Roman Catholic theology comprises the teachings of the Catholic Church which bases its conclusions on Scripture and Sacred Tradition, as interpreted by the Magisterium. Church belief is encapsulated in the Nicene Creed and the Apostle's Creed, and detailed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Catholic teachings have been refined and clarified by major councils of the Church, convened by Popes at important points throughout history. The first such council, the Council of Jerusalem was convened by the apostles around the year 50. The most recent was Vatican II, which closed in 1965.
The Catholic Church believes that it is guided by the Holy Spirit, and that it is protected from teaching error on matters of faith and morals. According to the church, the Holy Spirit reveals God's truth through Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Sacred Tradition consists of those beliefs handed down through the church since the time of the Apostles. Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition are collectively known as the deposit of faith. This is in turn interpreted by the Magisterium, or the teaching authority of the Church. The Magisterium includes those pronouncements of the pope that are considered infallible, as well as the pronouncements of ecumenical councils and those of the college of bishops in union with the pope when they condemn false interpretations of scripture or define truths.
Formal Catholic worship is ordered by means of the liturgy, which is regulated by church authority. The celebration of the Eucharist, one of seven church sacraments, is considered the center of Catholic worship. However there are numerous additional forms of personal prayer and devotion including the Rosary, Stations of the Cross, and Eucharistic adoration. The church community consists of the ordained priesthood and diaconate (deacons), the laity, and those like monks and nuns living a consecrated life under rule.
According to the Catechism, Christ instituted seven sacraments and entrusted them to the Church. These are Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Holy Matrimony. They are vehicles through which God's grace is said to flow into all those who receive them with the proper disposition. The Church encourages individuals to engage in adequate preparation before receiving certain sacraments.
Read more about Roman Catholic Theology: Trinity, Soteriology, Scriptures, Apostolic Succession, Devotion To The Virgin Mary and The Saints, Ordained Ministry: Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, Catholicism and Other Christian Denominations, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words roman catholic, roman, catholic and/or theology:
“It is a dogma of the Roman Church that the existence of God can be proved by natural reason. Now this dogma would make it impossible for me to be a Roman Catholic. If I thought of God as another being like myself, outside myself, only infinitely more powerful, then I would regard it as my duty to defy him.”
—Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951)
“Communism, my friend, is more than Marxism, just as Catholicism ... is more than the Roman Curia. There is a mystique as well as a politique.... Catholics and Communists have committed great crimes, but at least they have not stood aside, like an established society, and been indifferent. I would rather have blood on my hands than water like Pilate.”
—Graham Greene (1904–1991)
“The Catholic and the Communist are alike in assuming that an opponent cannot be both honest and intelligent.”
—George Orwell (1903–1950)
“... the generation of the 20’s was truly secular in that it still knew its theology and its varieties of religious experience. We are post-secular, inventing new faiths, without any sense of organizing truths. The truths we accept are so multiple that honesty becomes little more than a strategy by which you manage your tendencies toward duplicity.”
—Ann Douglas (b. 1942)