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The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church. is the world's largest Christian church, with more than a billion members and approximately one-sixth of the world's population, although the number of practicing Catholics worldwide is not reliably known. A communion of the Western (Latin Rite) church and 22 autonomous Eastern Catholic churches (called particular churches) comprising a total of 2,795 dioceses in 2008, the Church's highest earthly authority in matters of faith, morality, and governance is the Pope, currently Pope Benedict XVI, who holds supreme authority in concert with the College of Bishops of which he is the head. The Catholic community is made up of an ordained ministry and the laity; members of either group may belong to organized religious communities. The Church defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity. It operates social programs and institutions throughout the world, including Catholic schools, universities, hospitals, missions and shelters, and the charity confederation Caritas Internationalis.

The Catholic Church believes itself to be the original Church founded by Jesus upon the Apostles, among whom Simon Peter held the position of chief apostle. The Church also believes that its bishops, through apostolic succession, are consecrated successors of these apostles, and that the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) as the successor of Peter, possesses a universal primacy of jurisdiction and pastoral care. Church doctrines have been defined through various ecumenical councils, following the example set by the first Apostles in the Council of Jerusalem. On the basis of promises made by Jesus to his apostles, described in the Gospels, the Church believes that it is guided by the Holy Spirit and so protected from falling into doctrinal error. Catholic beliefs are based on the deposit of Faith (containing both the Holy Bible and Sacred Tradition) handed down from the time of the Apostles, which are interpreted by the Church's teaching authority. Those beliefs are summarized in the Nicene Creed and formally detailed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Formal Catholic worship is termed the liturgy. The Eucharist is the central component of Catholic worship. It is one of seven sacraments that mark key stages in the lives of believers.

With a history spanning almost two thousand years, the Church is "the world's oldest and largest institution" and has played a prominent role in the history of Western civilization since at least the 4th century. Although the Church maintains that it is the "One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church" founded by Jesus and in which is found the fullness of the means of salvation, it also acknowledges that the Holy Spirit can make use of other Christian communities to bring people to salvation. It believes that it is called by the Holy Spirit to work for unity among all Christians, a movement known as ecumenism.

History

Main articles: History of the Catholic Church, History of the Papacy, and Role of the Catholic Church in civilization

Further information: History of Christianity, History of Western civilization, and Criticism of the Catholic Church

Early Christianity

Main article: History of early Christianity

According to its doctrine, the Catholic Church is the original Christian church founded by Jesus Christ. The New Testament records the activities and teaching of his group of sectarian Jews and his appointing of the twelve Apostles, and his giving them authority to continue his work. The traditional narrative continues with Peter in Rome, where he founded a church and served as the first bishop of the See of Rome, later consecrating Linus as his successor, thus beginning the line of Popes. Elements of this traditional narrative agree with the surviving historical evidence which includes the writings of Saint Paul, several early Church Fathers (among them Pope Clement I) and some archaeological evidence. Although in the past some Biblical scholars thought the word 'rock' referred to Jesus or to Peter’s faith, the majority now understand it as referring to the person of Peter.

Early Christianity accepted many common Roman practices, such as slavery, campaigning primarily for humane treatment of slaves but also admonishing slaves to behave appropriately towards their masters. In the second century, writings by teachers such as Ignatius of Antioch and Irenaeus defined Catholic teaching in stark opposition to Gnosticism. Other writers such as Pope Clement I, Justin Martyr, Augustine of Hippo influenced the development of Church teachings and traditions. These writers and others are collectively known as Church Fathers.Early Christians refused to offer sacrifices to the Roman gods or to worship Roman rulers as gods and were thus subject to persecution. During this era of persecution, the early Church evolved both in doctrinal and structural ways. The apostles had convened the first Church council, the Council of Jerusalem, to resolve issues concerning evangelization of Gentiles. While competing forms of Christianity emerged early, the Roman Church retained this practice of meeting in "synods" (councils) to ensure that any internal doctrinal differences were quickly resolved, which facilitated broad doctrinal unity within the mainstream churches. By 58 AD, a large Christian community existed in Rome. From as early as the first century, the Church of Rome was recognized as a doctrinal authority because it was believed that the Apostles Peter and Paul had led the Church there. The concept of the primacy of the Roman bishop over other churches was increasingly recognized by the church at large from at least the second century although disputes over the implications of that primacy would ultimately lead to schisms.

Early Christians were slaughtered as entertainment in the Colosseum in Rome. Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1883.

Despite persecution, Christianity spread and was eventually legalized in 313 under Constantine's Edict of Milan. After the legalization of Christianity, a number of doctrinal disputes led to the calling of ecumenical councils. The doctrinal formulations resulting from these ecumenical councils were pivotal in the history of Christianity. The first seven Ecumenical Councils, from the First Council of Nicaea (325) to the Second Council of Nicaea (787), sought to reach an orthodox consensus and to establish a unified Christendom. In 325, the First Council of Nicaea convened in response to the rise of Arianism, the belief that Jesus had not existed eternally but was a divine being created by and therefore inferior to God the Father. In order to encapsulate the basic tenets of the Christian belief, it promulgated a creed which became the basis of what is now known as the Nicene Creed. In addition, it divided the church into geographical and administrative areas called dioceses. The Council of Rome in 382 established the first Biblical canon when it listed the accepted books of the Old and New Testament. The Council of Ephesus in 431 and the Council of Chalcedon in 451 defined the relationship of Christ's divine and human natures, leading to splits with the Nestorians and Monophysites.

Middle Ages

Further information: Middle Ages, Christian monasticism, and High Middle Ages

Following the collapse of Roman power in Western Europe, the king of the Franks, Clovis I, converted to Christianity in 496, marking the beginning of a steady rise of the Catholic faith in the West. The Rule of St Benedict, composed in 530, became a blueprint for the organization of monasteries, which became major conduits of civilization through various agricultural and economic activities. Pope Gregory the Great reformed church practice and administration around 600 and launched renewed missionary efforts, which were complemented by other missionary movements such as the Hiberno-Scottish mission.

From the 8th century, Iconoclasm, the destruction of religious images, became a major source of conflict in the eastern church. The resulting disagreements between the western and eastern sides ultimately prompted the Pope and the Patriarch to excommunicate each other in 1054, commonly considered the date of the East–West Schism. The Western branch of Christianity remained in communion with the Pope and kept the name Catholic Church, while the Eastern (Greek) branch that rejected the papal claims became known as the Eastern Orthodox churches. Efforts to mend the rift were attempted at the Second Council of Lyon in 1274 and Council of Florence in 1439. While in each case the Eastern Emperor and Eastern Patriarch both agreed to the reunion, neither council changed the attitudes of the Eastern Churches at large, and the schism remained.

Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont (1095), where he preached the First Crusade; later manuscript illumination of c. 1490.

While Christianity continued to expand in Europe, Islam presented a significant military threat to Western Christendom. In 1095, Byzantine emperor Alexius I appealed to Pope Urban II for help against renewed Muslim invasions, which caused Urban to launch the First Crusade aimed at aiding the Byzantine Empire and returning the Holy Land to Christian control, a goal that ultimately failed. The crusades witnessed the formation of various military orders, which included the Hospitallers, Templars and later, the Teutonic Knights—all of whom provided social services as well as guardianship of pilgrim routes. The Teutonic Knights conquered the then-pagan Prussia.

Over time, the Church and secular authorities launched various inquisitions to prosecute heretics, to respond to the threat of Muslim invasion or for political purposes. In the 14th century, the Papacy came under French dominance, with Clement V in 1305 moving to Avignon. The Avignon Papacy ended in 1376 when the Pope returned to Rome but was soon followed in 1378 by the 38-year-long Western schism with separate claimants to the papacy in Rome, Avignon and (after 1409) Pisa, backed by conflicting secular rulers. The matter was finally resolved in 1417 at the Council of Constance where the three claimants either resigned or were deposed and held a new election naming Martin V as Pope.

Throughout the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church was the dominant influence on the development of Western art. Important contributions include its cultivation and patronage of individual artists, as well as development of the Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance styles of art and architecture. Renaissance artists such as Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Bernini, Botticelli, Fra Angelico, Tintoretto, Caravaggio, and Titian, were among a multitude of innovative virtuosos sponsored by the Church. In music, Catholic monks developed the first forms of modern Western musical notation in order to standardize liturgy throughout the worldwide Church, and an enormous body of religious music has been composed for it through the ages. This led directly to the emergence and development of European classical music, and its many derivatives.

Reformation and Counter-Reformation

Main articles: Protestant Reformation, English Reformation, Counter-Reformation, and Catholicism and the wars of religion

John Wycliffe and Jan Hus crafted the first of a new series of disruptive religious perspectives that challenged the Church. The Council of Constance (1414–1417), condemned Hus and ordered his execution, but could not prevent the Hussite Wars in Bohemia. In 1509, the scholar Erasmus wrote In Praise of Folly, a work which captured the widely held unease about corruption in the Church. The Council of Constance, the Council of Basel and the Fifth Lateran Council had all attempted to reform internal Church abuses but had failed. As a result, rich, powerful and worldly men like Roderigo Borgia (Pope Alexander VI) were able to win election to the papacy. Personal corruption and abuses of power by these men and other members of the hierarchy preceded the Protestant Reformation - which began as an attempt to reform the Catholic Church from within. Catholic reformers opposed the ecclesiastic malpractice - especially the sale of indulgences, and simony, the selling of clerical offices — which they saw as evidence of systemic corruption of the Church’s hierarchy. Subsequently, reformers began to assault many of the historic doctrinal teachings of the Church.

In 1517, Martin Luther included his Ninety-Five Theses in a letter to several bishops. His theses protested key points of Catholic doctrine as well as the sale of indulgences. Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin, and others further criticized Catholic teachings. These challenges developed into a large and all encompassing European movement called the Protestant Reformation. In particular, the English Reformation under Henry VIII began more as a political than as a theological dispute. When the annulment of his marriage was denied by the pope, Henry had Parliament pass the Acts of Supremacy, 1534, which made him, and not the pope, head of the English Church. Although he strove to maintain the substance of traditional Catholicism, Henry initiated and supported the confiscation and dissolution of monasteries, friaries, convents and shrines throughout England, Wales and Ireland. Elizabeth I eventually established a separate church that outlawed Catholic priests and prevented Catholics from educating their children and taking part in political life.

The Catholic Church responded to doctrinal challenges and abuses highlighted by the Reformation at the Council of Trent (1545–1563), which became the driving force of the Counter-Reformation. Doctrinally, it reaffirmed central Catholic teachings such as transubstantiation, and the requirement for love and hope as well as faith to attain salvation. It also made structural reforms, most importantly by improving the education of the clergy and laity and consolidating the central jurisdiction of the Roman Curia.

Age of Enlightenment

See also: French Revolution and Catholic Church and the Age of Discovery

Many of the countries leading the exploration and colonization of the Age of Discovery were Catholic and thus explorers and missionaries were responsible for the spread of Catholicism to the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Pope Alexander VI had awarded colonial rights over most of the newly discovered lands to Spain and Portugal and the ensuing patronato system allowed state authorities, not the Vatican, to control all clerical appointments in the new colonies. Although the Spanish monarchs tried to curb abuses committed against the Amerindians by explorers and conquerors, Antonio de Montesinos, a Dominican friar, openly rebuked the Spanish rulers of Hispaniola in 1511 for their cruelty and tyranny in dealing with the American natives. King Ferdinand enacted the Laws of Burgos and Valladolid in response. The issue resulted in a crisis of conscience in 16th-century Spain and, through the writings of Catholic clergy such as Bartolomé de Las Casas and Francisco de Vitoria, led to debate on the nature of human rights and to the birth of modern international law.

From the seventeenth century onward, the Enlightenment attacked the power and influence of the Church over Western society. Eighteenth century writers such as Voltaire and the Encyclopedists wrote biting critiques of both religion and the Church. One target of their criticism was the 1685 revocation of the Edict of Nantes by King Louis XIV which ended a century-long policy of religious toleration of Protestant Huguenots. During the French Revolution, the Church was abolished, monasteries destroyed, 30,000 priests exiled and hundreds killed. In 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Italy, imprisoning Pope Pius VI, who died in captivity. Napoleon later re-established the Catholic Church in France through the Concordat of 1801. The end of the Napoleonic wars brought Catholic revival and the return of the Papal States.

Modern times

See also: Second Vatican Council, Liberation theology, Catholic Church and ecumenism, and Catholic sex abuse cases

World Youth Day is a Catholic event initiated by Pope John Paul II.

In response to growing concern about the deteriorating working and living conditions brought about by the Industrial Revolution, Pope Leo XIII published the encyclical Rerum Novarum. This set out Catholic social teaching in terms that rejected socialism but advocated the regulation of working conditions, the establishment of a living wage and the right of workers to form trade unions.

Although the infallibility of the Church in doctrinal matters had always been a Church dogma, the First Vatican Council, which convened in 1870, affirmed the doctrine of papal infallibility when exercised in certain specifically defined pronouncements. This decision gave the pope "enormous moral and spiritual authority over the worldwide" Church. Reaction to the pronouncement resulted in the breakaway of a group of mainly German churches which subsequently formed the Old Catholic Church. The loss of the papal states to the Italian unification movement created what came to be known as the Roman Question, a territorial dispute between the papacy and the Italian government that was not resolved until the 1929 Lateran Treaty granted sovereignty to the Holy See over Vatican City.

After Nazi violations of the 1933 Reichskonkordat which had guaranteed the Church in Germany some protection and rights, Pope Pius XI issued the 1937 encyclical Mit brennender Sorge which publicly condemned the Nazi's persecution of the Church and their ideology of neopaganism and racial superiority. After the Second World War began in September 1939, the Church condemned the invasion of Poland and subsequent 1940 Nazi invasions. In the Holocaust, Pope Pius XII directed the Church hierarchy to help protect Jews from the Nazis. While Pius XII has been credited with helping to save hundreds of thousands of Jews by some historians, the Church has also been accused of encouraging centuries of antisemitism and Pius himself of not doing enough to stop Nazi atrocities. Debate over the validity of these criticisms continues to this day. In 2000 Pope John Paul II on behalf of all people, apologized to Jews by inserting a prayer at the Western Wall.This papal apology, one of many issued by Pope John Paul II for past human and Church failings throughout history, was especially important because John Paul II emphasized Church guilt for, and the Second Vatican Council's condemnation of, anti-Semitism.

The Catholic Church initiated a comprehensive process of reform under Pope John XXIII. Intended as a continuation of the First Vatican Council, the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), developed into an engine of modernization, making pronouncements on religious freedom, the nature of the Church and the mission of the laity. The role of the bishops of the Church was brought into renewed prominence, especially when seen collectively, as the college of the successors of the Apostles in teaching and governing the Church. It also permitted the Latin liturgical rites to use vernacular languages as well as Latin during Mass and other sacraments. Christian unity became a greater priority. In addition to finding more common ground with the various Protestant denominations, the Catholic Church has reopened discussions regarding the possibility of reconciliation between the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Catholic Church. In October 2009, the Vatican announced the creation of new ecclesiastical structures to receive Anglican converts to the Catholic Church.

In the 1960s, growing social awareness and politicization in the Church in Latin America gave birth to liberation theology, a movement often identified with Gustavo Gutiérrez who was pivotal in expounding the melding of Marxism and Catholic social teaching. The sexual revolution of the same decade precipitated Pope Paul VI's 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae (On Human Life) which rejected the use of contraception, including sterilization, asserting that these work against the intimate relationship and moral order of husband and wife by directly opposing God's will. It approved Natural Family Planning as a legitimate means to limit family size. Feminists disagreed with these and other Church teachings and, with a coalition of American nuns, called on the Church to consider the ordination of women. They stated that many Church documents contained anti-female prejudice and studies were conducted to discover how this may have developed as it was deemed contrary to the openness of Jesus. These events led Pope John Paul II to issue the 1988 apostolic letter Mulieris Dignitatem (On the Dignity of Women), which declared that women had a different, yet equally important role in the Church. In 1994 the apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (On Ordination to the Priesthood) further explained that the Church follows the example of Jesus, who chose only men for the specific priestly duty.

Beliefs

Main article: Catholic theology

The Catholic Church holds that there is one eternal God, who exists as a mutual indwelling of three persons: God the Father; God the Son; and the Holy Spirit. Catholic beliefs are summarized in the Nicene Creed and detailed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Catholic belief holds that the Church "... is the continuing presence of Jesus on earth." To Catholics, the term "Church" refers to the people of God, who abide in Jesus and who, "... nourished with the Body of Christ, become the Body of Christ." The Church teaches that the fullness of the "means of salvation" exists only in the Catholic Church but acknowledges that the Holy Spirit can make use of Christian communities separated from itself to bring people to salvation. It teaches that anyone who is saved is saved indirectly through the Church if the person has invincible ignorance of the Catholic Church and its teachings (as a result of parentage or culture, for example), yet follows the morals God has dictated in his heart and would, therefore, join the Church if he understood its necessity. It teaches that Catholics are called by the Holy Spirit to work for unity among all Christians.

Foundational beliefs

See also: Original sin

Based on the promises of Jesus in the Gospels, the Church believes that it is continually guided by the Holy Spirit and so protected infallibly from falling into doctrinal error. The Catholic Church teaches that the Holy Spirit reveals God's truth through Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium. Sacred Scripture consists of the 73 book Catholic Bible. This is made up of the 46 books found in the ancient Greek version of the Old Testament—known as the Septuagint—and the 27 New Testament writings first found in the Codex Vaticanus Graecus 1209 and listed in Athanasius' Thirty-Ninth Festal Letter. Sacred Tradition consists of those teachings believed by the Church to have been handed down since the time of the Apostles. Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition are collectively known as the "deposit of faith" (depositum fidei). These are in turn interpreted by the Magisterium (from magister, Latin for "teacher"), the Church's teaching authority, which is exercised by the pope and the college of bishops in union with the pope.

According to the Council of Trent, Jesus instituted seven sacraments and entrusted them to the Church. These are Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Reconciliation (Penance), Anointing of the Sick (formerly Extreme Unction or the "Last Rites"), Holy Orders and Holy Matrimony. Sacraments are important visible rituals which Catholics see as signs of God's presence and effective channels of God's grace to all those who receive them with the proper disposition (ex opere operato). With the exception of baptism, the sacraments are administered by ordained members of the Catholic clergy. Baptism is the only sacrament that may be administered in emergencies by any Catholic, or even a non-Christian who "has the intention of baptizing according to the belief of the Catholic Church".

Common beliefs

See also: Jesus, sin, Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church), and Catholic social teaching

Catholics believe that Jesus is the Messiah of the Old Testament's Messianic prophecies. The Nicene Creed states that he is "... the only begotten son of God, ... one in being with the Father. Through him all things were made". In an event known as the Incarnation, the Church teaches that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, God became united with human nature when Jesus was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Jesus is believed, therefore, to be both fully divine and fully human. It is taught that Jesus' mission on earth included giving people his teachings and providing his example for them to follow, as recorded in the four Gospels.

Falling into sin is considered the opposite to following Jesus, weakening a person's resemblance to God and turning their soul away from his love. Sins range from the less serious venial sins to more serious mortal sins which end a person's relationship with God. The Church teaches that through the passion (suffering) of Jesus and his crucifixion, all people have an opportunity for forgiveness and freedom from sin, and so can be reconciled to God. The Resurrection of Jesus, according to Catholic belief, gained for humans a possible spiritual immortality previously denied to us because of original sin. By reconciling with God and following Jesus' words and deeds, the Church believes one can enter the Kingdom of God, which is the "... reign of God over people's hearts and lives."

Bernini's alabaster window in St. Peter's Basilica depicts the Holy Spirit as a dove, a common motif in Christian art.

Jesus told his apostles that—after his death and resurrection—he would send them the "Advocate", the "Holy Spirit", who "... will teach you all things". Through the sacrament of Confirmation, Catholics believe they receive the Holy Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit is a Person of the Trinity, the Church teaches that receiving the Holy Spirit is an act of receiving God. Confirmation, sometimes called the "sacrament of Christian maturity", is believed to increase and deepen the grace received at Baptism, as the confirmand is sealed with the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, i.e., wisdom (to see and follow God's plan), understanding, counsel (right judgement), fortitude (courage), knowledge, piety (reverence), and fear of the Lord (rejoicing in the presence of God; a spirit of holy fear in God's presence). The corresponding fruits of the Holy Spirit are charity (love), joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity. To be properly confirmed, Catholics must be in a state of grace, which means they cannot be conscious of having committed an unconfessed mortal sin. They must also have prepared spiritually for the sacrament, chosen a sponsor for spiritual support, and selected a saint to be their special patron and intercessor. In the Eastern Catholic Churches, baptism, including infant baptism, is immediately followed by Confirmation – referred to as Chrismation – and the reception of the Eucharist.

In addition to operating numerous social ministries throughout the world, the Church teaches that individual Catholics are required to practice the spiritual and corporal works of mercy as well. The seven corporal works of mercy are: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, visiting the imprisoned, and burying the dead. Welcoming strangers, immigrants, and refugees could be said to be another corporal work of mercy. The spiritual works of mercy include: instructing, advising, consoling, comforting, forgiving, bearing wrongs patiently, and praying for the living and the dead. In conjunction with the work of mercy to visit the sick, the Church offers the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, administered only by a priest. Church teaching on works of mercy and the new social problems of the industrial era led to the development of Catholic social teaching, which emphasizes human dignity and commits Catholics to the welfare of others.

Belief in an afterlife is part of Catholic doctrine, the "four last things" being death, judgment, heaven, and hell. The Church teaches that immediately after death the soul of each person will receive a particular judgment from God, based on the deeds of that individual's earthly life. This teaching also attests to another day when Jesus will sit in a universal judgment of all mankind. This final judgment, according to Church teaching, will bring an end to human history and mark the beginning of a new and better heaven and earth ruled by God in righteousness. The basis upon which each person's soul will be judged is detailed in the Gospel of Matthew which lists works of mercy to be performed even to people considered "the least". Emphasis is upon Jesus' words that "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven". According to the Catechism, "The Last Judgement will reveal even to its furthest consequences the good each person has done or failed to do during his earthly life."

Traditions of worship

See also: Eucharist (Catholic Church), Catholic liturgy, and Sacraments of the Catholic Church

Differing liturgical traditions, or rites, exist throughout the universal Church, reflecting historical and cultural diversity rather than differences in beliefs. The most commonly used liturgy is the Roman Rite (which is used in most of the Latin Catholic Church, but not in the Eastern Catholic Churches nor in those parts of the Latin Church where other Latin liturgical rites are in use). Presently, the Roman Rite exists in two authorized forms: the ordinary form (the 1969 Mass of Paul VI, celebrated mostly in the vernacular, i.e., the language of the people) and the extraordinary form (the 1962 edition of the Tridentine or Latin Mass ). In the United States, certain "Anglican Use" parishes use a variation of the Roman rite which retains many aspects of the Anglican liturgical rites. Other Western rites (non-Roman) include the Ambrosian Rite and the Mozarabic Rite.

The Church holds that Jesus Christ instituted the Eucharist

.

The Eucharist is celebrated at each Mass and is the center of Catholic worship. The Words of Institution for this sacrament are drawn from the Gospels and a Pauline letter. In its main elements and prayers, the Catholic Mass celebrated today, according to professor Alan Schreck, is "almost identical" to the form described in the Didache and First Apology of Justin Martyr in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries. At each Mass, Catholics believe that the bread and wine become supernaturally transubstantiated into the true Body and Blood of Christ. The Church teaches that Jesus established a New Covenant with humanity through the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. Because the Church teaches that Christ is present in the Eucharist, there are strict rules about its celebration and reception. The ingredients of the bread and wine used in the Mass are specified and Catholics must abstain from eating for one hour before receiving Communion. Those who are conscious of being in a state of mortal sin are forbidden from this sacrament unless they have received absolution through the sacrament of Reconciliation (Penance). Catholics are not permitted to receive communion in Protestant churches because of their different beliefs and practices regarding Holy Orders and the Eucharist.

Organization and community

While the Church considers Jesus to be its ultimate head, the spiritual leader and head of the Church organization is the pope. The pope governs from the Vatican City in Rome – a sovereign nation of which he is the head of state. Each pope is elected for life by the College of Cardinals, a body composed of clerics (normally bishops) who have been elevated to the rank of cardinal. The cardinals, who also serve as papal advisors, may select any Catholic male as pope, but if the candidate is not already a bishop, he must become one before taking office.

Institutions, personnel and demographics

Further information: Catholicism by country

The number of Catholic institutions and personnel as of 2000

Institutions
Parishes and missions	408,637
Primary and secondary schools	125,016
Universities	1,046
Hospitals	5,853
Orphanages	8,695
Homes for the elderly and handicapped	13,933
Dispensaries, leprosaries, nurseries and other institutions	74,936
Total	638,116
Personnel
Seminarians (men studying for the priesthood)	110,583
Religious sisters	769,142
Religious brothers	55,057
Diocesan and religious priests	405,178
Lay Ecclesial Ministers	30,632
Permanent deacons	27,824
Bishops	3,475
Archbishops	914
Cardinals	183
Pope	1
Total	1,402,989

Church membership in 2007 was 1.147 billion people, increasing from the 1950 figure of 437 million and the 1970 figure of 654 million. The Catholic population increase of 139% outpaced the world population increase of 117% between 1950 and 2000. It is the largest Christian church, and encompasses over half of all Christians, one sixth of the world's population, the largest organized body of any world religion. It is known for its ability to use its transnational ties and organizational strength to bring significant resources to needy situations and operates the world's largest non-governmental school system. Although the number of practicing Catholics worldwide is not reliably known, membership is growing particularly in Africa and Asia.

The Vatican announced that the number of priests had increased, as of 2005, from 405,891 to 406,411, although Europe and America saw a slight decrease. Since 2000, the number of priests has been steadily rising each year, a turnaround from the previous two decades which had seen a 3.7% drop, in worldwide priests mainly due to decreases in the US and Europe.

Some parts of Europe and the Americas have experienced a shortage of priests in recent years as the number of priests has not increased in proportion to the number of Catholics. The Church in Latin America, known for its large parishes where the parishioner to priest ratio is the highest in the world, considers this to be a contributing factor in the rise of Pentecostal and evangelical Christian denominations in the region. Secularism has seen a steady rise in Europe, yet the Catholic presence there remains strong.

With a high number of adult baptisms, the Church is growing faster in Africa than anywhere else. Because of what it cites as a greater need, it also operates a greater number of Catholic schools per parish here (three schools per parish) than in other areas of the world. Challenges faced include suppression of non-Islamic religious practices by Muslims in Sudan and a high rate of AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Church in Asia is a significant minority among other religions, comprising only 3% of all Asians, yet it has a large proportion of religious sisters, priests and parishes relative to the total Catholic population. From 1975 to 2000, total Asian population grew by 61% with an Asian Catholic population increase of 104%. Challenges faced include oppression in communist countries like North Korea and China, prohibition in Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, and violence in mixed religion countries such as Iraq and India.

Membership

See also: Catholic Church hierarchy, College of Bishops, Priesthood (Catholic Church), Deacon, Laity, Catholic marriage, and Christian views of marriage

Ordination of a Catholic bishop. Two deacons hold the Book of the Gospels above his head during the prayer of consecration.

Men may become ordained clergy to serve as deacons, priests or as bishops through the sacrament of Holy Orders which is conferred by one or more bishops through the laying on of hands. Deacons and all other clergy may preach, teach, baptize, witness marriages and conduct funeral liturgies. The sacraments of the Eucharist, Reconciliation (Penance) and Anointing of the Sick may only be administered by priests or bishops. All clergy who are bishops form the College of Bishops and are jointly considered the successors of the apostles. Only bishops can administer the sacrament of Holy Orders. They are also responsible for teaching, governing, and sanctifying the faithful of their diocese, sharing these duties with the priests and deacons who serve under them.

The Church teaches that since the twelve apostles chosen by Jesus were all male, only men may be ordained as priests. While some consider this to be evidence of a discriminatory attitude toward women, the Church believes that Jesus called women to different yet equally important vocations in Church ministry. Pope John Paul II, in his apostolic letter Christifideles Laici, states that women have specific vocations reserved only for the female sex, and are equally called to be disciples of Jesus.

Married men may become deacons but only celibate men are ordinarily ordained as priests in the Latin Rite. However, married clergymen who have been received into the Church from other denominations may be exempted from this rule. The Eastern Catholic Churches ordain both celibate and married men to the priesthood, but married men cannot become bishops. All 23 particular Churches of the Catholic Church maintain the ancient tradition that marriage is not allowed after ordination. Men with transitory homosexual leanings may be ordained deacons following three years of prayer and chastity, but homosexual men who are sexually active, or those who have deeply rooted homosexual tendencies, cannot be ordained.

The laity consists of those Catholics who are not ordained clergy. Saint Paul compared the diversity of roles in the Church to the different parts of a body, all being important to enable the body to function. The Church therefore considers that lay members are equally called to live according to Christian principles, to work to spread the message of Jesus, and to effect change in the world for the good of others. The Church calls these actions participation in Christ's priestly, prophetic and royal offices. Membership of the Catholic Church is attained through baptism. For those baptized as children, First Communion is a rite of passage when, following instruction, they are allowed to receive the sacrament of the Eucharist for the first time in the Latin (Western) Church; the Eastern Churches confer the sacraments of initiation at once – Baptism, Chrismation (Confirmation) and Eucharist – to unbaptized children or unbaptized adult converts. Adults who have never been baptized may be admitted to Baptism by participating in a formation program such as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. Christians – those baptized with flowing water and in the "Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" – baptized outside of the Catholic Church are admitted through other formation programs but are not re-baptized. Members of the Church can incur excommunication for serious violations of ecclesiastical law. Excommunication does not remove a member from the Church but severely limits the member's ability to participate in it. For very serious offenses, the excommunication can be incurred automatically.

References

• Aguilar, Mario (2007). The History and Politics of Latin American Theology, Volume 1. SCM Press. ISBN 978-0334040231. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Barker, John W. (2004). "Papacy". In Christopher Kleinhenz (ed.). Medieval Italy, an Encyclopedia. Routledge. ISBN 9780415939317. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Barry, Rev. Msgr. John F (2001). One Faith, One Lord: A Study of Basic Catholic Belief. Gerard F. Baumbach, Ed.D. ISBN 0-8215-2207-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Text "Nihil obstat, Imprimatur" ignored (help)
• Benedict XVI, Pope (2008). Jesus of Nazareth. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-52341-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Bethell, Leslie (1984). The Cambridge history of Latin America. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521232252. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Black, Christopher (2001). Early Modern Italy. Routledge. ISBN 0415214343. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Bokenkotter, Thomas (2004). A Concise History of the Catholic Church. Doubleday. ISBN 0385505841. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Bruni, Frank (2002). A Gospel of Shame: Children, Sexual Abuse, and the Catholic Church. Harper Perennial. p. 336. ISBN 9780060522322. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Chadwick, Henry (1990). "The Early Christian Community". In John McManners (ed.). The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198229283. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Chadwick, Owen (1995). A History of Christianity. Barnes & Noble. ISBN 0760773327. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Collins, Michael (1999). The Story of Christianity. Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 0-7513-0467-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Collinson, Patrick (1990). "The Late Medieval Church and its Reformation (1400–1600)". In John McManners (ed.). The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198229283. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Cook, Bernard A. (2001). Europe since 1945: an encyclopedia, Volume 2. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780815340584. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Coppa, Frank J. (1999). Controversial Concordats. Catholic University of America Press. ISBN 9780813209203. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Courtois, Stephane (1999). The Black Book of Communism. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674076082. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Dalin, David (2005). The Myth of Hitler's Pope. Regnery Publishing Inc. ISBN 0895260344. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Davidson, Ivor (2005). The Birth of the Church. Monarch. ISBN 1-85424-658-5. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Deák, István (2001). Essays on Hitler's Europe. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 9780803266308. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Duffy, Eamon (1997). Saints and Sinners, a History of the Popes. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-3000-7332-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Dussel, Enrique (1981). A History of the Church in Latin America. Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 0802821316. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Eberhardt, Newman C (1961). A Summary of Catholic History, Ancient and Medieval History. B. Herder Book Co. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Engelhardt, O.F.M., Zephyrin (1922). San Juan Capistrano Mission. Standard Printing Co. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Faulk, Edward (2007). 101 Questions and Answers on Eastern Catholic Churches. Paulist Press. ISBN 978-0-8091-4441-9.
• Ferro, Mark (1997). Colonization: A Global History. Routledge. ISBN 9780415140072. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Fahlbusch, Erwin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 0802824153. Retrieved 2009-10-24. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Franzen, August (1969). A History of the Church. Herder and Herder. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Frawley-ODea, Mary Gail (2007). Perversion of Power: Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church. Vanderbilt University Press. ISBN 9780826515469. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Froehle, Bryan (2003). Global Catholicism, Portrait of a World Church. Orbis books; Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, Georgetown University. ISBN 157075375x. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Gardner, Roy (2005). Faith Schools. Routledge. ISBN 9780415335263. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Hall, John (2003). Sociology on Culture. Routledge. ISBN 9780415284844. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Hart Milman, Henry (1864). History of Latin Christianity: including that of the Popes to the pontificate of Nicolas V, Volume 1. Oxford University. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Hastings, Adrian (2004). The Church in Africa 1450–1950. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198263996. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Herring, George (2006). An Introduction to the History of Christianity. Continuum International. ISBN 0826467377. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Jackson, Robert H. (2000). From Savages to Subjects: Missions in the History of the American Southwest. ME Sharpe, Inc. ISBN 9780765605979. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Johansen, Bruce (2006). The Native Peoples of North America. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0813538998. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Johnson, Lonnie (1996). Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195100716. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Johns, Jeremy (1990). "Christianity and Islam". In John McManners (ed.). The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198229283. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Kamen, Henry (1997). The Spanish Inquisition. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-81719-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Kelly, J. N. (1986). Oxford Dictionary of the Popes. Prentice Hall. ISBN 9780191909351. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Koschorke, Klaus (2007). A History of Christianity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, 1450–1990. Wm B Eerdmans Publishing Co. ISBN 9780802828897. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Kreeft, Peter (2001). Catholic Christianity. Ignatius Press. ISBN 0-89870-798-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Text "Nihil obstat, Imprimatur" ignored (help)
• Kung, Hans (2003). The Catholic Church: A Short History. Random House. ISBN 9780812967623. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Lahey, John (1995). "Roman Curia". In Richard McBrien, Harold Attridge (ed.). The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780060653385. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Langan, Thomas (1998). The Catholic Tradition. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 9780826260963. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Le Goff, Jacques (2000). Medieval Civilization. Barnes & Noble. ISBN 978-0-7607-1652-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Leith, John (1963). Creeds of the Churches. Aldine Publishing Co. ISBN 0664240577. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Madrid, Patrick (2002). Why is That in Tradition?. Our Sunday Visitor Publishing. ISBN 9781931709064. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Marthaler, Berard (1994). Introducing the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Traditional Themes and Contemporary Issues. Paulist Press. ISBN 0809134950. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Mayr-Harting, Henry (1990). "The West: The Age of Conversion (700–1050)". In John McManners (ed.). The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198229283. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• McClintock, John (1889). Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature. Harper & Brothers, original from Harvard University. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• McGonigle, Thomas (1996). A History of the Christian Tradition: From its Jewish roots to the Reformation. Paulist Press. ISBN 9780809136483. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• McManners, John (1990). "The Expansion of Christianity (1500–1800)". In John McManners (ed.). The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198229283. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Mongoven, Anne Marie (2000). The Prophetic Spirit of Catechesis: How We Share the Fire in Our Hearts. Paulist Press. ISBN 0809139227. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Morris, Colin (1990). "Christian Civilization (1050–1400)". In John McManners (ed.). The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198229283. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Murray, Chris (1994). Dictionary of the Arts. Helicon Publishing Ltd. ISBN 081603205x. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Nichols, Stephen (2007). The Reformation: How a Monk and a Mallet Changed the World. Good News Publishers. ISBN 1581348290. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Noble, Thomas (2005). Western Civilization. Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0618432779. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Nolan, Mary Lee (1992). Christian Pilgrimage in Modern Western Europe. North Carolina: UNC Press. ISBN 080784389X. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Noll, Mark (2006). The Civil War as a Theological Crisis. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0807830127. Retrieved 2009-10-24. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Norman, Edward (2007). The Roman Catholic Church, An Illustrated History. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-25251-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• O'Collins, Gerald (2003). Catholicism. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199259953. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Orlandis, Jose (1993). A Short History of the Catholic Church. Scepter Publishers. ISBN 1851821252. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Parry, Kenneth (1999). The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity. Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 9780631189664. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• "Payne, Stanley G (2008). Franco and Hitler: Spain, Germany and World War II. Yale University Press. ISBN 0300122829.
• Peters, Edward (1989). Inquisition. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520066304.
• Pham, John Peter (2006). Heirs of the Fisherman: Behind the Scenes of Papal Death and Succession. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195178343. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Phayer, Michael (2000). The Catholic Church and the Holocaust, 1930–1965. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-33725-9. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Pollard, John Francis (2005). Money and the Rise of the Modern Papacy, 1850–1950. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521812047. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Rhodes, Anthony (1973). The Vatican in the Age of the Dictators (1922–1945). Holt, Rinehart and Winston. ISBN 0030077362. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Richardson, Alan (1983). The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 0664227481. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Riley-Smith, Jonathan (1997). The First Crusaders. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780511003080. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Samora, Julian; Simon, Patricia Vandel; Candelaria, Cordelia; Pulido, Alberto L (1993). A History of the Mexican-American People. University of Notre Dame Press. ISBN 9780268010973. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Schama, Simon (2003). A History of Britain 1: At the Edge of the World?. BBC Worldwide. ISBN 0-56-348714-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Schatz, Klaus (1996). Papal Primacy. Liturgical Press. ISBN 081465522X. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Scheina, Robert L. (2007). Latin America's Wars: The Age of the Caudillo. Brassey's. ISBN 1574884522. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Schimmelpfennig, Bernhard (1992). The Papacy. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231075152. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Schoenherr, Richard A. (1993). Full pews and empty altars: demographics of the priest shortage in United States Catholic dioceses. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 0299136949. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
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• Shirer, William L. (1990). The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978067172868. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Sobrino, Jon (1990). Archbishop Romero: Memories and Reflections. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis. ISBN 978-0883446676. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Stacy, Lee (2003). Mexico and the United States. Marshall Cavendish. ISBN 0761474021. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Stark, Rodney (1996). The Rise of Christianity. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691027494. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Stearns, Peter (2000). Gender in World History. Routledge. ISBN 9780415223102. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Stoll, David (1990). Is Latin America turning Protestant?: The Politics of Evangelical Growth. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520064997. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Solt, Leo Frank (1990). Church and State in Early Modern England, 1509–1640. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195059794. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Steinfels, Peter (2003). A People Adrift: The Crisis of the Roman Catholic Church in America. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-68-483663-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Thomas, Hugh (1999). The Slave Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1440–1870. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780684835655. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Tyerman, Christopher (2006). God's War: A New History of the Crusades. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674023870. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• USCCB (2005). Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord. USCCB Publishing. ISBN 1574557246. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• USCCB (2006). Program for Priestly Formation. USCCB Publishing. ISBN 1-57455-517-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Vatican, Central Statistics Office (2007). Annuario Pontificio (Pontifical Yearbook). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. ISBN 978-88-209-7908-9. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Vidmar, John (2005). The Catholic Church Through the Ages. Paulist Press. ISBN 0809142341. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Walsh, Mary Ann (2003). John Paul II: A Light for the World, Essays and Reflections on the Papacy of. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 1580511422. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Ware, Kallistos (1990). "Eastern Christendom". In John McManners (ed.). The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198229283. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
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• Woods Jr, Thomas (2005). How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization. Regnery Publishing, Inc. ISBN 0-89526-038-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

• Vatican.va  – official website of the Holy See
• Vatican YouTube  – official YouTube channel
• Zenit News Agency  – Rome-based Catholic news agency
• Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN)  – Catholic-themed programming
• Catholic News Service – US-based Catholic news agency
• MassTimes.org – database for Mass schedules in Catholic churches worldwide
• Encyclopædia Britannica Online  – article on Roman Catholicism