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Roman Catholicism

The Tradition

God,
The Cosmos &
The Human Condition

 

Sources,
Revelation,
Scriptures,
Holy Texts

 

Organization:

Hierarchy
Leadership Ministries

 

Calendar
Time Line
&/or
Feast Days

 

Prayer
Worship
Ritual

 

Views on the Moral Life

 

Trinitarian God:
One God, Three persons.

 

Creation:

God as source of all life Creation is good

 

 

God
grants freedom
to all of Creation

 

Humans
are responsible
for how they
exercise their Freedom

 

"Sin" is the
misuse of
human
freedom:

Choosing
death over life…

Choosing self
over the Other…

Choosing
hatred  over self-giving love.

 

Called to live
a life of: 
Faith
Hope
Love

 

God seeks
to reconcile and
redeem creation

 

God offers the
fullness of Life

 

Eternal Life:

Life lived no
longer in the
shadow of death

 

Faith in
Jesus assures
Life for the
believer

 

The fullness of God's  self-communication to Mankind is in Jesus

 

All of Salvation history points to this unique moment

 

Salvation/Jesus
foreshadowed  in the Old Testament

 

New Testament reveals God through/ in Jesus and God as Spirit animating the life of the Church

 

The N.T. traces the origins and spread of the Church. God's Holy Spirit alive in the community of believers

 

The Church carries forth Christ's teaching through its Magisterial Authority:

 Doctrine

 Encyclicals

 Social Teaching

            

Theological Reflection and
Scholarship serve to enrich the Church's self-understanding of its rich Tradition and assists in interpreting the tradition over time.


 

Lay Ministry:

Baptism calls all to discipleship & ministry of self-giving love.

 

Charism:

The grace of Baptism as it is individuated in the life/gifts of each believer

 

The Church is called to be a charismatic community which  carries forth Christ's mission of Love.

 

Ordained  Ministry:

The Church calls  individuals
to formal witness, leadership andservice:

     Pope
Bishops

     Priests:

 Diocesan priests

 Religious Orders

Women Religious

 

The Pope, as successor to St. Peter, presides over the life of the Church

 

Vatican Councils bring together Church leaders to reflect on and speak out to the needs of the Church.

 

See Time Line for Christianity in "Exploring  Religions"

Calendar: 

Gregorian Calendar
(Solar calendar)


Worship Cycle:

Daily Cycle:
Litany of  Hours


Weekly Cycle:

SundayEucharist
[daily Eucharist]


Annual Cycle:  

      Advent
Christmas
       Epiphany
       Lent
       Easter    
       Pentecost
Ordinary Time


Sanctoral Cycle-

Memorial Feasts
of  Saints


 Special Events in
Life of Mary & Jesus

Ascension  

Assumption

Immaculate
Conception

 

 

Prayer within
Catholicism   
takes many forms:

Formal/Public Prayer & Rites:

 

Eucharist Penitential Rites Stations of Cross

The Rosary
Novenas
Liturgy of the
Hours

 

Private Prayer:

Contemplative
Prayer
Spiritual 
Direction  

Retreat
Programs

 

Moral Life grounded in the call to Love.

 

The Great Commandment:

-Love God
-Love Neighbor
as Self

Covenant model:
God's Offer
Our Response

Persons are free to respond
to or reject the
call to Love

 

Exercise of human freedom must be grounded in
Right Reason

Conscience:
Knowing the Good vs Evil


Choosing our Actions

Guided by the Official Teaching of the Church

 

Natural Law: Order of Nature Order of Reason

 

   Commands

     Laws

     Norms

     Virtues

 

Character:
Who do I wish
to become?

Choices: What choices
will accomplish this?

 

Roman Catholicism

Perspectives on Health Care Issues

Notions of Body & Spirit
Physician – Patient Relationship

 

Individual Autonomy vs
Community

 

Views on Rx:

Transfusion
Transplant
Organ Donation Autopsy

 

Views on

Suffering/Death:

Sustaining vs.
Withdrawal of LIfe
Support

 

Who's at the

Bedside –

Spiritual Care For the Patient &
Care for the Dead  

Primacy of
Patient Welfare

 

Covenant, not
Contract

 

Virtues:

Honesty,
Fidelity to Trust,
Courage,
Compassion, Prudence

 

Christ Healer and
Sufferer as Model

 

Special Solicitude
for the Poor

 

Pro Bono Work
an Obligation

 

Patient a Unity of Body, Soul, Mind, and Spirit

 

Concern for Both

 

Autonomy Limited by
Harm to Others

 

Solidarity Vs. Total
Individualism

 

Health Care as an
Obligation of a
Good Society

 

Health Care Not a
Commodity

 

Preferential
Option for the Poor

 

Transfusions are Licit

 

Transplantation is Licit

 

Organ Donation Licit, but NOT if Injurious to Donor or Causes Death of Donor

 

Autopsy Licit

 

Service to Others

 

 

 

Suffering has
Meaning Spiritually

 

Pain Relief to be
Maximized so long as Death Not Intended

 

Euthanasia and
Assisted Suicide
Never Permitted

 

Withdrawal of Life Support Licit if Rx is Futile, Patient is Terminal, and Patient or Surrogate Request

 

Brain Death Valid for Withdrawal

 

PVS Not Valid

 

Variable Views on
Withdrawal of Food/Hydration

 

A Good Death is to be
Sought in Context of Above

 

"Good" Death Requires Spiritual as well as Physical Care

 

Pastoral Counselor and Health Professional Work Cooperatively

 

Family and Community Participate in Act of Dying

 

Visit the Sick and Dying a Work  of Mercy

 

The Sacrament of
the Sick is offered to any gravely ill patient

   Anointing
   Reconciliation
   Communion

 

A "Mass of Christian Burial"  is celebrated as part of the funeral

 

Cremation of the body is acceptable alternative to burial