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Ecumenical Councils Preparing for Next Week (Disciple 6–Eucharist 1)

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January St. Dominic’s RCIA Program Disciple The Church: 15 History & Teaching 4 Goal • Having switched the Disciple 4 & 5 weeks, we looks at an overview of the Sacraments last week (Disciple 5), and explored the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. These Sacraments are two of the three that initiate us into the Church community, and into Christ’s body and mission. This week we’ll continue to unpack the meaning of Church by looking broadly at its history one the last 2000 years. We’ll also explore it’s role as Teacher. How does the Church function in and through history? How does God walk with the Church through it all? Agenda • Welcome/Housekeeping (10) • Questions & Answers • Introduction to the Rosary (15) Discussion (15): • If the Church is The Body of Christ, what does this mean for Christ’s presence in the world through history and in the world today? • What do I admire about the Catholic Church’s activity in history? Does any part of the Church’s activity in history disturb or upset me? • How do I (might I) listen to what the Church has to say today? What is my approach/attitude to the Church as “Teacher”? • Presentation: The Church: History (35) • Break (10) • Presentation: The Church: Teaching & Belief (30) • Discussion (time permitting): • What is special to this moment in history? • What is the Good News of Christ & the Church that speaks to this moment in history? • How can the body of Christ proclaim & witness the Gospel and walk with others today? Housekeeping Notes • Rite of Acceptance: February 10th at the 11:30am and 5:30 Masses. Come with your sponsor. See the Participants Guide Part 2 for the sample script. • Christians seeking initiation or reception into the Catholic Church • Please look for or request a copy of your baptismal certificate • Contact the place you were baptized. If they don’t keep records, get a letter from a family member. If records were lost, talk to us. Handouts • Session Overview (this sheet) • Questions & Answers • Introduction to the Rosary (handout) • Slides: The Church – History • Slides: The Church—Teaching & Belief • Acts 15 • Nicene Creed (with notes on heresies) • Wikipedia article: Ecumenical Councils Preparing for next week (Disciple 6–Eucharist 1) ✝Consider a special meal or frequent meal ritual that your family shared recently or when you were younger? What traditions did your family practice at that meal? ✝What sets apart family dinners from eating alone? ✝Why do we gather at Mass (why is it communal?) ✝(If you have time) what happens at Mass? What should happen at Mass? • Try praying the Rosary: On your own time, and at your own pace. It’s most helpful if you have the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be prayers memorized. Questions and Answers: January 15, 2019 Total questions: 75 Questions answered: 42 No new questions from last week Questions Answered on January 15, 2019 (Disciple 5) Answers Can the Church function without a hierarchy? Does it have to have a Pope and Cardinals? - or could it just have a Pope, without Cardinals? i.e., Could lay people be trusted to choose the Pope? (Importance: Curious, Topics: Church) The hierarchy The hierarchy is an inherent aspect of the Church, which was built on the foundation of the Apostles [Greek apostoloi: emissaries] chosen by Jesus for the continuation of His ministry and sent on mission to make disciples of all the nations. (Matthew 28:16) He constituted them in the form of “a college or permanent assembly, at the head of which he placed Peter, chosen from among them.” (Lumen Gentium 19) In choosing Peter to lead the Apostles, He said, “You are Peter [Greek Petrus: rock], and upon this rock, I will build my Church.” (Matthew 16:18) To the Apostles as a group, He said, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you… Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” (John 20:21, 23) As successor to Peter, the Pope is Bishop of Rome and is the “foundation of the unity of both the bishops and the whole company of the faithful.” (Lumen gentium22) The Bishops have a responsibility to preach the Gospel to all. “Faith comes from what is heard.” (Romans 10:17) One cannot give one self the mandate and mission to proclaim the Gospel; one only receives it and acts on Christ’s authority. One cannot bestow grace on oneself; it must be given. Therefore, ministers of grace receive the mission and faculty to act in “persona Christi Capitis” (in the person of Christ the head), not in their own power. The term humbles rather than exalts the minister, linking the sacramental role to its character as service. As it says in Lumen gentium, “The holders of office, who are invested with a sacred power, are, in fact, dedicated to promoting the interests of their brethren, so that all who belong to the People of God may obtain salvation.” (Lumen gentium18) The ecclesial ministry is collegial. Chosen and sent out together, the Apostles had a fraternal unity at the service of all the faithful, reflecting and witnessing the communion of the divine persons (John 17:21-23) Each Bishop acts from within the ecclesial college in communion with the Bishop of Rome. While acting in communion with one another, they also act in a personal way, bearing personal witness and having responsibility within the common mission. (John 20:22) This balance between the personal and collegial character of the ecclesial ministry supports not only the people of God, but also the Church in her universal (catholic) capacity. “In the Church there is diversity of ministry but unity of mission.” (Apostolicam actuositatem) Cardinals (and Papal Elections) The College of Cardinals is a separate (albeit overlapping) group, appointed by the Pope. Cardinals serve as his advisors, and elect the next Pope when he dies or retires. As an example of their advisory role, Pope Francis has appointed a group of nine cardinals to advise him on the reformation of the Curia. Cardinals serve in many governing functions of the Church, for example, as Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith or as Secretary of State for the Vatican. While many of the cardinals are bishops or archbishops, there is no canonical requirement that a cardinal be a priest or bishop, although over time Popes have established and modified rules about this. Indeed, there would be no doctrinal impediment to the Pope appointing even a laywoman to this role, though at this point in history, it would require setting aside current church law (which Popes can and have done) and undoubtedly create an uproar. Through history there have been various rules as to which Cardinals may participate in the conclave to elect a new Pope. It was actually only in 1059 that the authority to elect a Pope was given to Cardinals; in 1970 Pope Paul VI limited this to those Cardinals under 80 years of age and later limited the number who could participate in the conclave to 120. The Cardinals’ role in the election of a new Pope is to be guided by the Holy Spirit in their deliberations and ultimate decision. Prior to 1059, there were other ways of electing a new Pope and, theoretically, alternative ways could be established in the future. The current conclave of Cardinals has, however, overall been an effective means of allowing for the operation of the Holy Spirit in this process of prayerful discernment and election. Note: As a final note, while the hierarchy shares in the holiness of the Church instituted by Christ, it is also made up of individuals. There is a tension between the holiness of the Church and the failings of individual members. We need to recognize both that the sinfulness of individual members does not alter the holiness of the Church and that all have need of our prayers. Church Growth & History What Changes in History • World – Political systems, Worldview, Technology, – Views of: humanity (class, dignity, etc.), creation • Church – Self-understanding • Understanding of Jesus, heresies • How to best respond to Jesus, lived examples (Saints) – Relationship to society • Response to crises, relationship to political structure, relationship to other religions, The Council of Jerusalem • Acts 15 – ~50 AD • The Practical & Theological Question – Do Gentiles need to become Jews before becoming Christians? – (i.e., keep all of the laws including circumcision) • Church leaders gather to debate – Reflecting on the Scriptures – Guided by the Holy Spirit • Decision • Gentiles need not become Jews, but all should hold to the laws that keep us together as community (i.e., food & marriage) Major Periods of Christian History Transition Transition Event Notes Faith spreads, periodic persecution, martyrdom, 100 Bible written other writings, house churches Christianity Church gathers publically (worship, resolve issues), 313 legalized dominant religion of the Empire, Bible defined “Dark Ages,” conversion of Germanic tribes, 476 Rome falls incorporation of new worldview Scholastic movement, Mendicant movement, 1054 East/West schism populations shifting to the cities, Black Plague Fall of Byzantine 1453 Printing press Empire Protestant Reformation and counter-reformation, Christianity 1521 Reformation continues to fracture Scientific movement, split between faith and 1610 Enlightenment reason, heliocentric worldview, French Revolution Apologies by Pope Saint John Paul II https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_apologies_made_by_Pope_John_Paul_II • The legal process on the Italian scientist and philosopher Galileo (1992) • Catholics' involvement with the African slave trade (1993) • The Church's role in burnings at the stake and the religious wars that followed the Protestant Reformation (1995) • The injustices committed against women, the violation of women's rights and for the historical denigration of women (1995) The inactivity and silence of many Catholics during the Holocaust (1998) • For the execution of Jan Hus in 1415 (1999) • For the sins of Catholics throughout the ages for violating "the rights of ethnic groups and peoples, and [for showing] contempt for their cultures and religious traditions." (2000) • For the actions of the Crusader attack on Constantinople in 1204.
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