Catholicism For Dummies

A comprehensive and definitive guide to the Catholic faith

Whether you're a member of the faith or just interested in it, Catholicism For Dummies, 3rd Edition offers a casual, straightforward introduction to the ins and outs of the contemporary church. It explores the moral foundations of Catholicism and explains such sacraments as weddings, Baptisms, funerals, Confirmations, and First Communions. It also covers the basics of Catholic belief, including the story of creation, the origin of sin, and even the end of the world.

New to this edition, the book covers the succession of Pope Francis, the "People's Pope," whose message of reconciliation among religions and focus on social issues like poverty and inequality have made him immensely popular, even among non-Catholics.

• Explains where the church and the Pope stand on important moral and social issues

• Covers modern questions of moral importance to Catholics, like gay marriage, abortion, and the death penalty

• Reveals what modern life is like in the priesthood

• Written by the co-hosts of the popular weekly television program "Crash Course of Catholicism"

In this accessible guide, you'll take a full and rich look at this diverse and vibrant religion and understand what it is to be a Catholic today.

Auteur

Rev. John Trigilio Jr., PhD, ThD, is President of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy and is Executive Editor of Sapienta magazine.

Rev. Kenneth Brighenti, PhD, has served on the Board of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy and is a former U.S. Naval Reserve chaplain. Fathers Trigilio and Brighenti are also coauthors of Catholicism All-in-One For Dummies.

Résumé
A comprehensive and definitive guide to the Catholic faith Whether you're a member of the faith or just interested in it, Catholicism For Dummies, 3rd Edition offers a casual, straightforward introduction to the ins and outs of the contemporary church. It explores the moral foundations of Catholicism and explains such sacraments as weddings, Baptisms, funerals, Confirmations, and First Communions. It also covers the basics of Catholic belief, including the story of creation, the origin of sin, and even the end of the world.

New to this edition, the book covers the succession of Pope Francis, the "People's Pope," whose message of reconciliation among religions and focus on social issues like poverty and inequality have made him immensely popular, even among non-Catholics.

• Explains where the church and the Pope stand on important moral and social issues
• Covers modern questions of moral importance to Catholics, like gay marriage, abortion, and the death penalty
• Reveals what modern life is like in the priesthood
• Written by the co-hosts of the popular weekly television program "Crash Course of Catholicism"
  In this accessible guide, you'll take a full and rich look at this diverse and vibrant religion and understand what it is to be a Catholic today.

Contenu

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 3

Icons Used in This Book 3

Beyond the Book 4

Where to Go from Here 4

Part 1: What Do catholics believe? 5

Chapter 1: What It Means to Be Catholic 7

What Exactly Is Catholicism Anyway? 7

Knowing What the Catholic Church Teaches 9

Grasping the basic beliefs 9

Respecting the role of the Church and its leaders 10

Worshipping as a Catholic: The Holy Mass 13

Bringing body and soul into the mix 14

Participating inside and out 14

Behaving Like a Catholic 15

Following the general ground rules 15

Avoiding sin 16

Heeding the Church's stance on tough issues 17

Praying as a Catholic: Showing Your Devotion 17

Praying and using devotions 17

Realizing the importance of Mary and the saints 18

Following traditions 18

Chapter 2: Having Faith in God's Revealed Word 19

How Do You Know If You Have Faith? 20

Having Faith in Revelation 21

Faith in the written word: The Bible 22

Faith in the spoken word: Sacred Tradition 26

Backing Up Your Faith with Reason: Summa Theologica 32

Through motion 33

Through causality 34

Through necessity 34

Through gradation 34

Through governance 35

Chapter 3: In the Beginning: Catholic Teachings on Creation and Original Sin 37

Making Something out of Nothing 38

Breathing Life into the World: Creationism or Evolution? 38

Angels and Devils: Following God or Lucifer 40

Infused knowledge, eternal decisions 40

The angels' test and the devil's choice 41

Witnessing the Original Sin 42

Tempting our first parents 42

Losing gifts 42

Wounding our nature 43

Being redeemed by God's grace 44

Facing the four last things 44

Anticipating What's to Come: Moving toward the End of Creation 45

The Second Coming 45

Resurrection of the dead 47

General judgment 47

The end of the world 47

Chapter 4: Believing in Jesus 49

Understanding Jesus, the God-Man 50

The human nature of Jesus 50

The divine nature of Jesus 53

The Savior of our sins; the Redeemer of the world 54

The obedient Son of God 55

The Gospel Truth: Examining Four Written Records of Jesus 56

Catholic beliefs about the Gospel 56

How the Gospels came to be 57

Comparing Gospels 58

Dealing with Heresy and Some Other $10 Words 63

Gnosticism and Docetism 64

Arianism 64

Nestorianism 65

Monophysitism 66

Chapter 5: Defining The Church and What Membership Means 69

Establishing a Foundation: Built on Rock 70

Seeing the Church as the Body of Christ and Communion of Saints 71

Understanding the Four Marks of the Church 72

Fulfilling Its Mission 73

The priestly office: Sanctifying through the sacraments 74

The prophetic office: Teaching through the Magisterium 74

The kingly office: Shepherding and governing through the hierarchy 75

Membership Has Its Benefits 76

Chapter 6: Organizing the Church 79

Getting to Know the Pope 80

How the pope gets his job 80

Is he really infallible? 83

Now that's job security 88

Where the pope hangs his hat 89

Who's Next in the Ecclesiastical Scheme of Things 91

Cardinals 91

Bishops and archbishops 92

The vicar general 95

The parish priest 96

Deacons 99 Monks and nuns, brothers and si...