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The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church,^[1][2] is the world’s largest Christian Church representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world’s population.^[3][4] It is made up of one Western church (the Latin Rite) and 22 Eastern Catholic churches, divided into 2,782 jurisdictional areas around the world. The Church looks to the Pope, currently Benedict XVI, as its highest human authority in matters of faith, morality and Church governance.^[5] The community is composed of an ordained ministry and the laity, each may become members of religious communities like the Dominicans, Carmelites, Franciscans, Salesians, Jesuits and many others.^[6]

The Catholic Church defines its mission as spreading the message of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity.^[7] In carrying out its mission, the Church operates social programs and institutions throughout the world. These include schools, universities, hospitals, missions and shelters, as well as Catholic Relief Services, Caritas Internationalis and Catholic Charities that help the poor, families, the elderly and the sick.^[8]

The Church and many historians believe it to be the continuation, through apostolic succession, of the Christian community founded by Jesus in his consecration of Saint Peter.^[9][10][11] The Church has defined its doctrines through various ecumenical councils, following the example set by the first Apostles in the Council of Jerusalem.^[12][13] On the basis of promises that Jesus made to his apostles, it believes that it is guided by the Holy Spirit and so protected from falling into doctrinal error.^[14][15][16] Catholic faith is summarized in the Nicene Creed and detailed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.^[17] Formal Catholic worship is ordered by the liturgy, which is regulated by Church authority. The Eucharist, one of seven Church sacraments and a key part of every Catholic Mass, is the center of Catholic worship.

With a nearly two thousand year history, the Church is the world’s oldest and largest institution.^[18] From at least the 4th century, it has played a prominent role in the history of Western civilization.^[19] In the 11th century, the Eastern, Orthodox Church and the Western, Catholic Church split, largely over disagreements regarding papal primacy. Eastern churches that maintained (or later re-established) communion with Rome form the Eastern Catholic Churches. In the 16th century, partly in response to the Protestant Reformation, the Church engaged in a substantial process of reform and renewal, known as the Counter-Reformation.

The Catholic Church maintains that it is the “one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church” founded by Jesus, but acknowledges that the Holy Spirit can make use of Christian communities separated from itself to bring people to salvation.^[20] The Church teaches that it is called by the Holy Spirit to work for unity among all Christians—a movement known as ecumenism.^[21] Modern challenges facing the Church include the rise of secularism, and opposition to its pro-life stance on abortion, contraception and euthanasia.^[22]

Origin and mission

See also: History of the Roman Catholic Church and History of the Papacy

This detail of a fresco (1481–82) by Pietro Perugino in the Sistine chapel shows Jesus giving the keys of heaven to Saint Peter.

The Catholic Church traces its foundation to Jesus and the Twelve Apostles. It sees the bishops of the Church as the successors of the apostles and the pope in particular as the successor of Peter, the leader of the apostles.^[23][24] Catholics cite Jesus’ words in the Gospel of Matthew to support this view: “… you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church …. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”^[5][15][25] According to Catholic belief, the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles in an event known by Christians as Pentecost brought this promised church fully into the world.^[24]

Some scholars agree that the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus and that the historical record confirms that it was considered a Christian doctrinal authority from its beginning.^[9][11] Some cite a letter from Pope Clement I to the church in Corinth (c. 95) as evidence of a presiding Roman cleric who exercised authority over other churches.^[26] Others acknowledge the existence of a Christian community in Rome and that Peter and Paul “lived, preached and died” there^[27] but aren’t certain that there was a ruling bishop in the Roman church in the first century, and question the concept of apostolic succession.^[28]

The Church believes that its mission is founded upon Jesus’ command to his followers to spread the faith across the world:^[11] “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you: and Lo, I am with you always, until the close of the age”.^[29][30][31] Pope Benedict XVI summarized this mission as a threefold responsibility to proclaim the word of God, celebrate the sacraments, and exercise the ministry of charity.^[32] As part of its ministry of charity the Church runs Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Charities, Caritas Internationalis, Catholic schools, universities, hospitals, shelters and ministries to the poor, as well as ministries to families, the elderly and the marginalized.^[8]

Beliefs

See also: Roman Catholic theology

As a trinitarian Christian church, Roman Catholicism holds that there is one eternal God who exists as a mutual indwelling of three persons: the Father; the Son, Jesus; and the Holy Spirit. Catholic beliefs are summarized in the Nicene Creed^[33] and detailed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.^[17][34] The Nicene Creed is recited at all Catholic Sunday Masses, and also forms the central statement of belief of other Christian denominations.^[33][35] Chief among these are Eastern Orthodox Christians, whose beliefs are quite similar to those of Catholics, differing from them mainly with regard to papal infallibility, the filioque clause and the immaculate conception of Mary.^[36][37] Protestant churches vary in their beliefs, but generally differ from Catholics regarding the pope, church tradition, the Eucharist and issues pertaining to grace, good works and salvation.^[38] The five solas, composed by Martin Luther in the 16th century, were one attempt to express these differences.^[39]

Over the centuries, Catholic teachings have been refined and clarified by councils of the Church convened by Church leaders at important points throughout history.^[13] The first such council, the Council of Jerusalem, was convened by the apostles around the year 50;^[12] the most recent was the Second Vatican Council, which closed in 1965.^[40]

Teaching authority, seven sacraments, different rites

A 19th-century painting by Carl Heinrich Bloch depicts Jesus preaching the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus made the following promises to his apostles: “the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against [the church]“,^[15] and, “… when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will teach you all truth.”^[41] Based on these promises, the Church believes that it is continually guided by the Holy Spirit and so protected from falling into doctrinal error.^[42][5] The Catholic Church teaches that the Holy Spirit reveals God’s truth through Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium. Sacred scripture or the Catholic Bible consists of the Greek version of the Old Testament—known as the Septuagint^[43]—and the 27 New Testament writings found in the Codex Vaticanus and listed in Athanasius‘ Thirty-Ninth Festal Letter.^[44] These scriptures are essentially the same for most Christians with minor variations between Catholics and Protestants.^[43] Sacred Tradition consists of those teachings believed by the Church to have been handed down since the time of the Apostles.^[42] Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition are collectively known as the “deposit of faith”. These are in turn interpreted by the Magisterium, or the teaching authority of the Church, and which includes infallible pronouncements of the pope,^[45] pronouncements of ecumenical councils, and those of the college of bishops acting in union with the pope to define truths or to condemn interpretations of scripture believed to be false.^[45]

According to the Catechism, Jesus instituted seven sacraments and entrusted them to the Church.^[46] These are Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Holy Matrimony. Sacraments are important visible rituals which Catholics see as effective channels of God’s grace to all those who receive them with the proper disposition (ex opere operato).^[47][48] Differing liturgical traditions, or rites, exist throughout the worldwide Church. These reflect historical and cultural diversity rather than a diversity in beliefs.^[49] The most commonly used is the Western or Latin rite. Others are the Byzantine rite, the Alexandrian or Coptic rite, the Syriac, Armenian, Maronite and Chaldean rites.

God the Father, original sin and Baptism

See also: Original sin

Guido Reni’s Archangel Michael (1636) shows Michael—one of three archangels—defeating Lucifer.

God is the source and creator of nature and all that exists, according to Catholic belief.^[50] This is expressed in the opening statement of the Nicene Creed: “We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen …”. The Church perceives God as a loving and caring entity who is directly involved in the world and in people’s lives^[51] and who desires his creatures to love him and to love each other.^[52][53] Catholicism teaches that while human beings live bodily in a visible, material world, their souls simultaneously occupy an invisible, spiritual world. God has also created spiritual beings called angels, who exist to “worship and serve God.”^[54] Some angels chose to rebel against God and his reign, expelled from his presence they became demons, having freely chosen evil and opposition to God.^[55] The leader of this rebellion has been called “Lucifer”, “Satan” and the devil among other names. The sin of pride, considered one of seven deadly sins, is attributed to Satan for wishing to be equal to God.^[56] Satan is believed to have tempted the first humans, whose act of original sin brought suffering and death into the world.^[57] This event is known as the Fall of Man and according to Catholic belief, left humanity isolated from their original state of intimacy with God.^[58][59] The Catechism states that the description of the fall described in Genesis 3 uses figurative language, but affirms “… a deed that took place at the beginning of the history of man” and resulted in “a deprivation of original holiness and justice” that makes each person “subject to ignorance, suffering, and the dominion of death: and inclined to sin”.^[55] While Catholic doctrine accepts the possibility of God’s creation having occurred in a way consistent with the Theory of Evolution, it rejects as outside the scope of science, efforts to use the theory to deny supernatural divine design.^[60] The soul did not evolve, according to Catholic doctrine, but was infused into man and woman directly by God, an event that created “a distinctive race of human beings with moral responsibility and an eternal destiny”.^[57]

The Church believes that people can be cleansed of original sin and all personal sins through Baptism.^[61] This sacramental act of cleansing admits one as a full member of the natural and supernatural Church and is only conferred once in a person’s lifetime.^[61]

Jesus, sin and Penance

See also: Jesus, sin, Penance, and Confession

Modern confessional in the Church of the Holy Name, Dunedin, New Zealand. The penitent may kneel on the kneeler or sit in a chair facing the priest (not shown)

Christians believe that in the messianic texts of Old Testament, God promised to send his people a savior.^[62] This savior is believed to be Jesus. The Nicene Creed states that he is “… the only begotten son of God, … one in being with the Father. Through him all things were made …”. In an event known as the Incarnation, the Church teaches that God descended from heaven for the salvation of humanity, became man through the power of the Holy Spirit and was born of a Jewish virgin named Mary. It is believed that Jesus’ mission on earth included giving people his word and example to follow, as recorded in the four Gospels.^[63] Catholicism teaches that following the example of Jesus helps believers to become closer to him, and therefore to grow in true love, freedom, and the fullness of life.^[64][65] Sinning is considered the opposite to following Jesus, robbing people of their resemblance to God and turning their souls away from his love^[66] Examples of sin include failure to obey the Ten Commandments, failing to love God, or failing to love other people. Sins range from the less serious venial sins, to more serious mortal sins which end a person’s relationship with God.^[66][67] Through the passion of Jesus and his crucifixion, the Church teaches that all people have an opportunity for forgiveness and freedom from sin, and so can be reconciled to God.^[62][68] John the Baptist, respected by the Church as a prophet, called Jesus “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”^[69] in reference to the ancient Jewish practice of offering sacrificial lambs to God to obtain some greater good. By reconciling with God and following Jesus’ words and deeds, the Church believes one can enter the Kingdom of God which is not a place but a state of being defined by the Church as “… the reign of God over people’s hearts and lives.”^[70][71]

After a person has been baptised, the sacrament of Penance (Confession) is the means by which Catholics believe they can obtain forgiveness for subsequent sin and receive God’s grace and assistance not to sin again. Catholics believe Jesus gave the apostles special authority to forgive sins in God’s name based on his words to his disciples in the Gospel of John 20:21–23.^[72] A penitent confesses his sins to the priest, who may then offer advice. After the priest has imposed a particular penance to be performed, the penitent then prays an act of contrition and the priest administers absolution, formally forgiving the person of his sins.^[73] The priest is forbidden under penalty of excommunication to reveal any sin or disclosure heard under the seal of confession. Penance helps prepare Catholics before they can licitly receive the sacraments of Confirmation and the Eucharist.^[74][75]

Holy Spirit and Confirmation

Bernini’s stained glass window in St. Peter’s Basilica depicts the Holy Spirit as a dove, a common motif in Christian art, referencing John the Baptist’s proclamation that he saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus at his baptism “like a dove”.

Jesus told his apostles that after his death and resurrection he would send them the “Advocate”, the “Holy Spirit“, who “ …will teach you everything and remind you of all that (I) told you”.^[76][77] In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus told his disciples “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”^[78]

The Nicene Creed states that the Holy Spirit is one with God the Father and God the Son. Thus the Church teaches that receiving the Holy Spirit is an act of receiving God.^[79] Through the sacrament of Confirmation, Catholics ask for and believe they receive the Holy Spirit. Confirmation is sometimes called the “sacrament of Christian maturity” and is believed to increase and deepen the grace received at Baptism.^{Full story...}