Roman Catholic church

With an estimate of more than one Faithful billion S, the Roman Catholic church is the most important branch of the Christianisme, making Catholicism the first religion in the world. It is defined, in particular in the Parole S of the Credo, like “one” (single true faith, in which remains single the Institution founded by the Christ to gather there the people of God), “Saint E” (by its single bond with God, of “Wife of Christ”), “catholic” (in Greek “universal”: spread by all the Ground and carrying the entirety of the deposit of the faith) and “apostolic” (founded by the Apostle S and continuing to them Mission).

It is with the Church that is entrusted the transmission and the interpretation of the Révélation. The Church rests at the same time on the Holy Scriptures and on the apostolic Tradition, “one and the other must be received and venerated with equal feeling of love and respect. ”

The Catholiques are the Christian Baptisé S in this Church. One of the features which characterize them is the recognition of the bishop of Rome, called Pape, like direct successor of the Apôtre Pierre, Vicaire of Jesus-Christ and sovereign chief of the Church.

All the life of the Church is achieved in the Eucharistie. Eucharistie is the source and the top of the life of the Church. It is called the Corps of Christ ressuscity and it is a drug for the eternal life . The Church professes that Jesus-Christ is really present in the Holy Species. The Church also professes that Jesus-Christ is Vrai God and true man . The Church professes at the same time as God is the Holy Trinity.

A Christian of the Catholic church is of Latin Rite (which can be Roman, ambrosien, Mozarab, Dominican romano-Lyonese, cartusien, , etc) or of rite Oriental (Maronite, melkite, syriaque, copte, etc, to see Eastern Catholic churches). The epithet “Roman” is used usually in addition to distinguish the Catholic church (Christian in union with the pope) from the other forms of Catholicisme appeared during the recent history. But usually the members of this Church do not use the “Roman” qualifier, naming themselves simply “catholic”.

Ecclesiology

The Catholic church considers that by the apostolic Succession, it is the continuatrice of the Apôtre S (apostolic Church). Indeed, the Apostles indicated bishop S, their successors, who named themselves of other successors, the whole constituting an uninterrupted succession of bishop S until today. For the Catholic church, any bishop is the successor of the Apôtre S: he has in load a local Church (its Diocèse) on which he must take care. The Catholic church is thus marked by a strong culture Ecclésiale.

In fact, she considers that the Church of Christ subsite in the Catholic church, having survived until our days through the ages without any discontinuity of apostolic succession, and having preserved the integral faith and the unit of the believers.

The Pape is the bishop of Rome, successor of Pierre. For this reason it is the first of the bishops and must take care of the unit of the Church. The Roman Catholic church consists of all the local Churches whose bishop is in communion with the pope.

The direction universal, or international, of the Church is assumed by the Pape and the whole of the bishops, brought together in oecumenical Concile on convocation of the pope. The councils rare, are convened at exceptional times. The essence of the government of the Church is in the Holy See which lies mainly in the City of the the Vatican (see Gouvernement of the Roman Catholic church), whose pope is also the Head of State.

The Roman Catholic church recognizes like “the only subsistence of the primitive Church founded by Jesus-Christ” ( Dominus Jesus ) by “apostolic Succession continuous” of the Christianity of the first centuries (cf Primitive Christianisme). She considers to hold, only, “the plenitude of the deposit of the faith” whose doctrines were fixed at the time of the first seven ecumenical councils. She also considers to be, only, “fully mediating of hello”. Any territory where it is installed is entirely its canonical territory. She affirms to have authority on all the other Christian Churches and asserts those that they recognize the primacy in dignity to him ( Pastor Æternus , 1870, title III). It is one of the reasons for which it declines for the moment any adhesion with the World Council of Churches although since the Concile Vatican II it adhered to the principle oecumenism.

Ordination and priesthoods

All the catholics received from the oiling of the Baptême, supplemented by chrismation or Confirmation, the baptismal Sacerdoce which does them “priests, prophets and kings”. Moreover the Sacrement of the order gives to some its members a ministerial Sacerdoce. These two Sacerdoce S are different and complementary.

Whereas the common priesthood of the Fidèle S is carried out in the deployment of the baptismal grace, life of faith, hope and charity, life according to the Esprit, the ministerial Sacerdoce is with the service of the common Sacerdoce, it is relating to the deployment of the baptismal grace of all the Christians|Instruction on some questions concerning the collaboration of the Faithful S laic to the ministry for the priest S, Libreria editor vaticana, Vatican City, 1997

Moreover, under the terms of certain wishes, some baptized engage in a way particular to the service of God, of the Church and the world, in particular in the religious orders.

One distinguishes as follows:

ordered ministers;
the baptized laic ones;
devoted.

to see Clerks and laic Roman Catholic church

Faith of the Roman Catholic church

Two sources of the faith

The Catholic church professes that God appeared definitively in the person of Jesus-Christ. As recalled by Dei Verbum, the access to this revelation is done by two sources, the Écriture and the Tradition.

Writings

For the Catholic church, the Bible is a human word inspired divinement; consequently it is really the Word of God. The Writing (the Bible) is consisted of the first and the new Alliance. The first Alliance consists of religious texts Jewish former to Jesus-Christ. She corresponds to the Jewish bible increased deuterocanonic Livres (apocryphal book S for the reformed Churches). The texts of the New Alliance (Gospels, Epistle S, Apocalypse) are posterior in Jesus. Its contents are the same one as that of the other Christian Churches.

The Catholic church remains particularly attached to the Latin translation of the Bible by Saint Jerome, called Vulgate, which was still updated in 1979 per Jean-Paul II. But since more than one century the catholic translations of the Bible in vernacular languages multiplied.

specialized Course: Writings

The Tradition

Being expressed in the cultural language of the communities of the time of its drafting, the Bible is on the one hand prone to interpretation and on the other hand cannot answer immediately questionings formulated in different contexts.

The manner of interpreting the Writing and the faith thus are also contained in what the Church is transmitted from generation to generation. The Concile Vatican II reaffirms that the Tradition explains the Writings, thus not constituting a other source of its doctrines, but closely remaining to him dependant:

The holy Tradition and the Holy Scripture constitute a single crowned deposit of the word of God, entrusted to the Church; It is thus clear that holy Tradition, the Holy Scripture and magistère of the Church, by a very wise provision of God, are connected so much and interdependent between them that none of these realities remains without the others, and that all unit, each one with its way, under the action of only the Holy Ghost, contribute effectively to the Salut of the hearts. |The Vatican II, dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum on the divine revelation, §10.

By “Tradition of the Roman Catholic church”, it is necessary to hear the tradition properly apostolic, going back to the apostles and also inspired, while the tradition ecclesiastical, or interpretative, only enjoys, when it is unanimous, the privilege of infallibility. Magistère of the Church (ecumenical councils, Roman pontiffs) also profits him from the charisma of infallibility when he decides in a final way as regards faith or moral principles.

the Fathers and Doctorss of the Church;
the Liturgy (lex orandi, lex credendi);
the Magistère of the Church.

The Writings constitute the first tradition .

An example of doctrines resulting from the tradition:

the doctrines of the Redemption or the atonement vicar were formulated by Anselme de Canterbury: the direction of the arrival of Christ is to repurchase the sins of humanity so that each man who believes in him is saved and promised with the eternal life (after death). Christ will die crucifié on the cross, become the symbol more running of the Christians, and will ressuscitera. This idea is the essential belief which appears in the Évangile S and the Epistles of the Apostle Paul. If the concept of Redemption is not a Dogme (within the meaning of the canonical right), it is well a article of faith for which it is necessary to believe to be catholic.

She testifies to the uninterrupted questioning on the faith and the constant development of the definitions of faith through the centuries.

specialized Course: the tradition

The base of theology and ecclesiology catholics finds his origin in:

The medieval theology catholic is a seam of medieval philosophy.

Anselme de Canterbury;
Abélard ;
Nicolas de Cues;
Main Eckhart.

Confessions of faith, or Professions of faith

Dogmas and doctrines

Starting from the Council of Chalcédoine, the Church did not add articles any more to the professions of faith. The popes and the councils formulated a certain number of dogmas starting from the Writing and the Tradition. The articulation of the dogmas is juridically codified. Among the dogmas specific to the Roman Catholic church promulgated since 1054, one finds:

the Immaculate Conception, 1854;
the pontifical Infallibility, 1870;
the Assumption of the Virgin, 1950, known concept also of the orthodoxe Churches under the name of Dormition without profiting from a dogmatic definition.

Specialized articles

Profession of faith
Confessions of faith
the continuation of the councils is listed in catholic Dogmes, where “catholic” means “universal”
Christologie

Liturgy

The culminating point of the catholic Liturgie is the festival of Easter, festival of the Résurrection of Jesus. It is preceded by the time of the Lent which ends in the Holy Week, with Holy Wednesday (comprising the mass chrismale where the Saint-Chrism is blessed), the Maundy Thursday (mass of the Cène of the Lord), the Good Friday (death of the Lord) and the Veillée Pascale (where take place of many Baptême S). This festival is followed from one fifty days period called “Temps Pascal” which ends in the Pentecost. The resurrection of Jesus is also celebrated each Sunday, and each Semaine is crowned liturgiquement by the Sunday.

The Liturgical year begin with the Avent, make-ready time to the Nativité (Christmas) which begins four weeks front; it ends in the festival of the Christ-king. At each day of the year a passage with the Évangiles is associated. One year sufficient step, the reading of the whole of the liturgical texts of Sunday is spread out over three years, called years has, B and C; for the masses of week, two sets of texts are planned, distinguishing the “even years” and the “odd years” (one considers the liturgical year at the beginning of December, who begins first Sunday from the Avent,). The readings of the Gospels are taken each year in same a Gospel, among the three Gospels known as synoptic (Matthieu the years has, Marc the years B and Luc the years C). Thus, of November 27th 2005 at December 2nd 2006, the year is B for Sundays, “pair” for the week. The Lectionnaire is the name of the book which gathers these readings in the order Chronologique.

Mass

The Messe is the celebration centered around the Eucharistie. All the liturgical life revolves around this celebration. This is particularly true for the Sunday mass which takes place the Sunday or Saturday evening. It is requested from the catholics to take part in it each Sunday ( Sunday obligation ).

The ritual of a catholic mass is the same one for all the Diocèse S. Until the Concile of the Vatican II, the mass was mainly celebrated in Latin according to the rite known as of saint Pie V (Messe tridentine). Since, it is mainly celebrated according to the rite of Paul VI either in Latin or in vernacular Language (see Ordo novus , but the use of the rite tridentin redéveloppe thanks to several institutes or fraternities with the will of the Holy Father.
According to their theologies and spiritualities, certain local Churches with the old rites could preserve their own rites at the time of the reforms of XVIe century (rite ambrosien with Milan), just as the Eastern Churches (rites Byzantine, copte, syriaque, Armenian, Maronite, etc) and certain religious congregations. There exist also installations related to the circumstances, for example if it is of a Sunday mass, a wedding service or a mass of burial. These installations are codified.

In the Latin Rite, the mass comprises two principal parts: the liturgy of the Word and the liturgy of Eucharistie. A mass according to the rite of Paul VI lasts approximately 3/4 of hour, time variable which depends on the broadth given to the liturgy, the songs and the homélie. A mass according to the rite of Saint-Magpie V lasts approximately 1 hour (mass recited) and can reach 1 hour 30 (sung mass).

According to the times, the Fidèle was brought to communier (to receive the Eucharistie) more or less frequently. Since the Council of Lateran IV, it is obligatory of communier at least once at the time of the festival of Easter, and not more once by day. The communion is received with knees on the language (mass tridentine), upright (on the language) with génuflexion before (mass of Paul VI), even upright (in the hand). But by respect, the Fidèle must avoid touching the Saintes Species (Hostie S).

Sacraments

The Sacrament S, are signs of the action of God in the life of a believer and Church. The Roman Catholic church distinguishes seven from them:

the Baptism . The sacrament is known as ex operates operato , i.e. it acts “of itself” as spite of which confers it (see Donatisme). It is famous to make the Christian . Everyone can baptize “ in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit ”.
the Confirmation , by which the Church confirms that baptized assumes its baptism personally. It then expresses it by the Onction which the bishop gives. Confirmed is recognized in its Christian maturity, it is invited to assume its share of the mission of the Church. The bishop can delegate his power of confirmation to a priest.
the Eucharistie or communion : to eat the body and the blood of Jesus-Christ in the form of the Bread (the Host) and of the devoted Wine (transsubstanciés). She is regarded as being the most important sacrament of the Church.
sacrament of Penitence and reconciliation, or Confession of the sins to a priest who can confer “the discharge”, i.e. remission of the sins.
the Extreme unction , called more recently “sacrament of the patients”.
the Marriage , insoluble sacrament since the 13th century (Council of Lateran IV, 1215). Cancellation is however possible in certain exceptional cases, in particular the not-consumption of the marriage. Separation is authorized; but the separate people who go back in couple are regarded as adulteries if they do not live “like brother and sister” i.e. in the abstinence.
the Ordination of the bishop S, priest S and Deacon S, or sacrament of the order.

The three first constitute the “sacraments of Christian initiation”. The Baptism and the Confirmation can be conferred only once on the same person (baptism of the other Christian confessions being recognized valid by the Roman Catholic church).

The two following constitutes the “sacraments of cure”, and is conferred as often as necessary.

The two last are the “sacraments of the service of the communion”.

Two sacraments can be conferred only by the bishops: the confirmation and ordination.

The Church also distinguishes from the sacramental , like the Bénédiction S of a house, of a Rosaire, catechists, the Christian funeral, the Sacre of the kings (which is not practiced any more by the Roman Catholic church since…).

Liturgy of the Hours

The Liturgie of the Hours is the common prayer of the Catholic church. The contents of the offices, recited or sung only or in community are common to the Church. Since the liturgical reform of the Vatican II, the offices are:

the office of the morning ( Laudes );
the office of the middle of the day (gathering third , sexte and nun );
the office of the evening ( Vespers );
the office of the Complies;
the Office of the readings (or Lectio divina).

The offices of the morning and the evening are qualified major hours, and are longer than the others. Over one four weeks period, the whole of the psalms is sung.

Certain orders or congregations have a clean Liturgie of the hours.

Other devotions

1. the individual Prayer

personal prayer, or Speech : time when the believer puts himself at the listening of God, often in silence and in a withdrawn place;
worship of the Blessed Sacrament: time of prayer and worship in front of the Host (devoted bread become body of Christ);
veneration of the holy images, divided with Orthodoxy, since 786.

2. the collective prayer

the Rogations: prayer for harvests everywhere where rurality is important;
taken care assemblies and of prayer, most important being those of Easter and Christmas.

3. the other devotions

the Pilgrimage S, voyages in Holy Land, with Rome or Compostelle like in other places of the action of the love of god by the presence of relics or the memory of events of the life of saints or by appearance S, in particular those of the Virgin Mary (appearances known as “mariales”);
veneration of the Relic S of Holy S;
the Jubilee (see indulgence and pilgrimage);
the Indulgence S (the trade which was fact was one of the causes of the Réforme);
the Way of cross, carried out the Good Friday, which points out the sufferings of Christ during her Passion;
the Rosary, recitation of the Chain, prayer in the honor of the Virgin Mary.

Course specialized liturgy
catholic Vocabulary

Theology

See the specialized articles

moral Theology (Catholicism)
dogmatic Theology (Catholicism)
catholic Theology

Currents inside the Roman Catholic church

In addition to the various Churches claiming Catholicism , the Roman Catholicism shelters several currents, which can be at the same time secular and regular:

Regular orders

The principal regular orders are:

Order of saint Benoit (Benedictines)
Order of Cîteaux (cistercians)
Order of the Carthusian monks
Society of Jesus
Order of the Preachers (Dominican),
Order of the minor brothers (franciscains)
Order of the minor brothers capuchins
Assomptionnistes
Order of Carmel

See also: List of the catholic regular orders

Other communities

the Communities ignatiennes

the Community Christian Life
Movement of the Christian executives

Movements of social action

Charismatic : Movements created after the Vatican II which grant a broad place to the action of the Holy Ghost in their life while taking as a starting point the American assemblies Pentecôtiste S. One counts (nonexhaustive list):

the movement of the Focolari,
the the Communities of the Arch,
the the Community of the New Way,
the the Community of Emmanuel,
the the Community of the Blisses, initially called Lion of Juda,
the monastic Fraternities of Jerusalem.

Reforming , whose emblem in Europe is NSAE (“We are also the Church”). This movement born in the German-speaking countries (“ Wir sind Kirche ”), fight for a greater Laic role of the believers S within the Church and for reforms on the question of the people remariées, of homosexual, the celibacy of the clergy and for the admission of the women among the priests; the Association Marcel Légaut, a liberal current within Catholicism. See the article Catholic reformers.
Particular case of the Theology of the release : this Latin-American current was initially condemned for its Marxist inspirations .

Preserving :

Opus Dei , Prélature personal,
Legion of Christ,
the Institute of the Christ-King Souverain Priest, apostolic company of life, (celebrating the Mass tridentine) ( Motu landlord Ecclesia Dei ),
Fraternity Saint-Pierre, running catholic traditional consisted the rejoined branch ( Motu landlord Ecclesia Dei ) of the fraternity created by Mgr Marcel Lefebvre, the Fraternité Saint-Pie X,
Fraternité Saint-Pie X, running catholic integrist excommunicated by the pope Jean-Paul II in 1988 for schismatic act (celebrating the Mass tridentine), creates by M^gr Lefebvre.

Situation of the Catholic church in the world

Policy

Because of political ambition of the popes and character peerage-book of dignities and ecclesiastical ranks, the temporal history of the Roman Catholic church intermingles narrowly with the history with the Occident, until the Printemps of the people.

A long time temporal power, the Roman Catholic church concentrates gradually on its spiritual mission. Since Pastor Æternus , 1870, the ambition of primacy symbolic system replaces the temporal exercise of the capacity, progressing according to the relations which it maintains with the governments as with the other religions. See: Fight of priesthood and the Empire.

In 1929, the pope Black and white XI sign the Agreements of Lateran with the Italian State which concedes to him the existence of the State of the the Vatican. Since Jean XXIII, the popes forsook the Tiare, crown pontifical which represented the temporal power, the spiritual power and the authority on the princes. It still appears on the armorial bearings of the State of the Vatican.

The Catholic church is always present in the international political institutions (UNO, Europe). She plays sometimes a part of mediation in certain conflicts.

By country or continents

Catholicism in Belgium on Wikinations.be
Catholicism in France
In Europe, there exists:

the Council of the Episcopal conferences of Europe (CCEE), which is with the service of the collegial structure of the Episcopal conferences of Europe,
Commission of the Episcopal conferences of the European Community (COMECE), which aims to create bonds with the European authorities for the information of the European episcopates. It has an office with Brussels.
the catholic Office of Information and Initiative for Europe (OCIPE), which was founded in 1956 at the instigation of Mgr Weber, bishop of Strasbourg and entrusted to the Society of Jesus.

Many catholics in the world

The number of Catholiques in the world is estimated by the the Vatican at: 1098366000, in progression of 45 % since 1978, which corresponds overall to the rate of evolution of the world population.

Graph: numerical estimates by Unintermitting, expressed in million catholics.

Contemporary DEBATEs

Expression of the Trinity in the confession of faith (Filioque)

A procedure of not reception is in hand that few catholics noticed. One removes, without noise and debate, the Filioque of the symbol of Nicée-Constantinople. Normal, since Filioque had been added to answer the arianism which made problem especially side of the Western Empire. The filioque one did not form part of the symbol established during the council of Nicée-Constantinople and had been added only by the Church of Rome, with an aim of affirming the equality between the Son and the Father.

This known as, the filioque one is not a theological, but disciplinary problem. That it is removed is not a problem, since it should never have made party of it in any event. The debate is thus useless, it would be ridiculous which to make an object of scandal of it.

This procedure is in hand since the publication of the declaration Dominus Jesus , in 2000 of which it was absent 4 days lasting in the French version published on the site of the the Vatican. Restored in the French version, it is always absent from versions in the other European languages of the confession of faith which opens the document. The observers noticed that in the public prayers, the Pape Jean-Paul II omitted it systematically.

Filioquisme, an addition of Charlemagne, materializes a series of resentments between Eastern and Western Christianities, which leads to the Great Schism of 1054. The current procedure of non-reception is significant efforts of the Roman church in directions of the orthodoxe churches. It is the first time that she authorizes a doctrinal compromise. In fact Charlemagne did nothing but make public the addition which had already been made more discreetly for three centuries.

Relationships to the other religions

For the other Christian Churches:

Concerning more precisely the relations with the Judaism, the Catholic church recognized that some of its Fidèle S had sinned:

“We deeply regret the errors and the faults of these wire and girls of the Church. We do ours the words of the Déclaration Nostra aetate of the Second Council of the Vatican, which affirms unambiguous: “The Church not being able to forget the inheritance which it in common with the Jews, and pushed, not by political reasons, but by the religious charity of the Gospel, deplores hatreds, persecutions and all the demonstrations of anti-semitism, which, whatever their time and their authors, were directed against the Jews”.”

See for more details: Christian Antijudaïsme in the history

The Church realizes that the standpoint of the first centuries of certain Christian personalities (see Supersessionisme) is not any more setting. It is conscious that a renewal of theology is necessary in this field, and this one is in hand since the Après-guerre and the Concile Vatican II (declaration Nostra Ætate on the relationships to the other religions, 1965).

Other contemporary debates

See:

modernistic Crisis
Concile Vatican II
liberal Catholicism
Catholic reformers
catholic Theology
Sédévacantisme

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