The Roman Catholic Church is the largest of the Christian churches that profess the Catholicfaith. It is also the largest single religious denomination in the world.
The Roman Catholic Church is one of 24 sui juris churches, which together form a communion called the Catholic Church. The particular churches of the Catholic Church are united in full communion, with the Pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, as the head of the communion. When distinguishing the Roman Church from the other Catholic Churches, it often known as the Latin Church or the Church of Rome.
The Roman Church is by far the largest and most visible of the twenty-four. In common speech, therefore, the terms "Roman Catholic Church" and "Catholic Church" are often interchangeable. Properly, Catholic Church refers to the entire communion, and is used in contexts in which the faith and morals of that whole communion are at issue.
The Catholic Church claims to be the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church or the "Church of Christ". The Second Vatican Council "Decree on Ecumenism" (Unitatis Redintegratio) is an effort by the Catholic Church to restore unity of faith among all Christians, and states that "our separated brethren, whether considered as individuals or as Communities and Churches, are not blessed with that unity which Jesus Christ wished to bestow on all those who through Him were born again into one body". [1] Generally speaking, the Catholic Church uses the term "Church of Christ" to refer to those churches that are in communion through the Roman Church. [1] Some of the other Christian Churches and denominations describe themselves as Catholic or catholic, or as part of the Universal or Catholic Church, despite not being in communion with the Roman Catholic Church. (See Catholic).
The Roman Catholic Church is essentially non-democratic. Structurally it is one of the world's most centralised religious faiths. The Patriarch of the Roman Catholic Church is the Pope. He rules from the Vatican City, an independent state in the centre of Rome. His principal advisors are the Roman Curia and the College of Cardinals, his permanent synod, whose members make up most of the curia. The Pope alone selects and appoints all bishops in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as members of the College of Cardinals. All members of the Roman Catholic hierarchy are answerable to the Pope, in his capacity as Patriarch of the Roman Catholic Church, and his Curia. The Pope with his Curia are known collectively as the Holy See.
The Pope is elected by the College of Cardinals, generally from their own ranks (the process of election, held in Sistine Chapel, is called a Conclave). Each Pope continues in office until death or until he resigns (which has happened only twice, and never since the Middle Ages).
The Pope's Patriarchal authority (head of the Roman Catholic Church) and Papal authority (head of the Catholic Church communion) are not controversial. What is controversial is his claim to the head of the entire Church of Christ on Earth. This is known as his claim to Petrine Authority or Papal Primacy. Part of this claim is the exercise of what is called Papal Infallibility, that is the right to define definitive statements of teaching on matters of faith and morals binding on all Christians. In reality, since its declaration in the First Vatican Council in 1870, papal infallibility has only definitively been used once, by Pope Pius XII in the 1950s on the Assumption of Mary. Supporters of the Pope's Petrine authority offer several sources as justification. Paramount is the belief held that he is the lineal successor of St. Peter, and as such the Vicar of Christ on earth.
The Roman Catholic Church has a hierarchical structure of offices or titles, in descending order:
The Pope, the Patriarch of the Roman Catholic Church.
Metropolitan Archbishops, who are the heads of provinces and reside in important cities. They have no direct influence over the other bishops in the province, but they can call special all-province councils.
Pastor or ParishPriest is the head of a parish and responsible for direct pastoral care of that community of the faithful.
There are other offices in the Roman Church, but many of these are honorary or do not carry jurisdiction. Examples are the titles primate and monsignor.
Three other Roman Catholic bishops use the title Patriarch, the Patriarchs of Venice, Lisbon, and the West Indies, but they are not patriarchs in the strict sense, that is the head of a church, and are thus honorary patriarchs. The other churches in the Catholic Church have their own patriarchs, as do the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. These are patriarchs in the strict sense. Technically, in the precedence of the Catholic Church, patriarchs in the strict sense would outrank all other bishops except for the Pope. This of course is contested in the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, as many see their patriarchs as equal to the Pope or even above him.
There are also several more minor offices: Lector, Acolytes (since the Second Vatican Council, the office of Sub-deacon no longer exists). Religious orders have their own hierarchy and titles.
A curious aspect of the Roman Catholic Church which is different from the other Catholic Churches is clerical celibacy. All Roman Catholic bishops and, with very few exceptions, priests are required by law to remain celibate. The other Catholic Churches do not follow this practice, as most of their parish priests are married. On rare occasions married priests converting from other Christian groups have been permitted to be ordained in the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church as of recent has revived the married diaconate, where married men may be ordained deacons but they may not remarry if their spouse dies or if the marriage is annulled.
The Catholic Church exists in virtually every nation on earth, and is the largest single religious body in the world.
It is organised in national hierarchies with diocesan bishops subject to archbishops. Colleges, or National Conferences, of bishops co-ordinate local policy within countries or within groups of countries.
Within the Catholic faith, sacraments are spiritual gifts of Christ that impart sanctifying grace on the receiver. Baptism is given to infants and to adult converts who have not previously been validly baptised (the baptism of most Christian denominations is accepted as valid by the Catholic Church since the effect is thought to come straight from God regardless of the personal faith, but not intention, of the minister). Confession or reconciliation involves admitting sins to a priest and receiving penance (a task to complete in order to achieve absolution or forgiveness from God). The Eucharist (Communion), is the sacrifice of Christ, marked by partaking in the Body of Christ and the Blood of Christ which are believed to replace in everything but appearance the bread and wine used in the ceremony. The Roman Catholic belief that bread and wine are turned into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ is called transubstantiation. In the sacrament of Confirmation, the gift of the Holy Spirit conferred in baptism is "strengthened and deepened" (see Catechism of the Catholic Church para. 1303) by the laying on of hands and anointing with oil. In the majority Roman Catholic church, this sacrament is presided over by a bishop, and takes place in early adulthood. Holy Orders is the entering into the priesthood and involves a vow of chastity; the sacrament of Holy Orders is given in three degrees: that of the deacon (since Vatican II a permanent deacon may be married before becoming a deacon), that of the priest, and that of the bishop. Anointing of the Sick used to be known as "extreme unction" or the "last rites"; it involves the anointing of a sick person with a holy oil blessed specifically for that purpose and is no longer limited to the seriously ill or dying.
The fundamental geographical and organizational unit of the Catholic Church is the diocese. This is generally a defined geographical area, centered on a principal city, headed by a bishop. The primary church of a diocese is known as a cathedral from the cathedra or chair of the bishop that is one of the main symbols of his office. Within a diocese, a bishop exercises what is known as ordinary, or primary administrative authority. (Houses of some religious orders are semi-independent of the dioceses they are in; the religious superior of that order exercises ordinary jurisdiction over them.) While the Pope appoints bishops and reviews their performance, and a variety of other institutions govern or supervise certain activities, a bishop has a great deal of independence in administering a diocese. Certain dioceses, generally centered around large and important cities, are called archdioceses and are headed by an archbishop. In large dioceses and archdioceses, the bishop is often assisted by auxiliary bishops, full bishops and members of the College of Bishops who do not head a diocese of their own. Archbishops, suffragan bishops (usually shortened to just "bishops"), and auxiliary bishops are equally bishops; the different titles indicate what type (if any) of ecclesiastical unit they head. Many countries have vicariates that support their militaries (see Military Ordinariate).
Almost all dioceses were organized into groups known as provinces, each of which is headed by a metropolitan archbishop. While provinces still exist, their role has largely been replaced by conferences of bishops, generally made up of all the dioceses of a particular country or countries. These groups handle a wide array of common functions, including supervision of liturgical texts and practices for the specific cultural and linguistic groups and relations with the governments in their area. The authority of these conferences to bind the actions of individual bishops is limited (traditional theologians consider this authority ultimately non-binding), however. Bishop's conferences started to appear early in the 20th century, and were officially recognized in the Second Vatican Council document Christus Dominus.
The College of Cardinals is the collection of Roman Catholic bishops who are special advisors to the Pope. Any priest can be appointed Cardinal, provided he "excelled in belief, morals and piety". If a cardinal is elected Pope who has not yet been ordained bishop he subsequently has to receive episcopal ordination. (C.f. Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis[1]) All cardinals under the age of 80 have the right to elect a new pope upon the a pope's death; the cardinals who may elect are almost always members of the clergy; however, the Pope has sometimes in the past awarded outstanding members of the Catholic laity (e.g., theologians) with membership in the College after they have passed electing age. Each cardinal is given some church or chapel (thus, cardinal bishop, cardinal priest, and cardinal deacon) in Rome to make him a member of the clergy of Rome. Many cardinals serve in the curia, which assists the Pope in Church administration. All cardinals who are not resident in Rome are diocesan bishops.
Dioceses are divided into local districts called parishes. All Catholics are expected to attend and support their local parish church. While the Catholic Church has developed an elaborate system of global governance, day to day Catholicism is lived in the local community, tied together in worship in the local parish. Local parishes are largely self supporting; a church, often in a growing or poor community, that is being supported by a diocese is known as a mission.
The Roman Catholic Church supports many orders (groups) of monks and nuns living lives specially devoted to serving God. These are people who have grouped together under a certain system for the purpose of the perfection of virtue. This sometimes involves separation from the world for meditation and sometimes exceptional participation in the world, often in medical or educational work. Almost universally the Monks and Nuns take vows of poverty (no or limited personal ownership of property and money), chastity (no use of the sexual mechanisms), and obedience (to the superiors).
Catholics believe in the Trinity of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the divinity of Jesus, and the salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and through loving God above all things. Catholic views differ from Orthodox on several points, including the nature of the Petrine Ministry (the papacy), the nature of the Trinity and how that should be expressed in the Nicene Creed, and a juridical and relational understanding of salvation and repentance. Catholics differ from Protestants in several points, including the necessity of penance, the meaning of communion, the composition of the canon of scripture, purgatory, and the means of salvation: Protestants believe that salvation is by faith alone (sola fide), while Catholics believe that faith is exhibited in good works. Stereotypically, this has led to a conflict over the doctrine of justification (the Reformation taught that "we are justified by faith alone"). Modern ecumenical dialogue has led to a number of consensus statements on the doctrine of justification between Roman Catholics and Lutherans, Anglicans, and others.
Catholics hold as central that the Christian Church is one visible organisational body, founded by Jesus Christ on Saint Peter and the Apostles, and that this one church has existed continuously from that moment to the present day. That one church is the Catholic Church spanning Latin Rite and Eastern Ritesui iuris churches, whose pope at a given point in time is the direct successor to St Peter. The church has the duty of teaching and maintaining the truths handed down to it by the Apostles, and of administering the graces of the sacraments to the faithful. This ministry and its spiritual authority has been handed down directly and continuously from the Apostles by apostolic succession.
Catholics, like the Eastern Orthodox, the Oriental and Coptic Churches, believe in the Communion of Saints, and the consequent efficacy of prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints' - who are accorded honour and praise, but not the worship of latria.
The most important act of worship in the Roman Catholic Church is the Eucharistic liturgy, usually called the Mass. Mass is celebrated every Sunday morning in most Roman Catholic parishes; Catholics can however fulfill their Sunday obligation by attending a Mass on Saturday night. Catholics must also attend Mass on approximately ten additional days every year, known as the Holy Day of Obligation. Additional Masses can be celebrated on any day of the liturgical year except for Good Friday. Most churches have daily Mass. The contemporary Mass is composed of two major parts: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. During the Liturgy of the Word, one or more passages are read aloud from the Bible, this action is performed by a Lector (a member of the laity) or the priest/deacon. The priest or deacon always reads the Gospel reading(s) and may also read from other parts of the bible (during the first, second, third, etc. reading). The Lectionary (the book being read from) is standardly a larger print edition of the New American Bible designed for such purposes. After the readings are done a homily (like the Protestant sermon) is orated by a priest or deacon. At Masses on Sundays and feast days, the Nicene Creed, which states the orthodox beliefs of Catholicism, is professed by all Catholics present. The Liturgy of the Eucharist includes the presentation of the gifts of bread and wine, the Eucharistic Prayer, during which the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ, and the communion procession.
