Catholic Church in Spain and the United States
The Catholic Church has been a very significant religious and political institution in the Europe. Its origins can be traced to a thousand years when Christianity was itself in its infancy. It was a symbol of colossal authority and was much regarded as an institution that was as similar to the installed governmental mechanism of any nation state. Its power and influence spread far and wide across border irrespective of nations, caste and civilization. The Catholic Church gained more recognition and prominence in the medieval ages of history which was better known as the dark ages of Europe. While Europe itself was passing through a phase of disturbing events, timeless conflicts and strife all across its territory, the Catholic Church consolidated its position. It began playing a very significant role in the realm of social politics.

Matters of the state and the society began…...

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Bibliography

The Catholic Church in Spain by Mark A. Burkholder' Retrieved at   Accessed on March 22, 2004http://www.utpjournals.com/product/utq/711/callahan162.html .

Don Juan' Retrieved at   Accessed on March 22, 2004http://www.don-juan.org/english/espagne/le17mod02.htm .

The American Catholic Church in the United States' Retrieved at Accessed on March 22, 2004http://www.accus.us/aboutus.htm.

Old catholic Church of the United States' Retrieved at   / Accessed on March 22, 2004http://www.oldcatholic.com 

Catholic church and public policy have remarked that the members of American clergy in general, without even excepting those who do not admit religious liberty, are all in favour of civil freedom; but they do not support any particular political system. They keep aloof from parties, and from public affairs. In the United States religion exercises but little influence upon laws, and upon the details of public opinion; but it directs the manners of the community, and by regulating domestic life, it regulates the state. Alexis de Tocqueville
In making this statement, Alexis de Tocqueville sought to record religion's influence on American public life in the 1830's. Today, the intimate relations among political culture, political behavior, and church state circumstances that Tocqueville so aptly described are accurate in describing the relationship between politics and religion in the United States, and abroad.

In recent times and throughout history, politics and religion have been the…...

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Bibliography

About the federalist Papers. Thomas - Legislative Information on the Internet. 2001. Accessed 4 May 2003. http://thomas.loc.gov/

Asher, H.B., & Van Meter, D.S. (1973). Determinants of public welfare policies: A causal approach. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

Benestad, J.B., & Butler, F.J. (Eds.). (1981). Quest for justice: A compendium of statements of the United States Catholic bishops on the political and social order 1966-1980. Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference.

Burns Robert E. "Bishops Should Do More Than Threaten About Abortion." U.S. Catholic Oct. 1990: 2. Is it too much to ask that Catholics learn to communicate, rather than excommunicate?

..is particularly strong among younger Catholics and weekly Mass attendees." (Fleming, 2008, p.1) Fleming (2005) writes that the decline in support for capital punishment on the part of Catholics is "a salutary reminder that good arguments can change minds." (Fleming, 2008, p.1)
Summary and Conclusion

This brief review has demonstrated that the earlier views of the Catholic Church on the death penalty has experienced a shift over time and that the majority of today's Catholics strongly oppose the death penalty. In fact, it is younger Catholic individuals and individuals who are attendees weekly at Masses who are most strongly opposed to the death penalty.

Other findings in this brief review include that there are generational differences in support or opposition for the death penalty and as noted by Davidson (2005) only 41% of today's younger Millennial generation approves of the death penalty. In addition, findings show that Catholics who are college-educated and who…...

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Bibliography

Davidson, James D. (2005) What Catholics Believe About Abortion and the Death Penalty. National Catholic reporter. 30 Sept 2005. Online available at:  http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1141/is_42_41/ai_n15686187/ 

Fleming, Julia (2008) The Death Penalty -- Another Threat to a Culture of Life. Journal of Religion and Society. The Kripke Center 4, 2008. Online available at: http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2008/2008-34.html

Gonzales, Anthony (nd) Pro-life and Pro-Capital Punishment Contradiction in Terms? Roman Catholic online available at:  http://www.roman-catholic.com/Roman/Articles/CapitalPunishment.htm 

Norko, Michael A. (2008) The Death Penalty in Catholic Teaching and Medicine: Intersections and Places for Dialogue. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law 36:4:470-481 (2008). Online available at:  http://www.jaapl.org/cgi/content/full/36/4/470

Catholics believe that baptism is necessary for the removal of the inborn sin that is part of all human beings simply because they are human and not divine like God. The second sacrament is confirmation which signifies that "the person has become an adult in the eyes of the church and confirms the promise made by others at baptism" (Thompson, 155).
The third sacrament is of the Eucharist which re-enacts in words and actions Jesus sharing bread and wine with His disciples at the Last Supper. This sacrament is highly liturgical with ornate symbolism. In essence, the bread and the wine "actually become the body and blood of Jesus Christ when the priest speaks the words of consecration." Another sacrament is reconciliation or confession in which penitents "confess their sins to God through the priest who in the name of God and with the authority of the church pronounces forgiveness"…...

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Bibliography

Caldwell, Deborah. "The Future of the Church." Beliefnet. Internet. 2007. Retrieved at  http://www.beliefnet.com/story/164/story_16420_1.html .

History of the Catholic Church." All About Religion. Internet. 2008. Retrieved at  http://www.allaboutreligion.org/history-of-the-catholic-church-faq.htm .

Saenz, Rogelio. "The Changing Demographics of the Catholic Church." Population Reference Bureau. Internet. 2008. Retrieved at  http://www.prb.org/Articles/ 

2005/TheChangingDemographicsofRomanCatholics.aspx.

This happened because of the fact that many Catholic individuals could not resist the temptation of joining and supporting the Nazis as their power grew. Considering that doing otherwise would have had terrible consequences for them, it seems normal that they did not dare to rise against Nazism. ith claims like "The Church must enter completely into the Third Reich, it must be co-ordinated into the rhythm of the National Revolution, it must be fashioned by the ideas of Nazism, lest it remain a foreign body in the unified German Nazi community" (Conway 46), it is obvious that most Christians that were at Hitler's mercy at the time struggled to avoid becoming victims of the Nazi regime and chose the only solution that they had. Pius himself was unable to prevent Hitler from appointing his own bishops, given that the German church had virtually merged with the Nazi party…...

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Works cited:

Conway, J.S. The Nazi Persecution of the Churches, 1933-45 (New York: Basic Books, 1968)

Dalin, David G. The myth of Hitler's Pope: how Pope Pius XII rescued Jews from the Nazis, (Regnery Publishing, 2005)

Levy, Richard S. Antisemitism: a historical encyclopedia of prejudice and persecution, Volume 1, ABC-CLIO, 2005.

Phayer, Michael. The Catholic Church and the Holocaust, 1930-1965, (Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis, 2000)

Jesus of history, is the reflection of the social importance of Jesus in religious pretext, Jesus was famous in his region because he attempted to modify and improve the social and ethical setup of the society.
Christ of Faith is the same Jesus, but not the one who is handling hardships from society, and is the one who struggled to improve the religious understanding and scope of people, to bring them closer to God. Therefore, Christ of Faith, is the personal approach of an individual towards the Jesus Christ to develop religious understanding, where as, the Jesus of History is the approach towards Jesus Christ for improving social and ethical setup of the society, and furthermore, seek assistance from his worldly actions during the time of tribulations and hardships.

What can we learn about Jesus from his words and actions? What are the various models of Jesus we encountered?

Jesus Christ reflected…...

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References

S.J.Gerald O'Collins, S.J.Mario Farrugia. Catholicism: The Story of Catholic Christianity. Oxford University Press. 2004. pp.29

Joseph Epiphane Darras, Charles Ignatius White. A General History of the Catholic Church: From the Commencement of the Christian Era. P.J. Kennedy. 1898. pp.214

P.J. Kennedy. The Catholic Church Through The Ages: A History. Paulist Press. 2005. pp.154

" (Overburg, 2000) Jesus implores his followers to turn the other cheek.
The example of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, also reminds Catholics "in the prophetic tradition Jesus rejected violence, oppression and alienation. His life and teachings invited people into a new style of living: the reign of God. Intimacy and trust, compassion and forgiveness, concern for justice and nonviolence were key aspects of this new life." (Overburg, 2000) in other words, it is easy to forgive small offences. To forgive large offenses in the tradition of Christ is what is difficult. "hat should we forgive? The first response to this question is, quite simply, everything we can," as Catholics, suggests Maria Harris. (Harris, 2000)

She provides the humbling examples in other parts of the world where different groups have struggled with the issue of forgiveness of the most horrifying acts. For instance, Australians have proclaimed a day of forgiveness for sins…...

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Works Cited

Campion, D.R. "Capital Punishment." From the New Catholic Encyclopedia. 1967. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co. Vol. 3.

Feister, John Bookser. "The Pope Visits St. Louis." 1999. The American Catholic. Retrieved on October 26, 2004 at  http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Apr1999/feature1.asp#F3 

Harris, Maria. "Jubilee Forgiveness " April 2000. The American Catholic. Retrieved on October 26, 2004 at  http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/MM/ap0400.asp 

Prejean, Sister Helen. A Prayer to Abolish the Death Penalty. 1999. The American Catholic. Retrieved on October 26, 2004 at  http://www.americancatholic.org/News/DeathPenalty/default.asp#F1

Catholic Church in the 16th century and explain what factors/ocial conditions exacerbated the unrest associated with the Protestant Reformation.
Review sources of information.

There were several political, economic and religious factors that led to the Protestant Reformation. Although it did not take place until the 16th century, it had its beginnings in the 14th century.

What were some of the arguments directed against the Catholic Church in the sixteenth century?

The causes of the great religious revolt of the sixteenth century can be traced back as early as the fourteenth century. First, the doctrine of the Church continued its course in several parts of Europe, wholly uninterruptedly. The unhappy conditions that existed were largely due to civil and profane influences or to the exercise of authority by ecclesiastics in civil spheres. Gradually, in many parts of Europe, political and social conditions hampered the reformatory activities of the Church and the forces of heresy…...

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Sources

Catholic Encycolpedia Online. 2002. England." Richard Hooker. 1996http://www.wsu.edu.com."Protestant

Catholic Church wielded much power during the Middle Ages, and was a big part of the people living at the time. The popularity of the Catholic Church was partly due to the widespread illiteracy among the population of Europe. Literacy was common among the nobility and the clergy, but such was not the case with the working class public, who often did not have access to education. Since the majority of the population was illiterate, churchgoers acquired their knowledge of the bible from sermons. In order to further instill Biblical stories into the minds of the general population, the very structure of the church was used as an instrument to further advance the biblical knowledge of the general public. Thus, the stained glass windows of many Catholic churches served the purpose of reminding churchgoers of Biblical narratives through visual means, and the Chartres Cathedral was no exception.
Upon entering the…...

Location: "ROMAN Catholic Church" in Manchester, NH
The Catholic Church that I visited was Ste. Marie Parish. This is a colorful church that was built in the olden days. The building is ancient, and built in a beautiful design which presents the olden architectural beauty. It is a stone building and represents Rome in its structure. The structures are similar to those used by the Roman Emperors. Outside the building, there is no much decoration but the inside is full of pictures of Jesus, Mary mother of Jesus and several saints. All this art work is on the inside walls. Other than drawn pictures, there are sculptures of the same on the walls. The paintings are beautifully done and they seem to be a modification of Leonardo Da Vinci. These historic art works are quite impressing.

There are some elect structures representing Jesus, Mary, and Joseph among others. They have been…...

History of the Catholic Church on the Death Penalty
Traditionally, the Catholic Church has been in favor of the death penalty in some specific circumstances. However, this is a position that has changed in recent times. Currently, the teachings of the Church totally and unequivocally oppose the death penalty. In this text, I concern myself with the history of the Catholic Church on capital punishment. In so doing, I will amongst other things highlight how the position of the Church with regard to the death penalty has changed over time.

The Death Penalty: A Concise Definition

The death penalty is a form of punishment in which case a wrongdoer incurs "a more severe loss, that of life itself" (Pojman and eiman, 1998, p. 46). This is the definition of the death penalty that will be adopted in this text. Some of the wrongdoings which were punishable by death, most particularly in the…...

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References

Dinn, J. (2000). What Does the Church Say About the Death Penalty? U.S. Catholic, 65(12), 32.

Feinberg, J. (2010). Ethics for a Brave New World (2nd ed.). Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway.

Hodgkinson, P. & Schabas, W.A. (Eds.). (2004). Capital Punishment: Strategies for Abolition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Pojman, L.P. & Reiman, J.H. (1998). The Death Penalty: For and Against. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.

" And even though the "Nazi actions became increasingly brutal, anti-Semitic, and anti-Christian," Pius XII "failed to raise his voice against the German invasion of Poland" (Coppa, p. 9). Pius expressed "no public outrage against [Nazi acts of] mass extermination" nor did he speak out publicly to "elimination of the Jews" even after the horror of the Holocaust had been known for some time.
Coppa wondered on page 9 if Pius XII had actually issued Pius XI's encyclical "stressing the unity of the human race and the incompatibility of racism and Christianity, might more of the millions exterminated have been spared?" The question has no answer, of course. And as Coppa concludes, "e shall never know."

Benjamin Frankel edited the book History in Dispute, Vol. 11: The Holocaust, 1933-1945, and edited the essay in that book ("The Role of Pope Pius in the Holocaust"). Adding to that essay is Newman University's Robert…...

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Works Cited

Allen, John L. "Vatican Official Criticizes Jews." National Catholic Reporter 35.7 (1998),

7-9.

Coppa, Frank J. "Pope Pius XI's 'Encyclical' Humani Generis Unitas Against Racism and Anti-Semitism and the 'Silence' of Pope Pius XII." Journal of Church and State, 40.4 (1998):

775-801.

J.W (1996) eported that the oman Catholics and Orthodox, continued to ban priestesses as they have for almost 2,000 years, the fate of many evangelical congregations continue to shift back and forth. "Scripture does not support the ordination of women, God created men and women [morally] equal but with different roles" (W, 1996).
The practical argument for opening the priesthood to women and to married men is that there are not enough priests. These steps would provide the church with a wider pool of candidates. However, Woodward (2002) stated that he thought that a married clergy, while possibly solving one problem, would create others in its place. Pastoring a congregation is stress-ridden work. The pay is low and the hours rough on spouses and children. There is no reason to believe that many married men -- or their wives -- would be attracted to the priestly ministry. Moreover, Catholics typically give…...

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References

American (1986, 11/1). Women in the church since Vatican II. American, 155(12), 243-247.

Chaves, M. (1997, December). Recent changes in Women's Ordination Conflicts: The Effect of a Social Movement on Intraorganizational Controversy. Journal for Scientific Study of Religion, 36(4), 574-584.

Hunt, M.E. (97, 02/21). It's inevitable: Women will be ordained. National Catholic Reporter, 33(16), 25-28.

Ingebretsen, E.J. (1999, March). 'One of the Guys' or 'One of the Gals'? Gender confusion and the Problem of Authority in the Roman Clergy. Theology & Sexuality: The Journal of the Institute for the Study of Christianity & Sexuality, (10), 10-27.

Ustase and the Roman Catholic Church
After the end of World War I, Croatia and lovenia, both Roman Catholic states, united with the Eastern Orthodox state, erbia. Together the three states formed Yugoslavia. It was however not a peaceful union, and almost immediately after the formation of Yugoslavia, the Croats founded the Ustase. This name derives from the noun "ustas," meaning "insurgent." Originally this title was used for erb Orthodox insurgents in the 1975 Hercegovinian rebellion. The fascist connotation of the term thus only emerged later, when Croatian Roman Catholics adopted the name. The Ustase as formed after World War I was a terrorist network aimed mostly against the erbs, formed in response to the banning of all national parties during January 1929. The head of this organization was Ante Pavilec, who founded the party together with Gustav Percec, and it was financed by Mussolini. Pavilec assassinated King Alexander I of…...

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Sources

The Pavelic Papers. "Alojzije Stepinac." December 10, 1960. http://www.*****/documents/stepinac/

Sexton, Rebecca. "A Travesty Of Justice: A History Of The Roman Catholic Church As It Cooperated With Hitler In Croatia." The Cutting Edge, 2004.  http://www.cuttingedge.org/articles/RC130.html 

Wikipedia. "Ustase." Farlex, Inc. 2004.  http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Ustase

Judging from these examples, it is entirely possible that the Popes could have set the example from the top and been more trusting of the average people, bringing them into the fold of their own accord, without arm twisting, coercion and threats. An idealistic view this may be, but it is also a viable one given the available literature on this period of history.
More Desirable Course of Action

Having taken a look at what was realistically possible for the Catholic Church from 1100 to 1500, it is now possible to propose a more desirable course of action for the Catholic Church prior to the protestant movement which brought the power of the church as an absolute to an end. To begin, the installation of a Pope, or any ultimate figurehead with so much power vested in them seems to be a poor idea- citing the old adage that absolute power…...

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Bibliography

Ditchfield, S. (2007, April). The Roman Catholic Church: An Illustrated History. History Today, 57, 65.

Fredericks, J. (2003). The Catholic Church and the Other Religious Paths: Rejecting Nothing That Is True and Holy. Theological Studies, 64(2), 225+.

Jourdan, G.V. (1914). The Movement towards Catholic Reform in the Early XVI Century. London: John Murray.

Luther, M. (1885). First Principles of the Reformation: Or the Ninety-Five Theses and the Three Primary Works of Dr. Martin Luther (H. Wage & C.A. Buchheim, Ed.). Philadelphia: Lutheran Publication Society.

Many people are familiar with the word “canon” as it is used when discussing fictional works.  It refers to those books or other works that are an official part of the created world, as opposed to those created by others, like fan fiction.  It also distinguishes the written word from speculation or theories built on that word, but not directly supported by it.  Canon has a similar meaning in Biblical studies of the New Testament.  It refers specifically to those books believed to have been divinely inspired and incorporated into the New Testament.  This makes Christianity somewhat different from many....

There is no understating the importance that the Church and the development of Christianity and alternative churches have in the history of the world and the creation of modern culture.  Christianity and the Church were a driving factor behind the colonial development of the world, which required incorporating foreign aspects into worship, and led to the creation of the modern worship experience.

 
It is important to look at how the Age of Discovery, when the Catholic Church expanded around the globe by establishing missions in conquered or colonized countries with indigenous populations of people who....

The Reformation was one of the most significant religious movements in the modern Christian Church.  Also known as the Protestant Reformation, it is most highly associated with Martin Luther, who began the Reformation by publishing the Ninety-five Theses in 1517, which lead to a split between the Catholic Church and Luther in 1521 with the Edict of Worms.  This Edict officially condemned Luther and was aimed at preventing people who were Catholics, which consisted of most of Europe, which was part of the Holy Roman Empire, from supporting or defending Luther’s ideas. 

The....

Certainly! Here are a few potential essay topics related to the Holocaust:

1. The role of bystanders during the Holocaust: How did individuals and countries around the world respond to the atrocities being committed, and what responsibilities did they have to intervene?

2. The impact of propaganda on the Holocaust: How did the Nazi regime use propaganda to dehumanize and demonize Jewish people and other targeted groups, and how did this contribute to the genocide?

3. Resilience and resistance in the face of persecution: Explore the stories of individuals who resisted Nazi oppression during the Holocaust, and examine the ways in which they....