Catholics or Catholicism are the largest part of adherents of one of the directions of Christianity, now there are about 1 billion 230 million people, and the Vatican is the largest religious and ideological center of Catholicism. The historical schism with the Eastern Christian Church is believed to have occurred in 1054. Liturgical rites in the Catholic Church are divided into the Latin rite, Western rites and Eastern liturgical rites.
Catholicism is primarily widespread in countries such as Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Belgium, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Ireland, Malta where Catholics represent the majority of the population of these countries. In the Western Hemisphere, Catholics are in the majority in the United States, Canada, Cuba, Mexico, and all countries of South and Central America. In Asia, Catholic majority societies can be found in the Philippines and East Timor. In Australia and New Zealand they are also the majority. It is worth noting the Catholicism of the Byzantine rite or Greek Catholicism, which is widespread in Eastern Europe.
For tourists from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus on a trip to the West, the question arises: how does the Catholic Church differ from the Orthodox Church or from Protestantism?
For example, the Catholic and Orthodox Churches have different understandings of the unity of the Church, so for the Orthodox it is enough to share one faith and sacraments, while Catholics also see the need for a single head of the Church - the Pope. The Orthodox claim that the Universal Church is “embodied” in each local Church, headed by a bishop. Catholics add that this local Church must have communion with the local Roman Catholic Church in order to belong to the Universal Church. The Orthodox Church confesses the Holy Spirit proceeds only from the Father, and the Catholic Church confesses in the Creed that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. The Orthodox Church allows the possibility of divorce between husband and wife, unlike the Catholic Church. In the Orthodox Church there is no purgatory or state of souls after death destined for heaven but not yet ready for it, unlike Catholicism. Catholics firmly believe in the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, Orthodox believe that she was born with original sin. In the Catholic Church the head is the Pope; for the Orthodox Church there is no Pope.
Nevertheless, despite these differences and many others, including differences between liturgical practice, Catholics and Orthodox believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ, which unites them despite past prejudices and errors.
Over the past decades, there has been a weakening of the influence of the Catholic Church on the lives of ordinary people, this is especially noticeable in Latin American countries, for example, here in 1995 there were 80% of Catholics, but already in 2014 their number fell to 67%, due to a feeling of loss contact between the clergy and the problems of the people and opened the way for the spread of evangelism.
In Europe, Catholicism is weakened by the currently fashionable tolerance, the dominance of migrants, and Islamic culture, which can lead to the loss of European identity. This will not affect us tourists; the great cathedrals, which are an exotic Gothic style, will also be safe and sound, and the converted churches will be bookstores still better than abandoned and forgotten temples.
Religion in the Vatican
The Vatican is the world center of Catholicism, under whose leadership secular and church organizations function in many countries.
Probably 100% of the population of the Vatican is Catholic, all of them are subjects of the Holy See, there are 61 cardinals and 346 clergy, about a hundred Swiss Guards who guard the Vatican and are an integral part of numerous ceremonies, 150 papal gendarmes and about the same number of civilians and families especially close to the church. During the day, in addition to tourists, three thousand Italians work here, who leave the state at night.
Along with Protestantism and Orthodoxy, Catholicism is one of the most extensive movements of the Christian church.
Originating in apostolic times, over thousands of years it has spread throughout the planet and become widely known both for its doctrinal principles and for its comprehensive organizational structure. What is Catholicism? What are his character traits and who are called Catholics?
What does the word "Catholicism" mean?
The development of the modern Catholic Church began in the 1st century AD, and the word itself "Catholicism" was first used in 110 in the message of Bishop Ignatius the God-Bearer to the population of the city of Smyrna (now Izmir).
The term comes from Latin catholicismus, which means "general" or "according to everything" . From the second half of the 2nd century the concept was used to refer to the orthodox (non-heretical) church, and in the 4th century many early writers and historians used it to refer to all Christianity.
Until the Great Schism in 1054, Catholics viewed the history of Christianity as own story. After the division of the Christian Church into Catholic and Orthodox, adherents of Catholicism set the goal of conquering the Holy Land from the Arabs, as a result of which the era of the Crusades began in Europe from the end of the 11th century.
In the 13th century, many monastic orders appeared in the Catholic Church (Franciscans, Augustinians, Dominicans), which played an important role in the fight against heretical movements. For many years Catholics spread their religion in European countries, subjecting to the Inquisition anyone who did not follow their beliefs. 
Today, Catholicism has liberal views and maintains dialogue with other Christian movements.
What is Catholicism?
Catholicism is the largest denomination of Christianity and presents itself as the only holistic and universal church led by Jesus Christ. The visible head of the doctrine is the Pope, who rules the Holy See and its sovereign territory, the Vatican.
Subordinate to the Pope are over 3 thousand jurisdictions around the world, divided into archdioceses, dioceses, apostolic vicariates and a number of other organizations. The clergy of the Catholic Church includes black clergy (monks) and white clergy, that is, priests who serve churches.
All ministers in Catholicism receive one of three sacred degrees - bishop, priest or deacon, and unordained ministers are elevated to the level of readers or acolytes.
Who are Catholics?
Catholics are a religious group of people who profess Catholic teachings. As the largest branch of Christianity, Catholicism currently has over 1.2 billion people living primarily in Europe. 
The Catholic faith is accepted by residents of most European countries, including Italy, Germany, Austria, Hungary, and France. Many Catholics are concentrated in China, Australia, and the Philippines. In Africa their number reaches 175 million.
Beliefs in Catholicism
The Catholic religion is based on the Bible and Sacred Tradition, formed over the centuries as a result of the ecumenical councils. Like all Christians, Catholics believe in the oneness of God and widely revere not only Jesus Christ, but also the Virgin Mary.
According to Catholic teaching, the grace of God is communicated to people through 7 sacraments, which include baptism, church marriage, confirmation, communion, confession, ordination and unction. In addition, Catholics believe in purgatory, where the souls of people are cleansed of sins after death, and recognize the doctrine of indulgence - temporary release from punishment for sins in case of repentance.
How is Catholicism different from Orthodoxy?
Despite the fact that Catholicism and Orthodoxy are Christian religions, there are a number of differences between them. In particular, they believe that Christ was conceived in the marriage of Mary and Joseph, and Catholics believe in the virgin birth of the Virgin Mary. 
In Orthodoxy, the Holy Spirit is believed to come from God alone, while in Catholicism it is seen to come from both the Lord and his Son. Representatives of the Catholic Church welcome the dogma of the bodily Ascension Mother of God, and in the Orthodox community neither her Ascension nor her Dormition are recognized as dogmas.
Catholics zm or Catholicism(lat. catholicismus) (from the Greek καθολικός - “universal”, literally “in everything” or “according to everything”; for the first time in relation to the church the term “ἡ Καθολικὴ Εκκλησία” was used around 110 in the letter of St. Ignatius to the inhabitants of Smyrna and enshrined in Nicaea symbol of faith) is the largest branch of Christianity in terms of the number of adherents (about 1 billion 147 million people as of the end of 2007), formed in the 1st millennium AD. e. on the territory of the Western Roman Empire. In historiography, the Schism with the Eastern Christian Church, to which the name Orthodox was assigned, dates back to 1054. However, breaks in the Eucharistic communion between the Sees of Constantinople and Rome occurred repeatedly starting from the middle of the 1st millennium AD. e., but they were all overcome. The visible head of the Catholic Church is the Pope, who heads the Holy See and the Vatican City State in Rome.
Liturgical rites
There are several rites in the Catholic Church: the Latin Rite, the other Western Rites, and the Eastern liturgical rites.
The modern Catholic Church considers the entire history of the Church until the Great Schism of 1054 as its history.
According to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, the Catholic (Universal Church) was “proclaimed in types from the beginning of the world, marvelously prepared in the history of the people of Israel and in the Old Testament and founded in the last times, revealed through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and will have a glorious consummation at the end of the ages.” Just as Eve was created from the rib of the sleeping Adam, the Church was born from the pierced heart of Christ who died on the Cross.
The doctrine of the Church, according to the conviction of its adherents, dates back to apostolic times (1st century).
Spreading
Spread of Catholicism in the world
The Catholic Church is the largest (by number of believers) branch of Christianity. As of 2007, there were 1.147 billion Catholics in the world.
Catholicism is the main religion in many European countries (France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Belgium, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Ireland, Malta, etc.). In only 21 European countries, Catholics make up the majority of the population, in Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland - half.
In the Western Hemisphere, Catholicism is widespread throughout South and Central America, Mexico, Cuba, Canada and the United States.
In Asia, Catholics predominate in the Philippines and East Timor, big number There are Catholics in Vietnam South Korea and China (“Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association”).
In the Middle East, there are many Catholics in Lebanon.
According to various estimates, from 110 to 175 million Catholics live in Africa
Before 1917, according to official data, more than 10 million Catholics lived in the Russian Empire (mostly in the Kingdom of Poland). According to the 1897 census, the total number of Roman Catholics was 11 million 468 thousand people. In modern Russia (2005) there are about 300 parishes of the Roman Catholic Church. Estimates of the total number of Catholics in Russia vary from 200 thousand to one and a half million people. The catholic-hierarchy directory gives a figure of 785 thousand
Greek Catholicism (or Catholicism of the Byzantine rite) is common among Belarusians, Slovaks, Hungarians, Romanians, Ukrainians, Transcarpathian Rusyns and Melkites of Syria, Lebanon and the USA; and also partly among Albanians, Greeks, Bulgarians, Croats and Russians. Catholics of other Eastern Rites live in India, the Middle East, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iraq and in the diaspora.
Doctrine
The doctrine is based on the Bible and Sacred Tradition, which includes the decrees of the Ecumenical Councils. The basic provisions of the doctrine are set out in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, canon law is systematized and set forth in the Code of Canon Law.
There are seven sacraments in the Catholic Church:
The doctrine of the Catholic Church has a number of doctrinal provisions that distinguish it from the teachings of other Christian denominations:
The dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary and the dogma of Her bodily ascension; the doctrine of purgatory; the doctrine of indulgences; widespread veneration of the Virgin Mary ( hyperdulia) ; veneration of martyrs, saints and blessed, with a distinction between the worship due to God alone ( latria), and veneration of saints ( dulia); confirmation of the monarchical power of the Bishop of Rome over the entire Church as the successor of the Apostle Peter; the centralization of the church organization (a similar feature to some Protestant movements), in contrast to the autocephaly (autonomy) of Orthodox local churches; confirmation of the monarchical supremacy of the Bishop of Rome over the Church as the successor of the Apostle Peter; the infallibility of the teaching of the Pope in matters of faith and morals, proclaimed ex cathedra(see Dogma of Papal Infallibility); indissolubility of the sacrament of marriage; there is only the possibility of recognizing the invalidity of the marriage.
Features of the Latin rite
Structure
The Pope of Rome has the highest, full, immediate, universal and ordinary authority in the Catholic Church. The advisory bodies under the pope are the College of Cardinals and the Synod of Bishops. The administrative apparatus of the Church is called the Roman Curia, which includes congregations, courts and other institutions. The episcopal see of the pope together with the curia form the Holy See, located in the independent state of Vatican City. The Holy See is a subject of international law.
The Universal Catholic Church consists of the Latin Rite Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches, which profess one of the Eastern liturgical rites and have the status of “sui iuris” (their right). In practice, this is expressed in the fact that these churches, while remaining in communion with the Pope and fully sharing Catholic dogma, have their own hierarchical structure and their own canon law. The largest Eastern Catholic churches are headed by a Patriarch or supreme archbishop. Eastern Patriarchs and supreme archbishops are equated to cardinal bishops of the Latin rite and occupy the place immediately behind the pope in the Catholic hierarchy.
The basic distinct territorial unit is the diocese, headed by a bishop. Some important dioceses have historically been called archdioceses. Other types of territorial units are equated to dioceses:
In the Eastern Catholic Churches, there are also exarchates.
Several dioceses (and archdioceses) may constitute a metropolitanate or an ecclesiastical province. The center of the metropolitanate necessarily coincides with the center of the archdiocese, thus the metropolitan in the Catholic Church is necessarily an archbishop. In some countries (Italy, USA, etc.) metropolises are united into ecclesiastical regions. The bishops of most countries are united in a conference of bishops, which has great powers in organizing the church life of the country.
Dioceses consist of parishes, which are headed by parish priests, subordinate to the bishop. The rector in the parish may be assisted by other priests, called vicars. Sometimes nearby parishes unite into deaneries.
A special role in the Catholic Church is played by the so-called institutions of consecrated life, that is, monastic orders and congregations; as well as the Society of Apostolic Life. Institutes of consecrated life have their own statutes (approved by the pope); their territorial organization does not always correspond to the diocesan structure of the church. Local units of monastic orders and congregations are sometimes subordinate to local diocesan bishops and sometimes directly to the pope. A number of orders and congregations have a single head (General of the Order, Superior General) and a clear hierarchical structure; others are amalgamations of completely autonomous communities.
The clergy includes only men. Distinguish secular clergy(consisting of priests serving parish churches) and black clergy(monasticism). The clergy constitutes three degrees of priesthood: deacon, priest (priest) and bishop (bishop).
Clergy (servants of the Church who are not ordained during the sacrament of the priesthood) have two degrees - acolytes and readers - and do not belong to the clergy.
Before the Second Vatican Council, clergy were also included in the clergy. The entire clergy was divided into senior officials(ordines maiores) - bishops, presbyters, deacons and subdeacons and minor ranks (ordines minores) - ostarii, choristers, readers, exorcists and acolytes.
Celibacy is compulsory for priests and bishops of the Latin Rite. In the 20th century, the institution of the permanent diaconate was restored; celibacy is not required for permanent deacons, but such a deacon will no longer be able to become a priest. In the Eastern rites, celibacy is only mandatory for bishops.
Divine service
The predominant rite in the Catholic Church is Latin or Roman, widespread throughout the planet.
Other Western rites are limited to territorial boundaries or the boundaries of monastic orders. In northwestern Lombardy, in addition to the city of Monza, about 5 million people practice the Ambrosian rite, in the city of Braga (Portugal) - the Braga rite, and in the city of Toledo and a number of other Spanish cities - the Mozarabic rite, in which there are a number of differences from the liturgy of the Roman rite . Eastern rites are used in the worship of Eastern Catholic churches.
Characteristic features of worship in the Latin rite
Before the Second Vatican Council, worship was traditionally performed on Latin. After this council, it is also performed in national languages.
The liturgy of the Latin rite, the Mass, is the main liturgical event at which the sacrament of the Eucharist is celebrated. Consists of the Liturgy of the Word (the main element of which is the reading of the Bible) and the Eucharistic Liturgy. Communion in the Latin rite in the Middle Ages was carried out under one type for the laity and under two types for the clergy. After the Second Vatican Council, the practice of receiving communion under two forms and for the laity became increasingly widespread. Unleavened bread - hostia - is used for the sacrament.
The liturgical year begins with Advent (Nativity Fast). Among the periods of the liturgical year, two periods of fasting stand out - Advent and Lent, two holidays - Christmas and Easter time. Other periods of the liturgical year are united under the name “ordinary time.” There are three ranks church holidays- “memory” (of a saint or event), “holiday” and “triumph”. The two main holidays of the liturgical year - Easter and Christmas - are celebrated with an octave, that is, within eight days after the celebration itself (Octave of Easter, Octave of Christmas). The three days preceding Easter Sunday - Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Great Saturday - represent the pinnacle of the liturgical annual cycle and are united under the name Easter Triduum.
Daily reading of the Liturgy of the Hours (breviary) is obligatory for clergy and monastics. Lay people can use the breviary in their personal religious practice.
Non-liturgical services include passive services, including the Way of the Cross, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, prayer processions, church community recitation of prayers (mainly the Rosary), etc.
It is customary for Catholic Christians (both Western and Eastern rites) to greet each other with the exclamation “Glory to Jesus Christ!”, which is usually followed by the response “Forever and ever!” Amen!”, and in some communities “Glory forever!” or “Glory forever!”
Schismatic groups based on Catholic traditions
Old Catholics broke away from the Catholic Church due to rejection of some decisions of the First, and, as a consequence, the Second Vatican Council. Old Catholics adhere to the traditional Catholic tradition, and retain in their midst many of the fundamental features of medieval Catholic rites. In addition, there are still a large number of fringe groups that call themselves Catholics, but are not recognized as such by the Holy See. Many such groups are doctrinally on a conservative Christian fundamentalist platform, are effectively their own organizational autonomy, and are doctrinally some variant of Orthodoxy or Protestantism.
| № newspapers |
Educational material |
| 17 | Lecture 1. Cultural and religious foundation as the most important feature of an ethnic group |
| 18 | Lecture 2. Catholicism is a cultural bridge between Europe and Latin America |
| 19 | Lecture 3. Protestantism is the core of Western civilization Test No. 1 |
| 20 | Lecture 4. Orthodoxy is the unifying principle of the Eurasian world |
| 21 | Lecture 5. Arab-Muslim civilization |
| 22 | Lecture 6. The bizarre multicultural landscape of South, East and Southeast Asia Test No. 2 |
| 23 | Lecture 7. Interethnic conflicts - global problem modernity |
| 24 | Lecture 8. The role of religion in the formation of the cultural treasury of world civilization Final work |
Lecture 2
Catholicism - a cultural bridge
between Europe and Latin America
The term "Catholicism" comes from the Greek word Catholicos, which means “universal, worldwide.” This implies the worldwide, international status of the Roman Catholic Church. But she is not alone in these claims. The Orthodox Church also calls itself “catholic,” that is, “ecumenical,” “conciliar.” The head of the Armenian Apostolic Church (we will get to know this ancient Christian church later) is the Catholicos of all Armenians. However, the term “Catholic” was firmly assigned to the followers of the Roman Church. Why? Largely because this is the largest branch of Christianity, whose followers live on all continents of the world.
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As Table 1 shows, there are more than 1.1 billion Catholics in the world. The main center of Catholicism in the modern world is Latin America (about 500 million believers, a high proportion of the denominational composition of the population). How could this happen? After all, Rome, Italy, and Southern Europe have always been considered the core of the Catholic ethnocultural region.
The Roman Catholic Church considers itself the successor to the ancient Christian Church. Catholics believe that only they have preserved unchanged the spirit of Christianity inherent in the first centuries of its existence. According to legend, the first Christian Roman bishop (that is, the Pope) was the Apostle Peter - the beloved disciple of Christ and his most faithful follower, as the fathers of the Catholic Church characterize the apostle. Therefore, the main temple of all Catholics is St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Criticized by other Christian denominations for excessively exalting Peter, singling him out from the other apostles, Catholics appeal to the Gospel, where Peter is called “the rock on which Christ founded his church.” In favor of his exclusivity, they believe, is also evidenced by the fact that Peter, the only one of all the apostles, is repeatedly called by name in the Holy Scriptures, while the rest of the apostles are mentioned as a single group, and the frequent designation of Peter as the first of the apostles is also indicated.
The appearance of the Christian church in Rome dates back to 50 AD, but then Christianity in the world was united, and the emergence of Catholicism cannot be associated with this date. At the beginning of the 4th century, after a long struggle and many sacrifices, Christianity became state religion The Roman Empire, but already in 395 the empire was divided into Western and Eastern. A schism, albeit not immediately, befell the Christian Church. In 1054, the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople subjected each other to an anathema (removed only in 1965), from that moment on, the Western and Eastern Christian churches are considered officially separated, Catholicism was finally separated from Orthodoxy, although in fact this happened centuries earlier. All saints canonized before the mid-11th century are recognized equally by both Catholics and Orthodox. For example, in Russia you can find churches consecrated in memory of Pope Clement I (lived at the end of the 1st century AD, known as the author of theological works). And, it would seem, the exclusively Orthodox Saints Cyril and Methodius, who preached the faith of Christ in the eastern lands, are equally revered by Catholics, because they lived in the 9th century.
In the 16th century The Roman Catholic Church suffered another split: as a result of the Reformation, Protestant churches emerged from it, which we will talk about in the next lecture. Since then, neither the teachings of the church nor its geography have changed significantly.
Table 1
Distribution of Catholics* by region of the world, 2005
Population size, |
Number of Catholics |
Proportion of Catholics |
|
| Europe and CIS | 800 | 292 | 36,5 |
| Asia | 3850 | 114 | 3,0 |
| Africa | 906 | 138 | 15,2 |
| North America | 329 | 90 | 27,4 |
| Latin America | 559 | 480 | 85,9 |
| Australia and Oceania | 32 | 8 | 25,0 |
| The world at large | 6476 | 1122 | 17,3 |
*Including followers of Uniate churches.
How and when did Catholicism begin?
Catholicism is one of the branches of Christianity, therefore the basis of the teaching is faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, who came into the world to atone for the sins of man, crucified on the cross, ascended to heaven and is expected in the second coming. Catholics, like Orthodox Christians, recognize all seven Christian sacraments, but with some differences. Catholics recognize the books of the Old and New Testaments as sacred. However Old Testament is accepted by them in a slightly different form than by the Orthodox. The Roman Catholic Church, like the Orthodox Church, believes that the salvation of people can only be achieved through the mediation of the clergy, which is very clearly separated from the laity. Catholics, just like Orthodox Christians, venerate the Mother of God, angels, and saints. Just like the Orthodox, the cult of relics and sacred relics became widespread among them.
There are certainly fewer dogmatic differences between Catholics and Orthodox Christians than between Catholics and Protestants. However, these dogmas have existed for centuries and are an insurmountable obstacle to restoring the unity of the Christian Church (Table 2).
table 2
Main dogmatic differences between Orthodoxy and Catholicism
| Catholicism | Orthodoxy |
| Recognition of the supremacy of the Pope and his infallibility in matters of faith | Primates 15 Orthodox churches independent from each other |
| The Holy Spirit comes not only from God the Father, but also from God the Son (Filioque) | The Holy Spirit comes only from God the Father |
| In views on the afterlife, along with heaven and hell, there is purgatory | There are only heaven and hell |
| Dogma of the supererogatory merits of Christ, the Mother of God and the saints | - |
| Confession more books of the Old Testament | A “small circle” of books of the Old Testament is recognized |
| The priesthood is required to observe a vow of celibacy | Celibacy is obligatory only for monks, and for priests who are not monks, on the contrary, marriage is obligatory |
| An important role is played by spiritual orders: Benedictines, Franciscans, Johannites, Templars, Dominicans, Jesuits, etc. (about 140 in total) | No orders |
| Dogma of the Immaculate Conception and Ascension to Heaven of the Virgin Mary (adopted in 1864) | The Mother of God has human nature and not freed from original sin. This does not prevent the emergence of a developed cult of the Mother of God in Orthodoxy |
| Baptism by pouring water | Baptism by immersion |
| During the service, believers sit, only occasionally kneeling | During the service, believers only stand |
| Communion of ordinary believers with unleavened bread (only priests receive communion with wine and bread) | Communion of the faithful with sour bread and wine |
| Confirmation of children some time after baptism (aged 7-12 years) | Confirmation of infants immediately after baptism |
| Crossing with five fingers | They are baptized with three fingers |
| Organ music is used in worship | The use of music is prohibited, only chants |
| The main language of worship is Latin | The service is held in the national or Church Slavonic language, the church language is based on Greek terms |
The most important heresies of Catholics, from the point of view of the Orthodox, are the recognition of the supremacy and infallibility of the Pope, the procession of the Holy Spirit not only from God the Father, but also from God the Son (the Latin “filioque” - “and son”) was added to the Catholic holy books. , the dogma of the supererogatory merits of Christ, the Mother of God and the saints. I would like to dwell on the latter in more detail, since the Orthodox regard this norm as the height of hypocrisy and immorality. Catholics believe that Christ, the Mother of God and the saints in their earthly lives atoned for much more sins than humanity had accumulated by that time. The Catholic Church has the right to dispose of the resulting treasury of good deeds at its own discretion. It is this dogma that explains the practice of issuing indulgences - papers confirming the atonement of sins and given to believers in exchange for certain gifts or funds given to the church.
The fascination with “commerce” can also be seen in another Catholic dogma - the doctrine of purgatory, adopted at the Council of Florence in 1439. The Catholic Church is of the opinion that not every human soul can immediately go to heaven or hell on his own merits. Usually souls go through purgatory, where through severe trials they are freed from minor sins, in order to then go to heaven. The length of stay in purgatory depends on prayers and can be shortened if relatives of the deceased make offerings to the church.
Monasticism has received great development in Catholicism. Monks form communities - orders, of which more than a hundred are known throughout the history of the church. The most common orders have a specific specialization. For example, the Order of the Dominicans (according to the consonance of domini cani - “dogs of the Lord”), which received its name from St. Dominic, is the intellectual flower of the Catholic Church, the focus of book wisdom, it is he who is entrusted with polemics with other directions of Christianity on issues of theology and philosophy. The Franciscan Order (on behalf of St. Francis of Assisi) is called upon to provide assistance to the poor and disadvantaged. The Benedictine Order (the oldest of the Catholic orders, founded in the 4th century) “oversees” cultural issues. The widely known Jesuit order was founded in the 16th century. specifically to combat heresy and the Reformation by force.
The Catholic service is Mass. As a rule, it is held very magnificently, organ music is used. Catholic churches do not have an iconostasis separating the altar from the rest of the church; all sacraments of worship are performed in front of the believers, who during the service can sit on special benches (very often they have a special shelf for kneeling). Catholic churches are not decorated with frescoes, but sculpture is widely used, windows are painted with colored stained glass, and compositions of dolls are often made, telling about one or another Christian holiday (Christmas, baptism, etc.).
Representatives of a number of churches that have entered into unions with the Roman Catholic Church are also considered Catholics in the broad sense. Uniates recognize the primacy of the Pope, purgatory, the procession of the Holy Spirit and from God the Son, but at the same time they enjoy some canonical liberties - the marriage of priests, worship in their native language, and the preservation of the rites of the eastern branches of Christianity are allowed. The most numerous Uniate Church is the Ukrainian Greek Catholic, created as a result of the Union of Brest-Litovsk in 1596. It has about 7 million believers living mainly in the west of Ukraine (Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil regions). There are relatively small groups of believers who have entered into a union with the Roman Catholic Church and continue to perform the rites of the Armenian Apostolic, Ethiopian, Georgian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox and other Eastern churches. All of them are most often counted among Catholics.
Geography of the Roman Catholic Church
Catholics mainly live in two regions: Europe and Latin America. The border of Catholic Europe largely coincides with the northern limit of the Roman Empire in the era of its greatest territorial expansion. This is probably due to the greater rooting of Latin, Romanesque, and therefore Catholic culture in the south of Europe in the historical periods of the Middle Ages and Modern times. And even today, Catholic countries are perceived by many as the most faithful to traditions, the most patriarchal in Europe. This conservatism played a role a cruel joke on the southern Europeans: they failed to adapt to the new trade relations that had developed in the world in modern times, and lost the initiative to the Protestant countries of northern Europe - the Netherlands, Great Britain, and then the United States.
By that time, the Roman Catholic ethnocultural region had already acquired its modern shape. Along with the metropolis - Southern Europe - an entire continent appeared in its composition South America, colonized by the countries of the Iberian Peninsula - Spain and Portugal. The periphery of this world became Central America with Mexico and the largest islands of the West Indies (Cuba and Haiti), the main population of which also professes Catholicism. The Roman Catholic Church encourages fertility. This is due to both the ban on abortion, the recognition of the inadmissibility of same-sex marriage, negative attitude to divorce, and with the promotion of large families. The age-sex pyramids of Catholic countries are often easily recognized by their pointed outlines and wide bases. The countries of Latin America, which relatively recently entered the stage of demographic transition, in the second half of the twentieth century. dramatically increased their population. Now almost 250 million Catholics live in just two countries of the New World - Brazil and Mexico (Table 3). This is only for a few fewer in number all European Catholics. The demographic center of gravity of the Roman Catholic world is rapidly shifting across the ocean to Latin America. It is obvious that in the very near future more and more political weight will gradually move there. So far, Latinos have little influence in the affairs of their church. But the interests of millions of believers cannot be ignored for long. It is no coincidence that when Benedict XVI was elected to the pontificate, a Latin American candidacy for the position of Pope was also seriously considered for the first time.
Table 3
The largest Catholic communities in the world
Number of Catholics |
Proportion of Catholics |
|
| Brazil | 145 446 | 79 |
| Mexico | 94 243 | 87 |
| Philippines | 69 630 | 81 |
| USA | 64 621 | 23 |
| Italy | 57 665 | 97 |
| France | 44 499 | 76 |
| Colombia | 38 406 | 86 |
| Spain | 37 165 | 88 |
| Poland | 35 010 | 94 |
| Argentina | 34 480 | 89 |
| Congo (Kinshasa) | 29 500 | 50 |
| Peru | 28 160 | 88 |
| Germany | 26 297 | 32 |
| Venezuela | 24 815 | 88 |
| Nigeria | 17 906 | 14 |
| India | 17 005 | 2 |
| Canada | 13 070 | 44 |
| Ecuador | 11 749 | 90 |
| Uganda | 11 219 | 42 |
| Chile | 11 021 | 72 |
| Tanzania | 10 465 | 27 |
| Guatemala | 10 304 | 77 |
| Angola | 10 302 | 50 |
| Portugal | 9 457 | 90 |
The modern power of the Catholic world is manifested not only in the demographic aspect, but also in the economic aspect, as evidenced by Table 4.
Table 4
Economic power of the Catholic world
| A country | GDP at purchasing power parity, billion dollars, 2006 |
| USA | 13 130 |
| China | 10 170 |
| Japan | 4 218 |
| India | 4 156 |
| Germany | 2 630 |
| Great Britain | 1 930 |
| France | 1 891 |
| Italy | 1 756 |
| Russia | 1 746 |
| Brazil | 1 655 |
| South Korea | 1 196 |
| Canada | 1 178 |
| Mexico | 1 149 |
| Spain | 1 109 |
| Indonesia | 948 |
Predominantly Catholic countries in terms of confessional composition are highlighted bold type, countries with a significant proportion of Catholics are marked italics.
According to the US CIA
The Philippines is undoubtedly part of the Catholic world. Centuries of Spanish colonization, and then half a century of US domination, have made this country the equivalent of a Latin American republic - populous, but relatively poor, politically unstable, with great military influence, dependent on Washington. Filipinos, like Latin Americans, migrate to the United States when possible, where they find their social niche relatively easily. The Philippines is the third most Catholic country in the world, and this cannot be ignored.
There is Catholicism in Russia too. The majority of Poles and Lithuanians living in Russia, some Germans, some Latvians, and a small part of Belarusians are Catholics. There are about 300 thousand followers of the Roman Catholic Church in the country, the largest communities are in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Samara, Irkutsk, Orenburg, and Kaliningrad.
Culture of the Catholic World
The most established and visible symbols of Catholic culture are, first of all, temple buildings. The Roman Catholic Church tried to assert its power, in particular, by means of visual propaganda - the creation of immortal works of architects. The power and influence of Rome is manifested in the Cathedral of St. Peter, and in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, and in the Cathedral of St. Stephen in Vienna, and in numerous temples of Spain, exceptional in their splendor, the most grandiose of which is the Sagrada Familia of the genius Gaudi in Barcelona, and in the cathedral cathedrals of Latin American countries - silent witnesses, and sometimes active participants in the entire history of their states, and in Polish and Lithuanian churches, through which Rus' became acquainted with Western European architecture.
A Catholic church, as a rule, is magnificent in form, decor and interior. The general traditional scheme of its structure has not changed for centuries. Only in recent decades has postmodernism penetrated into this previously closed sphere. Now we can marvel at the cathedral of the Brazilian capital Brasilia (architect Oscar Niemeyer), reminiscent of an Indian hut made of glass and concrete. Many shocking projects of Catholic churches have been implemented in Poland. A modernist-looking Catholic church was also built in Russia, in the Irkutsk district of Studgorodok.
In the cities of the Catholic ethnocultural region, the cathedral occupies a central place; in the rectangular grids of Latin American capitals planned from scratch, it has a position on the main square of the country. The most important Catholic church, the heart of the Church, is St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
In ancient times, on the site of St. Peter's Cathedral there was a circus, in the arena of which, during the time of Nero, Christians were martyred. In 326, Emperor Constantine built St. Peter's Basilica on this site. When it fell into disrepair, Pope Nicholas V began construction of the cathedral in 1452. The “construction of centuries” was completed only on November 18, 1626, on the 1300th anniversary of the first basilica. Construction required colossal funds, which were found by increasing church taxes from parishioners and increasing the sale of indulgences. Both the first and second circumstances contributed to the decline of the authority of the Roman Church and the development of the Reformation in northern Europe. Thus, St. Peter's Council simultaneously became both a triumph and a defeat for the ecclesiastical authority of Rome.
St. Peter's Cathedral was the largest Catholic cathedral (and indeed Christian church) in the world until 1990, when Yamoussoukro, the capital of the African state of Cote d'Ivoire, built its own cathedral - an enlarged copy of the Roman one. Yamoussoukre Cathedral of Notre-Dame de la Paix (Our Lady of Peace) is part of an ambitious project to move the capital to the ancestral territory of Ivorian President Felix Houphouet-Boigny, who ruled the country for decades. The vain Africans still surpassed the Europeans: the height of Our Lady of Peace is 158 m, St. Peter's Cathedral rises “only” 132 m. The Roman temple seats 70 thousand people; It is not yet clear how much its African clone can accommodate, because never since its creation has it been possible to gather so many worshipers there at the same time.
European painting, both the Romanesque period and the Renaissance, is inseparable from Catholicism. Michelangelo Buonarotti, Raphael Santi, Giotto, Donatello and many other famous masters worked on the decoration of Catholic churches. Classical music, especially Italian, French and Austrian, was born within the mainstream of Catholic culture. The organ is the only one allowed in a Catholic church musical instrument- entered the world musical culture along with the names of Bach and Handel. Using Catholic culture as a breeding ground, Latin was able to spread throughout the scientific community of the modern world.
Southern nature - hot sun, warm sea, bright vegetation - have formed the special qualities of representatives of Catholic peoples: expansiveness, sociability, pride, self-confidence, the desire to live widely. Not only Catholic peoples have a hot character southern Europe, but also Catholic “northerners”. The tenacity and rebellious spirit of the Irish, unbroken by centuries of oppression by the British, are well known. Compared to their surroundings, the Lithuanians and Poles are quite expansive, rightfully proud of the fact that they had together one of the largest European states of all times - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Where is the boundary of Catholic culture? Now this is difficult to determine unambiguously. Churches and castles in England and Scandinavia were built back in the days when these territories recognized the supremacy of the Roman Church. The eastern border of the spread of Catholicism is marked by the cathedrals of Western Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. These marks also exist on Russian territory - in the Smolensk and Pskov regions. In the small town of Sebezh, located within the latter, the church, preserved from the times of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, was recently reconsecrated into Orthodox church, but at the same time completely retained its Catholic architectural form.
Religious pilgrimage
The main center of pilgrimage in the Catholic world is the Vatican. This is the smallest state in the world (with an area of only 0.44 km 2 with a length of the external border of 2.6 km), located inside Rome, and has an influence on world politics that is incomparable with its size. Nominally, fewer than 800 people live in the Vatican, but in fact the authorities of this country can speak on behalf of more than a billion Catholics. The diplomatic influence of the Vatican is very great; the papal envoy, the nuncio, formally heads the embassy corps in Catholic countries.
According to the form of government, the Vatican is an absolute theocratic monarchy. The head of state - the Pope - is elected for life by secret ballot by a majority vote (two-thirds) of a conclave of cardinals (no more than 120 people, no one should be over 80 years old). The Pope has supreme legislative, executive and judicial power. The central governing body of the Vatican is the Roman Curia, headed by the Pope. In April 2005, German Cardinal Joseph Alois Ratzinger became Pope, the 265th in a row, under the name of Benedict XVI. The election of a German to the Holy See occurred for the first time in history. Before him, for 27 years, the Pope was the Pole Karol Wojtyla, who led the church under the name of John Paul II. Previously, only Italians became popes.
The predecessor of the Vatican was the Papal States, ruled by the popes, which lost its independence as a result of the unification of Italy at the end of the 19th century. The Vatican was created according to the Lateran Agreement between the Holy See and the Government of Italy, concluded in 1929.
Outside its state borders, the Vatican, using its rights of extraterritoriality, owns early Christian basilicas of the 4th century, the Lateran Palace of the 16th century, the summer residence of the Pope in Castel Gandolfo (17th century) and some other buildings granted to the Vatican in Rome and its environs.
Sources of income for the Vatican: voluntary donations from believers and various church institutions, collections from taxes on the church, income from investments in various investment projects, foreign tourism, issue of postage signs, production and sale of souvenirs (coins, photographs of shrines, church utensils, etc.).
The official symbols of the Vatican are associated with Catholicism. The state flag is a square panel consisting of two equal vertical stripes - yellow and white. In the center of the white stripe are crossed gold and silver keys under the papal tiara. The keys symbolize the right of the first bishop of Rome, the Apostle Peter, to decide the fate of believers. The golden key is “permissive”, the silver one is “prohibiting”. Tiara is the headdress of the Pope, a symbol of his power.
Vatican shrines, including St. Peter's Basilica, are visited by 8 million pilgrims annually. The peak of pilgrimage arrivals occurs around Catholic Easter. In addition to Roman shrines, the most important centers of pilgrimage for Catholics are Santiago de Compostela in Spain, Czestochowa in Poland, Lourdes in France, Fatima in Portugal.
The Galician city of Santiago de Compostela is named after Saint James (Jacob, in Spanish Iago), and his remains are buried here in the cathedral. In 1478, the pilgrimage to Santiago was equalized by the Pope spiritual sense on a pilgrimage to Rome. Upon arrival in the city, pilgrims present a special document at the cathedral - a “pilgrim’s passport”, introduced during the Middle Ages, with marks made at obligatory church points along the way. Only after this can they receive a “Compostela certificate” written in Latin. The pilgrim needs to give a sincere answer to the question of the church authorities about what intentions he set out on the journey, and if his thoughts do not correspond to piety, then he is given a different type of document.
Czestochowa is the main center of religious pilgrimage in Poland. Believers come to the miraculous icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa, also called the Black Madonna. Every year, about 4 million people go to venerate the holy image, mostly Poles and residents of Eastern Europe.
The city of Lourdes in southwestern France annually receives 5-6 million pilgrims who want to touch the miracle. Among them are 70–100 thousand sick people hoping for healing. In 1858, the Virgin Mary appeared to the residents of Lourdes 18 times. She pointed out a place in the grotto where it was necessary to dig up the ground, and from there a spring of healing water began to flow. The Grotto of Massabielle became a center of worship, the Catholic Church recognized Lourdes as a holy place and created a system for recording and verifying miracles that had happened. The second largest underground church in the world with a capacity of 30 thousand worshipers was built in Lourdes.
Portuguese Fatima is a relatively young place of pilgrimage. This village became known to the entire Catholic world in 1917, when the Mother of God appeared to three children tending sheep and told them revelations about the future. The Roman Catholic Church has not yet disclosed the details of these revelations. A large temple was built in Fatima, elevated to the rank of a cathedral by the Vatican. Hundreds of thousands of people visit Fatima every year.
Like all Christians, Catholics attach great importance spiritual meaning pilgrimage to the Holy Land and visiting places associated with the earthly life of Jesus Christ (Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Lake Tiberias).
Questions and tasks
1. Why is the Roman Catholic Church considered universal?
2. How did the natural environment influence the culture of the Roman Catholic ethnocultural region?
3. On the map diagram “The number of Catholics by country of the world,” draw the border of the Roman Catholic ethnocultural region. Which countries with significant Catholic communities (more than 1 million people) are outside its borders? What is this connected with?
4. Why do you think Catholic countries missed out on world leadership by handing it over to Protestant countries?
5. What is the role of Catholic countries in the global division of labor? In the production of what types of products do they take leading positions?
Internet links
www.vatican.va - the official website of the Vatican;
www.catholic-hierarchy.org - current information about the structure of the Catholic Church (cathedras, priests, history of the church, number of believers by country and dioceses);
www.religio.ru - news of the world of religions;
http://ruscatholic.ru - Catholic Church in Russia.
Catholicism (from the Greek “universal”, “ecumenical”) is the largest branch of the Christian church, one of the largest world religions.
Catholicism, as a fully formed doctrine, was formed in the 1st millennium AD. on the territory of the Western Roman Empire, and after the schism of 1054 and the separation of Orthodox Christianity, it formed the basis of a new, completely independent confession - the Roman Catholic Church. Before the schism, the entire Christian Church, both Western and Eastern, was called Catholic, emphasizing its universal character. The entire history of Christianity preceding the schism of 1054 is considered by the Roman Catholic Church as its own. Catholic doctrine dates back to the time of the first apostles, that is, to the 1st century AD.
The religious basis of the Catholic faith includes:
1. Holy Scripture - the Bible (Old Testament and New Testament), apocrypha (sacred texts not included in the Bible).
2. Sacred tradition - the decisions of all (this is one of the main differences from Orthodoxy) ecumenical councils and the works of the church fathers of the 2nd - 8th centuries, such as Athanasius of Alexandria, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, John of Damascus, John Chrysostom, St. Augustine. The main provisions of the doctrine are set out in the Apostolic, Nicene and Athanasian Creeds, as well as in the decrees and canons of the Ferraro-Florence, Trent and I Vatican Councils. They are stated more popularly in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Basic tenets of Catholicism
Common to both Orthodoxy and Catholicism.
- the idea of salvation through confession of faith,
- the idea of the trinity of God (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit),
- the idea of incarnation,
- the idea of redemption,
- the idea of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.
Characteristic only for Catholicism.
- the filioque procession of the Holy Spirit not only from God the Father, but also from God the Son,
- the idea of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary,
- dogma about Her bodily ascension,
- doctrine of purgatory,
- the dogma of the infallibility of the head of the church - the Pope.
The Catholic cult is based on seven main rituals and sacraments:
- . Catholics believe that main meaning Baptism consists of the washing away of “original sin.” It is carried out by pouring a libation of water on the head.
- Confirmation. Symbolizes the preservation of the spiritual purity received at baptism. For Catholics, unlike Orthodox Christians, it is not carried out immediately after baptism, but from about seven years of age.
- Communion (Eucharist). It symbolizes communion with God through the rite of communion - eating the body and blood of Christ, that is, bread and wine. Some prominent Catholic theologians (for example, St. Augustine) considered them only “symbols” of the presence of God, and the Orthodox believe that their real transformation is taking place - Transubstantiation into the Body and Blood of Christ.
- Repentance (confession). Symbolizes the recognition of one’s sins before Jesus Christ, who, through the lips of a priest, absolves them. For Catholics, there are special booths for repentance that separate the penitent and the priest, while for Orthodox Christians, repentance is carried out face to face.
- Marriage. It is performed in the temple during the wedding, when the newlyweds are given farewell to a long and happy life together in the name of Jesus Christ. For Catholics, a wedding takes place forever and is a contract between each spouse and the Church itself, in which the priest acts as a simple witness. Among the Orthodox, a wedding is associated not with a contract, but with a mystical spiritual union (the union of Christ and His Church). For the Orthodox, the witness is not the priest, but the entire “people of God.”
- Blessing of Anointing (unction). Symbolizes the descent of the grace of God on the sick. It consists of anointing his body with wooden oil (oil), which is considered sacred.
- Priesthood. It consists of the bishop transferring to the new priest a special grace that he will possess throughout his life. In Catholicism, the priest acts “in the image of Christ himself,” and is considered only an assistant to the bishop, who, in turn, already acts in the image of Christ.
The rituals in Orthodoxy and Catholicism are almost identical, the only differences are in their interpretation.
The main service of worship in Catholicism is called the mass (from the Latin missa, literally meaning the priest's dismissal of the faithful in peace at the end of the service), and it corresponds to the Orthodox liturgy. Consists of the Liturgy of the Word (the main element of which is the reading of the Bible) and the Eucharistic Liturgy. The sacrament of the Eucharist is performed there. In 1962-1965, the pan-Catholic Second Vatican Council simplified and modernized worship Western Church, and first of all, the mass. The service is conducted in Latin and national languages.
There are three ranks of church holidays - “memory” (of a particular saint or significant event), "holiday" and "celebration". The two main holidays are Easter and... Catholics fast on Saturday and Sunday.
Differences in rituals between Catholics and Orthodox
Orthodox Christians pray facing only the East. For Catholics this is not important.
Catholics have two fingers, while Orthodox Christians have three fingers.
Catholics cross themselves from left to right, Orthodox on the contrary.
An Orthodox priest can marry before ordination. Catholics have celibacy, that is, a strict ban on marriage.
Catholics use leavened bread for communion. Orthodox - unleavened.
Catholics get down on one knee and cross themselves every time they pass the altar. Orthodox - no.
Catholics, in addition to icons, also have statues.
The arrangement of the altar is different in these two faiths.
Orthodox monks are not members of Orders. Catholics are.
Orthodox priests are required to wear a beard. Catholic - extremely rare.
The church hierarchy originates from the Christian apostles, ensuring continuity through a series of ordinations. The highest, full, immediate, universal and ordinary power in the Catholic Church belongs to the Pope. The Pope is the successor of St. Apostle Peter, who was appointed to the post of Head of the Church by Christ himself. The head of the church is also:
- Vicar of Christ on Earth.
- Head of the Universal Church.
- Chief Bishop of all Catholics.
- Teacher of faith.
- Interpreter of the Christian tradition.
- Infallible. This means that, speaking on behalf of the Church, the Pope is inherently protected by the Holy Spirit from errors in matters of the Church, morals and doctrine.
The advisory bodies under the pope are the College of Cardinals and the Synod of Bishops.
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Catholic Church. The episcopal see of the pope together with the curia form the Holy See.
The clergy constitutes three degrees of priesthood: deacon, priest and bishop. The clergy includes only men.
All Catholic bishops are only deputies and representatives of the Pope. The Pope appoints each bishop and can overrule his decisions. Each Catholic diocese thus has 2 heads - the Pope and the local bishop.
The hierarchy of the Catholic clergy also includes numerous ecclesiastical degrees and positions, such as:
Cardinal, archbishop, primate, metropolitan, prelate, abbot.
There are white clergy (priests serving at diocesan churches) and black clergy (monasticism). Unlike Orthodox monasticism, monasticism is not united, but is divided into so-called monastic orders (ogdo from Latin row, rank, order). The first such order was the Benedictine Order (IV century). The largest associations of Catholic monks today: Jesuits - 25 thousand, Franciscans - 20 thousand, Salesians - 20 thousand, Christian Brothers - 16 thousand, Capuchins - 12 thousand, Benedictines - 10 thousand, Dominicans - 8 thousand .
Roman Catholicism is professed by about 1 billion 196 million people as of 2012. This is approximately 3/5 of all Christians on the planet.
Catholicism is the main religion in many European countries, in particular: Portugal, Belgium, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ireland, Malta, etc. In total, in 21 Europe, Catholics make up the majority of the population, in the Netherlands - half.
In the Western Hemisphere it is the dominant religion throughout South and Central, as well as in and in Cuba.
The Catholics predominate in and in East Timor. They are found in South Korea and China.
According to various estimates, from 110 to 175 million Catholics live in Africa
In the Middle East, many Catholics live only in Lebanon; a small community also exists in Iraq.
There are also 22 Eastern Catholic churches. They are in full religious and liturgical communion with the Holy See, but use their own canon law, different from that accepted for the Latin Church. Greek Catholics live in Belarus,
The attitude of the Catholic Church towards other religions
The Catholic Church maintains ecumenical dialogue with others Christian churches, administered by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. In 1964, in parallel with the work of the Council, a visit of the Pope to Constantinople took place, where Pope Paul VI and the Patriarch of Constantinople Athenagoras lifted the mutual anathemas proclaimed back in 1054, which was important step to the rapprochement of the two branches of Christianity. Pope John Paul II (elected in 1978) personally did a lot to establish dialogue between the Vatican and Muslims.
The attitude of Catholicism towards business is very characteristic of all traditional religions. As you know, one of the ideologists of Catholicism, Augustine the Blessed, argued that “a merchant may consider himself sinless, but cannot be approved by God,” and the founder of Catholic philosophy, Thomas Aquinas, believed that most forms of trade carried out for the purpose of making a profit are immoral.
Catholic theologians still distinguished two different types economic activity:
1.Produce a product for sale. It was condemned, but only slightly.
2.Trading products or issuing loans. Condemned by the church.
The attitude of Catholicism to medicine has undergone significant changes since the Middle Ages. Pope John Paul II, for example, even acknowledged the injustice and wrongness of the Church's persecution of Galileo, using it to call for the removal of obstacles to a fruitful harmony between science and faith, between the Church and the world. At the same time, the Catholic Church warns against certain trends in modern natural science.
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