Catholic

From Philosopedia

Contents 1 catholic 2 CATHOLIC CATECHISM 3 CATHOLIC CRITIQUE OF HUMANIST MANIFESTO I 4 CATHOLIC POPES 5 CATHOLIC RELATIVISM 6 CATHOLIC WOMEN 7 CATHOLICISM 8 CATHOLICISM—INTRIGUE IN THE VATICAN 9 CATHOLICS, AWFUL DISCLOSURES BY MARIA MONK 10 CATHOLICS, FORMER 11 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 12 VATICAN II CHANGES

catholic

Freethinkers, agnostics, atheists, and members of the liberal religious groups are frequently known for their catholic, or universal, interests. Often aspiring to be Renaissance-like scholars, they encourage individuals to be catholic in their interests and to be experts in several areas.

(See Bertrand Russell’s entry for a critique, not of catholic, but of Catholic.)

CATHOLIC CATECHISM

In 1994, a Catechism of the Catholic Church was issued and became a runaway best-seller for its sixteen different publishers. Catechism, a word rooted in the Greek for “oral instruction,” has meant a manual of religious doctrine since the late Middle Ages. Johannes Paulus II (John Paul, Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God for Everlasting Memory) wrote an introductory note, and in a separately bound introduction Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, the Vatican official in charge of doctrine, wrote a note striking out against “those interests which portray the Catechism as inimical to progress.” He singled out by name Hans Küng, the Swiss theologian known for his liberal Catholicism and complaint that the work is an assertion of power by the Church’s “Roman party.” Some Americans were critical of the Vatican’s decision to continue using gender-insensitive words, for example using “Man” for “Humanity.” Other Americans, although finding the 853-page work has its good points, are aware that many do not agree with the Church declarations in regard to contraception, divorce, and abortion. They note that the catechism persists with the medieval teaching that the only legitimate end of sex is procreation. In fact, contraception is said to be “intrinsically evil,” and it is condemned more harshly than homicide, which is declared sometimes permissible. The catechism also condemns in vitro fertilization, even if the husband and wife supply their own sperm and egg, inasmuch as such “established the domination of technology.” Further, it is “not possible” for women to be ordained.

Catholics generally accept the idea that some items of doctrine have to be accepted . . . on faith. For example: the divinity (and humanity) of Christ; his death and resurrection; the virginity of Mary; the power of prayer. However, many Catholics do not agree with Pope John Paul that the “ordinary magisterium”—all church teaching—requires absolute acceptance. In fact, that teaching has changed over the years. For example, at one time the Roman Catholic church banned artistic images of Christ, prohibited the payment of interest, allowed priests to marry; and expected inquisitors to torture. Pope Paul VI abolished the Index Prohibitorum. John Paul II retracted the church’s 17th-century denunciation of Galileo. A 1907 encyclical condemning “modernism,“ The Economist has observed (29 April 1995), “is now regarded as an embarrassment at best.”

(See entry for the Rev. Richard P. McBrien, an outspoken liberal Roman Catholic theologian.)

CATHOLIC CRITIQUE OF HUMANIST MANIFESTO I

See entry for Humanist Manifestos.

CATHOLIC POPES

See entry for Pope. For a description of one pope’s wild parties, see the entry for Alexander VI.

CATHOLIC RELATIVISM

The Roman Catholic Church rarely talks about heresy, but in 1997 the Vatican’s doctrinal authorities found a seventy-two-year-old Sri Lankan priest, the Rev. Tissa Balasuriya, guilty of having “deviated from the integrity of the truth of the Catholic faith.” As a result, he was excommunicated, formally cast out of the communion of the church. Another case of excommunication in recent times was against Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1988, after he flouted the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Similarly, the Pope severely criticized and cracked down on the Swiss theologian Hans Küng, a professor at Tübingen University in Germany; the Rev. Charles E. Curran, who taught at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.; and the school of liberation theologians from Latin America whose anti-establishment, populist views often overlapped with leftist social ideals in the 1970s and 1980s. However, Father Küng observed of the Sri Lankan’s excommunication, “This is much tougher, perhaps because he is a third-world theologian. It is very serious for this man, and it is very unjust, but it is the consequence of the system. This is the system as it works, and as it will work as long as Catholicism doesn’t get rid of a doctrine that says the Pope is always right.” Observed a fellow member of Father Balasuriya’s order, “I love my order; the fraternal bonds are very strong; but you have to respect the mission of the church. The Pope and the bishops have a responsibility for teaching by the Scriptures, for interpreting by tradition.” The Sri Lankan had been accused of challenging such beliefs as original sin and the Immaculate Conception.

{Celestine Bohlen, The New York Times, 7 January 1997}

CATHOLIC WOMEN

In The Recovering Catholic: Personal Journeys of Women Who Left the Church (1995), Joanne H. Meehl writes about women of many walks of life who have rejected the Roman Catholic faith. The denigration of females by the male clergy, abortion, contraception, and the role of women in the Church are discussed. Meehl speaks of the “Great Goddess” matriarchal culture, leading R. E. Wolke and others to wonder why she would wish to replace the illogic of one religion for another. {The American Rationalist, September-October 1995}

CATHOLICISM

“Catholicism,” wrote lapsed Catholic Anthony Burgess in his memoirs, “is, in a paradox, a bigger thing than the faith. It is a kind of supranationality that makes one despise small patriotisms.”

Freethinkers, although highly critical of Catholicism, generally refrain from trying to change the beliefs of its Catholic adherents.

(See entry for Cross-Dressing, Transvestism.)

CATHOLICISM—INTRIGUE IN THE VATICAN

See entry for Vatican, Gone With the Wind in the.

CATHOLICS, AWFUL DISCLOSURES BY MARIA MONK

See "Artifact: Killer Priests" in New York Magazine (9 June 2008)

CATHOLICS, FORMER

Sherry Bishop is author of Immaculate Misconceptions: A Self-Help Book for Former Catholics (Veranda Press, PO Box 626, Carlsborg, WA 98324). The book is based on her own experience as well as that of other former Catholics. The first part details how they were hurt by their childhood experiences in Catholic churches and schools. The second part offers suggestions for healing.

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

The Roman Catholic Church, which is Christian and theistic, is characterized by an episcopal hierachy with the pope as its head. Abbreviated as R.C.Ch., the church's belief is in seven sacraments and the authority of tradition.

VATICAN II CHANGES

The Second Vatican Council, according to the Rev. John W. O'Malley, was "quite possibly the biggest meeting in the history of the world." His book is What Happened at Vatican II (2008, Belknap/Harvard University).