Beliefs and Rituals
The Catholic Church has extensive rules; one such set of rules is called Precepts of the Catholic Church. While different sources may express them in varying ways, they essentially all come down to the same thing. Here is an example:
You shall attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation.
You shall confess your sins at least once a year.
You shall humbly receive the Lord Jesus in Holy Communion at least during the Easter season.
You shall observe the Holy Days of Obligation.
You shall observe the prescribed days of fasting and abstinence.
The faithful have the obligation of supporting the Church.
Another, even more extensive listing of rules, is the Canons. Canon Law is a complex system totaling 1,752 rules. They are regularly reviewed and updated. They define the internal structure and describe the rights and obligations of a Catholic religious life. The Canon Laws cover the gamut — from how and when marriages take place to the way in which church teachers are chosen.
The Seven Sacraments
The Catholic use of the word “sacrament” often causes confusion in the church. The accepted meaning is a religious ceremony or an outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual grace. The seven major sacraments of the Catholic Church are baptism, confirmation, holy Eucharist, holy orders, matrimony, reconciliation (or penance), and anointing of the sick. Of these seven, probably only two need further explanation — holy orders and anointing of the sick.
Holy orders is a sacrament reserved for the three separate levels of ordination — deacon, priest, and bishop. It is a sacrament whereby a person commits to serving the faith for life. When that commitment is made the church grants the recipient the responsibility and power to offer Mass, forgive sins, give blessings, administer other sacraments, and attend to the spiritual life of the people served.
In the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, purgatory is considered a place. But it is also a state; in particular, a state after death in which the soul destined for heaven is purified. One difference between purgatory and hell is that a soul in purgatory knows that its punishment is temporary; thus people pray for the dead person, knowing their prayers shorten the time the soul spends in purgatory.
Historically, anointing of the sick was called the last rites or extreme unction. The old rules reserved this sacrament for those about to die; today, it can also be used as a healing aid for the very ill, elderly, and frail. Timing is of the essence; having a “good death” is important, particularly to devout Catholics who wish to make their last confession to a priest and receive absolution. Once that's done, the dying person is anointed with consecrated oil.
Views on Controversial Topics
The Catholic Church opposes unrestricted abortion. The view of the Vatican is that as God is the originator of life, the conception of a child is a gift from him. The Church believes that life begins at the moment of conception; life is sacred and the fundamental value of life must be awarded to the soul in the womb. The Church allows abortion only if it is necessary to preserve the mother's life. Pregnancy resulting from rape, coercion, or ignorance has not been addressed. The Church only approves of birth control by natural means; it opposes artificial means such as pills, condoms, IUDs, foams, jellies, sterilization, and the noncompletion of the act of sexual union (coitus interruptus or the withdrawal method).
The Roman Catholic opinion on capital punishment has not yet received an absolute official directive, except that the Pope has certainly made strong statements against it. The Vatican proposes that life can be taken in cases of self-defense and a just war.
St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the principle saints of the Roman Catholic Church, addressed the requirements for a just war in his Summa Theologica (literally, the “sum of theology”) in Part II, Question 40. There he writes:
In order for a war to be just, three things are necessary. First, the authority of the sovereign by whose command the war is to be waged. For it is not the business of a private individual to declare war, for he can seek redress of his rights from the tribunal of his superior.
Secondly, a just cause is required, namely that those who are attacked, should be attacked because they deserve it on account of some fault.
Thirdly, it is necessary that the belligerents should have a rightful intention, so that they intend the advancement of good, or the avoidance of evil. Hence Augustine says: “True religion looks upon as peaceful those wars that are waged not for motives of aggrandizement, or cruelty, but with the object of securing peace, of punishing evil-doers, and of uplifting the good.”
