Church as catholic
BRIEF HISTORY OF CATHOLIC CHURCH
• Latin ecclesia, from Greek ekklesia, where the word is a
compound of two segments: "ek", a preposition meaning "out of",
and a verb, "kaleo", signifying "to call" - together, literally, "to call
out“
• The Greek roots of the term “Catholic” mean “according to
(kata-) the whole (holos),” or more colloquially, “universal.”
• The Catholic Church, sometimes referred to as the Roman
Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with
approximately 1.3 billion baptised Catholics worldwide as of 2017.
• As the world's oldest and largest continuously functioning
international institution.
• it has played a prominent role in the history and development of
Western civilization
• The church is headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the pope
• The Catholic Church teaches that it is the
One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic church founded by Jesus Christ
in his Great Commission.
THE CHURCH AS CATHOLIC
• CATHOLIC IN MEANS AND IN • SOME ARE INCORPORATED
MISSION • THE JEWS; AWAITING AN
• CATHOLIC EVEN WHEN UNKNOWN MESSIAH
LOCAL • MUSLIMS
• UNITY IN ROME • A COMMON ORIGIN
• OTHER RELIGIONS
• IN A VARIETY OF CULTURES
• POSSIBLE MISTAKES IN
• ALLARE CALLED RELIGIOUS BEHAVIOUR
UNITY IN ROME
• Particular Churches are fully Catholic by their unity with Rome "which
presides in charity" (St. Ignatius of Antioch). "For with this Church
(Rome), by reason of its pre-eminence, the whole Church must necessarily
be in accord" (St. Irenaeus). "All Christian Churches have held the great
Church of Rome as their basis and foundation since, the gates of hell have
never prevailed against her" (St. Maximus the Confessor).
IN A VARIETY OF CULTURES
• The universal Church is not just a federation of different particular
Churches. The universal Church is rooted in a variety of cultures and takes
on different external expressions. The rich variety shows forth the
Catholicity of the undivided Church (Pope Paul VI).
ALL ARE CALLED
• All men are certainly called to this Catholic unity. The Catholic faithful,
others who believe in Christ, and all mankind belong to or are ordered to
Catholic unity.
SOME ARE INCORPORATED
• The fully incorporated are those who accept all the Church's means of salvation and who,
by profession of faith, the sacraments, church government, and communion, are united in
the visible structure of the Church. However, a Church member who does not persevere
in charity is not saved. He is in the Church's bosom, but "in body" not "in heart" (Second
Vatican Council).
• Others who are baptized and are called "Christian" but who do not profess the Catholic
faith are still joined to the Catholic Church in many ways. They enjoy a certain, although
imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church. The unity with the Orthodox Church is
so profound that it lacks little to attain the fullness to permit a common celebration of
Eucharist (Pope Paul VI).
THE JEWS- AWAITING AN UKNOWN
MESSIAH
• The Jewish People were the first to hear the Word of God, and their faith is
already a response to God's revelation. To them "belong the sonship, the glory,
the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship and the promises" (Rom 9:4-
5) and "this call of God is irrevocable" (Rom 11:29).
• The People of God of the Old Covenant and new People of God expect the
coming (or the return) of the Messiah. However, the People of the New
Covenant await the return of a risen Messiah. The People of the Old Covenant
await the coming of a still unknown Messiah, because they do not know or they
misunderstand Christ Jesus.
MUSLIMS
• God's plan of salvation includes those who acknowledge the Creator.
Among these, in the first place, are the Muslims who profess the faith of
Abraham and believe in one merciful God as mankind's judge on the Last
Day.
A COMMON ORIGIN
• The Church's bond with non-Christian religions is the common origin and
goal of the human race. "All nations stem from one stock and all share a
common destiny, namely, God. His providence extends to all" (Second
Vatican Council).
OTHER RELIGIONS
• The Church recognizes that in other religions there is a search for a God.
Any goodness or truth in these religions is a "preparation for the Gospel"
(Second Vatican Council).
POSSIBLE MISTAKES IN RELIGIOUS
BEHAVIOUR
• In his religious behavior, man can make mistakes. "Deceived by the Evil
One, men have exchanged the truth of God for a lie and served the
creature rather than the Creator. Without God, they are exposed to
ultimate despair" (Second Vatican Council).
CHURCH AS CATHOLIC
• (meaning “universal”) because it is destined to last for all time,
and all the faithful on earth are united with the faithful in
heaven and the souls in purgatory.
• It is Universal in two ways. First, the Church is universal because Christ is
present in her. She receives from him "the fullness of the means of
salvation." In this fundamental sense, the Church was Catholic on the day
of Pentecost and will be so until Christ returns.
• Second, the Church is Catholic because she has a mission to the whole
world. The new People of God (while remaining one) must spread
throughout the world. God made human nature one and now he decrees
that all the scattered people be gathered together. By its gift of
universality, the church seeks the return of all humanity under Christ the
Head (Second Vatican Council).
• The Church is really present in all legitimately organized local groups of
the faithful united to their pastors (called "churches" in the New
Testament). These communities might be small and poor. Yet, in these
particular churches Christ is present and the One, Holy, Catholic, and
Apostolic Church is constituted.
• The Church is catholic, or universal, because she teaches the whole
message of Jesus to all people in every culture and age.
• That the Church is catholic means that like the Gospel, the Church
exists for the entire world. She is not confined to one culture or race or
nationality. Yet the Church is also catholic because she takes what is
good in every culture and integrates it into an authentic celebration of
the faith. If you were to go to a Catholic church in the United States,
Argentina, or Tanzania, you would see different ways of expressing the
faith. The Church differs in its expression of faith in accordance with the
culture which it evangelizes and serves. For example, in Africa, singing
is often much more prominent in the Mass than it is in the United
States, and Mass can last for hours. In that sense, the Church is not
only catholic in her mission to evangelize all nations, but also in the fact
that no good thing is alien to the Church.
