Portal:Catholicism

Roman Catholicism is the entirety of the beliefs and practices of the Western and Eastern churches which are in full communion with the Pope of Rome as the claimed successor of St. Peter the Apostle, united together as the Catholic Church. The term Roman Catholic was defined by the Roman Emperor Theodosius on February 27 AD 380 in the Theodosian Code XVI.i.2: "It is our desire that all the various nations which are subject to our clemency and moderation, should continue the profession of that religion which was delivered to the Romans by the divine Apostle Peter, as it has been preserved by faithful tradition and which is now professed by the Pontiff Damasus and by Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic holiness. According to the apostolic teaching and the doctrine of the Gospel, let us believe in the one Deity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in equal majesty and in a holy Trinity. We authorize the followers of this law to assume the title Roman Catholic Christians; but as for the others, since in our judgment they are foolish madmen, we decree that they shall be branded with the ignominious name of heretics, and shall not presume to give their conventicles the name of churches. They will suffer in the first place the chastisement of divine condemnation and the second the punishment of our authority, in accordance with the will of heaven shall decide to inflict."

_{[Extract of English translation from Henry Bettenson, ed., Documents of the Christian Church (London: Oxford University Press, 1943), p. 31, cited at Medieval Sourcebook: Theodosian Code XVI by Paul Halsall, Fordham University. Retrieved Jan 5, 2007. The full Latin text of the code is at IMPERATORIS THEODOSIANI CODEX Liber Decimus Sextus (170KB download), archived from George Mason University. trieved Jan 5, 2007.]}

Selected article

Catholic social teaching comprises those aspects of Catholic doctrine which relate to matters dealing with the collective aspect of humanity. The foundations of modern Catholic social teaching are widely considered to have been laid by Pope Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical letter Rerum Novarum.A distinctive feature of Catholic social teaching is its concern for the poorest members of society. This concern echoes elements of the Jewish law and of the prophetic books of the Old Testament, and recalls the teachings of Jesus Christ recorded in the New Testament, such as his declaration that "whatever you have done for one of these least brothers of Mine, you have done for Me." Another distinctive feature of Catholic social doctrine is the way in which it has consistently critiqued modern social and political ideologies both of the left and of the right: communism, conservatism, socialism, libertarianism, capitalism, liberalism and Nazism have all been condemned, at least in their pure forms, by the Popes at one time or another.
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Selected picture

6th century mosaic in Ravenna portrays Jesus dressed as a philosopher king in a cloak of Tyrian purple. He appears as the Pantokrator enthroned as in the Book of Revelation, with the characteristic Christian cross inscribed in the halo behind his head.

Selected biography

Ralph (died October 20, 1122), also known as Ralph d'Escures from the family estate Escures, near Séez in Normandy, was a medieval Abbot of Séez, Bishop of Rochester and then Archbishop of Canterbury. He studied at the school at the Abbey of Bec before he entered the abbey of St Martin at Séez in 1079 and became abbot of the house in 1091. He was a friend of both Saint Anselm and Gundulf, Bishop of Rochester, whose see, or bishopric, he took over on the death of Gundulf.He was not chosen archbishop of Canterbury by the chapter of Canterbury alone. His election involved an assembly of the lords and bishops meeting with King Henry I of England. Ralph then received his pallium from Pope Paschal II, rather than travelling to Rome to retrieve it. As archbishop, Ralph was very assertive of the rights of the see of Canterbury and of the liberties of the English church. He claimed authority in Wales and Scotland. Ralph also quarreled for a time with Pope Paschal II.
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Did you know...

• ... that Áed Ua Crimthainn, abbot of Terryglass, Ireland, was the compiler and principal scribe of the Book of Leinster (pictured), a Middle Irish illuminated manuscript?
• ... that Noella Marcellino, a Benedictine nun and modern connoisseur of cheese, was named the official cheesemaker of Connecticut's Abbey of Regina Laudis?
• ... that Papyrus 110, a Greek manuscript copy of the Gospel of Matthew from the New Testament, may have been composed as early as the 3rd century?
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Feast Day of July 4

Portal:Catholicism/Patron Archive/July 4

• June 2, 2009: Pope Benedict XVI appoints Italian Archbishop Fortunato Baldelli as the Major Penitentiary, replacing American Cardinal James Stafford. (CNS)
• June 1, 2009: American bishop William E. Lori of the Diocese of Bridgeport has filed suit in Federal court against the State of Connecticut, seeking that the classification of the diocese as a "lobbying organization", following a protest organized by the diocese at the state capital, be overturned as a violation of the diocese's First Amendment rights. (CNS)
• May 26, 2009: Friars of the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) gather in Assisi for their 187th general chapter, celebrating the 800th anniversary of the order's founding, and to elect a new minister-general. (ZENIT)
• March 22, 2009: The Polish media reports that the cause for beatification of Pope John Paul II (pictured) has been concluded at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and that the late pontiff could be beatified as early as April 2, 2010, the fifth anniversary of his death. (CNA)(Catholic Register)