Catholicism

Introduction

Catholicism is a branch in Christianity. It is a broader term of the catholic faith. It incorporates the ethics, theologies and good characteristics of religious people. This religion have different believes with those of protestants. The body of catholic came under the body of Rome, Antioch and Alexandria.  Catholic Church is the largest Christian church in the whole world. They are found allover the world and the members are also numerous. By the year 1980, there were 783 million catholic members. Most of the beliefs followed by the catholic members are found in the New Testament in the Bible.

Eucharist is the rite of baptism and it is celebrated daily in their churches by their believers. There is confession of the Church. This is done by the Christian to their priest. The Catholic Church does not allow remarriage after divorce. They insist that one must remain single. The Priests are also not allowed to marry while they are in the priesthood. They are to remain dedicated to serve the Lord alone without getting married. They pray using a rosary go at shrines to worship and in some occasions, they do not eat meat on Fridays. They are allowed to eat fish and not meat (O' Collins, 2006).

The Roman Catholic churches are structured into various parishes and diocese and they are normally administered by Bishops. Catholic churches talk about genocide and human crime. According to Catholic churches, they believe that abortion done by women is a crime and all those conducting abortion must be prosecuted. It is believed that life begins in the womb and doing abortion is as equal as killing the infant. As much as humanity crime was conducted during the colonial period, this is no longer allowed by the Catholic Church beliefs.

The roles of the Church in the modern world according to Gaudium et Spes

Catholic Church role was the most important to the world to both the colonizer and the colonized. Both the State and the churches have been seen working hand in hand to ensure that these roles are achieved. One of the accomplishments of Vatican Council was the Pastoral constitution in the Gaudium et Spes. The constitution was passed through majority votes and it was promulgated by Pope Paul VI. This was in the year 1965. The Catholic Church insists on the dignity of the human persons. It is this that forms the foundation between the church and the world.

The church gets involved with the normal human activities that take place on daily basis. This makes the church to be involved directly with the world. The problems that the poor people undergo in today's life are also a problem to the church. When people live happily then that's the joy of the church. Everything that is human finds its echo at the heart of the church. The church here does not mean the building but where two or more people have gathered together to share a word of God.

The spirit of solidarity is really cherished in this religion and they use Holy Spirit as their helper. This council does not just the brothers and sisters of Catholic Church but addresses the whole humanity. It wishes to put in clarification and make people understand its function to the world and how it is assisting humanity. When the council refers to the world, it is referring to women, men, children and the entire human nature in their natural environment. The Catholic believers know that it is God who created the world and that the environment is being maintained by the same creator of heaven and earth.

They believe that, the people have indulged themselves in sins but Jesus who is believed to be the son of God died on the cross to save His people. The church tells its people to repent their sins and commit themselves to church. They believe that it is only though repentance and good deeds that will take people to heaven.  Each human therefore is to commit his soul mind to church. The church is never interested with the earth ambitions but to continue proclaiming the word of God and to continue with the work of God. This work is believed was started by Jesus Christ but he never finished and requested the Church to continue with the task.

Mutual relationship between the church and the world

The church always restores hope to the anguished people in the society. It encourages the bereaved and gives food to the needy people in the society. The church reads the signs of the time and interprets it in a way of preaching. As much as there are some people who enjoy the wealth and the economic well being, there are other people who are languishing in poverty. Church tries to bring them together and make hem look equal like any other person. In church, n matter your back ground every human is treated as equal before the eyes of God.

It is believed that the church was founded by Jesus Christ who is the son of God. The church is being maintained by the Holy Spirit and its benefits of being in church will be attaining in the next life which is believed to come after death. The church is therefore seen as a spiritual community and a visible organization. Most of the church values are normally shared by the world. The fact that the earth and the heavens relates to one another can only be seen by the strong believers. The catholic believers have always appreciated what other believers are doing in the society to promote the livelihoods of many humans. The ecclesial community has also participated in the realization of good characters in the community. The world equally provides numerous help to the church. This allows the church to have comfortable environment while spreading the gospel.

What the Church offers to Individuals

In today's world, women and men are all in the process of developing their personality. They are also out in discovering their rights in the society. The church comes in to manifest to them God's mystery and how their destiny would be if they obey and follow the ways that pleases God.  God is believed to be the final answer to most of the questions that are normally asked by Christians. This makes the Christians understand why they exist in this world. The church also tells the world the truth about their lives and how they should live with their neighbors. The church knows that all the men and women are always maintained by God and that they cannot be different from God. The church also believes that nobody can survive without God. This is because it is God who created both men and women and they have no reason not to respect Him. Through this faith, the church is able to keep the dignity of human nature. The church also offers mutual support to the society by giving assistance in crucial areas like health.

What the church offers to Society

The church initiates ideas that involve the whole society.  These activities may be political, social or economical. The main purpose is to unite the people and make them live together happily without really looking at the individuals religion (Schaefer, 2009). This brings an impact of love and harmony in the societies. The mission of the Church is universal and obeys all the rules of the nature. The churches also preach humanity through its members.

What the church gets from the world

As much as the church recognizes the efforts of the church in assisting to solve social problems in the society, the church insists in developing the humankind. The church values different cultures of different individuals. The church has a social structure. This signifies unity and peace among the members and the whole society at large. Any person who participates in the development of humanity is as equal as that person who is preaching the word of God. The church as much as it has to participate in political views, It is not supposed to favor any side. The views of the church should be neutral. The members are supposed to be encouraged to participate in politics but this be done in the most peaceful manner.

The church is bound not to have any enemies and this can only be done by not favoring either side in politics.  Catholic Churches value the aspect of happy families and good marriages. When a man marries a woman, he is expected to take her to church and be blessed by the priest. This is normally done on the wedding day. The couple is never allowed to separate and remarry (O' Collins, 2006). The church bounds them from doing that. If one of the couple dies, then the other partner is allowed to marry again if he or she cannot stay single. There is no dignity of the institution on this article. Most people do marry after the separation or just decide to engage into polygamous life which their faith does not allow.   

The church relationship with the world

In most occasions, when mankind relates well, the church always examines the relationship between the believers and the non believers. The church preaches of unity and love and it is this that pulls people together and makes them worship together. One of the most important relationships is the originality of human beings. They were man made by the Supreme Being. This makes them all to have one goal and that is being Godly and Holly. This relationship makes people to be in a position to answer some of he riddles that have been in existence for so long and they have not been able to answer these riddles.  Most people have been wondering what is sin, what is meant by being morally right, the road to true happiness. There are other religions like Hinduism which tends to remain so much in their cultures.  Buddhism on the other hand tries to realize the radical insufficiency of the ever changing world.  The religion teaches its members a way to be liberalized.

The Catholic Church does not reject anything that is religious from these other religions. There are some of the beliefs that vary with that of Catholic Church but as long as the beliefs are holy and religious, the Catholic Church does not rebel. They proclaim that Jesus is the way to everlasting life. The Muslims adore the one God. As much as they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they still acknowledge Him as a prophet and worship Him equally just like Christians. The Muslims also recognize Mary the mother of Jesus. Just like Catholics, they call on her during their devotions in mosques.

They also have a belief that in some day, there is going to be a judgment day where everyone will be answerable o his or her deeds. They believe that the dead will be raised from the death to answer to the Lord (Gaudium et Spes, 1958). They value worship and they have worship hours which they have been disciplined to obey the time. They sometimes go for fasting in their worship. They also value the moral life and their dressing code. They believe that women should put on descent clothes that do not expose their body parts. This makes them be different from other religions in that, as much as this factor is preached in the churches; most of the believers do put on the right attire only when going to the church.

The Muslims put on the right attire always and they will be seen with covered head all through. As much as the Jewish were responsible for the death of Jesus Christ, it does not mean that the Jews of today should be charged against this. The Jews should be accepted in the Churches just like any other member and not neglected. Rejection is not allowed in churches and this makes it impossible for the members neglect the members. Jesus had prophesized about His death and the Jews were just fulfilling the prophecy. (Summa Theologica, para. 1). He died willingly so that all the men on earth can be delivered from their sins. He did this willingly so as to save the world and make most people see salvation. It is the work of the church therefore to preach and make this information reach everybody across the world. There is no point to call the name of the Lord and claim that we are Holly if we do not treat our neighbors in a proper manner. This is because, it is very difficult to trust whom we do not see and claim that He is our friend and fail to respect men on earth who are God's image. Respecting neighbors is a better way of serving God. It is through them that one is able to see God's miracles. God comes in many forms and one is not able to predict which form He can come.

Both the Catholic and the Christians believe that Jesus is a son of God who was born in a man kind through Virgin Mary. He was sent by His father God to co me and save the world from sins. All the religions trust on the Holy book and believe it is through the written scriptures that will save the whole world from perishing. As much as different religions have different types of worshipping and their interpretation to the last supper, they all take bread and wine or grape wine to indicate Jesus last supper when He took with his disciples. All the religion has leaders who must go through a special training before he is given a team to administer to.  As much as their preaching differs, they all have undergone the training and are considered as servants of God (O' Collins, 2006). This Training is considered as a call from God, in that, not any person cans just decide to join the training. It is not a profession but a call from God.  

The Catholics and Baptists share the same believe of trinity which states that God is one in three and three in one. There is God the Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit. Each trinity member has the same power with the other members in the same trinity. Catholics and other Christians share the same values. They all believe that Jesus died for their sins and He resurrected from the death. They all accept that all men are sinners and it is only through Jesus that one can be cleansed.

Conclusion

In summary, the council expresses a desire to engage in the whole society in a conversation. The Catholic constitution does not just address the catholic members but the whole humanity. The church has the duty of identifying the time in the calendars and interpreting it in gospel. This will make people to realize that everything on this earth has its meaning. This will also enable people follow keenly the requirements that is required for them. For example, that period when Jesus died, the Catholic priest and Bishops always dress in red. This symbolizes blood that Jesus shed on the cross. The Catholic members are not allowed to eat the red meat on that particular period and especially Fridays.

It is this Friday that Jesus was crucified and rose after three days. Immediately after the three days, the priests no longer put on the red garments. They change and put on white. Whit symbolizes peace and resurrection. Catholics have made the whole world undergo social and cultural transformation. As much as socialization may cause problems in the society, it is also vital in the humanity. The Catholic council acknowledges that people will want to now the difference between life and death and they try to differentiate this.

Discrimination is not allowed in any of the religion and this must be eliminated as it does not promote friendship. The Catholic Church believe that in order for one to gain happiness, then one must be able to love his neighbor and serve God while on this earth. Catholic Church roles are not limited to the members only. The church initiates the activities in the societies and requests even the non members to join and give hand. In order to safe guard Gods heritage, the church council tries to come between the world problems.

They discourage individualism and insist n team work as the way forward. (Summa Theologica, para. 3). Christians should be willing to participate in various activities voluntarily. This does not just improve the upcoming projects but shows a good example to the young Christians in the society. The young Christian will grow in faith knowing that in church one need to volunteer and do any task given.

The mature Christians need to be on the front line on teaching the young ones these good characters. This is so because one cannot tell the younger one to obey and be respectful when he is not showing the example. This is even in the Bible. On e cannot preach water and take wine. This means, if one talks about being obedient, then he must show by being the pioneer of obedience.