Modern criticism of the Catholic Church

Last updated

Modern criticism of the Catholic Church is the criticism of the Catholic Church on issues not dealt with until relatively recently in church history. In politics, issues involve the separation of church and state and liberation theology. In particular, the partial commitment of many Catholics is cited to undermine the authority of the hierarchy to speak for them in the public sphere. Additionally, modern methods of deconstruction have arisen to give new perspectives on aspects of Catholicism, particularly in a critical light with respect to psychological perspectives on scrupulosity, Catholic guilt, exorcism, and prelest. Modern historical criticism undercuts the claims of miracles related to certain feast days and saints. Since the Catholic Church, either in whole or in part has taken positions on certain modern political issues, opponents on this topics have responded with criticism, particularly on the topics of climate change, cannabis, khat, and women's rights.

Contents

Feminists have formed activist groups in an attempt to get the Catholic Church to change its position against the ordination of women. Along with social libertarians, they also criticize Catholic doctrine concerning the nature of marriage, the need for abstinence outside of marriage. Along with population control activists, feminists and social libertarians also criticize Catholic opposition to contraception. Additionally, sexual identity rights activists criticize the ability of the Catholic Church to run institutions such as schools, hospitals, and adoption agencies in a manner discriminating against the rights of people to express their sexual identity or to receive sex-change operations.

Separation of church and state

Throughout much of the history of Western Civilization, the Catholic Church has exercised many functions in Catholic countries that are more usually associated with government today. Many functions like education, healthcare, and a judicial system covering religious and some social areas were begun and undertaken by the Church. Certain bishops acted as secular rulers in small states in Italy and the Holy Roman Empire, notably the Papal States, although these were always unusual. The full separation of church and state in Catholic Europe and Latin America was a gradual process that took place over time. The church openly opposed the abuses of Spanish and Portuguese authorities over their colonies during the Age of Reason and took steps to operate outside of these authorities in spite of protests from the various monarchs. [1]

Holy Roman Empire Varying complex of lands that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe

The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in Western and Central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. The largest territory of the empire after 962 was the Kingdom of Germany, though it also came to include the neighboring Kingdom of Bohemia, the Kingdom of Burgundy, the Kingdom of Italy, and numerous other territories.

Papal States territories in the Appenine Peninsula under the sovereign direct rule of the pope between 752–1870

The Papal States, officially the State of the Church, were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the Pope, from the 8th century until 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from roughly the 8th century until the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia unified the Italian Peninsula by conquest in a campaign virtually concluded in 1861 and definitively in 1870. At their zenith, the Papal States covered most of the modern Italian regions of Lazio, Marche, Umbria and Romagna, and portions of Emilia. These holdings were considered to be a manifestation of the temporal power of the pope, as opposed to his ecclesiastical primacy.

The Catholic Church has tried to influence governments to preserve Sunday as a day of worship, to restrict or, as in Ireland, Italy, the Philippines, and Latin America, forbid divorce, abortion and euthanasia. It has also pressured governments to restrict or not to promote the use of contraceptives.[ citation needed ]

Abortion is the ending of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus before it can survive outside the uterus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or spontaneous abortion. When deliberate steps are taken to end a pregnancy, it is called an induced abortion, or less frequently "induced miscarriage". The unmodified word abortion generally refers to an induced abortion. A similar procedure after the fetus has potential to survive outside the womb is known as a "late termination of pregnancy" or less accurately as a "late term abortion".

Euthanasia is the practice of intentionally ending a life to relieve pain and suffering.

Catholic Social Teaching advocates a living wage, proper work hours and fair treatment of workers. [2] Freedom to practice one's religion is one of the basic human rights the Church has been noted in defending especially in Communist countries around the world. [3]

In 2018, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan criticized the government of Japan for not separating church and state in the past, and urged them to do better. [4]

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan is the Catholic episcopal conference of Japan.

Partial commitment

Today this criticism is especially intended to undercut the legitimacy of Catholic leaders to speak for what Catholics want in the public sphere. For example, if a Catholic archbishop speaks in favor of legislation or a particular court decision, critics may point out survey results of self-identified Catholics which appear to contradict them.

Another aspect relating to this is the general finding that mixed marriages tend to result in families having a lower level of both religious observance and next-generation Catholicism. [5]

Historically, charges of lukewarmness were directed towards Catholics who were converted by force, such as on the Iberian peninsula. For example, in response to recent Spanish military action, Martin Luther commented, "most of the Spaniards are half Moors, half Jews, fellows who believe nothing at all." [6]

Marriage, abstinence, and procreation

Priest reading the blessing at a Catholic wedding, 2018 Catholic wedding blessing.jpg
Priest reading the blessing at a Catholic wedding, 2018

The Church teaches the practice of chastity. It interprets this to mean that believers should eschew fornication, [7] and that no persons inside or outside of marriage may practice masturbation, sodomy and homosexual practices (The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches "They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided" and that "Homosexual persons are called to chastity"), [8] artificial contraception, [9] coitus interruptus, [10] [11] sterilization, and the procurement of or assisting in an abortion. [12]

The official Catholic teaching regards sexuality as "naturally ordered to the good of spouses" as well as the generation of children. [13]

The Church teaches fidelity, sexual abstinence and opposes the use of condoms, seeing them as counterproductive [14] The Catholic Church has been criticized for its pro-life efforts in all phases of society. The Church's denial of the use of condoms has provoked criticism especially in countries where AIDS and HIV infections are at epidemic proportions. The Church maintains that countries like Kenya where behavioral changes like abstinence are endorsed instead of condom use, are experiencing greater progress towards controlling the disease than those countries just promoting condoms. [15]

In 2013 Pope Francis criticized the Vatican for having a "gay lobby" in remarks during a meeting held in private with some of the Catholic religious from Latin America, and he was said to have promised to see what could be done to address the issue. [16] In July 2013, he responded directly to journalists' questions. He notably drew a distinction between the problem of lobbying and the sexual orientation of people: "If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?" "The problem", he said, "is not having this orientation. We must be brothers. The problem is lobbying by this orientation, or lobbies of greedy people, political lobbies, Masonic lobbies, so many lobbies. This is the worse problem." [17] [18]

In 2019, two cardinals, Walter Brandmüller and Raymond Leo Burke, stated: [19]

The plague of the homosexual agenda has been spread within the Church, promoted by organized networks and protected by a climate of complicity and a conspiracy of silence. The roots of this phenomenon are clearly found in that atmosphere of materialism, of relativism and of hedonism, in which the existence of an absolute moral law, that is without exceptions, is openly called into question.

Opposition to contraception

A Catholic family from Virginia, 1959 Catholic Virginian, family group (2899336590).jpg
A Catholic family from Virginia, 1959

The Catholic Church maintains its opposition towards artificial means of birth control. [20] [21] Some Catholic Church members and non-members criticize this belief as contributing to overpopulation and poverty. [22]

Pope Paul VI reaffirmed the Church's position in his 1968 encyclical Humanae vitae (Human Life). In this encyclical, the Pope acknowledges the realities of modern life as well as the questions and challenges these raise. [20] Furthermore, he explains that the purpose of intercourse is both "unitive and procreative", that is to say it strengthens the relationship of the husband and wife as well as offering the chance of creating new life. As such, it is a natural and full expression of our humanity. He writes that contraception "contradicts the will of the Author of life [God]. Hence to use this divine gift [sexual intercourse] while depriving it, even if only partially, of its meaning and purpose, is equally repugnant to the nature of man and of woman, and is consequently in opposition to the plan of God and His holy will." [20]

The Church counters this argument with its claim that "Though it is true that sometimes it is lawful to tolerate a lesser moral evil in order to avoid a greater evil or in order to promote a greater good, it is never lawful, even for the gravest reasons, to do evil that good may come of it —in other words, to intend directly something which of its very nature contradicts the moral order, and which must therefore be judged unworthy of man, even though the intention is to protect or promote the welfare of an individual, of a family or of society in general. Consequently, it is a serious error to think that a whole married life of otherwise normal relations can justify sexual intercourse which is deliberately contraceptive and so intrinsically wrong." [20]

The Church stands by its doctrines on sexual intercourse as defined by the Natural law: intercourse must at once be both the renewal of the consummation of marriage and open to procreation. If each of these postulates are not met, the act of intercourse is, according to Natural Law, an objective mortal sin. Therefore, since artificial contraception expressly prevents the creation of a new life (and, the Church would argue, removes the sovereignty of God over all of Creation), contraception is unacceptable. The Church sees abstinence as the only objective moral strategy for preventing the transmission of HIV. [23] [24]

On the opposing side, the traditionalist Catholic writer Andrew Ostrowski has criticized the Catholic Church's non-prohibition of Natural Family Planning, on the grounds that it is an "intentional desire to avoid conception"..."In other words, it’s the same as contraception, you commit the act, but you avoid the baby." [25]

Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragán, President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers, has stated that Pope Benedict XVI asked his department to study the question of condom use as part of a broad look at several questions of bioethics. [26] However, the president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo, in an interview reported by the Catholic News Agency on May 4, 2006, said that the Church "maintains unmodified the teaching on condoms", and added that the Pope had "not ordered any studies about modifying the prohibition on condom use." [27]

The Church has been criticized for its opposition to promoting the use of condoms as a strategy to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, and STDs. Church officials deny that their teaching against condom use is followed by those same people who flout Church teaching on illicit sexual activity, such as its absolute condemnation of anal intercourse between men.[ citation needed ]

The Catholic Church emphasizes "education towards sexual responsibility", focusing on partner fidelity rather than the use of condoms as the primary means of preventing the transmission of AIDS. [28] This stance has been criticized as unrealistic, ineffective, irresponsible and immoral by some public health officials and AIDS activists. [28] Some evidence suggests that abstinence-only sex education does not work, and comprehensive sex education should be used instead. [29] [30] [31]

Ordination of women

The Catholic Church has always ordained men in the clergy. Most scholars today believe the Medieval accounts regarding Pope Joan to be fictional, [32] [33] [34] and Episcopa Theodora could have received her title by being the wife or mother of a bishop, [35] although some allege that she was in fact a bishop. Internal dissenters and dissidents, such as Call to Disobedience, have criticised the church's opposition to female ordination. [36] The Church teaches that it does not have the authority to ordain 'woman priests'. [37]

As a result of feminism and other social and political movements that have removed barriers to the entry of women into professions that were traditionally male strongholds, since the fourth quarter of the 20th century, some women in a handful of countries have sought ordination into the Catholic priesthood: There is at least one organization that calls itself "Roman Catholic" that ordains women at the present time, Roman Catholic Womenpriests. [38] The Catholic hierarchy considers those groups to be excommunicated, a status that the groups in question reject. [38]

Official Catholic theology refers to the gender of Jesus as a reason for the purported discrimination against women. According to Roman Catholic thinking, the Priest is acting 'in persona Christi' (that is, in the Person of Christ), and Christ took the body of a man, and therefore the priest must be a man: "Only a baptized man (vir) validly receives sacred ordination." Paragraph 1577 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

The Lord Jesus chose men (viri) 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 recognises herself to be bound by this choice made by the Lord himself. For this reason the ordination of women is not possible [39]

Roman Catholic Womenpriests criticises the Church's teaching that women, by virtue of their sex, cannot image Christ, saying:

...it is the call of every female and male Christian to image Christ; and it is the call of every female and male Christian to see Christ in every person.[ citation needed ]

In February 2011, 143 German-speaking academic theologians submitted a document styled as Church 2011 calling for, among a long list of actions, "women in (the) ordained ministry". [40]

Traditionalist Catholics

Cardinal Donald Wuerl welcoming the 14th Dalai Lama. The symbolic meaning behind pleasantries at inter-religious events are a common target for criticism among traditionalist Catholics Cardinal HE Donald Wuerl welcomes His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.jpg
Cardinal Donald Wuerl welcoming the 14th Dalai Lama. The symbolic meaning behind pleasantries at inter-religious events are a common target for criticism among traditionalist Catholics

Traditionalist Catholics see the Church's recent efforts at reformed teaching and (liturgical) practice (known as "aggiornamento"), in particular the Second Vatican Council, as not benefitting the advancement of the Church. Some groups, such as the Society of St. Pius X, saying the Church has betrayed the core values of Catholicism, have rejected some of the decisions of the Holy See that they see harmful to the faith. They have in common the firm adherence to the Tridentine Latin Mass that was used, with some changes, for 400 years prior to 1970.[ citation needed ]

Some traditionalists also criticize charismatic Catholics as being crypto-Protestant, [41] although criticism of charismatics is not limited to traditionalists. This movement is inter-denominational and includes those belonging to Catholic Charismatic Renewal and members of the Chemin Neuf and Emmanuel communities.

The World Day of Prayer for Peace, [42] with a meeting in Assisi, Italy, in 1986, in which Pope John Paul II prayed only with the Christians, [43] was heavily criticised as giving the impression that syncretism and indifferentism were openly embraced by the Papal Magisterium. When a second ‘Day of Prayer for Peace in the World’ [44] was held, in 2002, it was condemned as confusing the laity and compromising to "false religions". Likewise criticised was Pope John Paul II's kissing [45] of the Qur'an in Damascus, Syria, on one of his travels on 6 May 2001.

Sedevacantists

A numerically minor group, the sedevacantists, have characterized the current Pontiffs of the Catholic Church as heretics. This group says that the current Pope (as well, perhaps, as some of his immediate predecessors) were not legitimate. Sedeprivationists say that the post-conciliar Popes were or are defective Popes in that, due to their supposed espousal of the "modernist heresy", their consent to become Pope was faulty or defective, so that they became potentially Pope, but did not attain to the papacy.[ citation needed ]

Conclavists

A smaller group of Vatican II opponents, known as conclavists, have appointed papal replacements: see list of conclavist antipopes. These groups were estimated to comprise not more than a few hundred followers worldwide.[ citation needed ]

Expression of sexual identity

Catholic foster adoption agencies have been criticized for not placing children with adults perceived to be living an immoral lifestyle in Catholic theology. [46]

In 2019, a Catholic hospital in Eureka, California was criticized for not performing a hysterectomy as part of a sex-change operation. [47]

Some Catholics refer to people who do not identify with their birth sex or gender using pronouns not consistent with their current self-identity. The ability of Catholics to do this is criticized, and also illegal in some places. [48]

Related Research Articles

Condom Birth control device

A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device, used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of intercourse—women whose partners use male condoms experience a 2% per-year pregnancy rate. With typical use the rate of pregnancy is 18% per-year. Their use greatly decreases the risk of gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomoniasis, hepatitis B, and HIV/AIDS. They also to a lesser extent protect against genital herpes, human papillomavirus (HPV), and syphilis.

<i>Humanae vitae</i> encyclical

Humanae vitae is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and dated 25 July 1968. The text was issued at a Vatican press conference on 29 July. Subtitled On the Regulation of Birth, it re-affirmed the orthodox teaching of the Catholic Church regarding married love, responsible parenthood, and the rejection of artificial contraception. In formulating his teaching he explained why he did not accept the conclusions of the Pontifical Commission on Birth Control established by his predecessor, Pope John XXIII, a commission he himself had expanded.

Safe sex Ways to reduce the risk of acquiring STDs

Safe sex is sexual activity using methods or devices to reduce the risk of transmitting or acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs), especially HIV. "Safe sex" is also sometimes referred to as safer sex or protected sex to indicate that some safe sex practices do not completely eliminate STI risks. It is also sometimes used to describe methods aimed at preventing pregnancy.

Casti connubii was a papal encyclical promulgated by Pope Pius XI on 31 December 1930 in response to the Lambeth Conference of the Anglican church. It stressed the sanctity of marriage, prohibited Catholics from using any form of artificial birth control, and reaffirmed the prohibition on abortion. It also explained the authority of Church doctrine on moral matters, and advocated that civil governments follow the lead of the Church in this area.

Criticism of the Catholic Church

Criticism of the Catholic Church includes the observations made about the current or historical Catholic Church, in its actions, teachings, omissions, structure, or nature. The logical disagreements are covered on a denominational basis. Criticisms may regard the concepts of papal primacy and supremacy, or aspects of church structure, governance, and particular practices. Since the Catholic Church is the largest Christian church representing over half of all Christians and one sixth of the world's population, these criticisms may not necessarily represent the majority view of all Christians and non-Christians.

Catholic Church Christian church led by the Bishop of Rome

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with approximately 1.3 billion baptised Catholics worldwide as of 2017. As the world's "oldest continuously functioning international institution", it has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilisation. The church is headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the pope. Its central administration, the Holy See, is in the Vatican City, an enclave within the city of Rome in Italy.

Prior to the 20th century, three major branches of Christianity generally held a critical perspective of birth control, including the leading Protestant reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin. Among Christian denominations today, however, there is a large variety of positions towards birth control.

Pope John Paul II was criticised, amongst other things, for lack of any response to sex abuse of children in the Church.

Natural family planning (NFP) comprises the family planning methods approved by the Roman Catholic Church and some Protestant denominations for both achieving and postponing or avoiding pregnancy. In accordance with the Church's teachings regarding sexual behavior, NFP excludes the use of other methods of birth control, which it refers to as "artificial contraception."

The Danube Seven — Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger, Adelinde Theresia Roitinger, Gisela Forster, Iris Muller, Ida Raming, Pia Brunner and Angela White — are a group of seven women from Germany, Austria and the United States who were ordained as priests on a ship cruising the Danube river on 29 June 2002 by Rómulo Antonio Braschi, Ferdinand Regelsberger, and third unknown bishop.

Contraception was illegal in Ireland from 1935 until 1980, when it was legalised with strong restrictions, later loosened. The ban reflected Catholic teachings on sexual morality.

Religious adherents vary widely in their views on birth control. This can be true even between different branches of one faith, as in the case of Judaism. Some religious believers find that their own opinions of the use of birth control differ from the beliefs espoused by the leaders of their faith, and many grapple with the ethical dilemma of what is conceived as "correct action" according to their faith, versus personal circumstance, reason, and choice.

Abstinence, be faithful, use a condom, also known as the ABC strategy or abstinence-plus sex education, also known as abstinence-based sex education, is a sex education policy based on a combination of "risk avoidance" and harm reduction which modifies the approach of abstinence-only sex education by including education about the value of partner reduction safe sex and birth control methods. Abstinence-only sex education is strictly to promote the sexual abstinence until marriage, and does not teach about safe sex or contraceptives. The abstinence-based sex education program is meant to stress abstinence and include information on safe sex practices. In general terms, this strategy of sex education is a compromise between abstinence-only education and comprehensive sex education. The ABC approach was developed in response to the growing epidemic of HIV/AIDS in Africa, and to prevent the spread of other sexually transmitted diseases. This approach has been credited by some with the falling numbers of those infected with AIDS in Uganda, Kenya and Zimbabwe, among others. From 1990 to 2001 the percentage of Ugandans living with AIDS fell from 15% to between 5 and 6%. This fall is believed to result from the employment of the ABC approach, especially reduction in the number of sex partners, called "Zero-Grazing" in Uganda.

Roman Catholic Womenpriests (RCWP) is an independent international organization that asserts a connection to the Roman Catholic Church. It is descended from the Danube Seven, a group of women who assert that they were ordained as priests in 2002 by Rómulo Antonio Braschi, before being excommunicated by the Vatican, and their request for a revocation of the excommunication denied, in Decree on the Attempted Ordination of Some Catholic Women. According to a book published by the organization, Women Find a Way: The Movement and Stories of Roman Catholic Womenpriests, at least two other unnamed bishops were involved in the ordination. In addition, the RCWP considers these bishops to be in good standing, and the RCWP says the bishops acted in full apostolic succession.

Catholic theology of sexuality

Catholic theology of sexuality, like Catholic theology in general, is drawn from natural law, canonical scripture, divine revelation, and sacred tradition, as interpreted authoritatively by the magisterium of the Catholic Church. Sexual morality evaluates sexual behavior according to standards laid out by Catholic moral theology, and often provides general principles by which Catholics are able to evaluate whether specific actions meet these standards. Much of the Church's detailed doctrines derive from the principle that "sexual pleasure is morally disordered when sought for itself, isolated from its procreative and unitive [between spouses] purposes". At the same time, the Bishops at Vatican II decreed that the essential procreative end of marriage does not make "the other purposes of matrimony of less account."

Post Vatican II history of the Catholic Church includes the recent history of the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council.

The Women's Ordination Conference is the oldest and largest organization in the United States that works to ordain women as deacons, priests, and bishops in the Roman Catholic Church. Founded in 1975, it primarily advocates for the ordaining of women within the Catholic Church. The idea for the Conference came in 1974, when Mary B. Lynch asked the people on her Christmas list if it was time to publicly ask "Should Catholic women be priests?" 31 women and one man answered yes, and thus a task-force was formed and a national meeting was planned. This first meeting was held in Detroit, Michigan, on Thanksgiving weekend of 1975, with nearly 2,000 people in attendance.

The Catholic Church's position on HIV/AIDS prevention has attracted controversy due to its opposition to condom use. In 2010 Pope Benedict XVI said that the use of condoms could sometimes be considered a first step toward moral behavior, but a spokesperson for the church later clarified that the use of condoms was still considered immoral and that the pope had not intended to take a position "on the problem of condoms in general." In relation to the sexual transmission of the disease, the Church teaches that chastity, are a better means of limiting the spread of the epidemic than the use of condoms. United Nations bodies have criticised the Church for its stance against condom use, on the basis that condoms are the best available means to prevent infections among sexually active people. UN bodies co-operate closely with the Church on the provision of patient care, and in eliminating infections in children.

Sex and gender roles in the Catholic Church

Sex and gender roles in the Roman Catholic Church have been the subject of both intrigue and controversy throughout the Church's history. The cultural influence of the Catholic Church has been vast, particularly upon western society. Christian concepts, introduced into evangelized societies worldwide by the Church, had a significant impact on established cultural views of sex and gender roles. Human sacrifice, slavery, infanticide and polygamy practiced by cultures such as those of the Roman Empire, Europe, Latin America and parts of Africa came to an end through Church evangelization efforts. Historians note that Catholic missionaries, popes and religious were among the leaders in campaigns against slavery, an institution that has existed in almost every culture and often included sexual slavery of women. Christianity affected the status of women in evangelized cultures like the Roman Empire by condemning infanticide, divorce, incest, polygamy and marital infidelity of both men and women. Some critics say the Church and teachings by St. Paul, the Church Fathers and scholastic theologians perpetuated a notion that female inferiority was divinely ordained, even though official Church teaching considers women and men to be equal, different, and complementary.

The relationship between religion and HIV/AIDS is complicated, and often controversial. Controversies have mainly revolved around LGBT people and condom use.

References

  1. ↑ Duffy, Eamon (1997). Saints and Sinners, a History of the Popes. Yale University Press in association with S4C. Library of Congress Catalog card number 97-60897.
  2. ↑ Leo Xiii. "Rerum Novarum". Vatican.va. Archived from the original on July 20, 2009. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  3. ↑ "Communist Persecution Against Catholic Church". Econc10.bu.edu. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  4. ↑ Japanese bishops make stand on imperial ceremonies, ucanews.com, Tokyo, Japan March 2, 2018
  5. ↑ Mixed marriages lead to fewer Catholic children Oct. 26, 2016 by Thomas Reese
  6. ↑ The Table Talk of Martin Luther, p. 360, Alexander Chalmers translation, 1902
  7. ↑ "1 Corinthians 7:2 - NRS - But because of cases of sexual immorality, each..."
  8. ↑ "CCC 2357". Usccb.org. 1951-10-29. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  9. ↑ "CCC 2370". Usccb.org. 1951-10-29. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  10. ↑ Casti connubii
  11. ↑ Casti connubii #53-56
  12. ↑ "CCC 2272". Usccb.org. 1941-06-01. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  13. ↑ "CCC 2353". Usccb.org. 1951-10-29. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  14. ↑ Squires, Nick (2009-03-17). "Pope Benedict XVI: condoms make Aids crisis worse". London: Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  15. ↑ Dugger, Carol (2006-05-18). "Why is Kenya's AIDS rate plummeting?". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 2013-04-26. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
  16. ↑ "Pope Francis 'confirms Vatican gay lobby and corruption'". BBC News. 12 June 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  17. ↑ Lizzie Davis (29 July 2013). "Pope Francis signals openness towards gay priests". The Guardian.
  18. ↑ "Pope Francis: Who am I to judge gay people?". BBC News. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  19. ↑ An open letter from two cardinals, February 20, 2019, published in The Catholic Thing
  20. 1 2 3 4 Paul VI. "Humanae vitae - Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Paul VI on the regulation of birth, 25 July 1968". Vatican.va. Archived from the original on March 19, 2011. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  21. ↑ 1930 Papal Encyclical by Pope Pius XI Casti connubii
  22. ↑ "Is the Vatican wrong on population control?". BBC News. 1999-07-09. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  23. ↑ "Contraception and Sterilization". Catholic.com. 2004-08-10. Archived from the original on December 11, 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  24. ↑ "Birth Control". Catholic.com. 2004-08-10. Archived from the original on 2009-12-13. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  25. ↑ Am-Pol Eagle, 2010-05-26, Andrew Ostrowski, Columnist, ”Gdzie Jest Mój Dom”
  26. ↑ Dickey, Christopher (May 2006). "Catholics and Condoms". Newsweek. MSNBC. Archived from the original on 2006-07-06. Retrieved 2006-09-16.
  27. ↑ "Church 'will not budge one inch' on issue of condom use, says Cardinal Lopez Trujillo". Catholic News Agency. May 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-16.
  28. 1 2 Thavis, John (18 March 2009). "Pope's condom comments latest chapter in sensitive church discussion". Archived from the original on 14 April 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  29. ↑ Ott, MA; Santelli, JS (October 2007). "Abstinence and abstinence-only education". Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology. 19 (5): 446–52. doi:10.1097/GCO.0b013e3282efdc0b. PMC   5913747 . PMID   17885460.
  30. ↑ Fact Sheet [ permanent dead link ] (includes research citations).
  31. ↑ Kirby, D. (2007). "Emerging Answers 2007: Research Findings on Programs to Reduce Teen Pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Diseases". National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Archived from the original on 2012-02-15.
  32. ↑ Boureau, Alain (2001). The Myth of Pope Joan. Translated by Lydia G. Cochrane. University of Chicago Press. p. 8. ISBN   0-226-06745-9.
  33. ↑ Rustici, Craig M. (2006). The Afterlife of Pope Joan: Deploying the Popess Legend in Early Modern England. University of Michigan Press. p. 8. ISBN   978-0-472-11544-0.
  34. ↑ Noble, Thomas F. X. (April 2013). "Why Pope Joan?". Catholic Historical Review. 99 (2): 219–220.
  35. ↑ [http://www.ewtn.com/vexperts/showmessage.asp?number=450315&Pg=Forum25& Episcopa Theodora Question from Diane Sulpizio on 10/7/2005]
  36. ↑ Service, Religion News (3 July 2013). "Association of U.S. Catholic Priests (AUSCP) Reform Group Charts Pragmatic Path" – via Huff Post.
  37. ↑ John Paul II in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, c.f. Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici (30 December 1988), 31
  38. 1 2 "True and False About Women's Ordinations". RCWP FAQs. Roman Catholic womenpriests. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  39. ↑ "CCC Search Result - Paragraph # 1577". Scborromeo.org. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  40. ↑ Memorandum:Church 2011 Archived November 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  41. ↑ Christian Millenarianism: From the Early Church to Waco By Stephen Hunt, page 164
  42. ↑ "Address to the representatives of the Christian Churches and ecclesial communities and of the world religions". Vatican archives. © 1986,2009 Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 27 October 1986. Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
  43. ↑ "Address to the representatives of the other Christian Churches and ecclesial communities". © 1986,2009 Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 27 October 1986. Archived from the original on 17 April 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
  44. ↑ "Day of Prayer for Peace in the World". Vatican archives. Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 24 January 2002. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
  45. ↑ "John Paul II kisses the Koran (Qu'ran) at the Vatican". FIDES News Service. Tradition in Action, In]. 14 May 1999. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
  46. ↑ ACLU and Michigan AG combine forces to tell Catholic adoption agency 'You can't do that' by Nicole Russell, March 26, 2019 04:47 PM
  47. ↑ Catholic hospital lawsuit Kristine Solomon, Yahoo Lifestyle, March 26, 2019
  48. ↑ Police to question Catholic mum-of-five Caroline Farrow for 'using wrong pronoun to describe transgender girl' by Katy Clifton, Wednesday 20 March 2019 09:45
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.