Abstract
In this article, the writer maintains that if the Catholic Church is one of the largest churches in the world, then the history of the Catholic Church is important. The writer notes that if a crisis happened in the history of the Catholic Church, then it would be important to study why it happened. In fact, it would be important to examine the crisis and to determine how to prevent the same crisis in the future. The writer explains that the crisis in the Catholic Church during the 13th through 15th century is known as the Great Schism. The writer discusses that the crisis of the church was due to the question of who should select the pope and where should the pope live.

Outline:
Introduction
History Leading to the Great Schism
Problems Develop in the Catholic Church
Study of the Great Schism
Conciliar Tradition in the Western Church

From the Paper
"The crisis in the Catholic Church during the 13th through 15th century is known as the Great Schism. It is important to look at what caused the crisis and how it affects the Catholic Church today. It is also important to consider how it affected protestant churches."

Tags:catholic, schism, problems

Abstract
The paper discusses how the Catholic Church has proved largely indifferent to the plight of minority followers; the paper outlines the lack of funding and support minority churches within the Catholic faith receive as well as the general feeling of alienation black parishioners must endure. Finally, the paper looks at the outright exclusion of black parishioners within the Catholic faith. The paper argues that the Roman Catholic Church must do a better job of sensitizing its senior officials to the peculiar concerns of minorities - particularly black parishioners who feel as though, while they may be part of the same flock, they are really not part of the same family.

From the Paper
"All religions, on some level, are exclusionary. However, this fact alone does not make racism any easier to bear for those of a particular faith who believe themselves to be ostracized because of their racial affiliation. Unfortunately, the Catholic Church has proved largely indifferent to the plight of minority followers; the following paper will outline the lack of funding and support minority churches within the Catholic faith receive as well as the general feeling of alienation black parishioners must endure. Finally, the next several pages will look at the..."

Tags:racism, roman, catholic

Abstract
This paper, written from a religious Catholic perspective, describes the basic principles of Catholic social teachings and analyzes how these principles are applied to current social issues. Much of the paper is based on William J. Byron's work "Ten Building Blocks of Catholic Social Teaching." The paper lists the ten fundamental social principles of Catholicism, which Byron also cited in his book. The paper includes numerous quotes from the Christian Bible which are intended to support various social outlooks.

From the Paper
"The very essence of the meaning which gives definition to each of these categories is based on one very specific statement of Jesus Christ when he commands that his children are to "love their neighbor as they love themselves" which is the 'golden rule' and the statement in which Jesus Christ states that the greatest commandment of all is to "Love ye, one another..." (Holy Bible, New Testament) This specific category is critical in the social teachings of the Catholic Church and in fact stated is that "...the transformation of social relationships that responds to the demands of the Kingdom of God is not fixed within concrete boundaries once and for all." (Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, 1979) An example brought to mind the account of Jesus healing on the Sabbath and assisting men with removing their oxen from a ditch on the Sabbath as well. While there are those in the crowd who taunt him about breaking the Jewish law of not laboring on the Sabbath Jesus relates to the crowd that certainly the needs of his fellow man stand higher than even the primary 'ten commandments of God, the Father. Therefore, the teaching is one of collaboration, flexible ministry in a growing and changing world. The church is effectively rendered helpless to 'go yet into the world..." and to "make ye disciples of all men..." which is called the "Great Commission" and commanded by Christ if they do not have genuine love for their fellow man because to go into that world at this time in the history of mankind is a prospect filled with the unknown in terms of both physical and spiritual safety. Therefore the church must remember to convey to followers that the only set and fixed law might be viewed as a simple reflection by humankind of the love which 'is' God. This task has been "entrusted to the Christian community..." and therein God's love either finds root and grows or falls by the way. This is called the 'Great Commission' within the Christian faith and is a process described as "...a quest for the seeds of truth and freedom sown in the vast field of humanity." (Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptor Hominis, 11: AAS 71, 1979) The primary social teaching of the Christian faith and the Catholic Church social teachings are principles, which have as their basis very words of Christ who has revealed to humankind that the very essence or character of God is 'Love'. (1 John 4:8) as he brings his children to the understanding that "the fundamental law of human perfection, and consequently the transformation of the world is the new commandment of love." (Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, 2004) "

Tags:Catholic, Church, social, teaching, Pope

Abstract
This paper addresses prohibiting factors of a middle school approach in a traditional private catholic boys school, explaining the contextual factors that may prohibit the middle schooling approach to a private catholic all boys' school.

From the Paper
"According to Lounsbury, middle schools are unique educational institutions which have significantly evolved over the last several decades. Lounsbury reports that today the middle school has several key functions e.g. integration, exploration, guidance, differentiation, socialization and articulation, and several key characteristics e.g. educators knowledgeable about and committed to young adolescents, a balanced curriculum based on student needs, a range of organizational arrangements, varied instructional strategies and so forth. The..."

Tags:Catholic boys schools, middle school approach

Abstract
This paper takes a look at the modern Catholic Church and its approach toward universality. This theological question is addressed in modern terms as well as from a historical perspective. The author defines Catholicism and considers it, as opposed to other branches of Christianity. The paper then explores the term universality and how this is defined and expressed in the Catholic Church today.

From the Paper
"In order to understand the universality implied in the word Catholic one has to review the history of the word and the Church, as well as taking into account the contemporary context of the problem. Another important aspect of the designation of universality is the meaning of the word in terms of the difference between the denominational meaning and the spiritual sense of universal, which refers to the inclusion of all humanity in its religious ambit. The term has also raised considerable debate within the Catholic Church and Western religious community with regard to the contemporary view of the relativity of all religions. This is a central aspect of this discussion, as the view that all religions are equally relevant or 'universal' is contested from some quarters as problematic in a theological sense."

Tags:Catholic, church, theology, Christianity

Abstract
This paper examines the controversial issue of ordaining female priests in the modern Catholic church through analyzing a survey on this topic. The case study includes interviews with a number of Catholics in addition to refering in part to what is known as the official papal letter 'Ordinato Sacerdotalis', which deals with ordaining female priests. First, the paper explores the Church's complex attitude toward women, citing different Biblical passages. Then, the interviews are summarized in the paper, which show very contrasting opinions among Catholics. The paper concludes by quoting Pope John Paul II's declaration that women are not to be ordained as priests.

From the Paper
"First of all, the attitude of the Catholic Church toward women in general has always been extremely complex. For example, as the mother of Jesus Christ, Mary has been given great respect and honor and is looked upon as the first among mortal women. Her status thus comes from her motherhood and of course from the suggestion that Jesus was born of an immaculate conception. Traditional Catholic teaching also emphasizes Eve, the wife of Adam, often referred to as "the temptress and the key figure in the drama of original sin and the human fall from grace" in the Garden of Eden (McBrien, 87)."

Tags:sacraments, Catholic women, priestly ordination, sacrament of orders

Abstract
A paper on the topic of ethics and laws concerning the problem of sexual abuse of children in the Catholic church. The paper explores the fact that there has been a lot of media discussing this topic in recent discussions.

Tags:sexual, catholic, church

Abstract
This paper looks at the increased reports of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. The writer points out that only recently has the Church needed to answer for itself and take a stand due to the high level of reported cases. An examination of the Church's response is given which follows criticism of their reaction.

From the Paper
"The Catholic Church has been rocked recently by allegations of sexual abuses especially against children. The problem is not isolated but all pervading. The cases of child, sexual abuses are about the same percentage as the general population. Most of the cases are not, in the strictest sense pedophilic sex with pre-pubescent children, but ephebophilia abuse of adolescent children. In a comprehensive study of 2,252 priests for 30 years, only one case of pedophilia was found. It involved a priest with two six year-old nieces. Between 5 and 10 percent of priests were pederasts (ephebophiles). (Jenkins, 1996)"

Tags:priest, child, sexual, abuse, church, catholic, christianity

Abstract
This essay examines the sequence of events that led the Catholic Church and its clergy from being a privileged and influential class prior to the French Revolution to playing a relatively minor role in the life of the nation after the Revolution.

From the Paper
"The most audacious and bold attacks on the Church, however, came in the formation of two new religions during this period. In late 1793, in Paris and other large cities, a new religion was founded. The worship of "gods given by nature" and requiring no priests was proclaimed."

Tags:catholic, church, french, religion, revolution

Abstract
This paper takes a deep look at the true intentions of Martin Luther and his resistance against the Catholic Church by examining the historical context in which he acted and by taking a closer look at the man himself, thereby showing that Luther was a deeply religious man trying to maintain core religious values in the face of great social pressure.

From the Paper
"The European world of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century was one ensconced in the assumption of Christian values and, moreover, the authority of the Catholic Church. Likewise, it was a world of great injustice, misappropriation of power and perversion of morality. Such was most apparently epitomized by the vast disparity between classes of suffocating poverty and ever-growing wealth. And the necessary correlation between wealth and power was quite explicit in a Church that, to many ways of thinking, was a fat and corrupt entity whose most driving priority had become the exploitation of the weak. Martin Luther was born into this world in 1483, and not of a particular familial disposition to protest the circumstances. In fact, his father had managed to accrue some degree of financial comfort that assured his son the life of an educated man. Rather, his outrage at social conditions manifested itself through his religious observation. Above all, it bears noting, upon his adoption of the holy cloth in 1505, that Luther was a man of God. This was the only law that he saw fit to recognize. So his divergence from the conventions of the Catholic Church was, as he would be quick to assert himself, an act guided by compliance rather than defiance. But his ideology would spark massive reexamination and change, suggesting that it was certainly resistant to many of the prevailing forces of the time and place. Perhaps there may be no genuine reconciliation of these two ostensibly contradictory roles, both of which, one could argue, Luther embodied. However, a more direct study of Luther's motivations and tenets seems to suggest that he was, in both intent and aesthetic, a conservative who, by way of social circumstances, came to be regarded as a revolutionary."

Tags:catholic, catholocism, christianity, church, ideology, luther, lutheran, martin, morality, reform, reformation, religious, theory, theses