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Catholic religion
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The laity, as defined by catholic.org, is, “The laity are the members of this society who remain where they were placed by baptism, while the clergy, even if only tonsured, have been raised by ordination to a higher class, and placed in the sacred hierarchy.” In other words, the laity are just regular people who are baptized and eventually confirmed. They can be described as flock that the shepherds watch over and help. The shepherds would be the clergy and in turn all of the higher ups in church hierarchy. The laity are not ordained, but this does not take away from their importance and roles in the church and in Christ’s mission. For most of the past, the laity have been very undermined in terms of the church’s consideration of their importance. …show more content…
The laity are just as important because of the necessities fulfilled such as the spreading of the message to friends, family, etc. and the positions in society that influence the world toward catholic beliefs. Everything that lay people do in their workplaces and in public represents what the church stands for and this can mean someone is a good or bad example of how a catholic should act. Lay people are supposed to go to church every Sunday, but that is not their only duty. Lay people are supposed believe. To truly believe people have to know the truths of the church and learn about the church. The laity must be ready to defend their faith and by knowing about it will be better suited to do so. Lay people are called to use and respect the sacraments but never disrespect them or abuse them. Lay people must respect all the rights of others and follow their vocation, or calling. Lay people must also give back to the church. This can be through monetary offerings and tithing proper amounts. This helps keep churches open and running well when all the people in the community give their part. Also, lay people can give their time and efforts in helping to run the church outside of monetary donations. This can be through giving their time or skills in order to help out however needed. Some lay people put the church in their wills and leave money or property, and this is a good example of tithing even though it is after the person’s
However, having a spirit of giving cultivates others to do the same and gives God room to supply other needs. Ministers need to learn to be content with what they have and learn to follow the budget set for them with accountability. The way you handle money can have an impact on your personal integrity, and how the leadership in the church respects you and your ability to make decisions. Fagerstrom listed some helpful tips on how to gain respect from the church leadership in regards to money: Communicate with someone in leadership before making a big purchase, regularly ask the treasurer for updated records on your balance, make requests far in advance, pray about money, try to seek the best prices, apologize immediately if a purchase is too big or goes over the allotted budget, and never have surprise expenditures (Fagerstrom
...of the clergy, almost always condemning the laity to hell for even the most minor things. Once, the relationship between us and the clergy was rather formal, as many of the religious felt they were superior that us. This all changed after Vatican II as it liberated the church.
The contemporary Church is so often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch-supporter of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the Church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the Church's silent and often vocal sanction of things as they are.”
From the Middle ages, the church faced many problems such as the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism that hurt the prestige of the church. Most of the clergy lived in great luxury while most people were poor and they set an immoral example. The clergy had low education and many of them didn’t attend their offices. Martin Luther had witnessed this himself, “In 1510 he visited Rome and was shocked to find corruption on high ecclesiastical places”
Corruption in the church was a huge reason why people left Catholicism, they did not want to be involved in an organization that allowed such awful things
If you ignore the faith aspect of the Church and instead concentrate on the history and actions the Church has taken and done then many Catholics, priests and
The most criticized abuse of the Roman Catholic Church was the selling of indulgences by the pope. Indulgences permitted people to buy release from time in purgatory for both themselves and their deceased loved ones. They were papers sold in order to bring remission of punishment due to sins. Another common abuse that existed in the Church was simony. Simony is the act of selling of Church positions. The Church had permitted important ecclesiastical posts to be sold to the highest bidders and had left residency requirements in the religious community unenforced. A last abuse of the Church is nepotism. Nepotism is the act of giving jobs to family members instead of giving it to more qualified workers. This was a common problem where a well-trained and dedicated worker was needed and not just anyone.
...id too better than lepers, beggars and that crew" (244-46, 111). The Friar cares only about pleasing himself and does not work to make other people's lives better. He neglects the people he is supposed to help and instead spends his time with the rich. These members of the clergy are not devout Catholics and have no right to be masquerading as one. By pretending to be something they are not, they bring corruption into the church.
The Oxford Dictionary defines a chaplain as “a member of the clergy attached to a private chapel, institution, ship, branch of the armed forces, etc...” More specific to this essay, a chaplain in a hospital would advocate for the patient’s needs and wants, provide any of the small needs for the patient and assist the nurse in small tasks. A chaplain can also, upon request of the patient, pray with them, talk to them about faith and provide any faith-related items, such as The Bible. Chaplains are very careful not to overstep any health professional because they are there for support, not as a burden. Although, the hospital is there for the care of patients, chaplains are there for everyone. Health professionals are taught to separate their emotions from their profession and one may ask how can nurses, doctors or anyone hide their emotions when they are ...
I agree with Kitchens, Mead, and Roxburgh who all basically say in their own way that one change in ministry that we need to focus on more is the congregational life of the church. However, I think Mead explains it best when he says that the future church must be more intentional in the spiritual formation of its laity (Mead, location 919). According to Mead, the church is moving towards becoming a more missional institution that cares for the needs of the community. Therefore, oftentimes laity will be the ones on the front lines and will need the capacity to minister to people on their own without the help of clergy. In order to do this they will need more directed and intensive training to deal with...
That isn’t to say there aren’t pockets here and there where that spirit is alive, but as the Church is perceived as a body, so will the world perceive its function, which is largely as a partial paralytic. The nature of its mass congregation is in my opinion, reduced to following a ritualized practice that serves security of the one’s own soul, while vainly proclaiming messages from a practiced pulpit for world outreach in daily life. Then everyone goes home. The outreach that does get done tends to be of a charitable nature, highly organized and outperformed by many secular outfits, where the inductive power is carried by genuine empathy, a desire to help fellow man. Again, the Church means well, but its efforts seem to move with a sense of obligation, rather than true mission. I would argue that the congregations get too large, too organized, do not engage the issues that face culture ...
The Roman Catholic Church had complete influence over the lives of everyone in medieval society, including their beliefs and values. The Church’s fame in power and wealth had provided them with the ability to make their own laws and follow their own social hierarchy. With strong political strength in hand, the Church could even determine holidays and festivals. It gained significant force in the arts, education, religion, politics as well as their capability to alter the feudal structure through their wealth and power. The Church was organised into a hierarchical system that sustained the Church’s stability and control over the people and lower clergy, by organising them into different groups.
Priests from post to post in the hope that they would discontinue the activities they were involved in. The failure of bishops to act on unfavourable reports was inexplicable, and represented a wholly inappropriate and inadequate response.
The church is a place in which many come to find a sense of belonging, comfort, and purpose. It's through these three qualities which have drawn and maintained many church goers throughout the years.
What is the church? This can be a very deep question, or a rather simple one depending on one’s context, theology, and general understanding of Scripture and faith. From my personal experience, most members of the congregations I grew up in if asked this question would point to the church building or sanctuary. This is not that surprising in my opinion when we consider the gorgeous monuments we have built as houses for God. As a child, I would have answered the exact same way as most people in a congregation, and it was not until later in my adulthood that I came to understand “the church” not as a physical building, but as much more. A very common response to this question has been that the church is “the people of God” or even “God’s chosen people.” I, however, prefer the definition of the church as “the community of Christian faith,” a much more inclusive definition than the previous mentioned definitions.