Portal:Catholic Church

Catholic Church Portal Main page   Pontifex Maximus   The town and the world Introduction The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.28 to 1.39 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2024. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization. The church consists of 24 sui iuris churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies around the world. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor of the church. The Diocese of Rome, known as the Holy See, is the central governing authority of the church. The administrative body of the Holy See, the Roman Curia, has its principal offices in Vatican City, which is a small, independent city-state and enclave within the city of Rome, of which the pope is head of state and absolute elective monarch. The core beliefs of Catholicism are found in the Nicene Creed. The Catholic Church teaches that it is the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church founded by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission, that its bishops are the successors of Christ's apostles, and that the pope is the successor to Saint Peter, upon whom primacy was conferred by Jesus Christ. It maintains that it practises the original Christian faith taught by the apostles, preserving the faith infallibly through scripture and sacred tradition as authentically interpreted through the magisterium of the church. The Roman Rite and others of the Latin Church, the Eastern Catholic liturgies, and institutes such as mendicant orders, enclosed monastic orders and third orders reflect a variety of theological and spiritual emphases in the church. Of its seven sacraments, the Eucharist is the principal one, celebrated liturgically in the Mass. The church teaches that through consecration by a priest, the sacrificial bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. The Virgin Mary is venerated as the Perpetual Virgin, Mother of God, and Queen of Heaven; she is honoured in dogmas and devotions. Catholic social teaching emphasizes voluntary support for the sick, the poor, and the afflicted through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Catholic Church operates tens of thousands of Catholic schools, universities and colleges, hospitals, and orphanages around the world, and is the largest non-government provider of education and health care in the world. Among its other social services are numerous charitable and humanitarian organizations. (Full article...) Selected article Missionaries of Charity pray in their home for street children The Roman Catholic Church in Afghanistan is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome. There are very few Catholics in this overwhelmingly Islamic country - just over 100 attend mass in its only chapel - and freedom of religion has been difficult to obtain in recent times, especially under the former Taliban regime. On 16 May 2002, Pope John Paul II established a mission sui iuris for Afghanistan with Father Giuseppe Moretti as its first superior. The only Catholic church in the country is the chapel at the Italian embassy in Kabul. In 2004, the Missionaries of Charity arrived in Kabul to carry out humanitarian work. Legend from the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas and other ancient documents suggests that Saint Thomas preached in Bactria, which is today northern Afghanistan. The Nestorians planted Christianity in the area, and there have been 9 bishops and dioceses in the region, including Herat (424-1310), Farah (544-1057), Kandahar, and Balkh. This early establishment of the Church was overcome by Muslim invasions in the 7th century, though the territory was not substantially controlled by Muslims until the 9th and 10th centuries. Read more... Selected image Credit: Blieusong The façade of Notre-Dame de Paris, showing the Portal of the Virgin, Portal of the Last Judgment and Portal of St-Anne. Selected biography Elias Zoghby (January 9, 1912 – January 16, 2008) was the Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop of Baalbek and a leading advocate of Catholic-Orthodox ecumenism. He is best known for his ecumenical interventions during Vatican II and his 1995 Profession of Faith, known as the Zoghby Initiative, which attempted to re-establish communion between the Melkite Greek Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church while maintaining communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Zoghby's views on topics such as Catholic–Orthodox "double communion" and dissolution of marriage were controversial. Critics labeled him the enfant terrible of his church, while supporters lauded him as an energetic visionary who sought to re-unite the Eastern Churches. Elias Zoghby was born on January 9, 1912 in Cairo. His mother, Hanne Ishak Yared, was a Melkite Greek Catholic and his father, Abdallah Mikail Zoghby, was Antiochian Orthodox convert and former Maronite Catholic. Read more... Did you know... Giovanni Faber ...that Giovanni Faber (pictured), doctor to the Pope, botanist and art collector, coined the name "microscope"? ...that the Chinese government had no objections when the Eastern Orthodox Church canonized Metrophanes, Chi Sung and other martyrs of the Boxer Rebellion, but did object to canonizations by the Roman Catholic Church? ...that the Blessed Martyrs of Nowogródek were Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth who offered their lives during the Holocaust in exchange for the release of citizens of Nowogródek? Related portals Feast Day of December 30 Egwin of Evesham (died 30 December 717) was a Benedictine monk and, later, the third Bishop of Worcester in England. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. (Full article...) Attributes: bishop holding a fish and a key Patronage: - Selected quote Robert Bellarmine, SJ, Doctor of the Church “ Sharing in solicitude for all the Churches, bishops exercise this episcopal office of theirs, received through episcopal consecration, in communion with and under the authority of the Supreme Pontiff. All are united in a college or body with respect to teaching the universal Church of God and governing her as shepherds. ” — Robert Bellarmine Decree on the Bishops' Pastoral Office News December "Immaculate Conception" Painting by Murillo, circa 1678. 17 November 2024 – Israel–Hamas war Pope Francis calls for the global community to investigate whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. (CNN) 23 October 2024 – China–Holy See relations China and the Holy See agree to extend their 2018 provisional agreement on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for a further four years. (Vatican News) Subcategories Catholic Church Catholic Church by city Catholic Church by continent Catholic Church by country Catholic Church-related lists Catholic particular churches sui iuris Latin Church Eastern Catholic Churches Catholic bibles Buildings and structures of the Catholic Church Catholics Catholic charities Catholic culture Catholic dioceses Ecclesiastical polity of the Catholic Church Catholic ecumenical and interfaith relations History of the Catholic Church Catholic hymns Catholic liturgy Catholic missions Catholic orders and societies Catholic Church organisation Popes Catholic Church in popular culture Roman Catholic saints Catholic spirituality Catholic studies Catholic theology and doctrine Venerated Catholics Catholic Church portals Outlines of the Catholic Church Catholic Church stubs Topics God the Trinity: God the Father · God the Son · God the Holy Spirit The Holy Bible: Old Testament (including the Deuterocanonicals) · New Testament Particular Churches (grouped by liturgical rite): Latin Rite: Latin Church Alexandrian Rite: Coptic Catholic Church · Eritrean Catholic Church · Ethiopic Catholic Church Armenian Rite: Armenian Catholic Church East Syrian Rite: Chaldean Catholic Church · Syro-Malabar Catholic Church West Syrian Rite: Maronite Church · Syriac Catholic Church · Syro-Malankara Catholic Church Byzantine Rite: Albanian Greek Catholic Church · Belarusian Greek Catholic Church · Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church · Greek Byzantine Catholic Church · Greek Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia · Hungarian Greek Catholic Church · Italo-Albanian Greek Catholic Church · Macedonian Byzantine-Catholic Church · Melkite Greek Catholic Church · Romanian Greek Catholic Church · Russian Greek Catholic Church · Ruthenian Catholic Church · Slovak Greek Catholic Church · Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church History: Jesus of Nazareth · The Apostles · Ecumenical Councils · East–West Schism · The Crusades · Reformation Christian Theology: Four Marks of the Church · Christian Worship · Divine Grace · Salvation · Sermon on the Mount · Ten Commandments Things you can do If you want to help, you can do the following things: Contribute to one or more of the following articles: Articles needing attention: Coptic Catholic Church • Salesians of Don Bosco • Caritas Internationalis • Teresa Janina Kierocińska • St. Joseph's Cathedral, Allahabad • Emiliano Tardif • More... 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