 | Roman Catholic Church: Encyclopedia II - Roman Catholic Church - Beliefs
Roman Catholic Church - Beliefs
The Catholic Church is a Christian church, and therefore shares core beliefs with the majority of other trinitarian groups generally considered to be Christian.
The Nicene Creed and the Apostles' Creed, which are accepted by all major Christian denominations, can be considered a fundamental core of the Catholic Church's beliefs. However some Christian denominations have developed a different understanding of many central issues concerning Christ's role in the Church and of the salvation of believers that vary greatly from the Church's historic teachings. The Catholic Church has published a detailed exposition of its beliefs in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Roman Catholic Church - The nature of God
Catholicism is a monotheistic religion. Together with Judaism and Islam and some interpretations of Hinduism, it believes that God is one, eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing and omnipresent. God exists as distinct from and prior to his creation, that is, everything which is not God, and which depends directly on him for existence, and yet is still present intimately in his creation. Faith in God's existence is the most fundamental Catholic belief, and in the First Vatican Council the Church has taught that, while by the natural light of human reason God can be known in his works as origin and end of all created things (cf. Romans 1:20), God has also chosen to reveal himself and his will supernaturally in the ways indicated in the Letter to the Hebrews 1:1-2.
Catholicism is also a Trinitarian religion. As opposed to other monotheistic religions, it believes that while God is one in nature, essence, and being, this one God exists in three divine persons, each identical with the one essence, whose only distinctions are in their relations to one another: The Father's relationship to the Son, the Son's relationship to the Father, and the relations of both to the Holy Spirit, constitute the one God as a Trinity.
A Catholic Christian is baptized in the name (singular) of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit - not three gods, but One God subsisting in three Persons. The faith of the Church and of the individual Christian is based on a relationship with these three Persons of the one God.
The Catholic Church believes that God has revealed himself to humanity as Father to his only-begotten Son, who is in an eternal relationship with the Father: "No one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him" (Matthew 11:27).
Catholics believe that God the Son, the second of the three Persons of God, became incarnate as Jesus Christ, a human being, born of the Virgin Mary. He remained truly divine and was at the same time truly human. In what he said, and by how he lived, he taught us how to live, and revealed God as Love, the giver of unmerited favours or Graces.
After Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, his followers, foremost among them the Apostles, spread more and more extensively their faith in Jesus Christ with a vigour that they attributed to the Holy Spirit, the third of the three Persons of God, sent upon them by Jesus.
Roman Catholic Church - Humanity's separation from God
Human beings, in Catholic belief, were originally created to live in union with God. Through the disobedience of the first humans, that relationship was broken and sin and death came into the world (cf. Romans 5:12). Man's fall left him separated from his original state of intimacy with God which carried into death through the idea of the individual human soul being immortal. But when Jesus came into the world, being both God and man, he was able through his sacrifice to pay the penalty for all human sin and to reconcile humanity with God. By becoming one in Christ, through the Church, humanity was once again capable of intimacy with God but also offered a much more amazing gift: participation in the Divine Life, also called the Beatific Vision.
Roman Catholic Church - The role of the Church
Catholics believe that Jesus established only one Church, not many, and that that Church is truly, though of course not physically, the Body of Christ, made up of members both on earth and in heaven. They believe that Jesus chose the Apostle Peter to lead the Church, that Peter went to Rome and became bishop of the Church there, and that Peter's authority was subsequently passed on to successive bishops of Rome. The one true Church therefore subsists in those who follow Jesus and who recognize the religious authority of Peter in his current successor, popularly called the Pope (from the Latin 'Papa' - Father).
Catholics believe that Jesus promised that the Church on earth will always be guided and maintained in truth by the Holy Spirit, meaning that infalliblility resides in the Church on earth and is expressed in various in doctrines and dogmas. Many Christian churches consider the written Scriptures (the Bible) to contain infallible truth, but Catholic Christians believe that infallible truth is also contained in the oral traditions passed down through the Church; and also that, as the written Scriptures arose within a Church that handed on true doctrine orally, they can be properly understood only in the light of the Church's living tradition. This position is a marked contrast from the sola scriptura ('by Scripture alone') position espoused by the Protestant Reformation. The Catholic Church teaches that the two forms of the "deposit of faith" (from Latin depositum, something entrusted, cf. 1 Timothy 6:20) hold equal status and are equally infallible, meaning that no Catholic belief or practice can contradict the Sacred Scriptures.
Roman Catholic Church - Magisterium
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 85 states that authentic interpretation of the Word of God is entrusted to the living Magisterium of the Church, namely the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter. Catholic theology places the authoritative interpretation of scripture in the hands of the judgment of the Church rather than the private judgment of the individual. The church does, however, encourage its flock to read Sacred Scripture.
Roman Catholic Church - Salvation
The Church teaches that salvation to eternal life is God's will for all people, and that God grants it to sinners as a free gift, a grace, through the sacrifice of Christ. Man cannot, in the strict sense, merit anything from God (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2007). It is God who justifies, that is, who frees from sin by a free gift of holiness (sanctifying grace, also known as habitual or deifying grace). Man can accept the gift God gives through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22) and through baptism (Romans 6:3-4). Man can also refuse the gift. Human cooperation is needed, in line with a new capacity to adhere to the divine will that God provides (cf. Response of the Catholic Church to the Joint Declaration of the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation on the Doctrine of Justification, 2-3).[7] The faith of a Christian is not without works, otherwise it would be dead (cf. James 2:26). In this sense, "by works a man is justified, and not only by faith" (James 2:24), and eternal life is, at one and the same time, grace and the reward given by God for good works and merits. See Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1987-2016.
Roman Catholic Church - The Christian Path
Following baptism, the Catholic Christian must endeavour to be a true disciple of Jesus. The believer must seek forgiveness of subsequent sins, and try to follow the example and teaching of Jesus. To help Christians, Jesus has provided seven sacraments which give Grace from God to the believer. These are, Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation/Confession, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.
Catholics believe that God works actively in the world. Christians may grow in grace through prayer, good works, and spiritual disciplines such as fasting and pilgrimage. Prayer takes the form of praise, thanksgiving and supplication. Christians can and should pray for others, even for enemies and persecutors (Matthew 5:44). They may address their requests for the intercession of others not only to people still in earthly life, but also to those in heaven, in particular the Virgin Mary and the other Saints. As Mother of Jesus, the Virgin Mary is also considered to be the spiritual mother of all Christians. Unless a Christian dies in unrepented mortal sin, which is normally remitted in Penance, that person has God's promise of inheriting eternal life. Before entering heaven, some undergo a purification, known as Purgatory. Catholic teachings include a stress on forgiveness, doing good to others, and on the sanctity of life. This is manifested in practical terms by opposing activities which Catholics see as destroying divinely created life, including euthanasia, eugenics, contraception, abortion, and capital punishment. The Catholic Church maintains that, through the graces Jesus won for humanity by sacrificing himself on the cross, salvation is possible even for those outside the visible boundaries of the Church, whether non-Catholic Christians or non-Christians, if in life they respond positively to the grace and truth that God reveals to them. This may sometimes include awareness of an obligation to become part of the Catholic Church. In such cases, "they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it, or to remain in it" (Second Vatican Council: Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 14).
Roman Catholic Church - Social teaching
Main articles: Catholic social teaching, and [[{{{2}}}]], and [[{{{3}}}]], and [[{{{4}}}]], and [[{{{5}}}]]
The Church holds that the teachings of Jesus call on its members to act in a particular way in their dealings with the rest of humanity. While not endorsing any particular political agenda, the Church holds that this teaching applies in the public (political) realm, not only the private. Among these teachings, as they have been elaborated in recent decades by Catholic thinkers, Bishops' statements and Papal encyclicals, are that every person has a right to life and to a decent minimum standard of living, that humanity's use of God's creation implies a responsibility to protect the environment, and that the range of circumstances under which military force or capital punishment is permissible is extremely limited.
Other related archives1992, 31 October, 380, 4th century, AIDS, Africa, Albanian Byzantine Catholic Church, Alexandrian, Ambrosian Rite, Anglican, Anglican Use, Annuario Pontificio, Anointing of the Sick, Anti-Catholicism, Antiochian, Apocrypha, Apostles, Apostles' Creed, Archdiocese of Milan, Armenian, Armenian Catholic Church, Asia, Baptism, Basilians, Beatific Vision, Belarusian Byzantine Catholic Church, Benedict XVI, Benedictines, Bible, Bishops, Book of Common Prayer, Book of Psalms, Breviary, Byzantine, Byzantine Church of the Eparchy of Križevci, Cardinal Bishop, Cardinal Deacon, Cardinal Priest, Cardinals, Carmelites, Carthusian, Catechism of the Catholic Church, Category:Roman Catholic Church by country, Category:Roman Catholic Church by region, Catholic, Catholic Spirituality, Catholic Worker Movement, Catholic church hierarchy, Catholic order, Catholic social teaching, Catholicism, Celtic Rite, Chaldaean or East-Syrian, Chaldean Catholic Church, Christ the Son, Christian, Christian Church, Christian apologetics, Christian denominations, Christian ecumenism, Christian movements, Christian theology, Christian worship, Christianity, Church, Compline, Confirmation, Constantine I, Constantinian shift, Constantinopolitan, Coptic Catholic Church, Council of Trent, Dante Alighieri, Dean of the College of Cardinals, Divine Office, Dominicans, Eastern Catholic, Eastern Churches, Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Churches, Eastern Rites, Eastern rite, Eastern-Rite, Ecclesia Dei, Ecumenical Council, Ecumenical Councils, Ecumenical councils, Enlightenment philosophers, Ethiopic Catholic Church, Eucharist, Eucharistic, First Vatican Council, France, Franciscans, Galileo Galilei, God, God the Father, Grace, Great Schism, Great Western Schism, Greek Byzantine Catholic Church, Greek-Catholic Melkite Church, HIV, Hermits, History of Christianity, History of the Roman Catholic Church, Holy Orders, Holy See, Independent Catholic Churches, Inquisition, Institute of the Oratory, Ireland, Italo-Albanian Catholic Church, Italy, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, Jurisdiction, Latin, Latin Church, Latin Rite, Lauds, Lisbon, Liturgy of the Hours, Luke, Lumen Gentium, Lutheran, Lyons, Magisterium, Maronite Church, Marriage, Mass (liturgy), Matins, Matrimony, Matthew 5:44, Middle Ages, Monsignor, Mozarabic Rite, Nestorian, New Testament, Nicene Creed, Nicolaus Copernicus, None, Norway, Office of Readings, Old Testament, Old-Catholic, One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, Ordinary, Oriental Orthodox, Orthodox Christianity, Other articles on the Catholic Church, Parishes, Pastoral Provision, Paul, Peter, Philip Neri, Pope, Pope Celestine V, Pope Gregory XII, Pope John Paul II, Pope Paul VI, Pope Pius V, Pope Pius XII, Prelates, Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, Priests of St. Sulpice, Primacy of the Roman Pontiff, Prime, Protestant, Protestant Reformation, Protestantism, Protestants, Protonotaries, Purgatory, Reconciliation, Reconciliation and Penance, Reformation, Relations between Catholicism and Judaism, Roman Catholic Church by country, Roman Catholicism by country, Roman Empire, Roman Missal, Roman curia, Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic, Rome, Ruthenian Catholic Church, STD, Sacred Scriptures, Saint Peter, Saints, Salvation, Sarum Rite, Scripture, Second Vatican Council, Sermon on the Mount, Servite, Sext, Society of Jesus, Spain, St Augustine, Syrian Catholic Church, Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, Ten Commandments, Terce, The Apostles, The Bible, The Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, The Crusades, The Gospels, The Holy Spirit, The Trinity, Toledo, Traditionalist Catholic, Traditionalist Catholics, Tridentine Mass, Tycho Brahe, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, United States, Vatican City, Venice, Vespers, Virgin Mary, Western Church, Western or Latin, abortion, acolyte, almsgiving, archbishop, artificial contraception, baptized, bishop, bishops, canon law, capital punishment, cassock, celibacy, charism, clergy, communion, conclave, condoms, contraception, crucifixion, deacons, definitive, denominations, diocese, ecumenical council, embryonic stem cell research, encyclicals, eparch, eparchy, eucharistic liturgy, eugenics, euthanasia, evangelicals, fasting, feminism, galero, grace, heresy, heretics, hierarchical, holy day of obligation, homosexual practices, incarnate, infallibility, lector, list of sedevacantist antipopes, major archbishop, meditation, military ordinariates, minor orders, monasticism, monks, mortal sin, non-Chalcedonian, nuns, one, holy, catholic and apostolic, ordained, orders, papal infallibility, particular Churches, patriarch, patriarchs, penance, personal prelatures, pilgrimage, prayer, pre-marital sex, priestmonks, priests, promiscuity, religious orders, reproductive, resurrection, right to life, sacrament, sacraments, sacrifices, safe sex, sedevacantists, see, sex abuse scandal, sexual, sexual abstinence, sola scriptura, subdiaconate, suburbicarian dioceses, suffragan bishop, synods, tabernacle, teaching, transubstantiation, twelfth century, twentieth century
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Beliefs", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
