“Windows To Spirituality”
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Sin (Catholic Church) This article covers the answer to the question: “What is Sin for Catholics?“ Nature of Sin Since sin is a moral evil, it is necessary in the first place to determine what is meant by evil, and in particular by moral evil. Evil is defined by St....
Catholic Church And Islam Relations between the Catholic Church and Islam deal with the current attitude of the Catholic Church towards Islam, as well as the attitude of Islam towards the Catholic Church and Catholics, and notable changes in the relationship since the 20th century. Second Vatican Council and Nostra aetate The...
Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches (Oriental Catholic Churches or Eastern-rite Catholic Churches, or simply the Eastern Churches or Uniates) are autonomous Churches in full communion with the Bishop of Rome (the Pope). While differing in their liturgical, theological and devotional traditions from the predominant form of Western Catholicism, these churches...
Roman Catholic Church The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus Christ and led by the Twelve Apostles, in particular Saint Peter. The Catholic Church is the largest Christian Church and...
Catechism Of The Catholic Church The Catechism of the Catholic Church (Catechismus Catholicae Ecclesiae; commonly called the Catechism or the CCC) is a catechism promulgated for the Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II in 1992. It sums up, in book form, the beliefs of the Catholic faithful. A catechism (“to teach orally”) is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as...
Science And The Catholic Church The relationship between science and the Catholic Church is a widely debated subject. Historically, the Catholic Church has often been a patron of sciences. It has been prolific in the foundation and funding of schools, universities and hospitals, and many clergy have been active in...
Chinese Rites Controversy The Chinese Rites controversy was a dispute among Roman Catholic missionaries over the religiosity of Confucianism and Chinese rituals during the 17th and 18th centuries. The debate centered over whether Chinese ritual practices of honoring family ancestors and other formal Confucian and Chinese imperial rites qualified as...
What Is Thomism? Thomism is the philosophical school that arose as a legacy of the work and thought of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church. In philosophy, Aquinas’ disputed questions and commentaries on Aristotle are perhaps his most well-known works. In theology, his Summa Theologica is one...
Who Is Thomas Aquinas? Saint Thomas Aquinas OP (Tommaso d’Aquino, lit. “Thomas of Aquino”; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church. He is an immensely influential philosopher, theologian, and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism, within which he is also known as the Doctor Angelicus and the Doctor Communis. The name Aquinas...
Divine Mercy This article covers the concept of divine mercy in Catholicism. The Divine Mercy is a devotion to Jesus Christ associated with the apparitions of Jesus to Faustina Kowalska. The venerated image under this Christological title refers to what Kowalska’s diary describes as “God’s loving mercy” towards all people, especially for sinners. Kowalska was granted the...
Catholic Ecclesiology Catholic ecclesiology is the theological study of the Catholic Church, its nature and organization, as described in revelation or in philosophy. Such study shows a progressive development over time. Here the focus is on the time leading into and since the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). See Christian Theology and Catholic Theology. Communitas Perfecta The doctrine of Communitas Perfecta (“Perfect...
Catholic Theology Catholic theology is the understanding of Catholic doctrine or teachings, and results from the studies of theologians. It is based on canonical scripture, and sacred tradition, as interpreted authoritatively by the magisterium of the Catholic Church. This article serves as an introduction to various topics in Catholic theology,...
Latin Church The Latin Church, also known as the Western Church or the Roman Catholic Church,[Note 1] is the largest particular church sui iuris of the Catholic Church, employing the Latin liturgical rites. It is one of 24 such churches, the 23 others forming the Eastern Catholic Churches. It is headed by the bishop of Rome, the pope – traditionally also...
Catholic Church And The Age Of Discovery This article covers the relationship between the Catholic Church And The Age Of Discovery. The Catholic Church during the Age of Discovery inaugurated a major effort to spread Christianity in the New World and to convert the indigenous peoples of the Americas and...
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known 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 continuously functioning international institution, it has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilisation. The church is headed by the Bishop...
![Seven Virtues by Francesco Pesellino and workshop, c. 1450 [Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama]](https://slife.org/wp-content/uploads/SAN_VOL2BMA_Repositorydb_photod5759u105575901961.102_01_t03_o2-520x147.jpg)
The Seven Catholic Virtues The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines virtue as “a habitual and firm disposition to do the good.” Traditionally, the seven Christian virtues, heavenly virtues (or The Seven Catholic Virtues) combine the four classical cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, temperance, and courage (or fortitude) with the three theological...
Purgatory: Rabbinic Views This article covers Rabbinic Views of Purgatory. An intermediate state through which souls are to pass in order to be purified from sin before they are admitted into the heavenly paradise. The belief in purgatory, fundamental with the Roman Catholic Church, is based by the Church authorities...
Catholic Spirituality Catholic spirituality includes the various ways in which Catholics live out their Baptismal promise through prayer and action. The primary prayer of all Catholics is the Eucharistic liturgy in which they celebrate and share their faith together, in accord with Jesus’ instruction: “Do this in memory of me.” The Catholic bishops at the Second Vatican...
What Is Limbo? Limbo, (Late Latin limbus) a word of Teutonic derivation, meaning literally “hem” or “border,” as of a garment, or anything joined on (cf. Italian lembo or English limb). In theological usage the name is applied to (a) the temporary place or state of the souls of the just who, although purified from sin, were...
Limbo In Catholic theology, Limbo (Latin limbus, edge or boundary, referring to the “edge” of Hell) is a doctrine concerning the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of western Europe described the underworld (“hell“, “hades”, “infernum”) as divided...
