Catholic terms & Catholic structure

Posted on 10/14/2006 at 21:05:11  |  Reply  |  Report Abuse |  0

In another thread there seemed to be some confusion between Catholic Doctrine & Dogma and Church Practices & Disciplines. I hope this helps to clear things up a bit:

• Dogma - teachings left to us by the Apostles. Dogmas includes both Scripture and Sacred Tradition. It is infallible, and it cannot be altered, changed, added to, or subtracted from.


• Doctrine - This is a formally defined teaching which has been promulgated by an ecumenical council (like Nicaea or Trent) or declared an infallible teaching by a reigning Pontiff. Doctrine is also infallible, and also cannot be changed---but it likewise cannot contradict Scripture, Tradition, any previous infallible statement, or another doctrine. Examples include the Immaculate Conception and the Holy Trinity.


• Discipline - This is an explanation of some aspect of the Faith. It is not infallible, and can be changed, evolved, condemned, or abandoned. Examples of this are limbo and Mary as Co-Redemptrix.


• Practice - This is a rule established by the Church to help the believer walk the straight and narrow path; examples include clerical celibacy, not eating meat on Fridays during Lent, and fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.


• Devotion - The lowest level of Catholic belief; devotions are usually more or less up to the individual believer to practice or not. This category includes such things as the Rosary, First Friday devotions, first Saturday devotions, etc.

Additionally, the Catholic Faith is composed of 22 Churches spread across Six Rites as follows:

- Alexandrean Rite
--- Coptic Catholic Church
--- Ethiopian (& Eritrean) Catholic Church

- Antiochene Rite
--- Syriac Catholic Church
--- Syro-Malabarese Catholic Church
--- Syro-Malankarese Catholic Church

- Armenian Rite
--- Armenian Catholic Church

- Byzantine Rite
--- Albanian Catholic Church
--- Belarusan Catholic Church
--- Bulgarian Catholic Church
--- Croatian Catholic Church
--- Georgian Catholic Church
--- Greek Catholic Church
--- Hungarian Catholic Church
--- Italo-Greco-Albanian Catholic Church
--- Melkite Catholic Church
--- Russian Catholic Church
--- Romanian Catholic Church
--- Ruthenian Catholic Church
--- Slovakian Catholic Church
--- Ukrainian Catholic Church

- Latin Rite
--- Roman Catholic Church

- Maronite Rite
--- Maronite Catholic Church

Thus, Practices and MAYBE even Disciplines MAY vary from Rite to Rite and Church to Church but Doctrines & Dogmas, however, are universally accepted across the entire Catholic Faith.

Edited by Sir Knight on 10/15/2006 04:07:20

Posted on 10/15/2006 at 08:28:49  |  Reply  |  Report Abuse |  0

I thought it would also be appropriate to re-post some of the information alcovey previously posted in the How Many Catholic Dogmas Are There? thread.

The below is from www.iamonetruth.com:

THEOLOGICAL GRADES OF CERTAINTY (FCD)

1. The highest degree of certainty appertains to the immediately revealed truths. The belief due to them is based on the authority of God Revealing (fides divina), and if the Church, through, its teaching, vouches for the fact, that a truth is contained in Revelation, one's certainty is then also based on the authority of the Infallible Teaching Authority of the Church (fides catolica). If Truths are defined by a solemn judgment of faith (definition) of the Pope or of a General Council, they are "de fide definita". (de fide)

2.Catholic truths or Church doctrines, on which the infallible Teaching Authority of the Church has finally decided, are to be accepted with a faith which is based on the sole authority of the Church (fides ecclesiastica). These truths are as infallibly ceratin as dogmas proper.

3. A Teaching proximate to Faith (sententia fidei proxima) is a doctrine, which is regarded by theologians generally as a Truth of Revelation, but which has not yet been finally promulgated as such by the Church. (sent proxima)

4. A Teaching pertaining to the Faith, i.e., theologically certain (sententia ad fidem pertinenis, i.e., theologice certa) is a doctrine, on which the Teaching Authority of the Church has not yet finally pronounced, but whose truth is guaranteed by its intrinsic connection with the doctrine of revelation (theological conclusion). (sent certa)

5. Common Teaching (sententia communis) is doctrine which in itself belongs to the field of the free opinions, but which is accepted generally theologians.

6. Theological opinions of lesser grades of certainty are called probable, more probable, well founded (sententia probabilis, probabilior, bene fundata). Those which are regarded as being in agreement with the consciousness of Faith of the Church are called pious opinions (sententia pia). The least degree of certainty is possessed by the tolerated opinion (opinio tolerata), which is only weakly founded, but which is tolerated by the Church.

With regard to the doctrinal teaching of the Church it must be well noted that not all the assertions of the Teaching Authority of the Church on questions of Faith and morals are infallible and consequently irrevocable. Only those are infallible which emanate from General Councils representing the whole episcopate, and the Papal Decisions Ex Cathedra (cf. D 1839). The ordinary and usual form of the Papal teaching activity is not infallible.

Posted on 10/15/2006 at 08:47:53  |  Reply  |  Report Abuse |  0

The biggest key to understanding Catholicism is in applying it's own principles rather than using preconceptions or rules that one has found elsewhere and forcing them upon it. So few non-Catholics actually take the time to do this before they begin to pick at it, looking for any kind of loophole or perceived discrepancy to disprove it (which betrays a motive). Do these people really even want to understand?

Posted on 10/15/2006 at 09:31:06  |  Reply  |  Report Abuse |  0

No discussion on Catholic beliefs should be without mention of

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Included in the Introduction to the Catechism is

Fidei Depositum - Apostolic Constitution on the Publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II

To my Venerable Brothers the cardinals, Patriarchs, Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, Deacons, and to all the People of God.

GUARDING THE DEPOSIT OF FAITH IS THE MISSION WHICH THE LORD ENTRUSTED TO HIS CHURCH, and which she fulfills in every age. The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, which was opened 30 years ago by my predecessor Pope John XXIII, of happy memory, had as its intention and purpose to highlight the Church's apostolic and pastoral mission, and by making the truth of the Gospel shine forth to lead all people to seek and receive Christ's love which surpasses all knowledge (cf. Eph 3:19).

The principal task entrusted to the Council by Pope John XXIII was to guard and present better the precious deposit of Christian doctrine in order to make it more accessible to the Christian faithful and to all people of good will. For this reason the Council was not first of all to condemn the errors of the time, but above all to strive calmly to show the strength and beauty of the doctrine of the faith. "Illumined by the light of this Council", the Pope said, "the Church. . . will become greater in spiritual riches and gaining the strength of new energies therefrom, she will look to the future without fear. . . Our duty is to dedicate ourselves with an earnest will and without fear to that work which our era demands of us, thus pursuing the path which the Church has followed for 20 centuries."1

With the help of God, the Council Fathers in four years of work were able to produce a considerable number of doctrinal statements and pastoral norms which were presented to the whole Church. There the Pastors and Christian faithful find directives for that "renewal of thought, action, practices and moral virtue, of joy and hope, which was the very purpose of the Council".2

[...]

2. Arrangement of the Material

A catechism should faithfully and systematically present the teaching of Sacred Scripture, the living Tradition in the Church and the authentic Magisterium, as well as the spiritual heritage of the Fathers, Doctors and saints of the Church, to allow for a better knowledge of the Christian mystery and for enlivening the faith of the People of God. It should take into account the doctrinal statements which down the centuries the Holy Spirit has intimated to his Church. It should also help to illumine with the light of faith the new situations and problems which had not yet emerged in the past.

This catechism will thus contain both the new and the old (cf. Mt 13:52), because the faith is always the same yet the source of ever new light.

To respond to this twofold demand, the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the one hand repeats the "old", traditional order already followed by the Catechism of St. Pius V, arranging the material in four parts: the Creed, the Sacred Liturgy, with pride of place given to the sacraments, the Christian way of life, explained beginning with the Ten Commandments, and finally, Christian prayer. At the same time, however, the contents are often presented in a "new" way in order to respond to the questions of our age.

The four parts are related one to another: the Christian mystery is the object of faith (first part); it is celebrated and communicated in liturgical actions (second part); it is present to enlighten and sustain the children of God in their actions (third part); it is the basis for our prayer, the privileged expression of which is the Our Father, and it represents the object of our supplication, our praise and our intercession (fou