who is the first pope of the catholic church
Catholic Church


of Bishops discussed re-evangelising lapsed Catholics in the developed world. Citing the frailties of advanced age, Benedict resigned in 2013, the first pope to do so in nearly 600 years. Pope Francis, the current pope of the Catholic Church, succeeded Pope Benedict XVI in 2013 as the first pope from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first Pope from outside Europe since the Syrian Gregory III, who reigned in the 8th century. Pope Francis has been noted for his humility, emphasis on God
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Christian denomination


their ordained ministers all the way back to the original Twelve. Roman Catholics believe that the Pope has authority which can be traced directly to the apostle Peter whom they hold to be the original head of and first Pope of the Church. There are smaller churches, such as the Old Catholic Church which rejected the definition of Papal Infallibility at the First Vatican Council, and Anglo-Catholics, Anglicans who believe that Anglicanism is a continuation of historical Catholicism and who incorporate many Catholic beliefs and practices. The Catholic Church refers to itself
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The Society of Mercy


of the Pope. In 1853, the relationship was further strained as Pope Pius IX appointed bishops for the Dutch Church. Until that time, Roman Catholics who did not break with the Old Roman Catholics were led by a vicar apostolic. The Church of Utrecht was joined in 1870 by those clergy and laity who objected to the First Vatican Council. The Union of Utrecht was formed to incorporate the various groups within Continental Europe. They began to use the title Old Catholic to distinguish themselves from the Roman Catholic Church. The Old
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Catholic Church


Louis-Alexandre Berthier invaded the Italian Peninsula, imprisoning Pope Pius VI, who died in captivity. Napoleon later re-established the Catholic Church in France through the Concordat of 1801. The end of the Napoleonic Wars brought Catholic revival and the return of the Papal States. In 1854, Pope Pius IX, with the support of the overwhelming majority of Catholic bishops, whom he had consulted from 1851 to 1853, proclaimed the Immaculate Conception as a Dogma in the Catholic Church. In 1870, the First Vatican Council affirmed the
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Saint Peter


Peter was distinguished by Jesus to hold the first place of honor and authority. Also in Catholic belief, Peter was, as the first Bishop of Rome, the first Pope. Furthermore, they consider every Pope to be Peter's successor and the rightful superior of all other bishops. Although Peter never bore the title of "Pope", or "Vicar of Christ", in this sense the Catholic Church considers Peter the first Pope. The Catholic Church's recognition of Peter as head of its church on Earth (with
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History of the Catholic Church


several other views on sexuality. Catholic attempts to improve ecumenical relations with the Eastern Orthodox Church have been complicated by disputes over both doctrine and the recent history of the Orthodox Eastern Catholic Churches, involving the return of expropriated properties of the Eastern Catholic Churches, which the Orthodox Church took over after World War II at the request of Joseph Stalin. With the election of Pope Francis in 2013, following the resignation of Benedict, Francis is the current and first Jesuit pope, the first pope from the Americas, and the first from
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Outline of the Catholic Church


the Pope, is the sole successor to Saint Peter, who is believed to have been appointed head of the church in the New Testament and who is said to have ministered in Rome. Catholic Church hierarchy – the Catholic Church is composed of dioceses, each overseen by a bishop. Dioceses are divided into individual communities called parishes, each staffed by one or more priests. Priests may be assisted by deacons. Catechism of the Catholic Church – catechism promulgated for the Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II in 1992. A catechism
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Pope Francis


Pope Francis (; ; ; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. Francis is the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, the first to visit the Arabian Peninsula, and the first pope from outside Europe since the Syrian Gregory III, who reigned in the 8th century. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bergoglio was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969, and from 1973 to 1979 was Argentina
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Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria


of the Roman Curia. Pope Tawadros II also visited the tombs of the Apostle Peter, the first bishop of Antioch, who Roman Catholics hold to be the first pope of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Apostle Paul. Additionally, Pope Tawadros II visited the Coptic community in Rome. On 27 November 2015 (17 Hathor 1732), Pope Tawadros II made the first Coptic papal visit to Jerusalem since 1832 (1548–1549), especially controversial as Pope Shenouda III had boycotted Jerusalem for four decades over the Arab–Israeli conflict
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Catholic Church in Brazil


within the form of various charismatic tendencies and movements”. During his five-day visit to Brazil on May 2007 Pope Benedict XVI canonized Frei Galvão, who became the first Brazilian-born saint. Both the Pope's visit and the canonisation aimed at reinvigorating the local church. Brazil was also the first foreign country visited by Benedict's successor Pope Francis. According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, more than 60% of the urban population of Brazil claims a Catholic affiliation
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Catholic Church in Wallis and Futuna


The Catholic Church in Wallis and Futuna is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, which, inspired by the life, death and teachings of Jesus Christ, and under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and Roman curia in the Vatican City (within Rome) is the largest Christian church in the world. The French who were the first Europeans to settle in the territory, with the arrival of missionaries in 1837, who converted the population to Catholicism. Today, the population of the Pacific island French territory is overwhelmingly Catholic. Bishop
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Catholic Church in China


that the Pope has authority to veto any Bishop which China recommends. Francis then approved seven bishops who had been appointed by Beijing, after withdrawing church censures against them and also against one recently deceased bishop who had received episcopal consecration without papal approval. On 23 September, the state-recognized Catholic Church in China pledged to remain loyal to the Chinese Communist Party. Pope Francis' reflection on the agreement came out in the "Message of Pope Francis to the Catholics of China and to the Universal Church" on 26 September 2018
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List of current Christian leaders


universal church. Peter is considered by the Roman Catholic Church as the prominent one of the Twelve Apostles, and according to the Petrine primacy doctrine, he was distinguished by Christ to hold the first place of honor and authority among the Apostles. As Peter is traditionally regarded the first bishop of Rome, the Papal primacy doctrine of Catholics states that this primacy extends in perpetuity to the Pope and throughout the Catholic Church. The pope (above) is the first among equals of the heads of the autonomous churches in the Catholic communion
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Women in the Catholic Church


young has been a major ministry for Catholic women in religious institutes and the Catholic Church produced many of the world's first women professors. Among the notable historical Catholic women teachers have been Trotula of Salerno the 11th-century physician, Dorotea Bucca who held a chair of medicine and philosophy at the University of Bologna from 1390, Elena Piscopia who, in 1678, became the first woman to receive a Doctorate of Philosophy, and Maria Agnesi, who was appointed around 1750 by Pope Benedict XIV as the first woman professor of mathematics
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Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill


The Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill, also known as the Havana Declaration, was issued following the first meeting in February 2016 between Pope Francis, who as the Bishop of Rome is the pontiff of the Catholic Church, and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus', Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches. This was the first time leaders of the Roman Church and the Moscow Patriarchate had met. While the meeting was also seen as
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Full communion


Catholic Pope, performing a function like that of the Pope's Petrine Office for the whole of their respective communions, they see each of their autocephalous churches as embodiments of, respectively, the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. They too consider full communion an essential condition for common sharing in the Eucharist. The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, as first among equals among the Eastern Orthodox autocephalous churches, though not having authority similar to that of the Roman Catholic Pope, serves as their spokesman. The Pope of the Coptic
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Catholic Church in Germany


, doubling from 602 in September. Throughout Germany the cities of Bremen, Osnabrück, Paderborn, Passau and Regensburg reported three-fold increases of Catholic resignations. Eight popes have been either German or from Germanic tribes. Pope Boniface II, an Ostrogoth, served as the first Germanic pope from 530 to 532. The next German pope was Gregory V (Pope 996-999). The 11th century saw five German popes, including Leo IX who was canonized as a saint. Pope Benedict XVI (resigned in 2013),
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Sertum laetitiae


Sertum laetitiae (November 1, 1939) was an encyclical from Pope Pius XII to the Catholic Church of the United States of America in memory of the 150th anniversary of the installation of the first American bishop. The encyclical recalls Pope Pius VI, who appointed bishop John Carroll (bishop) of Baltimore in 1789. It took the help of George Washington, a friend of Carroll, to formalize the erection of the first bishopric of the Catholic Church in the 13 colonies forming USA. One hundred years later, in 1889,
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Catholic Church in Vietnam


The Catholic Church in Vietnam is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of Bishops in Vietnam who are in communion with the Pope in Rome. Vietnam has the fifth largest Catholic population in Asia, after the Philippines, India, China and Indonesia. According to "Catholic Hierarchy Catalog", there are 6,332,700 Catholics in Vietnam, representing 7.0% of the total population. There are 27 dioceses (including three archdioceses) with 2228 parishes and 2668 priests. The first Catholic missionaries visited Vietnam from Portugal at the
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Josephine of Leuchtenberg


with the Pope about who would be the most suitable replacement for missionary Bishop of the Catholic Church in Scandinavia. She wished to have the Bishop of Speyer, Bonifatius von Haneberg. The Pope however appointed Johann Georg Huber. Josephine supported the first post-reformation Catholic Churches in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1862 and in Bergen, Norway in 1866. In 1865, she supported the foundation of the Catholic school of the nuns of the order of Saint Joseph of Chambéry in Oslo. She founded Stiftelsen Konung Oscar I:s minne (
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Chaldean Syrian Church


Catholics were under the authority of the Portuguese Archbishop of Goa. This arrangement led to resentment from some members, who wanted more autonomy for their local church, resulting in a formidable and sustaining autonomy movement. In the 19th century this movement's leaders made repeated pleas to both the Pope and the Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church (an Eastern Catholic church in communion with the Pope) for their own bishop and liturgy. In response these pleas, the Chaldean Patriarch Joseph Audo sent a request to Pope Pius IX for the Syro
3576271
History of the Catholic Church


According to Catholic tradition, the history of the Catholic Church begins with Jesus Christ and his teachings (c. 4 BC – c. AD 30) and the Catholic Church is a continuation of the early Christian community established by the Disciples of Jesus. The Church considers its bishops to be the successors to Jesus's apostles and the Church's leader, the Bishop of Rome (also known as the Pope) to be the sole successor to Saint Peter, who ministered in Rome in the first century AD, after his appointment by Jesus
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Catholic Church in Mongolia


The Catholic Church in Mongolia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. There are around 1,300 Catholics in the country who are served by three churches in the capital Ulaanbaatar plus churches in Darkhan, Arvaikheer, Erdenet and mission stations that may grow into churches. Catholicism was first introduced in the 13th century during the Mongol empire, but died out with the demise of the Yuan Dynasty in 1368. New missionary activity only set in after the Second Opium War in the mid-19th century.
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Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria


Roman Catholic Church recognizes this. In the Roman Catholic viewpoint, this title does not have the same meaning as that of the Bishop of Rome, who was the only Primate in the West to be given the title of "Pope" in the beginning of the 5th century. The Pope of Rome is considered by the Roman Catholic Church as the "Supreme Pontiff", holding the office of the Roman See (being one of the successors of Saint Peter). On the other hand, both the Oriental Orthodox and Byzantine
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Catholic Church in the Philippines


The Catholic Church in the Philippines (; ) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual direction of the Pope. The Philippines is one of the two nations in Asia having a substantial portion of the population professing the Catholic faith, along with East Timor, and has the third largest Catholic population in the world after Brazil and Mexico. The episcopal conference responsible in governing the faith is the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines. Christianity was first brought to the Philippine islands by Spanish missionaries and colonists, who arrived
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Catholic Church in Botswana


The Catholic Church in Botswana is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in the Vatican City. Catholics represent about 5-6% of the total population. Initially Catholic missionaries were not allowed in Botswana by native tribes at the urging of Protestant missionaries who arrived first. Missionaries began to work in Botswana in 1928, and were noted for setting up schools and clinics. In 2006 the church in Francistown started a program to treat refugees infected with AIDS with anti retro viral therapy. As of
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Catholic Church in Ireland


interests was Archbishop McQuaid, who retired in 1972. Pope Francis visited Ireland in 2018 upon invitation extended to the Supreme Pontiff by Ireland's Catholic bishops to visit the country in August 2018 for the World Meeting of Families. This was only the second visit of a pope to the country, the first one having taken place in 1979 with John Paul II. After independence in 1922, the Church became more heavily involved in health care and education, raising money and managing institutions which were staffed by Catholic religious institutes, paid largely
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San Callisto


San Callisto (, ) is a Roman Catholic titular church in Rome, Italy, built over the site of Saint Pope Callistus I and the location of his martyrdom. The original building dates form the time of Pope Gregory III who ordered the building of a church on the site. The church has been rebuilt twice since, first in the twelfth century and again the current church in 1610. In 1458 Pope Callixtus III granted it a titular church as a seat for Cardinals. Established in 1517, the "Titulus San Calixti
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Second Vatican Council


name Pope Paul VI; Bishop Albino Luciani, the future Pope John Paul I; Bishop Karol Wojtyła, who became Pope John Paul II; and Father Joseph Ratzinger, present as a theological consultant, who became Pope Benedict XVI. In the 1950s, theological and biblical studies in the Catholic Church had begun to sway away from the Neo-Scholasticism and biblical literalism which a reaction to Catholic modernism had enforced since the First Vatican Council. This shift could be seen in theologians such as Karl Rahner, Michael Herbert, and John
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Slovak Catholic Eparchy of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto


Canada. Its bishop is member of the Council of Hierarchs of the Slovak Greek Catholic Church sui iuris. The Eparchy was erected on 13 October 1980 by Pope John Paul II, who though Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, appoints the heads of some of the Eastern Catholic Churches (after consulting with the Congregations for Bishops and of the Eastern and Mission Churches, as well as the given area's Eastern Church and Western bishops, and sometimes after an election has been held by the given Church's synod council) when they
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Pope Francis and homosexuality


The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this in a beautiful way, saying…: 'no one should marginalize these people for this, they must be integrated into society.'" Several LGBT groups welcomed the comments, noting that this was the first time a pope had used the word "gay" in public, and had also accepted the existence of gay people as a recognizable part of the Catholic Church community. In October 2016, Francis said that "When a person (who is gay) arrives before Jesus,
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Catholic Church and slavery


the allegations that the Catholic Church did not oppose slavery until relatively recently. Stark makes no mention in his essay of the pro-slavery texts issued by Popes in the past nor does Father Panzer who he uses as a source. Maxwell (1975) asserts that it has been difficult for Catholic historians to write impartially on this subject. By way of example he notes texts of Pope Leo XIII who singled out for praise twelve previous Popes who made every effort to end slavery. Maxwell then points out that five of the mentioned
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Mother of the Church


In Roman Catholic Mariology, Mother of the Church (in Latin Mater Ecclesiae) is a title, officially given to Mary during the Second Vatican Council by Pope Paul VI. The title was first used in the 4th century by Saint Ambrose of Milan, as rediscovered by Hugo Rahner. The title "Mother of the Church" was used by Pope Benedict XIV in 1748 and then by Pope Leo XIII in 1885. The title was also used by Pope John Paul II and is also found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church
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Catholic Church and ecumenism


appellation is rejected by the Catholic Church. Dialogue began with a meeting of the Assyrian Patriarch (Catholicos) Mar Dinkha IV and Pope John Paul II in 1984, and the patriarch's participation in the first Assisi Day of Prayer for Peace in 1986. Nearly a decade of dialogue proved sufficient to resolve the disagreements over terminology in Christology, leading to the "Common Christological Declaration between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East", signed by Pope John Paul II of the Catholic Church and Mar Dinkha IV of the
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Dinkha IV


both with the Vatican and the Chaldean Catholic Church; he first met Pope John Paul II immediately after the Pope's election in 1978 and made his first visit to the Vatican in 1984. The two continued to meet informally over the next decade. After a decision by the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East to have better relations with the Roman Catholic Church in 1994, Dinkha agreed to a Joint Christological Declaration with the Holy See. The "Common Christological Declaration Between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the
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Assyrian Church of the East


to send his profession of faith to the pope, he was deposed by his bishops because of his pro-Catholic attitude. The pope tried to intervene on his behalf, but without success. Final resolution of conflicted tendencies within the Shimun line occurred under the next patriarch Shimun XIII Dinkha (1662-1700), who definitively broke communion with the Catholic Church. In 1670, he gave a traditionalist reply to an approach that was made from the pope, and by 1672 all connections with the Catholic Church were ended. At
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Sedevacantism


made in the name of the Second Vatican Council, and conclude that those who issued these changes could not have been acting with the authority of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, they hold that Pope Paul VI and his successors left the true Catholic Church and thus lost legitimate authority in the Church. A formal heretic, they say, cannot be the Catholic pope. Sedevacantists defend their position using numerous arguments, including that particular provisions of canon law prevent a heretic from being elected or remaining as pope. Paul IV's 1559
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List of canonised popes


This article lists the Popes who have been canonised or recognised as Saints in the Roman Catholic Church they had led. A total of 83 (out of 266) Popes have been recognised universally as canonised saints, including all of the first 35 Popes (31 of whom were martyrs) and 52 of the first 54. If Pope Liberius is numbered amongst the Saints as in Eastern Christianity, all of the first 49 Popes become recognised as Saints, of whom 31 are Martyr-Saints, and 53 of the first 54 Pontiffs
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History of the Catholic Church


his work. The Catholic Church teaches that the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, in an event known as Pentecost, signaled the beginning of the public ministry of the Church. Catholics hold that Saint Peter was Rome's first bishop and the consecrator of Linus as its next bishop, thus starting the unbroken line which includes the current pontiff, Pope Francis. That is, the Catholic Church maintains the apostolic succession of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope – the successor to Saint Peter. In the account of the
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Christian–Jewish reconciliation


rituals for the reception of converts. The term "traditionalist Catholics" often is used to apply to Catholic Christians who are particularly devoted to practicing the ancient traditions of the Church; yet there are also groups calling themselves "traditionalist Catholics" that either reject many of the changes made since Vatican II, or regard Vatican II as an invalid Council, or who broke away entirely from the Catholic Church after Vatican II. Some of these so-called traditionalist Catholics believe that the Pope at the time, and all Popes since,
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Catholic Church in Zambia


The Catholic Church in Zambia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. There are about three million Catholics in the country - about a quarter of the total population. There are ten dioceses, including two archdioceses. The first Catholics in the country were Jesuits who crossed the Zambezi River near Victoria Falls in 1879. Jesuit missions were established among the Tonga in 1902 and at Broken Hill in 1927. The White Fathers, entering from the north in 1891, had greater success in
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Pope Francis


need of interfaith dialogue and the importance of Christianity in the Middle East, the traditional homeland of the Assyrian people. In October 2014, Pope Francis met for the first time with a delegation of the Old Catholic Church's Bishops' Conference of the Union of Utrecht, led by the Archbishop of Utrecht and President of the International Old Catholic Bishops Conference Joris Vercammen. The Pope reflected on the shared ecumenical journey of the two churches since their 18th-century schism over the issue of papal primacy. The Pope called for Catholics and
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Catholic Church in North America


The Catholic Church in North America refers to the Catholic Church in North America, in full communion with the Holy See in Rome, including its various geographical coverage on the continent. It is prevalent in many different countries, on the mainland and in both island countries and overseas territories, such as the United States, the Dominican Republic, and El Salvador. The Catholic Church has begun grouping “North” America with “Latin” and “Central” America as one America. Pope Paul was the first Pope to visit the
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Pope Francis


a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Catholic leaders and leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reaffirmed their shared beliefs in the centrality of marriage and families in society. Pope Francis shook hands with Henry B. Eyring, who was one of the 30 speakers chosen for the event. The interaction was the first time a Pope and a leader from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had met face-to-face. On March 9, 2019, Church President Russell M.
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Clemente Domínguez y Gómez


wounds of Jesus after crucifixion, on his hands. However, the Catholic Church cast doubts on the legitimacy of the alleged visions and apparitions. Clemente Domínguez' claim to be the Pope of the Catholic Church remains unaccepted by Roman Catholics, who accepted Pope John Paul I (1978) and Pope John Paul II (1978–2005) as the true successors of Pope Paul VI. In December 1975, Clemente Domínguez founded his own religious order, "The Carmelites of the Holy Face", allegedly upon instructions from the Blessed Virgin Mary
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Catholic Church in Thailand


The Catholic Church in Thailand is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. According to ucanews.com, as of 2018, there are 379,975 Catholics in Thailand, a figure that represents 0.46 percent of the total population of 69 million. There are 11 dioceses with 436 parishes and 662 priests. The first historical record of an attempt to introduce Christianity to Thailand is owed to John Peter Maffei who stated that about 1550 a French Franciscan named Bonferre, hearing of the great kingdom of the Peguans
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Catholic Church in Trinidad and Tobago


The Catholic Church in Trinidad and Tobago is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. The Apostolic Nuncio to Trinidad and Tobago is, since December 2011, Archbishop Nicola Girasoli, who is also Apostolic Nuncio to other independent states and Apostolic Delegate for the dependent territories in the Caribbean area. The Catholic Church has been present on the island of Trinidad since the 15th century, when the first missionaries arrived here from the Dominican and the Franciscan Religious orders. Missionary ventures to the country launched
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Catholic (term)


other Eastern Catholic Churches. The contemporary Catholic Church has always considered itself to be the historic Catholic Church, and consider all others as "non-Catholics". This practice is an application of the belief that not all who claim to be Christians are part of the Catholic Church, as Ignatius of Antioch, the earliest known writer to use the term "Catholic Church", considered that certain heretics who called themselves Christians only seemed to be such. Regarding the relations with Eastern Christians, Pope Benedict XVI stated his wish to
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List of popes


the "Annuario Pontificio" introduced "almost 200 corrections to its existing biographies of the popes, from St Peter to John Paul II". The corrections concerned dates, especially in the first two centuries, birthplaces and the family name of one pope. The term "pope" () is used in several Churches to denote their high spiritual leaders (for example Coptic Pope). This title in English usage usually refers to the head of the Catholic Church. The Catholic pope uses various titles by tradition, including "Summus
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Americanism (heresy)


Cardinal James Gibbons, published as "Testem benevolentiae nostrae". The Pope lamented an America where church and state are "dissevered and divorced" and wrote of his preference for a closer relationship between the Catholic Church and the State along European lines. The long-term result was that the Irish Catholics who largely controlled the Catholic Church in the United States increasingly demonstrated their total loyalty to the Pope, and traces of liberal thought in the Catholic colleges were suppressed. At bottom it was a cultural conflict, as the continental conservative
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Catholic theology


deeply rooted homosexual tendencies" who are sexually active cannot be ordained. Apostolic succession is the belief that the pope and Catholic bishops are the spiritual successors of the original twelve apostles, through the historically unbroken chain of consecration (see: Holy orders). The pope is the spiritual head and leader of the Roman Catholic Church who makes use of the Roman Curia to assist him in governing. He is elected by the College of Cardinals who may choose from any male member of the church but who must be ordained a bishop
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Catholic Church and HIV/AIDS


at preventing HIV transmission. The new statement from the pope was criticized by conservative Catholics such as Jimmy Akin, who described the pope's statements as "private opinions" as opposed to "official Church teaching." A number of episcopal conferences have suggested that condom use may be acceptable in some circumstances to prevent AIDS. One of the first episcopal conferences to take such a stance was the French Bishops Council which asserted in 1989 that, "The whole population and especially the young should be informed of the risks. Prophylactic measures
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Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Bishop Munib Younan


The Joint Declaration of Pope Francis and Bishop Munib Younan was signed during a service on Reformation Day, 31 October 2016, at the Lund Cathedral in Lund, Sweden, between Pope Francis, who as the Bishop of the Church of Rome is the pontiff of the Catholic Church, and Bishop Munib Younan, the President of the Lutheran World Federation. This was the first time leaders of the Roman Church and the Lutheran World Federation had met and celebrated the Reformation. The service heralded 12 months of events leading up to the 500th
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Catholic Church in Russia


In 1387, the Lithuanians, who had long threatened the western frontier, became Catholic and united dynastically with the Poles. The Catholic Grand Princes, such as Vytautas the Great, attempted to establish separate metropolitanates in the Russian lands they controlled. The Russian church always fought against this, in large part out of fear that the new metropolitanates would be converted to Catholic provinces. The popes, however, attempted more peaceful means of conversion as well. Pope Innocent IV sent two cardinals to Prince Aleksandr Nevsky in 1248, who famously
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Catholic Church in Malawi


The Catholic Church in Malawi is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome and the Malawi bishops. The first Catholic missionaries were White Fathers (Pères Blancs in French) who arrived in Malawi in 1889. By 1904, the White Fathers had three permanent mission stations at Kachebere, Likuni, and Mua, and the Montforts had two missions, at Nguludi and Nzama. Most of the White Fathers were French and, among the early leaders, were Bishops Louis Auneau, Joseph Dupont,
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Catholic Church in Malaysia


The Catholic Church in Malaysia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. The Apostolic Nuncio to Malaysia is Most Rev. Joseph Salvador Marino while the resident ambassador of Malaysia to the Holy See is Westmoreland Anak Edward Palon. The first Catholic priests landed in Malacca in 1511 as military chaplains to the Portuguese. The missionaries were Franciscan and Dominican friars.Malacca new role became a stop-over for the thousands of missionaries who spread the faith to South and Far East Asia. Till today
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Women in the Catholic Church


the generous contribution of many women." This goes to show that influential people within the Church believe that women have contributed to the growth of the Church. Pope Benedict XVI said, "The women, unlike the Twelve, did not abandon Jesus at the hour of His Passion. Outstanding among them was Mary Magdalene ... who was the first witness of the Resurrection and announced it to the others" Mary Magdalene is one of the many women who were a significant figure. The Pope then "recalled how St. Thomas Aquinas referred
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Catholic ecumenical councils


by all Christian communities and Churches. Ecumenical refers to "a solemn congregations of the Catholic bishops of the world at the invitation of the Pope to decide on matters of the Church with him". The ecumenical character of the councils of the first millennium was not determined by the intention of those who issued the invitations. The papal approval of the early councils did not have a formal character, which was characteristic in later councils. The Catholic Church did not officially declare these councils to be ecumenical. This became theological practice.
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Catholic Church and ecumenism


Catholic Archbishop John Bathersby and Anglican Bishop David Beetge, who chair the International Anglican–Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission, encouraged Protestants and Catholics to attend one another's services, although not receiving Holy Communion at them, as delineated in "Growing Together in Unity and Mission": Pope Leo XIII Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XII Pope John XXIII Pope John Paul II Some elements of the Roman Catholic perspective on ecumenism are illustrated in the following quotations from the Second Vatican Council's 1964 "Unitatis Redintegratio" (UR)
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Catholic Church in France


The Catholic Church in France is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope in Rome. Established in the 2nd century in unbroken communion with the bishop of Rome, it is sometimes called the "eldest daughter of the church". The first written records of Christians in France date from the 2nd century when Irenaeus detailed the deaths of ninety-year-old bishop Saint Pothinus of Lugdunum (Lyon) and other martyrs of the 177 AD persecution in Lyon. In 496 Remigius baptized King Clovis I, who therefore
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Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church


would gain their Church the freedom they felt Constantinople was denying them. The leading figure of the Uniat movement was the Bulgarian merchant Dragan Tsankov, who had the support of Catholic France. He published the newspaper "Bulgaria" in Constantinople, in which he advocated a union with the Pope. It criticized Russia for its negative stance on the Bulgarian "church question" and published historical documents on the good connections between the Catholic Church and the Bulgarian kings in medieval time. The First Uniat movement originated in two centers: Kukush and
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Ján Babjak


and apostolic administrator of the Greek Catholic Church in Czechoslovakia since 1968. In December 11, 2002, Pope John Paul II named him the first Bishop of Presov, being consecrated the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome in January 6, 2003 by John Paul II. On January 30, 2008 he was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI Metropolitan of Presov and also promoted to the rank archeparch. A festival promotion of Greek Catholic Church in Slovakia to the metropolitan church of its rights-based in Prešov and the enthronement of the first Catholic
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Pope Francis


Tawadros II. This historic event appears to be the first time that the three Christian popes and the ecumenical patriarch have met together. In May 2013, Pope Francis met with Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria in the Vatican. The meeting coincided with the 40th anniversary of the first visit by a Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria to the Vatican; when Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria met with Pope Paul VI on 10 May 1973. Francis reflected on the close relationship between the Catholic Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
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Roman Catholic Diocese of Tagum


The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tagum (Latin: "Dioecesis Tagamna") is a diocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Davao. It was canonically erected as Prelature Nullius on January 13, 1962 by Pope John XXIII, with Joseph Regan M.M. as its local ordinary. It was elevated to the status of a diocese on October 11, 1980 by Pope John Paul II, who appointed Pedro Dean as its first Filipino bishop ordinary, and Ramon Villena as the auxiliary bishop
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Saint Michael in the Catholic Church


encircle The "Chaplet of Saint Michael" is a chaplet attributed to a private revelation by Saint Michael to the Portuguese Carmelite nun Antónia d'Astónaco in 1751. This chaplet was approved by Pope Pius IX in 1851. The "Scapular of St. Michael the Archangel" is a Roman Catholic devotional scapular associated with Saint Michael. Pope Pius IX gave to this scapular his blessing, but it was first formally approved under Pope Leo XIII who sanctioned the Archconfraternity of the Scapular of Saint Michael. A prayer to Saint Michael is included in the
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Papal oath (traditionalist Catholic)


While a papal oath can be any oath taken by a pope, such as that which Pope Leo III took on 23 December 800 at a council held in Rome in the presence of Charlemagne declaring himself innocent of the charges brought against him, the term is used in particular for the "Papal Oath" that some Traditionalist Catholics say was taken by the popes of the Catholic Church, starting with Pope Saint Agatho who was elected on 27 June 678. They claim that over 180 popes, down to and including Pope Paul VI
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Catholicity


of Greek tradition, and the other Eastern Catholic Churches. Liturgical and canonical practices vary between all these particular Churches constituting the Roman and Eastern Catholic Churches (or, as Richard McBrien calls them, the "Communion of Catholic Churches"). Contrast this with the term Catholicos (but not "Catholicism") in reference to the head of a Particular Church in Eastern Christianity. In the Roman Catholic Church, the term "catholic" is understood as to cover those who are baptized and in communion with the Pope. Other
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Hierarchy of the Catholic Church


According to Pope Benedict XVI, there has been much 'confusion' between the pope's primacy as patriarch of the western church and his primacy as first patriarch among equals, that this "failure to distinguish" between the roles and responsibilities of these two distinct positions leads in time to the "extreme centralization of the Catholic Church" and the schism between East and West. As the first local Church of Italy, the bishop of Rome is the Primate of Italy and is empowered to appoint the president of the Italian Bishops'
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Catholic Church sexual abuse cases


States, Pope Benedict admitted that he was "deeply ashamed" of the clergy sex abuse scandal that has devastated the American church. Benedict pledged that pedophiles would not be priests in the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Benedict also apologized for child abuse scandal in Australia. In November, the United States Court of Appeals in Cincinnati denied the Vatican's claim of sovereign immunity, and allowed a lawsuit against the Catholic Church government by three men who claim they were sexually abused as children by priests in the Louisville, Kentucky, US archdiocese
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Human rights in China


of the illegal, underground Catholic church and members of Protestant house churches face prosecution from PRC authorities. In 2007, the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association elected a Catholic bishop of Beijing to replace the deceased Fu Tieshan. The standard Catholic practice is for a bishop to be appointed by the Pope; the Catholic Church does not recognize the legitimacy of bishops elected by the Association, but not appointed by the Pope. According to Pope Benedict XVI, the Catholic Church in particular is viewed in China as a foreign power. Its situation is
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Catholic Church


" as a "group of Christian faithful united by a hierarchy" that is recognised by the Pope in his capacity as the supreme authority on matters of doctrine within the church. The term is an innovation of the "CCEO" to denote the relative autonomy of the Eastern Catholic Churches, who remain in full communion with the Pope, but have governance structures and liturgical traditions separate from that of the Latin Church. While the Latin Church's canons do not explicitly use the term, it is tacitly recognised as equivalent. Some
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Catholic Church


called the Holy See. In parallel to the diocesan structure are a variety of religious institutes that function autonomously, often subject only to the authority of the pope, though sometimes subject to the local bishop. Most religious institutes only have male or female members but some have both. Additionally, lay members aid many liturgical functions during worship services. The hierarchy of the Catholic Church is headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the pope (; "father"), who is the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. The
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Catholic peace traditions


. Both encountered clergy who thought that they failed in their duty to their country. Pope John XXIII (1958–63) set off a revolution in Roman Catholic thought and life that harkened back to an earlier period for its models and inspiration and brought the church into a new age. Through his policy of "aggiornamento" the pope opened the church to the modern world. Russell Hittinger describes the encyclical "Pacem in Terris" "as a kind of magna charta of the Catholic Church’s position on human rights and natural law"
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San Pellegrino in Vaticano


The Church of San Pellegrino in Vaticano () is an ancient Roman Catholic oratory in the Vatican City, located on the Via dei Pellegrini. The church is dedicated to Saint Peregrine of Auxerre, a Roman priest appointed by Pope Sixtus II who had suffered martyrdom in Gaul in the third century. It is one of the oldest churches in the Vatican City. The church built by Pope Leo III (750 AD - 816 AD) around 800 first received the name of ""San Pellegrino in Naumachia"", making reference
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Napoleon and the Catholic Church


the French. It was not until the conclave of Cardinals had gathered to elect a new Pope that Napoleon decided to bury Pope Pius VI who had died several weeks earlier. He gave him a gaudy ceremony in an effort to gain the attention of the Catholic Church. This eventually led to the Concordat of 1801 negotiated by Ercole Consalvi, the Pope's secretary of state, which re-systemised the linkage between the French church and Rome. However, the Concordat also contained the "Organic Articles" which Consalvi had fiercely denied
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Pope Leo XIII


the importance of scriptures for theological study. It was an important encyclical for Catholic theology and its relation to the Bible, as Pope Pius XII pointed out fifty years later in his encyclical "Divino Afflante Spiritu". Pope Leo XIII fostered relations of goodwill, particularly towards the churches of the East, who were not in communion with the Apostolic See. He also opposed efforts to Latinize the Eastern Rite Churches, stating that they constitute a most valuable ancient tradition and symbol of the divine unity of the Catholic Church. He expressed
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Catholic Church in Norway


The Catholic Church in Norway is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, the Curia in Rome and the Scandinavian Bishops Conference. There were, as of May 2014, over 151,000 registered Catholics in Norway. It is claimed there are many Catholics who are not registered with their personal identification number and who are not reported by the local church; the full number may be as high as 230,000, 70% of whom were born abroad. That constitutes about 5% of the population, making
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Holy orders in the Catholic Church


Roman Catholic definitive teaching and was reinforced by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI. Since 1896 many Anglican bishops have been consecrated by bishops of the Old Catholic Church. Nevertheless, all Anglican clergymen who desire to enter the Catholic Church do so as laymen and must be ordained in the Catholic Church in order to serve as priests. Catholics are, according to and Cardinal Ratzinger, obliged to hold the position that Anglican orders are invalid. Catholics do not recognize the ordination of ministers in other, Protestant
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History of the papacy


and Baroque Papacy led the Catholic Church through the Counter-Reformation. The popes during the Age of Revolution witnessed the largest expropriation of wealth in the church's history, during the French Revolution and those that followed throughout Europe. The Roman Question, arising from Italian unification, resulted in the loss of the Papal States and the creation of Vatican City. Catholics and the Orthodox recognize the pope as the successor to Saint Peter, and recognize him as the first bishop of Rome. Official declarations of the Church speak of the popes
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Catholic Democrats


priests and community organizers who hired President Obama to work in a Catholic church rectory on the South Side of Chicago in 1985. They also worked with local Democratic officials in South Bend, Indiana the weekend of the Notre Dame Commencement to organize a welcome rally for President Obama and a food drive, in the spirit of national service struck at the Inauguration. In the summer of 2009, Catholic Democrats launched the website, "Pope Greets Hope" to celebrate President Obama's first meeting with Pope Benedict XVI on July 11, 2009
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Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saint Josaphat in Parma


Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saint Josaphat in Parma is a diocese of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the United States, with its seat in Parma, Ohio. It was established in 1983 by Pope John Paul II. The eparchy encompasses parishes in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, western Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia. The first eparch (bishop) was Robert M. Moskal. The current eparch is Bohdan Danylo, who was elevated by Pope Francis in 2014. The eparchy is one of three suffragan eparchies of
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Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus


, the Catholic dogma that no one can be saved outside the Catholic Church is well-known; and also that those who are obstinate toward the authority and definitions of the same Church, and who persistently separate themselves from the unity of the Church, and from the Roman Pontiff, the successor of Peter, to whom 'the guardianship of the vine has been entrusted by the Savior,' (Council of Chalcedon, Letter to Pope Leo I) cannot obtain eternal salvation.." Pope Pius XI saw the ecumenical movement
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Bishop in the Catholic Church


theologians, to the College of Cardinals, and these have been permitted to decline episcopal consecration. Examples include Karl Becker in 2012 and Ernest Simoni in 2016. The pope is the man who possesses the sacrament of Holy Orders as a bishop and who has been chosen to be Bishop of Rome. The Catholic Church holds that the College of Bishops as a group is the successor of the College of Apostles. The Church also holds that uniquely among the apostles Saint Peter was granted a role of leadership and authority, giving the pope
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Catholic Church and Judaism


who were never returned to their Jewish families and people. The term "traditionalist Catholics" often is used to apply to Catholics who are particularly devoted to practicing the ancient traditions of the Church; yet there are also groups calling themselves "traditionalist Catholics" that either reject many of the changes made since Vatican II, or regard Vatican II as an invalid Council, or who broke away entirely from the Catholic Church after Vatican II. Some of these so-called traditionalist Catholics believe that the Pope at the time, and all
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List of apologies made by Pope John Paul II


including: On 20 November 2001, from a laptop in the Vatican, Pope John Paul II sent his first e-mail apologizing for the Catholic sex abuse cases, the Church-backed "Stolen Generations" of Aboriginal children in Australia, and to China for the behavior of Catholic missionaries in colonial times. In December 1999, at the request of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith who would later become Pope Benedict XVI, the International Theological Commission presented its study on the topic
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Pope Francis


yourselves, come back to the church.'" Jon O'Brien, the president of U.S. pro-choice Catholic dissident advocacy group Catholics for Choice, praised the pope's effort, and said "it showed that Francis understood the deep chasm that exists between ordinary Catholics who turn to abortion and birth control with the same frequency as people of other faiths and their clergy." Francis has often spoken about the importance of women in the Catholic Church. He considers that they have a special role in spreading the faith to their children
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Sola scriptura


Testament itself demonstrates the process of living Tradition. The Catholic "Dei verbum" and the papal encyclicals "Providentissimus Deus" by Pope Leo XIII and "Divino afflante Spiritu" by Pope Pius XII set out Catholic teaching on tradition versus individual interpretation. The Catholic Church teaches that Christ entrusted the preaching of the Gospel to the apostles, who handed it on orally and in writing, and according to the "Catechism of the Catholic Church", "the apostolic preaching, which is expressed in a special way in the inspired books
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Catholic Church


Eastern Catholic churches are governed by a patriarch who is elected by the synod of the bishops of that church, others are headed by a major archbishop, others are under a metropolitan, and others are organised as individual eparchies. Each church has authority over the particulars of its internal organisation, liturgical rites, liturgical calendar and other aspects of its spirituality, subject only to the authority of the pope. The Roman Curia has a specific department, the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, to maintain relations with them. The pope does
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Han Dingxiang


whether his sentence was related to religious activity. Han was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1986. He was elevated by the Vatican to the Bishop of Yongnian Diocese in 1989 just three years later. Han recognized the pope as head of the Chinese Catholic Church, not the government in Beijing. The Chinese government requires that all members of Christian denominations register and worship in state sponsored churches. By law, Christians of all denominations must worship in state-registered churches. Chinese Catholics, such as Han, who recognize the Pope
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Catholic Church in Italy


The Catholic Church in Italy is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope in Rome, under the Conference of Italian Bishops. The pope serves also as Primate of Italy. In addition to Italy, two other sovereign nations are included in Italian-based dioceses: San Marino and the Vatican City. There are 225 dioceses in the Catholic Church in Italy, see further in this article and in the article List of Catholic dioceses in Italy. The pope resides in the Vatican City, enclaved in Rome. Having
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Catholic Church in Slovenia


The Catholic Church in Slovenia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. There are total of 1,511,980 (73.15%) Catholics in Slovenia in 2017 by official statistics published by Catholic Church of Slovenia. The country is divided into six dioceses, including two archdioceses. The diocese of Maribor was elevated to an archdiocese by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006. Additionally, the pope created three new sees, namely Novo Mesto, Celje and Murska Sobota. Archbishop Juliusz Janusz is the Apostolic Nuncio
21033319
Anti-Catholicism


IX died in 1878 and was replaced by more conciliatory Pope Leo XIII who negotiated away most of the anti-Catholic laws beginning in 1880. Bismark himself broke with the anti-Catholic Liberals and worked with the Catholic Centre Party to fight Socialism. Pope Leo officially declared the end of the Kulturkampf on 23 May 1887. The Catholic Church faced repression in Nazi Germany (1933-1945). Hitler despised the Church although he had been brought up in a Catholic home. The long term aim of the Nazis was to de
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Papal name


A papal name or pontificial name is the regnal name taken by a pope. Both the head of the Catholic Church, usually known as "the" Pope, and the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria (Coptic Pope) choose papal names. , Pope Francis is the Catholic Pope, and Tawadros II or Theodoros II is the Coptic Pope. This article discusses and lists the names of Catholic Popes; another article has a list of Coptic Orthodox Popes of Alexandria. While popes in the early centuries retained their birth
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Canon law of the Catholic Church


his nomocanon revision with updated civil laws became a classical source of ancient canon law for the Greek Church. For Eastern Catholics two sections of Oriental canon law had already, under Pope Pius XII, been put in the form of short canons. These parts were revised as part of the application of Pope John XXIII's decision to carry out a general revision of the Church's canon law; as a result a distinct Code for members of the Eastern Catholic Churches came into effect for the first time on 1 October 1991 (Apostolic
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Catholic Church in Guam


The Catholic Church in the United States unincorporated territory of Guam is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome and locally administered by the Archdiocese of Agaña. Catholicism on the island was a product of centuries of Spanish colonial control as the island was part of the Spanish East Indies until 1898, when the United States acquired it after the Spanish–American War. On October 14, 1965, the vicariate apostolic was raised to a diocese. The first supreme pontiff to visit the island was Pope
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Religion in Portugal


chapel was opened in 1868. The Anglican mission coincided with the growing influence of the Old Catholic movement in Portugal. Congregations were created from Roman Catholic priests and laypeople who refused to accept the dogmas of the infallibility and universal ordinary jurisdiction of the Pope, as defined by the First Vatican Council in 1870. The Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church was formed as a result in 1880 (and has been a member church of the Anglican Communion since 1980); however, laws still restricted the activities of non–Roman Catholics. St
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Fifteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops


Greek Catholic Church, a Cuban priest, and a junior Vatican official. Drawing on the Synod's document on discussions, Pope Francis authored an apostolic exhortation, "Christus Vivit" (Christ is living), which he signed on 25 March 2019. The text of the document was published on 2 April 2019, the anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II, who was "the first Pope to address a letter to young people in 1985 and he was the Pope who began the World Youth Days". The
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Russian Greek Catholic Church


The Russian Greek Catholic Church (, "Rossiyskaya greko-katolicheskaya tserkov"), or Russian Catholic Church, is a "sui iuris" Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Church. Historically, it represents the first reunion of members of the Russian Orthodox Church with the Roman Catholic Church. It is now in full communion with and subject to the authority of the Pope as defined by Eastern canon law. Russian Catholics historically had their own episcopal hierarchy in the Russian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Russia and the Russian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Harbin,
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China–Holy See relations


authorities." While the agreement states that China will recommend the Bishops before they are appointed by the Pope, it also stipulates that the Pope has authority to veto any Bishop which China recommends. Francis then approved seven bishops who had been appointed by Beijing, after withdrawing church censures against them, and against one recently deceased bishop, who had received episcopal consecration without papal approval. On 23 September, the Catholic Church in China pledged to remain loyal to the Chinese Communist Party. Pope Francis also released a letter to Chinese Catholics
9806624
Catholic Church


February 2016, Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, head of the largest Eastern Orthodox church, met in Havana, Cuba, issuing a joint declaration calling for restored Christian unity between the two churches. This was reported as the first such high-level meeting between the two churches since the Great Schism of 1054. In 2014, the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops addressed the church's ministry towards families and marriages and to Catholics in "irregular" relationships, such as those who divorced and remarried outside
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