Roman Catholicism: The Basics

247 Pages·2016·1.306 MB·English

by  Michael Walsh

ROMAN CATHOLICISM
THE BASICS
From the most basic terms to the structures and practices of the
Church, this book offers a plain-speaking introduction to Roman
Catholicism. Now in its second edition, it features new sections on
relations with other faiths, coverage of recent controversies in the
Church and an expanded section on social teaching. It covers:
• Roman Catholic beliefs and traditions;
• practices and devotional life – rituals, prayer, Mass;
• Church structures and authorities – from Vatican to parish church;
• Church hierarchies and people – from bishops to the laity;
• the role of the Church in society.
With a glossary, further reading sections, and reference to official doc-
uments of the Church, this is the perfect guide for those approaching
the study of Roman Catholicism for the first time.
Michael Walsh is a writer and broadcaster. He was librarian at
Heythrop College, University of London from 1972 to 2001 and
was the editor of the Heythrop Journal. A former Jesuit, he has written
on many aspects of the history of Christianity, and especially on the
contemporary Church.
THE BASICS
ACTING CHRISTIANITY
BELLA MERLIN BRUCE CHILTON
AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY THE CITY
NANCY STANLICK KEVIN ARCHER
ANCIENT EGYPT CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE
DONALD P. RYAN SUMAN GUPTA
ANCIENT NEAR EAST CRIMINAL LAW
DANIEL C. SNELL JONATHAN HERRING
ANIMAL ETHICS CRIMINOLOGY (SECOND EDITION)
TONY MILLIGAN SANDRA WALKLATE
ANTHROPOLOGY DANCE STUDIES
PETER METCALF JO BUTTERWORTH
ARCHAEOLOGY (SECOND EDITION) EASTERN PHILOSOPHY
CLIVE GAMBLE VICTORIA S. HARRISON
ART HISTORY ECONOMICS (THIRD EDITION)
GRANT POOKE AND DIANA NEWALL TONY CLEAVER
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE EDUCATION
KEVIN WARWICK KAY WOOD
THE BIBLE ENERGY
JOHN BARTON MICHAEL SCHOBERT
THE BIBLE AND LITERATURE EUROPEAN UNION (SECOND EDITION)
NORMAN W. JONES ALEX WARLEIGH-LACK
BIOETHICS EVOLUTION
ALASTAIR V. CAMPBELL SHERRIE LYONS
BODY STUDIES FILM STUDIES (SECOND EDITION)
NIALL RICHARDSON AND ADAM LOCKS AMY VILLAREJO
BRITISH POLITICS FILM THEORY
BILL JONES KEVIN MCDONALD
BUDDHISM FINANCE (THIRD EDITION)
CATHY CANTWELL ERIK BANKS
CAPITALISM FOOD ETHICS
DAVID COATES RONALD SANDLER
FREE WILL MARKETING (SECOND EDITION)
MEGHAN GRIFFITH KARL MOORE AND NIKETH PAREEK
GENDER MEDIA STUDIES
HILARY LIPS JULIAN MCDOUGALL
GENOCIDE METAPHYSICS
PAUL R. BARTROP MICHAEL REA
GLOBAL MIGRATION NARRATIVE
BERNADETTE HANLON AND BRONWEN THOMAS
THOMAS VICINIO
THE OLYMPICS
GREEK HISTORY ANDY MIAH AND BEATRIZ GARCIA
ROBIN OSBORNE
PHILOSOPHY (FIFTH EDITION)
HUMAN GENETICS
NIGEL WARBURTON
RICKI LEWIS
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
JOSEPH HOLDEN
ANDREW JONES
POETRY (THIRD EDITION)
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
JEFFREY WAINWRIGHT
PETER SUTCH AND JUANITA ELIAS
ISLAM (SECOND EDITION) POLITICS (FIFTH EDITION)
COLIN TURNER STEPHEN TANSEY AND NIGEL JACKSON
JOURNALISM STUDIES PUBLIC RELATIONS
MARTIN CONBOY RON SMITH
JUDAISM THE QUR’AN (SECOND EDITION)
JACOB NEUSNER MASSIMO CAMPANINI
LANGUAGE (SECOND EDITION) RACE AND ETHNICITY
R.L. TRASK PETER KIVISTO AND PAUL R. CROLL
LAW RELIGION (SECOND EDITION)
GARY SLAPPER AND DAVID KELLY MALORY NYE
LITERARY ANALYSIS RELIGION AND SCIENCE
CELENA KUSCH PHILIP CLAYTON
LITERARY THEORY (THIRD EDITION) RESEARCH METHODS
HANS BERTENS NICHOLAS WALLIMAN
LOGIC ROMAN CATHOLICISM (SECOND EDITION)
JC BEALL MICHAEL WALSH
MANAGEMENT SEMIOTICS (SECOND EDITION)
MORGEN WITZEL DANIEL CHANDLER
SHAKESPEARE (THIRD EDITION) SUBCULTURES
SEAN MCEVOY ROSS HAENFLER
SOCIAL WORK SUSTAINABILITY
MARK DOEL PETER JACQUES
SOCIOLOGY (SECOND EDITION)
TELEVISION STUDIES
KEN PLUMMER
TOBY MILLER
SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DIS-
TERRORISM
ABILITY (SECOND EDITION) JAMES LUTZ AND BRENDA LUTZ
JANICE WEARMOUTH
THEATRE STUDIES (SECOND EDITION)
SPORT MANAGEMENT
ROBERT LEACH
ROBERT WILSON AND MARK PIEKARZ
SPORT PSYCHOLOGY WOMEN’S STUDIES
DAVID TOD BONNIE SMITH
STANISLAVSKI WORLD HISTORY
ROSE WHYMAN PETER N. STEARNS
ROMAN CATHOLICISM
THE BASICS
Michael Walsh
Second Edition
First published 2016
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2016 Michael Walsh
The right of Michael Walsh to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other
means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book has been requested
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-0-415-84499-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-84501-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-74813-8 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Book Now Ltd, London
CONTENTS
List of boxes xi
Introduction 1
What this book is not 2
What this book is 3
Acknowledgements 5
Summary 5
1 The Church, Catholic and Roman 6
What is the Roman Catholic Church? 6
Christianity 7
Tests of Christianity 9
Catholic 12
The demography of Catholicism 18
The geography of Catholicism 23
Summary 24
Further reading 25
2 What do Catholics believe? 26
Core beliefs 28
Dogma 31
viii
CONTENTS
Theology and philosophy 33
Summary 34
Further reading 34
3 Authority 35
Tradition 36
The Church 37
Scripture 40
Revelation 43
Apostolic Succession 46
Councils of the Church 47
Canon law 54
Summary 56
Further reading 56
4 People 58
The pope 59
Bishops 69
Priests 72
Deacons 74
The laity 75
Summary 76
Further reading 77
5 Structures 79
The parish 79
Deaneries 83
Dioceses 83
Archdioceses 85
The bishops’ conference 89
The Synod of Bishops 90
Summary 91
Further reading 91
6 The Vatican 93
The Holy See 94
The Curia 95
Vatican finances 106
ix
CONTENTS
Summary 109
Further reading 110
7 The liturgy 111
Catholic worship 112
The calendar 113
The Mass 116
The sacraments 119
Summary 132
Further reading 133
8 Devotional life 135
Devotions 136
Prayer and meditation 137
Saints 145
Shrines, pilgrimages and miracles 149
Vows 152
Summary 158
Further reading 159
9 The Church in society 161
First principles 162
Family life 166
The State 167
Religious liberty 168
Politics 169
The economy 170
Migration 172
The environment 173
War 174
Summary 175
Further reading 176
10 Unfinished business 178
Sex abuse 178
Women in the Church 180
Contraception 181
Pro-life attitudes 183