The Catholic Church and its views and teachings on specific subjects.
5
votes
2answers
143 views
When and where did Pope Paul VI say the “Mass is the most perfect form of prayer”?
I was trying to source this quote,
The Mass is the most perfect form of prayer - Pope Paul VI
but the Google, in her wisdom, seems to think I only want to see what my fellow zealous Mary lovers ...
4
votes
1answer
135 views
The soul's progression through purgatory
Does anyone know of any folklore in Christian mythology about what happens to the soul as it progresses through purgatory and into heaven? (Plus, of course, for systems that hold universal ...
4
votes
1answer
209 views
What's the tradition behind hand holding during the Our Father at Mass?
In traveling around my diocese I've noticed that there are some parishes that are hand-holders and some parishes that are non-hand-holders and some people in the non-hand-holder parishes who persist ...
0
votes
1answer
203 views
According to Reformed Theology, are Catholics Christians?
In John MacArthur's Scandal of the Catholic Preisthood, Catholicism is not portrayed as the zenith of Christianity.
Question:
Is this
a John MacArthur only view, not held by the majority of ...
7
votes
2answers
80 views
Pre-Crucifixion Transubstantiation
The Roman Catholic church teaches the doctrine of transubstantiation--that the bread and wine literally become the body and blood of Jesus. It seems that the sacrament of taking the body and blood ...
12
votes
1answer
138 views
How do Catholics support transubstantiation?
As I understand it, the doctrine of transubstantiation maintains that bread and wine literally* become the body and blood of Christ...yet it is impossible to detect this. That is, they do not ...
7
votes
2answers
114 views
Has the Roman Catholic Church ever issued an official response to the accusations of the Reformers?
I just started reading Luther's Tabletalk, and the preface, written by Dr. John Aurifaber in 1569, roundly condemns the Roman Catholic Church, presenting an analogy which compares Christians' ...
4
votes
1answer
65 views
Were Catholics originally offended by the Sacred Heart?
According to a comment by Mr. Hayword, the Sacred Heart was something which was originally opposed in Catholicism, but I have not found clear evidence of this, only a citation of an Anglican who cites ...
5
votes
3answers
495 views
Do they use icons in the Roman Catholic Church?
Do they use icons in the Roman Catholic Church like they do in the East Orthodox Church? In my limited experience, I've only seen statues in the Roman Catholic Church, but not icons. I don't just mean ...
2
votes
1answer
133 views
Is it true the term 'pontifex maximus' was the name of the high priest of the Roman Cult of Emperor Worship, before being adopted by the Pope?
This has always seemed strange to me that the Pope would not want to distance himself with emperor worship as much as possible. If pointifex maximus was a term used by the government of Rome in its ...
8
votes
2answers
114 views
Were paid indulgences compulsory prior to the Reformation?
Luther's 95 Theses were a refutation of selling indulgences on the part of the Catholic Church. Did he, or others, believe that the Church was saying that:
The only way to be a good Christian was ...
4
votes
1answer
102 views
Was the Apostolic Tradition of rejecting soldiers from the church ‘permanent’, or was this ‘tradition' briefly enforced?
In the Bible Jesus encounters Roman soldiers but does not tell them to 'quit their day job'. Jesus encountered a centurion with 'great faith' as recorded in Matthew 8. Peter as well baptized a ...
4
votes
2answers
101 views
In what order were the Sacraments added?
In his book The Pursuit of God, A. W. Tozer has this phrase:
'The sacraments' were first two, then three, then four, until with the triumph of Romanism they were fixed at seven.
What were these ...
13
votes
3answers
896 views
Significance of virgins in the Catholic church
Why are virgins so popular in the Catholic church (specifically in Mexico or Latin America)? Aside from the obvious, virgin Mary, there are "virgins" of practically every major Catholic church ...
6
votes
1answer
58 views
What is a “Pentecostal Catholic”?
One of my new neighbors is a "Pentecostal Catholic" from India. I have heard of this denomination before, during an Evangelical Missiological Society conference, but didn't have a reason to ...
3
votes
2answers
194 views
Why aren't I considered illegitimate?
So, my dad is a baptized Catholic, but was raised Presbyterian. When he was in his twenties he married a woman in the Catholic Church who left him within a year (and got married to his best man... sad ...
6
votes
2answers
272 views
What's a Papist exactly?
Is a papist always a Catholic who is wholly supportive of the Pope?
Must one be some sort of cleric or theologian to be considered by detractors as a papist or were every day catholic peasants and ...
5
votes
1answer
191 views
How common is intinction in the Catholic Church?
Intinction at communion is "the practice of dipping the bread in the cup and partaking the elements simultaneously".
The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) at their 2012 General Assembly narrowly ...
-1
votes
1answer
207 views
Did the Jews use icons and images to help them worship as Catholics or Orthodox worshipper do?
I understand that some worshippers use icons to 'lift up their minds from earthly things to the heavenly things'? I am not interested about those using them as stage-props for a play (in comparison), ...
4
votes
2answers
137 views
What is the earliest record of using icons to worship God in the Catholic or Orthodox traditions?
The question is as simple as the title. I am simply wondering, ‘When is the earliest recorded date of this tradition?’
22
votes
7answers
2k views
As a protestant, may I participate in the Eucharist (Communion) when visiting a Catholic church?
I think the title sums it up. I'm a protestant Christian, and have many Catholic friends. When I visit their churches, is it permissible for me to participate in the Eucharist/Communion ceremony by ...
5
votes
1answer
301 views
What is the status of St Malachy's prophecy within Catholicism?
As might be well-known to some, and perhaps especially to Catholics, the name of Saint Malachy, a former Archbishop of Armagh, is often associated with the Prophecy of the Popes. Much of the recent ...
2
votes
1answer
188 views
Martin Luther's take on Roman Catholic clergy individuals living (immediately) before him
Is there any evidence that Martin Luther considered any of the Roman Catholic clergymen who lived in the centuries preceding his own lifetime (evidence related to those living in the centuries ...
3
votes
2answers
154 views
Why do some Catholics file up for commmunion?
My wife was telling me about how in Spain, it's common practice to just go up to receive communion pretty much at random whereas in my experience I've always filed up (even when I was in Germany for ...
10
votes
1answer
195 views
Which doctrines are based solely on the apocrypha?
What Roman Catholic doctrines are based only in the 7 books canonized by the Roman church, but not accepted by Protestants. (e.g., Tobit, Judith, Maccabees, the additions to Daniel and Esther, etc...)
...
2
votes
4answers
600 views
On what grounds does the Catholic church reject sacraments of protestant denominations?
While there is a wide range of opinion among adult-baptism protestants as to whether a Catholic (or other infant) baptism is or can be considered valid, there seems to be (at least in my experience) a ...
4
votes
1answer
84 views
Has the matter of salvation - whether it is by works or by faith alone - ever been considered on any councils of the Catholic and Orthodox churches?
Prior to Luther's Reformation, has the matter of salvation - whether it is by works or by faith alone - ever been considered on any councils of the Catholic and Orthodox churches?
6
votes
2answers
319 views
Why did priests begin to sacrifice?
I attended a class on the Sacraments last night and the presenter was talking about how Bishops, priests and deacons were specifically mentioned in the NT. It made me wonder, how did Christians get ...
4
votes
1answer
117 views
Any Roman Catholic Church martyrs from 10 - 15th centuries?
Do we know of any martyrs from among the Roman Catholic Church that lived during the 5 centuries before Martin Luther (i.e. 10 - 15th centuries). I am especially interested in those who have been ...
5
votes
2answers
207 views
What is the purpose of godparents?
I was looking through Catholic baptismal records, while doing genealogy, when I realized that I didn't know what the purpose of godparents is. What is their purpose? Why are they recorded? Are the ...
5
votes
1answer
250 views
Which nuns get new names?
I know that some Catholic nuns chose new names, like Mother Teresa (previously Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu), and others didn't, like Sister Helen Prejean.
What determines whether a woman changes her name ...
5
votes
1answer
170 views
What's so great about the Canticle of the Sun?
A few years ago, I tried to explain to the 7th-8th graders in my catechism class how awesome St. Francis was. I told 'em about him giving up all his stuff and rebuilding the Church etc... but, for ...
5
votes
2answers
211 views
Mary's painless birth
Where does the Catholic tradition that Mary's birth was painless come from?
My wife just got home from a non-denominational study about Mary and she said she thought everybody knew this, but ...
4
votes
1answer
149 views
Did Pope Benedict XVI grant permission for hetrosexual couples to use artifical birth control methods?
In a book of interviews by Peter Seewald "Light of the World" the Pope is quoted as saying something to the effect that homosexual prostitutes would be better off if they used condoms than if they ...
3
votes
0answers
38 views
How does an adult become a Catholic? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What are the requirements for a Protestant joining the Catholic church?
So, a Protestant decides he wants to become a Catholic. What does she need to do?
6
votes
1answer
607 views
What are the requirements for a Protestant joining the Catholic church?
What are the requirements for joining the Catholic church as an adult?
I'm interested in all the requirements, including whether a previously baptized Protestant would be required to (or forbidden ...
4
votes
1answer
1k views
Does the Roman Catholic church recognize marriages outside of the church?
I'm curious about the status of marriages performed outside the auspices of the church. For example, if a non Catholic converts to the Roman church, but was married beforehand, does it "count". Based ...
6
votes
1answer
1k views
May divorced men become Roman Catholic priests?
In reading through canon law ( I think around 1037 or so ), it says that unmarried men must be celibate and 25 years old, or married men must be at least 35 and have their wife's consent before being ...
9
votes
2answers
365 views
What is the biblical basis for the Immaculate Conception?
According to Catholic Doctrine, the Immaculate Conception refers to the teaching that Mary's own conception (not that of Jesus) was without the stain of original sin.
What is the biblical basis for ...
1
vote
1answer
87 views
What is the origin and explanation of the Catholic teaching that Mary was and is sinless? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the biblical basis for the Immaculate Conception?
I saw on another post where someone indicated that the Catholic church teaches that Mary was, in fact, sinless ...
11
votes
2answers
464 views
Which of Luther's 95 Theses are still potentially valid critiques of Roman Catholicism?
Pope Leo X enumerated 41 positions that he required Luther to recant from in order to be restored to communion with the Latin Church. Presumably, he wasn't all that excited about some of the other ...
5
votes
2answers
94 views
Has there been any explanation given on the murder of Joan of Arc?
Joan of Arc was burned as a heretic. Now she is a saint. How does the Roman Catholic Church explain this? It turned out that the Roman Catholic Church has murdered its own saint? Has any logical ...
5
votes
4answers
162 views
Catholic view of Biblical saints
Saints are present throughout the Bible. In my understanding, Protestant use of this word applies to all believers, which I understand is the New Testament (and OT?) meaning of the word.
In my ...
5
votes
1answer
201 views
Has the notion of “legitimacy” been abandoned in the Catholic Church?
This isn't a question about pastoral advice, but it is being asked on behalf of a friend who is worried that her children will become illegitimate if her marriage is annulled and all I can find to ...
12
votes
1answer
968 views
What were Martin Luther's main disagreements with the Catholic Church?
What were Martin Luther's main disagreements with the Catholic Church? Were these beliefs of Luther's and his disagreements with the Catholic Church the origin of the Lutheran Church?
4
votes
1answer
83 views
What is the Catholic position on ethnic parishes today?
I was thinking about this comment concerning cliquishness in the churches and how they can help build each other up (or avoid strife).
Smaller towns in rural America with large immigrant Hispanic ...
3
votes
1answer
144 views
Non-movable feasts in the Lent and Easter seasons
The latest possible date for Ash Wednesday is March 10th and the earliest possible date for Pentecost is May 10th. Besides the movable feasts, is there any indication that the Catholic Church places ...
8
votes
2answers
143 views
Can indirection bring us closer to Christ?
Peter's excellent blog posting pointed to a movement I'd never heard of before: Militia of the Immaculata (MI). In the process of figuring out what it might be, I read this important qualification:
...
5
votes
2answers
327 views
Should one avoid fasting during Easter?
Tomorrow is the first Friday in Easter and in the Catholic Church Fridays are days of penance. If a person usually does something small, like not continuously munch on things while at his desk, in ...
-1
votes
2answers
870 views
Why can't the Pope have children? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the basis for clerical celibacy?
Why it is said to be a bad thing since Christians say that God had a Son?
Why do humans deny that to themselves and accept it ...
