Catholicism is Christ’s Church

Ultimately, people are the common factor in all religions. People are looking for a connection with other people who are looking for a higher or greater purpose than their own. People seek comfort, hope, companionship, a place of belonging, and love. People need the knowledge that they are part of a common understanding and belief that unites them with other people.

Catholicism: A Very Short Introduction written by Gerald O’Collins is a short read that gives an insight to the Catholic church without getting confusing to the reader. It touches on the basics of Catholicism such as the history, practices, and core beliefs. Through each chapter Gerald O’Collins a research professor in the field of Theology at St. Mary’s University College and Twickenham, as well as formally Dean in Gregorian University for the faculty of Theology, shares his knowledge on the Catholic religion one question at a time.

Pope John made a strong contribution to ecumenism. In his pursuit of ecumenism john embraced a church that was united in diversity. This was the movement to better relationships between Catholics and non-Catholics, Eastern and Western Orthodox churches as well as between different religious faiths and Christianity, “I am Joseph, your brother”. In dialogue between Eastern and Western Orthodox churches, there are now many positive relationships maintained between varying denominations throughout the Christian faith; creating a more supportive and secure atmosphere for Christian adherents. Pre-Vatican II Catholics were barred from reading works written by Protestant Reformers, other Christian denominations were schismatic and it was a sin to go to a non-Catholic service. The changes to the development and expression of Christian beliefs through Vatican II were there was freedom of inquiry, joint prayer services, common edition of the Bibles and heightened respect and dignity for others. The notion of

One of the events that lead to the schism was that one church had more power that the other. As it states in Document 1, “If he wishes to judge us and even rule us and our church, not by taking council with us but his own arbitrary” (Document 1). This quote is said by an Orthodox Archbishop named Nicomedia. In other words, Nicomedia s trying to say that the Roman Catholic church things it has more power than the Greek Orthodox church. Nicomedia complains that the Catholic church is trying to take over the Orthodox

Religion is not truth. It is an ancient story that has been passed down with changes made by humans. Different religions tell different stories.

Furthermore, all Catholics were required to understand and believe in the teachings of the church, accept the supreme authority of the church and develop his or her inner life. In other words, it was required that devout Catholics adhere to all decrees issued by ecumenical councils. Accordingly, at the Fourth Lateran Council the Catholic Church the following decrees were issued. 1) The Catholic Church is the one universal church and no one outside of the church can be saved, 2) Jesus’ body and blood is contained in the sacraments, 3) Only ordained

In my youth, I never enjoyed going to church. I found it to be a tedious waste of time, so in an attempt to get out of it, I said I didn’t believe in it and claimed to be an atheist. My parents, of course, either didn’t believe me or simply didn’t care and continued to force me to attend mass every Sunday. In a last ditch effort to procure one extra hour of fun a week, I decided to do a little research into why Catholicism was “wrong” so I would sound more believable and my parents would take my claim seriously. In my innocent quest for ways to disprove an entire religion, I found a lot of lies, a lot of opinion, and absolutely no definitive answers. At first I was completely befuddled by the swamp of lengthy bible passages that could be interpreted

2. In the second video, you would see many aspects of the Catholic Faith are supported by the Scriptures. However, many Christians still choose to be outside the Catholic Church. What do you think are the reasons why many people reject the fact that the Catholic Church is the one founded by the Lord Jesus Christ?

And the third period which we are now entering is the period of the world church” (Gillis, 199). Further, the idea of the local church has changed. Before, people understood that the local churches were very diverse and each one had its own distinctiveness to it. Now, Catholics are looking at only one church and they are not viewing the whole universal church as one. Additionally, Catholics cannot overlook the fact that Judaism and Christianity overlap in the

The threat, that Catholics disagreed with the protestants agenda can correlate with the idea that the common

This clause (the communion of saints), though generally omitted by the ancients, ought not to be overlooked, for it very well expresses what the church is. It is as if one said that the saints are gathered into the society of Christ on the principles that whatever benefits God confers upon them, they would in turn share with one another. This does not, however, rule out a diversity of graces, inasmuch as we know the gifts of the Spirit are variously distributed. Nor is civil order

The world has more than one billion Catholics and with the ever growing population, it will only get larger in number. To be a Catholic means to have complete faith in God and his divine grace. Having God's divine grace means to obey it and keep it holy as it was created by God and given to his people. The religion itself is based on this and the people take it very seriously. Catholics believe that all people are of good nature but when one commits a sin it not only hurts that one person but the people and the Church.

In his hardback titled The Church: Contours of Christian Theology, Edmund P. Clowney writes a systematic presentation about concerning the doctrine of the church. In chapter eight of his book, he describes the Marks of the Church. Clowney writes about the marks of a true church of Christ, which include the true preaching of the Word of God; the proper observation of the sacraments; and the faithful exercise of church discipline.

Religion these days have become the center of our attention as we contemplate whats right and what is wrong. Figuring out what religious views fit best with what you believe can be difficult to grasp as sometime we begin to wonder if what we read or believe actually is true. It is only human nature to question the beliefs that are set before us. Religious views all over the world have many spiritual beliefs and traditions that are all different in some way. It is important to have the knowledge of different religions as not everyone in this world believes the way you might. Having the sensitivity towards their belief is important and having the understanding that you can't change the way that they think. Two world religious views that are

The Magisterium operates by two different ways. The extraordinary Magisterium is seen in the solemn definitions either by a pope in such example as in the dogma of Mary’s Assumption, or by one of the Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church that has to be approved by the pope. The ordinary and universal Magisterium, on the other hand, is the ordinary teaching of the Church, which can be found in statements given by bishops, religious instruction, homilies, and other forms. I think this is crucial to understand because this is where people are often conflicted in what they should believe. This being said, not everything that comes from the mouth of the pope or bishop means that it will be included in the universal or ordinary magisterium. It just means that the teaching is made known to the people of the