Catholic Church
Catholic Church questions and answers
Find more information on the Roman Catholic Religion @ The Adherents Religion Website.
Q: Catholic church?
What year was the Catholic Church founded and who were its founders and administrators?
A: The Catholic Church, such as it was, was founded in 33 AD, 50 days after the Resurrection on the holy day of Pentecost. This is when the Apostles received the Holy Spirit, left their hiding place, and began to preach the Gospel. They were the first bishops.
The founder was Jesus. He gave the Holy Spirit to the Apostle and commissioned them, saying "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." (Jn 20:21)
The first administrators were the Apostles themselves. As their ministry grew and spread, they began appointing others as bishops and priests of the Church as well. One such apostolically ordained bishop was Timothy from the New Testament.
The first recorded use of the term "Catholic Church" was around 110 AD in a letter from St. Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans.
Q: How is the Hungarian Catholic Church different from the Roman Catholic Church?
Also, which Catholic apostle associated with finding the Hungarian Catholic Church rite? Thanks to all who respond!
A: Hungary's Greek Catholics, were originally concentrated in what is now northeastern Hungary. This region was historically inhabited by Orthodox Christians from the Carpathian Mountains (Ruthenians and Romanians). Serbs fleeing the Turkish advance arrived later in what was then Hungary, but most stayed in the area that is now part of Serbia. Later still, when the Turks were driven back from Vienna in 1683 and from Buda and central Hungary in 1686, Ruthenians and Slovaks settled in the abandoned lands of Hungary. They were cared for by the Ruthenian Byzantine Rite Eparchy of Mukacheve (Hungarian: Munkács). In the 18th century many Hungarian Protestants joined the Roman Catholic Church, adopting the Byzantine Rite rather than the Latin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Greek_Catholic_Church
A rite represents an ecclesiastical tradition about how the sacraments are to be celebrated. As the early Church grew and spread, it celebrated the sacraments as would be best understood and received in the context of individual cultures, without ever changing their essential form and matter. The early Church sought to evangelize in the major cultural centers of the first centuries A.D. These centers were Rome, Antioch (Syria), and Alexandria (Egypt). All the rites in use today evolved from the liturgical practices and ecclesiastical organization used by the churches in these cities.
http://www.mncuf.org/rites.htm
Q: When did the Catholic church begin praying to Mary and the Saints?
I know the Catholic church was the first church; I just don't understand the prayers to Mary and the Saints. Could some Catholics help me out on this one?
A: Catholics ask saints to intercede for us with God. If we can ask living people to pray for us, surely we can ask the saints, because they are with God and in God in Heaven. This is not "invoking the dead": the saints are not "dead", but are fully alive in Christ and with Christ (more alive than you and I are right now!).
Secondly, Catholics do not "worship" the saints. We honour and venerate them, but this is fundamentally distinct from "worship", which is an act of adoration which we can only give to God Himself (to the Blessed Trinity). It is expressly forbidden, in the Catholic Church, to give "worship" to anyone other than God, since this is one of the 10 Commandments.
We ask saints to pray for us because we are One Body in Christ. St. Paul speaks about the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ, and St. Augustine develops this by saying: "Christ is the Head; we are the members, of the same Body". This unity in Christ means that we can intercede for one another in a very particular way. This mutual intercession is the fruit of love: love of God and love of neighbour.
As for the "when did the Church begin..." part of the question, the answer is: ALWAYS, i.e. from the beginning. This is because the Church has always realized that all her members are One Body in Christ, through our common baptism: we die and are raised with and in Him.
I hope this helps you. Good luck with your search. I pray for you.
Q: Why does the Catholic church have to pay for criminal priests?
Today I saw on TV an item about a lot of Roman Catholic churches in the US have to close down, because they have too much debts, because they have to pay for the child abuse the priests did. Why is it that the church has to pay for this? If I do something criminal my employer doesn't have to pay for it? What is the official reason that this is handled differently?
A: The parishes and diocese are being sued by victims. If you did something illegal as part of your work, the victim could sue the company you work for.
Q: How did the Catholic Church in the Dark Ages Europe slow the development of medical advancements?
Im doing a essay on the dark ages in europe on medical advancements conflicting with the church. Does anyone have any specific information or links on how the medieval catholic church slowed new medical discoveries and research??
A: You have quite a bit to unlearn.
First, the "Dark Ages" is a derogatory term for the European Middle Ages used by Protestants to trivialize and demonize the Catholic Church of the time. The term referred to a supposed lack of learning in the period. Actually, the Middle Ages were not really so "dark." Legitimate historians do not use the term.
The Catholic Church has sponsored and supported responsible medical advancements throughout history.
I suggest you read the book "How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization" by Thomas E. Woods, Jr. http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/history/world/wh0101.html
With love in Christ.
Q: How much is the Catholic Church allowed to charge for holy water?
Please, Please, no sarcastic or uninformative answers. I believe a acquaintance of mine has been scammed by a person posing as a church official. I know nothing of the Catholic faith or rites, and I don't know if churches even sell holy water.
A: from strickley a legal point of view they can charge what they want
However selling of holy items is one step away from the corruption that got them in trouble back in the 1500's
Q: When did the Catholic church lose most of its political power?
I posted this in "religion" and got a bunch of opinions as answers. I'm looking for an actual date in history for when the Catholic church stopped having the power to wage wars across continents (with the Muslims for example - and others). And when did it stop having the ability to make laws that European nations abided by? Thanks for any help.
A: The church's height of temporal power was during the reign of Pope Innocent III in 1198. After his death in 1216, you will find a gradual decline in the papacy's power. The popes of the Renaissance 1420 - 1521, Alexander VI, Sixtus IV, Julius II, and Leo X was Rome's golden age of art, culture, and influence. They were still effectively able to wage wars, but not as they did in the late 12th and early 13th century. I cannot find any other mention of the Church's ability to wage wars after the Council of Trent from 1545 - 1563.
Q: How can I buy stock in a Catholic Church?
Now that indulgences are back, and there are more stupid rich people than ever, I would like to buy some stock options from a catholic church and make some serious guacamole.
How do I go about owning some shares of a church?
A: lol I'm sure of they did become a corporation and sell shares I'd buy some too.
Q: How did the catholic church change after the reformation ?
do they still do indulgences?
what was changed in the catholic church during/after/because of the protestant reformation
A: they no longer require you to eat fish on Friday and they bought the pope a new popemobile with a glass roof so you can see him.
Q: Should the Catholic Church become a company and float on the stock exchange?
Lots of Catholics would love to own share in the Catholic Church. It has strong income sources and can always make profits. Think of the plunder it has gained over the past 2,000 years and how this could be increased further by proper capitalism!
A: So, instead of the pope, the Church would answer to stockholders? How is that any better?
Q: How did the Catholic Church create Hell if Hell is talked about in the NT?
"For the record, Hell was created by the Catholic Church as a tool to manipulate the masses who sadly, being uneducated and illiterate, could not know otherwise. Please, stop spreading this falsehood, it really is annoying."
Hell is talked about in the NT, so how did the Catholic Church "make it up"?
the bible was put together by a council of Bishops in the 300ad's right?
I don't know about unanimously agreed on.
I think only Paul's were.
A: Hell is also in the OT along with Purgatory.
If Protestants would have left All of the Books in the Bible instead of reading an incomplete Bible...They'd know better.
http://www.drbo.org/cgi-bin/s?t=0&q=Hell&b=drb
And yes, The Bible was compiled by Catholic Bishops. All the Books were unanimously agreed upon/Canonized.
http://www.geocities.com/militantis/thebible.html#4
A good question for those rebuking the Bible as "Corrupted" by The Church..."Why Trust Any of It at All"?
We either got it Right or None of it is Right.
Q: How many people did the Catholic church kill during the Spanish Inquisitions?
It seems that Muslims are always blamed for being the most violent of the religious sects but isn't it true that the Catholic church ordered inquisitions throughout Europe, Russia, etc. The Cathloic church also aided in some of the destructions to the Aztecs and Incas in Mexico, Central America and south America. Which religious group has killed more over the last 1000 years? How many total killed were there during the spanish inquisitions?
A: all religons have killed but Muslims are way out on top
Q: What is the difference between the Catholic church and the Uniting Church?
I'm doing a report for school on different Christian Denominations, and i am to "compare and contrast the similarities and differences between the Uniting Church (of Australia) and the Catholic Church." but i can't find any.
I am of Catholic faith, and I don't hav much idea about the Uniting Church. Could you pls comment in detail about the major beliefs, any special customs or practises of the Uniting Church, and any special roles for both genders.
Thanks!! it'll be of BIG help.
A: The Uniting Church in Australia was formed on June 22, 1977, as a union of three churches: the Congregational Union of Australia, the Methodist Church of Australasia and the Presbyterian Church of Australia.
Lay Pastors can be male or female. (Unlike the male only rule for Priests in the Catholic Church)
The UCA is a non-episcopal church, that is it has no bishops They do not follow the Pope's word.
They seem to go a little lighter on the homosexual issue.
Q: How do you get a marriage recognized by the Catholic church?
I am Episcopalian and my fiancee is Catholic. If we were to get married in the Episcopalian church, how hard would it be for us to get our marriage recognized by the Catholic church?
What steps would we have to go through? Would we need a priest there? Does he have to actually perform the ceremony? Do we still need to do the marriage counseling through the Catholic church?
What do you think very strict Catholics (his grandparents) would think about us getting married in an Episcopalian church? Is there any animosity between the two churches?
A: To get married in the catholic church you need to meet with your priest, do the FOCUS, do marriage prep with priest, and do the Engaged encounter. The Priest will have to be there and it will have to be in the Catholic Church if your boyfriend wants to be able to still receive the Eucharist. If you are willing to do all of this for your boyfriend I'm sure his parents wont mind. You also have to be open to children in your marriage. You should only practice NFP to space children. You also have to be willing to let your husband raise your kids Catholic.
And for everyone who is saying you need money, this is a lie. We were broke and had no money and the church did the wedding for free.
Q: What is the difference between a Jesuit church and a regular Catholic church?
I'm aware that Jesuits are Catholic men who are part of the Society of Jesus. But if a church (where men and women can attend) calls itself a "Jesuit church", how would its services, ministry, and so forth be different from a non-Jesuit church? Thank you.
A: As you are aware, Jesuits are an order of Catholic priests. They are commonly teachers and missionaries. The Jesuits still go to the jungles to teach reading, writing and arithmetic, along with Catholicism. For example, I recently saw a flyer in church saying that the Jesuits are looking for volunteers to teach school in Belize. Many large Catholic universities are run by Jesuits including Boston College, Georgetown, Marquette and others.
I am not 100% sure but I am willing to guess that the church is run by the order, as opposed to the local Bishop. This will not change the Mass or the message, just the organizational structure. I will also guess that church has an associated school or is maybe on a college campus? Perhaps the church's ministry will be more focused on education than other matters, although the Jesuits also care for the sick and hungry.
BTW I went to a Jesuit university.
Ad maiorem Dei gloriam