The Basics
Catholicism is a sect of Christianity. Catholics believe that God created the universe and endowed man with a soul, but that man sinned and broke this original harmony. God enacted a plan to rescue man from this chaos. He revealed Himself to Moses and established laws and practices to keep the chosen people on the right path. When the time of fulfillment came, God sent down His Son (who is Himself God) to preach, to be crucified, to die, to resurrect, and then return to Heaven. He then sent the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Divine Trinity, to empower His followers to know and love God, and to convert the world.
Those who faithfully follow Christ will be “saved” through the redemptive power of His sacrifice. They will go to Heaven, God’s own dwelling place, to be with Him for eternity. Those who reject Christ will not receive a share in His redemptive power, left instead with the consequences of their own actions – disorder, evil, self-centeredness, and separation from God – Hell.
Catholicism has Apostolic succession, ministerial priesthood, sacraments, and the doctrine that the bishop of Rome is (conditionally) infallible.
The History
In 325, all the Christian Bishops gathered at the behest of Emperor Constantine to settle a debate. The disagreement of the day was whether or not Christ was divine. The Council concluded that Christ was in fact divine, and coequal to the Father and the Spirit, and that to say otherwise was to reject Christianity. All Christians have held this as binding ever since. The Church also established the Nicene Creed, which enumerates the key tenets of Christianity. It ends with this profession: “I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.”
The Catholic Church claims to be the only “denomination” which still meets this criteria today. The most important distinction is the first claim: “one.” What defines a practicing Catholic is communion with the Bishop of Rome (the Pope). If you submit to his authority, you are a faithful Catholic; if you do not, you are not. The Catholics claim that the Pope, as the successor to St. Peter, is the unifying principle of the Church. He is the “chief justice;” the fatherly element who prevents the Church from devolving into a debate society. This belief is largely based on Christ giving Peter the keys to the kingdom of Heaven and promising that “hell will not prevail against [His Church]” (Matt 16:17-19). Catholics interpret this as a promise of divine protection to the Pope, ensuring he does not lead the flock astray.
“Holy” refers to the mission of the Church – the idea that she is set apart by God to continue His own ministry. “Catholic” means “universal.” The idea of an open, accepting, missionary religion may seem quaint today, but Christianity was the first example in history. “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Finally, the Church is “Apostolic,” meaning it is led and stewarded by a ministerial priesthood carrying on the authority of the original Apostles. Only a bishop can ordain a Catholic bishop, and the chain of succession extends back to the original twelve. Catholics may even refer to their diocesan bishop as “our Apostle.”
As I’ve described in the two other Christian denominations’ home pages, Christendom remained one united organization until 1054. The East-West schism put an end to Christian unity, with the Roman and Byzantine Christians separating along geographic lines. Though there are many reasons for the split, it largely came down to political and liturgical differences. Though there were several attempts to heal the schism, peace became impossible after the fourth crusade sack of Constantinople. Alexius the Byzantine prince offered the crusaders fealty to the Pope and support in their quest for Jerusalem if they helped him take the throne. They did, but he was deposed and failed to make good on his promises. Enraged, the crusaders ignored the pleas of the Pope and stormed the city, violated its holy places and women, and stole enormous amounts of wealth. This was the end of amicable East-West relations.
Soon after this embarrassment, a man named Francis, son of a wealthy merchant, renounced his inheritance to live among the poor. In a delipidated church in San Damiano, Italy, an apparition of Christ commanded him to “rebuild [His] Church, which [was] falling down.” Taking this to mean that particular church, Francis physically rebuilt it, but slowly came to realize that Christ was referring to the whole Church. He founded the Franciscan order of friars, astonishing the world with his return to the radical simplicity of the Gospel. He was so committed, he forbade his followers even to own Bibles, fearing it would lead to owning candles, pens, desks, and so on. When sent to correct a sinful priest, he first kissed his hands, acknowledging the authority of Christ in the sinful man before him. Francis’ influence was enormous, and the Church declared his sainthood shortly after his death.
If St. Francis revitalized the soul of the Church, his near-contemporary Thomas Aquinas revitalized its mind. He is largely credited with popularizing the works of Aristotle, taking from his metaphysics and adding to them. His Summa Theologica is an enormous work summarizing practically every aspect of the spiritual life, meant to be a textbook for priests. The Summa Contra Gentiles was his great apologetic work, designed to use reason to explain the truth of the faith to non-Catholics. His metaphysics, now called “Thomism” still serve as the foundation for Catholic theology today. He ushered in the “scholastic era,” which formed the foundations of modern science and philosophy.
Catholicism enjoyed centuries of prosperity, but this prosperity led to decadence among the clergy. Catholics believe that sins are remitted through penance, and particular penances are called “indulgences.” One such indulgence was donating money. The ministerial hierarchy took advantage of this to turn “donations” into transactions, filling their coffers using more and more depraved “sales tactics.” This was the powder keg which ignited the Protestant reformation, a great separation among western Christians. Protestants rejected the value of the ministerial priesthood and authority of the Church. The Catholic Church responded with the Council of Trent, which defined the errors of Protestantism, and with the ban on “selling” indulgences.
Following this embarrassment, Catholicism was again in need of revitalization. This time it came from the great mystical doctors John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila. They pontificated on the power and importance of the mystic life without sacrificing the rational structure of Thomistic theology. They both served as counter-examples to the Protestant diaspora by teaching the importance of obedience, much like St. Francis. Further, they served as counter-examples to the more unstructured Eastern mysticism. To them, mysticism was not just a type of experience, but a gift reserved for the disciplined and obedient.
After dealing a crushing blow to the Muslim Ottoman empire at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, and with the eventual dwindling of wars with the Protestants, Catholicism again entered a period of prosperity.
In the 1960’s, the Second Vatican Council convened to define the Church’s changing role in the modern world. The significant changes made to the Mass began a great controversy over the liturgy and the role of laypeople. In the ten years following Vatican II around 100,000 nuns and 100,000 priests left the Church. The problems did not end there. In the early 2000’s, it was revealed that hundreds of Catholic priests had committed sex crimes against children for decades while their bishops failed to take any decisive action. In combination with the broad popularization of existentialism, rise of digital entertainment, and massive popularity of contraception and abortion, Catholicism fell more and more out of favor in the west.
But this is the story of the west, as of this writing. Catholicism is presently exploding in Africa and Asia.
Catholic Ideas
Catholicism claims to be the continuation of the religion of Moses, transfigured by the life of Jesus Christ. The religion of Moses had three key features which separated it from all other religions. First, the Sanhedrin court which, led by the Nasi, made objective rulings on God’s law. Second, the real presence of God in the Ark of the Covenant. Third, the claim to proper sacrifice. The Catholic Church has the magisterium which, led by the Pope, makes objective rulings on the eternal law. In the heart of every church on earth, there is the Eucharist, which has the accidents of bread, but the real presence of Christ. Third, within the context of every Mass, the sacrifice of Christ is re-presented to the Father per the ritual standards of Mosaic law.
Catholicism is a rather unstructured religion. There are only five absolute requirements for a Baptized believer:
(1) Attend Mass on Sunday and days of obligation (there are six).
(2) Confess your sins to a priest at least annually.
(3) Receive the Eucharist at least on Easter.
(4) Observe the required days of fasting (2) and abstinence from meat (5).
(5) Provide for the needs of the Church as best you can.
But these are, of course, the bare minimum. A Catholic is expected to perform voluntary acts for love of God and neighbor, such as daily prayer, days of penance, and so on.
Catholicism has several core beliefs:
(1) The sacramental body. To Catholics, the Church is the living body of Christ, continuing His own ministry. Catholic priests act in persona Christi – that is, in the person of Christ, to provide the grace (help) of God to all men. Just as man is a composite of body and soul, a sacrament is a composite of material reality and spiritual reality. Baptism involves the material washing with water, but the spiritual cleansing from sin. The Eucharist involves the accidents of bread and wine, but the spiritual reality of communion with God Himself. Confession involves the physical presence of the priest, but the spiritual reality of being forgiven by Christ Himself.
(2) Papal infallibility. As there is only one God, there is only one truth. In order to protect the faithful from the inevitable error of trying to sort out the critical issues themselves, the Catholic bishops define important issues at ecumenical councils. But what makes those definitions trustworthy? Catholics believe that God does not permit the Pope to ratify any incorrect doctrines. As such, all the faithful can trust the declarations of the Church, knowing they only exist with God’s express blessing. In the body of Christ, the priests are the hands, missionaries are like the feet, and the Pope is the head, knowing the truth just as Christ knows it. And indeed, despite the dozens of unholy Popes, none have ever formally declared a heresy.
(3) Ongoing justification. Catholics believe that God’s gift of justification is not manifested by a legal declaration, but by God’s action truly making a man worthy of Heaven. That is, Catholics teach that the justified are truly worthy of Heaven, but not by their own power. Salvation, to the Catholic, is an ongoing process of deepening holiness throughout life. Not unlike the bread which becomes Christ at Mass, the believer becomes Christ through a life of faith and works. “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives within me” (Galatians 2:20). Because Catholics believe in increasing justification, they believe in a cleansing process for those who die in a state of imperfection, called Purgatory.
(4) Mortal and venial sin. Catholics believe that there are two categories of sin. Mortal sins are sins which are (1) grave, (2) performed with full knowledge, and (3) performed with full consent. A mortal sin requires the sacrament of confession in order to be forgiven; unforgiven, a mortal sin leads to Hell. A venial sin is any lesser sin. These can be forgiven in a number of ways; unforgiven, a venial sin leads to Purgatory. Catholics believe that the punishment for sin does not begin with damnation, but rather that it begins on earth. That is, sin is its own punishment, leading to misery and blindness. Imagine a drug addict who is absolutely adamant they don’t have a problem. This is an example of “Hell on earth.”
(5) Intercession. Catholics fundamentally believe that Christ chooses to work through the hands of others, as evidenced by the sacraments. As such, all men are expected to pray for each other, whether here or in the next life. Catholics pray for the souls in Purgatory, and pray to the saints for their intercession. The saints are the righteous dead whom the Church has confirmed are in Heaven through miracles. Catholics specially venerate the virgin Mary for her role as the mother of God, and status as the only sinless human aside from Christ.
(6) Predestination. There are two permissible schools of thought on predestination – Molinism and Thomism. They each try to deal with two difficult issues – first, how is there free will if God is omnipotent? Second, how is damnation possible if God is omnipotent and wants to save everyone? Though both philosophies are starkly dissimilar in their particulars, they both agree that salvation is the mysterious interaction between the nature of free will and the saving power of God. Specifically, Catholics believe that salvation is unearned (the gift of God), but damnation is always earned (the choice of man). Catholics reject the two opposing extremes. First, Pelagianism – the idea that men save themselves by their own power. Second, Predestinarianism – the idea that God purposely chooses some for Hell in the same way He chooses some for Heaven.
Conclusion
The Catholic Church is the one, unified body of Christians under the headship of the Pope. The Church is the living continuation of the ministry of Christ, giving His grace to humanity through the power of the sacraments. The priests Baptize, sacrifice, and forgive sins. The Pope leads with the special power of infallibility.
My defense of Catholicism focuses on the facts that atheism is metaphysically untenable, Christianity is the only religion which came from an evidenced historical event, and Catholicism is the only internally consistent form of Christianity.
You can follow the hyperlink here or navigate to it via the main menu.