church following Vatican II, one of the most important documents produced by the Council is…

As great as it is to have one thing that everyone shares, it's even better to have more than one to relate to. I think that makes people take their faith even more seriously.
I absolutely believe that misconceptions about people's beliefs are common. Protestants believe Catholics worship idols; Christians believe pagans worship demons and dance naked in the woods; believers think atheists are horrible, immoral people. From what I remember in history, part of the reason the Catholic Church was able to pull off the Crusades was by painting the non-Christians as evildoers who ate babies. hy does it happen? Because as human beings, we want to believe that we have a good deal on the afterlife. And I also think people often just want to think of themselves as "better" than others.

To fix this, I think people should be more willing to discuss their faith with others. Of…

Anglican Church
The modern Anglican Church is more specifically referred to as the Anglican Communion. It is an international association of national and regional Anglican Church, so instead of there being a single "Anglican" Church with universal authority and dominion over all Churches, each national or regional Church has full and complete autonomy. Historically, these Churches fall under full communion with the Church of England, or the Mother Church, and the specific titular head, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The status of "full communion" means, ideally that there is mutual agreement on several specific and basic doctrinal issues, and that full participation in each single Church's sacramental rubric is available and upheld by all Anglicans (The Anglican Communion Official Website, 2011).

Overall, the essential nature of the Anglican Communion is epitomized in the iblical passafe from John 1: This life is revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare…

At the time, the question-and-response format seemed an ideal way of instructing converts and children 'correctly.' The text originally began as a preacher's reference, rather than was intended as a pedagogical instrument (25). As pointed out by Herbert Lombaerts, the catechism arose as a reaction to the Protestant eformation -- as a way of purifying the new Catholic faith, and distilling its very essence from the trappings of the cult of the saints and papal authority. The catechism itself, however, became a kind of holy relic, and the words and structure of the text took on symbolic value, beyond their actual meaning (Lombaerts 1986: 5).
Studying a mid-1970s classroom text for use in Australian Catholic entitled Here and now reflects a far different concept of the student than the rote repeater of dogma of the pre-Vatican II era. In the textbook, the student is asked to make a list of…

What changes will occur will be demographic and social. These changes will influence the way in which faith is practiced, but not the faith itself. The faith remains. This can be compared with the current trend of the Global Church as well. Christians from across the world are joining this Church under the unifying umbrella of their faith. Culturally, this means the integration of a wide variety of cultures and denominations. These differences no longer cause division, since the unifying factor, faith, is stronger. Allen seems to imply the same in his work. The faith that makes the Catholic Church remains its foundation. In the Global Church, the same thing occurs on a wider scale. The Christian faith remains unchanged, although the way in which this faith is expressed and integrated undergoes some changes.
Part 3:

What Lewis seems to be describing is a type of uniform Christian society, free from…

. Lutherans believe that it is only through grace and faith in Christ as the one true savior that one can be saved (Lutheranism pp). The Lutheran view of salvation can be summarized by saying:
All humanity is sinful.

Humanity is incapable of rising out of its sinful state on its own.

All who sin are under the wrath of God and are subject to His just and righteous punishment.

God's gift of grace is the establishment of faith in Jesus Christ.

God elects the faithful, declaring them just and righteous and forgiving their sins" (Lutheranism pp).

Great emphasis on a liturgical approach to worship services, along with music forms a large part of a traditional Lutheran service (Lutheranism pp). Lutheran churches have active music ministries, including choirs, hand-bell choirs, children's choirs, and sometimes carillon societies (Lutheranism pp). Johann Sebastian Bach was a devout Lutheran and composed music for the Church (Lutheranism pp).

Children's ministries are fundamental…

Churches represented the primary type of Romanesque architecture. Despite regional variations, Romanesque architecture shares a multitude of common characteristics such as harmonious proportions, stone barrel vault, round arches supporting the roof, thick and heavy walls and pillars, or small windows. Also, most Romanesque churches feature round arches used for exterior and interior decoration, a nave with side aisles though there is also a number of small, more modest churches which do not have an aisle), galleries above the side aisles, separated from the nave by a triforium, a transept, an apse and an ambulatory around the apse. Also, most Romanesque churches have multiples towers, as well as sculptured decorations on portals and capitals, and painted decorations throughout the interior. One of the most important structural developments of Romanesque architecture was the stone barrel vault which was intended as an alternative to wooden roofs which were prone to fires (Butt 162).…

ethnography of the local Traditional Catholic community which practices at a nearby church. This group is very dissimilar in appearance and behavior from the surrounding neighborhood, even from the surrounding mainstream Catholic or "novus ordo" Catholic community, as the Traditional Catholic community calls it. This difference is rooted in the belief system that the community holds, which informs their practices, behaviors and modes of dress. Their main concern is with being "traditional" in all things. Thus, their appearance has a very dated look to it (a kind of 1950s style of dress among the men and women) and their worship is very Old World in terms of being in Latin and having lots of statuary in the church. However, they are easy to talk to and they seemed to have a sincere interest in converting me, which was flattering in a way. This paper discusses these people, their culture…

Religion: How Universal is the Christian Church?
Given all the variations of Christian denominations and different religions, how is it that the Church can still claim to be universal? "The name refers on one hand to the inclination towards uniformity (universus) existing in different things, in virtue of which different things may be represented by a single idea applicable to all in the same way and on the other hand to this one idea which is applicable to the different things (unum vs. alia)" (Universals pg). As used in the Nicene Creed, Catholic means 'universal' or 'all-embracing,' thus, Jesus Christ intended his church to embrace all people, just as he embraced all people, demonstrating in his own ministry to Greeks and Jews, rich and poor, woman and man, free person and slave alike (Schreck 89). The term 'catholic' in reference to the church is first recorded in a letter of…

In 1924, the American Congress greatly reduced immigration with the Immigration Act, but this system was removed in 1965 which allowed for a huge wave of immigration from parts of Asia, such as the Philippine Islands, Japan and China; also, immigrants from Haiti and Mexico flooded in and greatly increased the population of American Catholics. With the arrival of the 1960's, five events are of high importance. First, John F. Kennedy became the first Catholic President of the United States in 1960 which "due to his popularity, charisma and personal integrity reassured non-Catholic Americans that Catholicism was legitimate and that Catholics could be trusted" (Emerson, 256).

Second, Pope John XXIII who had been elected as Pope in 1958 became one of the most popular and beloved Catholic Pope in modern history, due to his attempts to bring Catholics and non-Catholics together in friendship and appreciation. Third, John XXIII also convened the…

Lawsuit Challenges Anti-Abortion Policies at Catholic Hospitals" brings to attention the recent case of the American Civil Liberties Union filling suit against the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which has attracted attention for its unusual approach. Based on the way the medical stuff at Mercy Health Hospital from Muskegon, Michigan, dealt with a medical case involving a pregnant woman in her eighteenth pregnancy week, the organization decided to go to the roots of such decision and attack this in court.
The facts, as the article presents them, appear simple: Tamesha Means went to the only hospital she had in her country. She was 18-month pregnant and her water broke, which, in less medical terms, meant that her baby had absolutely no chance of surviving, but she would, under proper medical treatment. However, because the hospital was benefiting from Catholic funding and had to abide by Catholic directives, this did…

It will use historical evidence to examine the role of the church is a spiritual entity. It will examine the role of the church as a political entity throughout changing political landscapes. It will explore the role of the church as a social service provider with regards to the importance of this role in helping black people to redeem themselves in light of historical cultural atrocities that they have faced.
esearch Questions

In order to examine that topics of interest un this research study the following research questions be addressed.

1. How has the black church served as redemptive force in helping the black people to heal?

2. What factors served as a redemptive force in helping the image of black people in the black church to improve?

3. How has a black church helped black communities to regain and maintain their self-sufficiency?

4. How has the black church served as a means to identify…

beliefs and practices of the Eastern Orthodox Church can be somewhat differentiated from the basic beliefs and practices of the Western Church due to its veneration of iconography or spiritual imagery of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Eastern Orthodox Church can be differentiated as well from the Western Church in that they pray for the dead and are stated to believe that icons "…are a meeting point between the living and the dead; they believe God's grace is active in relics of the saints, they pray to angels; they have a view of sacraments that is differentiated from those of the Western Church in that salvation "…deposited in the Orthodox Church and the priest gives saving grace through the sacraments, so that people have a relationship with the Church rather than with Jesus Christ." (Young, 2007, p.1)
General Information

The Eastern Orthodox church is reported to be a fellowship of "administratively…

Emergence." hat author's key message proposes Church? How evaluate suggestions local church today? Grading Rubric 1) Formatting Spelling 5 pts. 2) Accuracy thoroughness summary key message proposal 65 pts.
The Great Emergence

hat is the author's key message and what does she propose to the Church? How do you evaluate her suggestions and what would it mean for the local church today?

According to Phyllis Tickle, the author of The Great Emergence, we are in a new era of religious reflection. Periodically, all religions 'clean house' and re-examine their storehouse of ideals. Over the course of her text, Tickle examines how cultural moments like the re-centering of the universe with the sun at its center; the publication of Darwin's Origin of Species; the development of psychoanalysis; and even the popularization of Joseph Campbell on PBS caused estern culture to view the Christian religion differently. Tickle urges Christians to not see the current…

Christ Book Critique
Everett Ferguson's book Church History, Volume One: from Christ to Pre-Reformation explores the relationship between the church and secular historical events. Since the inception of the Christian religion, those in positions of leadership have utilized the faith in the religion to extend power to the followers, often coming into conflict with secular leaders such as kings and queens. The book covers an extended period of time and deals thoroughly with the various struggles of the Christian religion and specifically the Catholic Church. The book also explains the writing of the Christian Bible and explains the ways that the religion spread until it eventually became the most influential belief practice in the western world. In the text, the author makes several arguments regarding this dynamic which deal with specific periods in Christian history including the first rise of Christianity in the waning Roman Empire, the growth of the papacy…

ole of Women in Paul's Church
The role of women in church as laid out by the Apostle Paul has always been controversial. There are those who say that Paul hated women and created restrictive, secondary roles for them in the church because of it. Others, however, maintain that Paul loved women and that the roles he created for them in the Christian church were very liberating for them. Still others acknowledge that the roles for women that Paul created for the Christian church are somewhat restrictive and secondary, but say that this is because of the status of women in society at that time, not because Paul hated women. The role of women in the Christian church as ordered by Paul continues to be controversial and a matter of scholarly interpretation and study today. This paper takes a look at the role of women in the Christian church as ordered…