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The Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church (RCC) is the worlds oldest and largest embodiment of Christianity. This site owes its existence to the RCC. I was born within the Church but became dissatisfied with it. I am now intent on developing a new theology to replace Catholic theology, which makes very little sense to me. Without the education, pain and inspiration it has given me, these pages would not exist.

The distinction between the RCC and Christianity in general developed slowly, becoming entrenched in the period of the Reformation and Counter Reformation (1517-1563). In 1517 Martin Luther published 95 theses, concerning errors and abuses in the Roman Church. The Ninety-Five Theses - Wikipedia

The Catholic Church responded to Luther and the other Protestants through the Council of Trent (1545-1563). The council produced a systematic statement of Catholic belief and eliminated much corruption within the church. The work of the Council was summarized for the faithful in the Catechism of the Council of Trent.Council of Trent | Catechism

The Council of Trent tended to harden Catholic belief and take a very negative attitude to many of the reformers' positions. It failed to heal the rift between the Catholic and Protestant Christian churches which still exists.

The Reformers were not the only people to question the power of the RCC to impose belief. Embryonic scientific method emerged in the person of Galileo (1564-1642), whose relationship with the Church remains controversial. The growth of science and human independence continue to be a problem for the RCC. Galileo affair - Wikipedia

The philosopher Emmanuel Kant (1724-1804) called the human tendency to independent thought and action Enlightenment:

Enlightenment is man's release from his self-incurred tutelage. Tutelage is man's inability to make use of his understanding without direction from another. Self-incurred is this tutelage when its cause lies not in lack of reason but in lack of resolution and courage to use it without direction from another. Sapere aude! [Dare to think!] "Have courage to use your own reason!"- that is the motto of enlightenment.' (from Emmanuel Kant: "Was ist Äufklarung?", What is Enlightenment). Age of Enlightenment - Wikipedia, Answering the Question: What is Enlightenment? - Wikipedia

In all but his scientific experience, Galileo was a faithful Catholic, and the questions he raised about the solar system are of relatively minor theological importance. The theory of evolution developed by Darwin and Wallace cut much deeper into the foundation of Catholic (and Christian and Jewish) belief: the divine creation of our word and ourselves described in Genesis. Darwin, Jones, Genesis

The first Vatican Council (1869-70) confronted the growing tendencies to intellectual and political independence. It is perhaps best remembered for its definition of Papal Infallibility:

We teach and define that it is a dogma divinely revealed: that the Roman Pontiff, when he speaks ex cathedra, that is, when in discharge of the office of Pastor and Doctor of all Christians, by virtue of his supreme Apostolic authority he defines a doctrine regarding faith or morals to be held by the Universal Church, by the divine assistance promised to him in blessed Peter, is possessed of the infallibility with which the divine Redeemer willed that His Church should be endowed for defining doctrine regarding faith or morals: and that therefore such definitions of the Roman Pontiff are irreformable of themselves, and not from the consent of the Church.

But if any one - which may God avert - presume to contradict this our definition: let him be anathema. Manning page 240

The Church continued to oppose the scientific and political development of humanity for the first half of the twentieth century, but manifested a certain softening through the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) called by Pope John XXIII. Since that Council, and despite increasing pressure form the faithful, the RCC has remained resolutely conservative. Holy See - Vatican II

The chief conflicts between the Catholic Church and its human and natural environment seem to lie in the following areas:

The RCC depends for its livelihood on a claimed monopoly in communication with God. The Catholic God is an invisible entity which held nevertheless to control all our lives and destinies. Part of the cosmology that goes with this claim is that human spirits are specially created by God and placed in each child during gestation. Neither we nor the Church are of this world, but in some way alien to it.

Absolutism: From a scientific point of view, the Catholic model of the world is an hypothesis, to be accepted or rejected on the evidence. From the Church's point of view, the fundamentals of its model are not negotiable, and anybody who chooses to disagree with them is ultimately a heretic and to be excluded from the Church.

Sexism: Within the Roman Catholic Church, the glass ceiling for women is practically at ground level; women are excluded from all positions of significant power and expected to play traditional subordinate roles. Paul VI: Franjo Cardinal Seper, John Paul II

Violence: In the Christian model God the Father oversees the death of His own Son, n order to placate himself for the 'original sin' committed by the first people he created. This story, which has origins shrouded in ancient mythology, places violence at the heart of human salvation. Frazer Since the Christian God is omnipotent, he could easily have dealt with original sin without the murder of his own son. We might divide Churches generally into those that will go as far as murder to get their own way, and those that hold life sacred. The Catholic Church, unfortunately, has a long history of killing unbelievers. Crusades - Wikipedia

Monarchy: We now hold that all people are born free and equal. Social structures which give some people arbitrary control over others are outlawed. In their place we would like to see free and open associations of people whose resources, including power, are shared by all. The Catholic Church with its celibate, male, priestly hierarchy culminating in an absolute monarch is very far from this ideal.

Marketing and Quality: The Catholic Church believes it has a duty to induce everyone to hear and accept its version of the World. This is a natural foreign policy for an imperialist organism whose size and power increases in proportion to its membership. But the modern world expects any corporation promoting itself in the marketplace to deliver quality and value. People contributing to the sustenance of the Church and following its beliefs and practices need to be assured that they will indeed receive the eternal life promised to them. Lumen Gentium para 2., Ad Gentes

The work 'catholic' is a transliteration of the Greek word meaning 'universal'. At a time when the Roman Empire was the Universe, this name was reasonable, but times have changed. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church has done its best to stay the same. It claims that it cannot change its mind about its fundamental dogmas. Catholic - Wikipedia

The most fundamental of all these dogmas is the claimed distinction between God and the Universe. On this site we treat this distinction as a mistake made by people who did not really understand God or the Universe. It is time to correct this error by showing that it is reasonable to see the Universe as divine, our creator, so giving the real world the weight it deserves in our history.

(revised 2 January 2012)

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Ad Gentes, in Walter M Abbott and Joseph Gallagher (translation editor): The Documents of Vatican II: Decree on the Church's Missionary Activity, Geoffrey Chapman 1972 'The pilgrim Church is missionary by her very nature. For it is from the mission of the Son and the mission of the Holy Spirit that she takes her origin, in accordance with the decree of God the Father. (para 2) ... The specific purpose of this missionary activity is evangelisation and the planting of the Church among those people and groups where she has not yet taken root.' (para 6)
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Canon Law Society of America, Holy See, Code of Canon Law: Latin-English Edition, Canon Law Society of America 1984 Pope John Paul XXXIII announced his decision to reform the existing corpus of canonical legislation on 25 January 1959. Pope John Paul II ordered the promulgation of the revised Code of Canon law on the same day in 1983. The latin text is definitive. This English translation has been approved by the Canonical Affairs Committee of the [US] National Conference of Catholic Bishops in October 1983.
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Catholic Church, New Catholic Encyclopedia, Gale Group 2002
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Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church: Revised in accordance with the official Latin text promulgated by Pope John Paul II, United States Catholic Conference 2000 Jacket: "This second edition of the Cathechism of the Catholic Church has been revised in accordance with the official Latin text promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1997. It has been enhanced by the addition of more than 100 pages which include ... An analytical index translated from the Latin text; A glossary of terms; The decree of promulgation of the official Latin text. The first new compendium of Catholic Doctrine in more than 400 years, the Catechism of the Catholic Church stands, in the words of Pope John Paul II, as "a sure norm for teaching the faith" and an 'authentic reference text"."
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Denzinger, Henricus, and Adolphus Schoenmetzer, Enchiridion Symbolorum, Definitionum et Declarationum de Rebus Fidei et Morum, Herder 1963 Introduction: 'Dubium non est quin praeter s. Scripturam cuique theologo summe desiderandus sit etiam liber manualis quo contineantur edicta Magisterii ecclesiastici eaque saltem maioris momenti, et quo ope variorim indicum quaerenti aperiantur eorum materiae.' (3) 'There is no doubt that in addition to holy Scripture, every theologian also needs a handbook which contains at least the more important edicts of the Magisterium of the Church, indexed in a way which makes them easy to find.'back

Frazer, James, The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion, Penguin Books 1996 Preface: "The primary aim of this book is to explain the remarkable rule which regulated the succession of the priesthood of Diana at Aricia. ...' 'Such was the rule of the sanctuary. A candidate for the priesthood could only succeed to office by slaying the priest, and having slain him, he retained office till he himself was slain by a stronger or a craftier.' [p 1]
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Jones, Steve, Darwin's Ghost: The Origin of Species Updated, Random House 2000 An Historical Sketch: 'The Origin of Species is, without doubt, the book of the millennium. ... [This book] is, as far as is possible, an attempt to rewrite the Origin of Species. I use its plan, developing as it does from farms to fossils, from beehives to islands, as a framework, but my own Grand Facts ... are set firmly in the late twentieth century. Almost Like a Whale tries to read Charles Darwin's mind with the benefit of scientific hindsight and to show how the theory of evolution unites biology as his millenium draws to an end.' (xix)
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Lumen Gentium, in Walter M Abbott and Joseph Gallagher (translation editor) The Documents of Vatican II: Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Geoffrey Chapman 1972 'This sacred Synod turns its attention first to the Catholic faithful. Basing itself upon sacred Scripture and tradition, it teaches that the Church, now sojourning on earth as an exile, is necessary for salvation.' (para 14)
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Manning, Henry Edward, The Vatican Council and its Definitions: A Pastoral Letter to the Clergy, Excelsior Catholic Publishing House 1905 Latin original of quoted passage: '... docemus et divinitus revelatum dogma esse definimus; Romanum Pontificem, cum ex Cathedra loquitur, id est, cum omnium Christianorum Pastoris et Doctoris munere fungens, pro suprema sua Apostolica auctoritate, doctrinam de fide vel moribus ab universa Ecclesia tenendam definit, per assistentiam divinam, ipsi in beato Petro promissam, ea infallibilitate pollere, qua divinus Redemptor Ecclesiam suam in definienda docrtina de fide vel moribus instructam esse voluit; ideoque eiusmodi Romani Pontificis definitiones ex sese, non autum ex consensu Ecclesia irreformabiles esse. Si quis autem huic Nostrae definitioni contradicere, quod Deus avertat, praesumpserit; anathema sit.'back

Schmemann, Alexander, "A response (to the decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches)" in Walter M Abbott and Joseph Gallagher (translation editor) The Documents of Vatican II: Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, pp 387-388, Geoffrey Chapman 1972 "There can be no doubt as to the positive, irenic and constructive intentions of the Decree as a whole. .. Certain important reservations, must, however, be made. First of all, the Decree seems to "take for granted" and to perpetuate the reduction of the differences between the East and the West to the sole area of rites, discipline and "way of life". But it is preceisly this reduction which forms the basis of "uniatism" that the Orthodox reject, for they affirm that the liturgical and canonical tradition of the East cannot be isolated from the sdoctrinal principles which it implies and which constitute the real issue between Roman Catholicim and Eastern Orthodoxy.'
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Papers

Keneally, Thomas, "Inside the Cloisters ", Sydney Morning Herald SMH, , , November 30- December 1 2000, page Spectrum 4-6. 'The Catholic Church once emanated romance for pious young men, but the realisty was cruel. With its failing now exposed for all to see, Thomas Kineally laments its descent into disgrace.'. back

Steinfels, Margaret O'Brien, "Winners don't take all", Eureka Street, 2, 6, July 1992, page 21-25. 'The Catholic Church has lived with factions and disputes before. But, Margaret O'Brien Steinfels argues, it is time to dismantle some of the battle lines that have divided Catholics since Vatican II. back

Links

Age of Enlightenment - Wikipedia Age of Enlightenment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 'The Age of Enlightenment (or simply the Enlightenment or Age of Reason) was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe, that sought to mobilize the power of reason, in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted science and intellectual interchange and opposed superstition[1], intolerance and abuses in church and state. Originating about 1650–1700, it was sparked by philosophers Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677), John Locke (1632–1704), Pierre Bayle (1647–1706), mathematician Isaac Newton (1643–1727) and historian Voltaire (1694–1778).' back

Answering the Question: What is Enlightenment? - Wikipedia Answering the Question: What is Enlightenment? - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia '"Answering the Question: What Is Enlightenment?" (German: "Beantwortung der Frage: Was ist Aufklärung?") is the title of an 1784 essay by the philosopher Immanuel Kant. In the December 1784 publication of the Berlinische Monatsschrift (Berlin Monthly), edited by Friedrich Gedike and Johann Erich Biester, Kant replied to the question posed a year earlier by the Reverend Johann Friedrich Zöllner, who was also an official in the Prussian government.' back

Brainard History Wiz: Kant 'Immanuel Kant, 1724-1804, was a German philosopher, and was most well known for his work in metaphysics. He is responsible for the use of the word "enlightenment" to describe this age of reason, though the expression "age of enlightenment" didn't catch on until later. He also coined the motto of the enlightenment, "sapere aude" dare to think.' back

Catholic - Wikipedia Catholic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 'The word catholic (derived via Late Latin catholicus, from the Greek adjective καθολικός (katholikos), meaning "universal"[1][2]) comes from the Greek phrase καθόλου (kath'holou), meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words κατά meaning "about" and όλος meaning "whole". . . . It was first used to describe the Christian Church in the early 2nd century to emphasize its universal scope. In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages.' back

Christus Rex Christus Rex Catholic Site Database of Catholic resources back

Council of Trent | Catechism The Catechism of the Council of Trent 'CATECHISM OF THE COUNCIL OF TRENT FOR PARISH PRIESTS Issued by order of Pope Pius V INTRODUCTORY The Necessity Of Religious Instruction Such is the nature of the human mind and intellect that, although by means of diligent and laborious inquiry it has of itself investigated and discovered many other things pertaining to a knowledge of divine truths; yet guided by its natural lights it never could have known or perceived most of those things by which is attained eternal salvation, the principal end of man's creation and formation to the image and likeness of God. back

Crusades - Wikipedia Crusades - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 'The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem. . . . The main series of Crusades occurred between 1095 and 1291; historians have given them numbers, later unnumbered crusades were also taken up for a variety of reasons. The Crusades were fought by Roman Catholics primarily against Muslims. After some early successes, the later crusades failed and the crusaders were defeated and forced to return home.' back

Galileo affair - Wikipedia Galileo affair - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 'The Galileo affair was a sequence of events, beginning around 1610, during which Galileo Galilei came into conflict with the Aristotelian scientific view of the Universe (supported by the Catholic Church), over his support of Copernican astronomy.' back

Genesis The Book of Genesis 'Genesis is the first book of the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), the first section of the Jewish and the Christian Scriptures. Its title in English, “Genesis,” comes from the Greek of Gn 2:4, literally, “the book of the generation (genesis) of the heavens and earth.” Its title in the Jewish Scriptures is the opening Hebrew word, Bereshit, “in the beginning.”' back

Holy See - Vatican II The Holy See - Archive - Documents of the II Vatican Council An archive of the documents of the second Vatican Council in Byelorussian, Chinese, Czech, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Latin, Portuguese, Spanish and Swahili back

John Paul II Ordinatio sacerdotalis: On reserving priestly ordination to men alone '. . . in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church's divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful.' back

K Knight New Advent Catholic Site Database of Catholic resources back

National Catholic Reporter National Catholic Reporter 'The National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company reports, comments and reflects on the church and society. It strives for excellence in its publications, supporting a full, honest and open exchange of ideas. It works out of a Roman Catholic tradition and an ecumenical spirit. It emphasizes solidarity with the oppressed and respect for all. It understands that peace, justice and integrity of environment are not only goals but also avenues of life.' back

Osservatore Romano Osservatore Romano The official Vatican newspaper back

Paul VI: Franjo Cardinal Seper Inter Insigniores: On the question of admission of women to the ministerial priesthood '. . . in execution of a mandate received from the Holy Father and echoing the declaration which he himself made in his letter of 30 November 1975, the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith judges it necessary to recall that the Church, in fidelity to the example of the Lord, does not consider herself authorized to admit women to priestly ordination.' back

Roman Catholic Church Catholic Encyclopaedia: The Church Catholic Encyclopaedia article on the Catholic Church back

Roman Catholic Church Catholic Encyclopaedia Online encyclopaedia of Catholic doctrine back

The Holy See The Holy See The Vatican official site back

The Ninety-Five Theses - Wikipedia The Ninety-Five Theses - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 'The Ninety-Five Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences (Latin: Disputatio pro declaratione virtutis indulgentiarum), commonly known as The Ninety-Five Theses, was written by Martin Luther, 1517 and is widely regarded as the primary catalyst for the Protestant Reformation. The disputation protests against clerical abuses, especially the sale of indulgences.' back

Zenit Newsagency Zenit Newsagency 'ZENIT is an International News Agency. Our mission is to provide objective coverage of events, documents and issues emanating from or concerning the Catholic Church.' back

The Roman Catholic Church

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