How important is Catholic social teaching?
The Catholic tradition teaches that human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met. Therefore, every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human decency.
When did Catholic mass change from Latin to English?
Catholics throughout the world worshiped in Latin until Vatican II, when the church granted permission for priests to celebrate Mass in other languages. The English translation used until this weekend was published in the early 1970s and modified in 1985.
What is the Catholic belief in purgatory?
Purgatory, the condition, process, or place of purification or temporary punishment in which, according to medieval Christian and Roman Catholic belief, the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for heaven.
What is the Declaration of Vatican II about the Catholic Church?
Second Vatican Council, also called Vatican II, (1962–65), 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, announced by Pope John XXIII on January 25, 1959, as a means of spiritual renewal for the church and as an occasion for Christians separated from Rome to join in a search for Christian unity.
Why did Pope John xxiii convene the council?
Pope John XXIII convenes an ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church—the first in 92 years. In summoning the ecumenical council—a general meeting of the bishops of the church—the pope hoped to bring spiritual rebirth to Catholicism and cultivate greater unity with the other branches of Christianity.
Why is the Vatican important to the Catholic Church?
The Centre of Christianity since the foundation of Saint Peter’s Basilica by Constantine (4th century), and at a later stage the permanent seat of the Popes, the Vatican is at once the pre-eminently holy city for Catholics, an important archaeological site of the Roman world and one of the major cultural reference …
How did Vatican II change the Catholic Church?
Vatican II also made profound changes in the liturgical practices of the Roman rite. It approved the translation of the liturgy into vernacular languages to permit greater participation in the worship service and to make the sacraments more intelligible to the vast majority of the laity.
Is Vatican II infallible?
The truth is that Vatican II was a real council of the Catholic Church but that none of its teachings are infallible. Vatican II is full of doctrinal novelties and it is impossible for any novelties to be infallible. Even the council fathers and popes during and after Vatican II knew that Vatican II is not infallible.