Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest organizational body of Christians. Its membership is over one billion. 1,085,557,000 is the figure, rounded to the nearest thousand, given in the 2003 Statistical Yearbook of the Church, page 43. Because of obstacles to regular contacts, this figure does not include Roman Catholics in mainland China and perhaps in some other places. According to canon law, members are those who have been baptized in the Catholic Church or have been received into the Catholic Church after being baptized elsewhere, and who have not formally defected.

Criticisms and controversies

Over the centuries, the Catholic Church has encountered criticisms for numerous reasons. (Some particular controversies are discussed in separate articles. See, for instance, on the charge of anti-Semitism, Relations between Catholicism and Judaism)

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Pope John Paul II acknowledged publicly that the Catholic Church (and its members) has sometimes been involved in questionable activities, and asked God to forgive the sins of its members, both in action and omission.

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Historical criticism

Historically, the Church's response to heresy through the Inquisition and its alleged association with witchhunts have brought criticism. Pope John Paul II apologized for certain historic excesses in May 1995.

Related Topics:
Heresy - Inquisition - Witchhunt - Pope John Paul II

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Enlightenment philosophers perceived the Church's doctrines as superstitious and hindering the progress of civilization. Many thinkers and academics criticized it for opposing scientific advancement. The trial of Galileo Galilei being a famous, though still hotly-debated, example. Pope John Paul II publicly apologized for the Church's actions in the trial on October 31, 1992.

Related Topics:
Enlightenment philosophers - Galileo Galilei - Pope John Paul II

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Contemporary criticism

Its exclusion of women from the ranks of the ordained clergy and so from many of the most important decisions (at a time when feminism and other social and political movements have removed barriers to the entry of women into professions that were traditionally male strongholds) is seen by some as unjust discrimination. In Western countries, the Catholic Church is also currently facing an increasing shortage of (male) seminarians joining the priesthood. Despite this, Pope Benedict XVI has reaffirmed his predecessor's position on reinforcing orthodoxy in the Church (steadfastly opposing ordination of women), and on maintaining traditional discipline (reserving the priesthood, in the Latin Church, for the celibate). The Church believes that Jesus chose men to form the college of the twelve apostles, and the apostles did the same when they chose collaborators to succeed them in their ministry. The college of bishops, with whom the priests are united in the priesthood, makes the college of the twelve an ever-present and ever-active reality until Christ?s return. The Church recognizes herself to be bound by this choice made by the Lord himself.

Related Topics:
Feminism - Seminarians - Pope Benedict XVI - Predecessor's - Ordination of women - Reserving - Latin Church

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Liberal Catholics have argued that reform in these two areas could make a career in the priesthood more appealing among the faithful as well as update the Church's image as a more relevant organization in modern society. However, they also recognize that such dramatic changes in Church traditions would alienate conservative Catholics worldwide, and could cause a schism with the more conservative and increasingly influential dioceses in Africa and South America. Conservative Catholics argue that traditional seminaries have seen a rise in the number of seminarians while liberal seminaries have seen a decline.

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Some criticize the Church's doctrine on sexual and reproductive mattershttp://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt3sect2chpt2art6.htm. The Church requires members to eschew homosexual practices (CCC 2357), artificial contraception (CCC 2370), and pre-marital sex (CCC 2353). The procurement of abortion carries the penalty of excommunucation(CCC 2272), as a specific offense. Mandatory celibacy for priests in the majority Latin Rite and for all bishops is seen by many non-Catholics and some Catholics as unrealistic, as well as being in contrast to Christian traditions issuing from the Protestant Reformation and, in part, to that of the ancient Churches of the East which require celibacy for bishops, but exclude for priests only the possibility of marriage after ordination. Some claim that mandatory priestly celibacy only appeared in the European Middle Ages. The Church's teaching on sexual abstinence and its opposition to promoting the use of condoms as a strategy to prevent the spread of AIDS has been heavily criticised as counterproductive.

Related Topics:
Sexual - Reproductive - Homosexual practices - Artificial contraception - Pre-marital sex - Abortion - Celibacy - Latin Rite - Bishop - Protestant Reformation - Middle Ages - Sexual abstinence - Condom - AIDS

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The Church is criticized for its opposition to scientific research in fields such as embryonic stem cell research, which the Church feels constitutes destruction of the human embryo and the murder of a human life. The Church argues that advances in medicine can come without the destruction of human embryos; for example, in the use of adult or umbilical stem cells in place of embryonic stem cells.

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Political advocacy by bishops and other officials have also aroused controversy. For example, some bishops in the United States have chosen to deny the Eucharist to politicians and parishioners who hold views contrary to the Church on important moral questions.

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Traditionalist Catholics see the Church's recent efforts at reformed teaching and practice (known as "aggiornamento"), in particular the Second Vatican Council, as already having betrayed core values of Catholicism. Some groups, such as the semi-schismatic Society of St. Pius X, while not directly questioning the legitimacy of the present leadership, reject its decisions. A few go so far as to characterize the current leaders as heretics. There are also several groups, known as sedevacantists, who claim that the current Pope is not legitimate, and a handful of these groups have appointed a papal replacement. The list of these "antipopes" is constantly changing.

Related Topics:
Traditionalist Catholic - Second Vatican Council - Society of St. Pius X - Heretics - Sedevacantists - List - Antipopes

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Much of the recent criticism of the Church has centered around the sex abuse scandal. The failure of some Bishops to take action against offending priests has undermined the Church's moral authority.

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