The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Catholicism, 3rd Edition

by O'Gorman, Ph.D., Bob; Faulkner, M.A., Mary

• ISBN13: 9781592575350
• ISBN10: 1592575358
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-08-01
• Publisher: DK Publishing, Inc.

Summary

You're no idiot, of course. You know that Catholicism is one of the largest denominations of Christianity, and that the pope represents the leadership of the Church. But there is much more to being a Catholic than saying your prayers and going to Sunday Mass.

Author Biography

Bob O-'Gorman holds both a Master-'s degree and Ph.D. in religious education. He has published several books on U.S. Catholic history and education and teaches at the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola.
Mary Faulkner holds a Master-'s degree in religious education, is the director of the Institute of Integrated Healing Arts in Nashville, and is a psychotherapist in private practice.

Table of Contents

Part 1: What's a Catholic?	1	(64)
1 Can You Judge a Catholic by the Cover?	3	(12)
Why You Might Be Interested	4	(1)
What Catholics Believe	5	(4)
Nicene Creed	5	(1)
The Catholic Spirit	5	(2)
The Richness of Catholic Tradition	7	(1)
Aren't All Catholics the Same?	8	(1)
You Know You're Pre—Vatican II If...	8	(1)
Same Church Different Pews	9	(1)
A New Perspective on an Old Church	10	(1)
What You Have to Do	10	(2)
From Law to Loving Response	11	(1)
The Classic Definition	12	(3)
2 The People: Many Faces, Many Flags	15	(10)
Would I Know One If I Saw One?	15	(5)
Day of the Dead	16	(1)
An African American Mass	17	(1)
A Native American Parish	18	(1)
The Taos Pueblo Catholic Church	19	(1)
So Where Would I Find a Catholic?	20	(5)
The Americas: Close to Home	20	(2)
The Rest of the World	22	(1)
Worldwide Catholic Population by Continent and Future Projections	23	(2)
3 Catholicism: It's a Big Tent	25	(12)
Image: The Power of the Press	25	(4)
Opus Dei: Working It Out with God	26	(1)
Pro and Con	27	(1)
Voice of the Faithful: Speaking Out	28	(1)
Pro and Con	29	(1)
From Bing to Bono	29	(2)
The Good Priest	30	(1)
Rock Star Meets Rock of the Church	30	(1)
From Bishop Sheen to Dan Berrigan	31	(3)
The Good Ambassador	32	(1)
Religious Outlaw	32	(2)
From Cesar Chavez to Clarence Thomas	34	(3)
Grapes of Wrath	34	(1)
Dirt Poor in Georgia to the Supreme Court	35	(2)
4 The Vatican: The Church That's a Country	37	(14)
Just Who Is the Pope?	38	(7)
Upon This Rock...	38	(1)
Papal Thumbprints	39	(1)
Infallibly Speaking...	40	(1)
What's His Address?	41	(1)
Smoke Signals	42	(1)
Changes in Papal Election Process	43	(1)
The Beloved John Paul II	43	(1)
New Pope in a New Millennium	44	(1)
The Big Church and the Little Church	45	(1)
Rules and Regulations	45	(6)
The Ten Commandments	46	(1)
The Six Precepts	46	(1)
The 1,752 Canons	47	(1)
The Beatitudes	47	(1)
Conscience, Virtue, and Grace	48	(3)
5 The '60's: Seeds of Revolution	51	(14)
The Stillness Before the Storm	52	(4)
Vatican II: A Radical Departure and a Rebirth	52	(1)
Lighting the Council Fires	53	(2)
The Altar Rail Comes Down, the Priest Turns Around	55	(1)
The Rosary Gives Way to the Bible	56	(1)
Church as Listener	56	(2)
Science and Faith Reach a Compromise	57	(1)
From the Sanctuary to Selma	57	(1)
Ecumenism: Catholics' Relationship to Other Christians	58	(2)
Ecumenism Begins at Home	58	(1)
Expanding Interfaith Relationships	59	(1)
We Throw Open Heaven's Gate: Religious Liberty	59	(1)
Conscience Reigns Supreme	60	(1)
A Painful Side Effect of Vatican II: Loss of Tradition	60	(7)
Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa	61	(1)
Shifting Prayers and Practices	61	(1)
The Saints Suffer	62	(1)
Dress Code: Defrocking the Clerics	62	(1)
Numbers Tell the Story	63	(2)
Part 2: Putting the "Ism" in Catholicism: Becoming Catholic, Becoming Different	65	(44)
6 "It's Elementary, My Dear Watson"	67	(14)
Ritual: The Old Religion, Roots, and Renewal	68	(3)
Elementally Speaking	69	(1)
A Visit to Antiquity	69	(2)
"Yada, Yada, Yada"	71	(4)
Paradise Lost, and Paradise Found	72	(1)
The Covenant	73	(1)
Moses Receives the Law	74	(1)
A Summary of Jewish Influence	75	(1)
Influences of the Greeks, Romans, and Indigenous Peoples	75	(6)
The Greeks Decapitate the Mind from the Body	75	(2)
Roman Power and Might	77	(1)
Indigenous Peoples of Western Europe	78	(1)
Cultural Influences	79	(2)
7 The Bible	81	(14)
Sacred Scriptures	81	(5)
The Old Testament	82	(2)
The New Testament	84	(2)
The Canon: How Are We Sure What Texts Are Sacred?	86	(4)
Catholic Beliefs Regarding the Bible	87	(1)
What Place Does the Bible Hold for Catholics?	88	(1)
Catholics Can and Do Read the Bible	89	(1)
All God's Children	90	(5)
Correcting Mistakes of the Past	90	(1)
Anti-Semitism	90	(1)
"In Our Time"	91	(1)
It's About Time	92	(3)
8 Jesus: Spirit of a New Religion	95	(14)
How We Know What We Know About Jesus	96	(1)
The Wellspring of Galilee	96	(1)
Jesus the Jew	97	(1)
The Key Stories of the Christians	97	(4)
Jesus' Birthday: Christmas	98	(1)
His Mission, Death, and Resurrection	98	(2)
Pentecost: The Birthday of the Church	100	(1)
Was Jesus the First Catholic?	101	(3)
The Core Beliefs	102	(1)
The Calling	102	(2)
Catholics Separate from the Jews	104	(7)
The Martyrs	104	(2)
Designing the Structures	106	(1)
The Desert Fathers and Mothers	107	(2)
Part 3: The Sensuous Side of Catholicism: How Catholics Experience God	109	(54)
9 Catholic Imagination: The Sacred Space of Ritual	111	(12)
What Is Ritual and Why Do Catholics "Do" It?	112	(1)
Feeling the Faith	112	(1)
Walking and Talking with Jesus	113	(1)
The Theology of Catholic Ritual	113	(4)
Now You See Him, Now You Don't: How God Is Present	114	(1)
Catholic Symbol/Protestant Word	114	(2)
Catholic Crucifix and Protestant Cross	116	(1)
The Touchy-Feely Stuff	116	(1)
Imagination: Tasting, Touching, Smelling God	117	(1)
Sacred Elements: Air, Earth, Fire, and Water	118	(3)
Earth: Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Dust	118	(1)
Air as Holy Spirit	119	(1)
Holy Water and Holy Oil	119	(1)
Fire, Symbol of Transformation	120	(1)
When No One Is Watching	121	(2)
10 Jesus: The Original Sacrament	123	(10)
Omnipresence: The Catholic Sacramental Principle	124	(1)
Church as Sacrament	125	(2)
The Church, Jesus' Sensible Side	125	(1)
Sacrament: Mediating Grace—Really!	126	(1)
Religion: The Marriage of Form and Spirit	127	(2)
Getting from Here to There	127	(1)
Community: The Kingdom of God Is Within (Us)	128	(1)
Sacramental Awareness	129	(1)
Ignatius Loyola's Spiritual Exercises: A Journey into Sensual Imagination	129	(4)
11 Seven Sensual Sacraments	133	(18)
Baptism: More Than Just Water on the Head	134	(2)
Water on the Head	134	(1)
Who Can Baptize?	135	(1)
The Origins of Baptism	136	(1)
Eucharist: First Holy Communion	136	(1)
Eucharist: A Catholic's Thanksgiving	137	(1)
Confirmation: It's No Longer a Slap on the Face	137	(2)
Origins of the Sacrament of Confirmation	138	(1)
Oil and Words and the Holy Spirit	138	(1)
The Seven Gifts	139	(1)
Ménage à Trois: It's More Than Just Two in a Marriage	139	(3)
I Do! I Do!	140	(1)
A Covenant Relationship	140	(1)
Forever Is a Long Time	141	(1)
Holy Orders: More Than Just Oil on the Fingers	142	(2)
In the Beginning	142	(1)
The Ceremony	143	(1)
A Few Good Men	144	(1)
Penance: More Than Just a Kick in the Pants	144	(4)
Confession Is Good for the Soul	145	(1)
Sin, the "S" Word	145	(1)
The Little Black Box	146	(1)
Guilt: The Gift You Leave Behind	147	(1)
Anointing of the Sick: More Than a Simple Good-Bye	148	(3)
Three for the Price of One!	148	(1)
Healing Body and Soul	149	(1)
Transformation for the Community	149	(2)
12 Who Is Mary?	151	(12)
Do Catholics Worship Mary?	152	(1)
Mary, the People's Choice	152	(2)
Mary: Myth and Legend	152	(1)
Virgin and Mother: Not a Problem	153	(1)
"Now and at the Hour of Our Death..."	154	(1)
Mary's Incomplete History	154	(1)
Council of Ephesus	155	(1)
Theotokos: Mother of God	156	(1)
Apparitions: Here, There, and Everywhere	156	(2)
Lourdes: Healing Waters	157	(1)
Fatima: World Peace	158	(1)
Our Lady of Guadalupe: Patron of the Americas	158	(1)
Feasts and Devotions to Mary	158	(7)
Immaculate Conception of Mary: December 8, and Mary's Birthday: September 8	158	(1)
The Annunciation: March 25, and the Visitation: May 31	159	(1)
Mary, Mother of God: January 1	159	(1)
The Assumption: August 15	160	(1)
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of the Americas: December 12	160	(3)
Part 4: Imagination and Prayer	163	(42)
13 Feeding the Imagination	165	(12)
Sacramentals: Little Sacraments	165	(5)
Catholic Stuff: Statues, Holy Cards, and the Saints Go Marching In!	166	(2)
Church Bells Chiming	168	(2)
Sacramental Gestures	170	(3)
The Sign of the Cross	170	(1)
Blessings for Everything!	171	(1)
Hands, Knees, Heads, and Hats	171	(1)
Superstition or Sacred Tradition?	172	(1)
The Liturgical Calendar: Sacred Time	173	(2)
Celebrating the Seasons	174	(1)
Celebrating the Final Journey	175	(2)
14 Catholic Prayers and Music: Tangible Poetry	177	(14)
Personal Prayer	178	(1)
The Rosary	179	(5)
Origins of the Rosary	179	(1)
How to Say the Rosary	180	(1)
The Prayers of the Rosary	181	(1)
The Twenty Mysteries of the Rosary	182	(2)
When Is the Rosary Said?	184	(1)
Monasteries, Mysticism, and Contemplative Prayer	184	(2)
Mystic Roll Call!	184	(1)
Monasticism: The Great Getaway	185	(1)
Mysticism Today	186	(1)
Liturgy of the Hours	186	(2)
Sacred Music	188	(3)
How Sacred Music Functions	188	(3)
15 The Mass: The Catholics' Big Dinner Party	191	(14)
Celebration or Sacrifice: What Is the Mass?	192	(1)
The Liturgy of the Word	193	(2)
Gathering: The People Arrive	193	(1)
Proclaiming: The Word of God	194	(1)
Reflecting: a Word to the Wise	194	(1)
The Prayers Go Out Over the Land	195	(1)
The Liturgy of the Eucharist	195	(4)
There's No Free Lunch!	195	(1)
Blessing the Bread	196	(2)
Breaking the Bread	198	(1)
The Eucharist: Feeding the Flock	199	(2)
Is It Real, or Is It "Memorex"?	199	(1)
The Meaning of Sacrifice	200	(1)
Here's the Church, and Here's the Steeple, Open the Doors, and See All the People!	201	(1)
Sacred Spaces	201	(1)
Putting on Your Glad Rags	202	(1)
Who's Who at a Catholic Mass	203	(1)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner: Is It Just for Catholics?	204	(1)
Part 5: Catholic Identity: How Are Catholics Wired?	205	(68)
16 It's a Tribe	201	(18)
Where the Tribe Meets	207	(3)
Center for Belonging	208	(1)
Center for Prayer and Sacraments	208	(1)
Launching Pad to the World	209	(1)
Catholics' Social Face	210	(3)
Catholic Health Care: More Than Chicken Soup for the Soul	210	(1)
Catholic Colleges: Rocking the Cradle of Thought	211	(1)
Catholic Charities: More Than Just a Handout	212	(1)
Missing the Mark	212	(1)
Getting In and Out of the Tribe	213	(6)
Joining Catholicism, Not a Quick Study	213	(2)
Excommunication	215	(1)
Maintaining Status: How Catholic Do You Have to Be?	216	(1)
Broken Relationships: Recovering Catholics	216	(3)
17 The Teaching Church: More Than Just a Slap with the Ruler	219	(12)
The Sources of the Church's Teaching: Scripture and Tradition	220	(2)
Keeping the Faith	220	(1)
Tradition: More Shall Be Revealed	220	(1)
The Catechism	221	(1)
Theology: Faith Seeking Reason	222	(2)
Classical Theology	223	(1)
Getting Grounded: Contemporary Theology	224	(1)
Bargains from the Border: Liberation Theology and Base Communities	224	(4)
The Mirror of Change	225	(1)
Church in the 'Hood	226	(1)
Prophetically Speaking...	227	(1)
Stirring the Pot of Change	228	(3)
The Dynamic Triangle: The People, Theologians, and Bishops	229	(2)
18 The Catholic Church's Best-Kept Secret: Social Justice	231	(16)
Lucy's Enlightenment	231	(1)
Charitable Work and Social Activism	232	(2)
Justice: A Community Effort	233	(1)
Bishop Lobbyists	233	(1)
Religion and Politics: Beyond Polite Conversation	234	(2)
God and Caesar	234	(1)
Empowering the Laity	235	(1)
The Nine Themes in Catholic Social Teaching	236	(7)
The Dignity of Every Person and Human Rights	239	(1)
Solidarity, Common Good, and Participation	239	(1)
Family Life	240	(1)
Subsidiarity and the Proper Role of Government	240	(1)
Property Ownership in Modern Society: Rights and Responsibilities	241	(1)
The Dignity of Work, Rights of Workers, and Support for Labor Unions	241	(1)
Colonialism and Economic Development	241	(1)
Peace and Disarmament	242	(1)
Option for the Poor and Vulnerable	242	(1)
Dorothy Day and The Catholic Worker Movement	243	(1)
Dorothy Day's Legacy for Today's Catholic Worker	244	(1)
Conclusion: The Church Today	244	(3)
19 The Teachings of the Church: Moving Beyond Sin	247	(12)
Sin: Missing the Mark	248	(2)
Categories of Sins: Specks and Logs	248	(2)
Human Sexuality: "Male and Female He Created Them"	250	(3)
Birth Control: The Church's Big Headache	250	(1)
Natural Family Planning: It's Not Your Grandma's Calendar	251	(1)
Homosexuality: Yes and No	252	(1)
The Seamless Garment	253	(6)
Euthanasia: Say No to Dr. Death	254	(1)
Can War Be Justified?	254	(2)
Abortion: When Life Begins	256	(1)
Capital Punishment: A Call to Reconciliation	257	(2)
20 The Church: Moving from Steeple to People	259	(14)
A Call to Hierarchical Communion	260	(1)
The Unified Church	261	(2)
Who's Who in the Church	261	(1)
Bishops: Shepherds of the Flocks	262	(1)
The Roman Curia	262	(1)
Vocation: No Family Is Complete Without One	263	(1)
Priests: The Guys on the Front Line	263	(1)
Religious Orders: Know Your Players	264	(4)
Becoming Monks, Nuns, and Brothers	265	(1)
Benedictines: Behind Closed Doors	266	(1)
The Rule of St. Francis	266	(1)
Dominicans: Telling It Like It Is	267	(1)
Jesuits: The Pope's Foot Soldiers	268	(1)
Lay Vocation: What About the Rest of the Folks?	268	(7)
There Is a Job for Everyone	269	(1)
Faith in Action	270	(3)
Part 6: The Church's History	273	(48)
21 The Roman Establishment	275	(12)
From Underdog to Top Dog	275	(5)
Constantine: The Church Gets a Break	276	(2)
Augustine: Lover and Loser	278	(2)
Christianity Comes to Your Hometown	280	(4)
Monasticism: Attraction Rather Than Promotion	280	(1)
St. Patrick: Three Cheers for the Irish	281	(2)
German Christianity	283	(1)
From Rationality to Mysticism	284	(1)
A New Empire Is Born	284	(3)
22 Division, Debauchery, and Reform: The Church's Second Millennium	287	(12)
Catholic and Orthodox: The Church's Y1K Problem	288	(5)
Catholicism's Dark Side	289	(1)
Crusades: Holy War or War on the Holy?	289	(1)
Good Out of Evil	290	(1)
Inquisition: Ask Me No Questions, and I'll Tell You No Lies!	291	(1)
Indulge Me, One More Time	292	(1)
Problems, Protest, and Protestants	293	(2)
Martin Luther: The Hammer Heard 'Round the World	294	(1)
Henry VIII: Love and Marriage	294	(1)
Trendy Trent: Going to Reform School	295	(1)
Scripture and Tradition Upheld	295	(1)
Lines Drawn: Them and Us	295	(1)
The Church Turns Its Face to the New World	296	(3)
23 The Birth of the Church in the New Land	299	(12)
Colonization: Ready or Not, Here We Come!	300	(5)
Europe Comes to Mexico	300	(2)
The Beliefs of the Indigenous People	302	(1)
Spanish America	302	(2)
Missions and Conversion	304	(1)
A New People Emerges	305	(3)
The Brown Lady of Guadalupe	305	(2)
La Nueva Raza: The New Race	307	(1)
Cultural Contributions to Today's Catholicism	308	(3)
24 Catholics Earn Their Citizenship	311	(10)
Catholicism and Colonial America: There Goes the Neighborhood!	312	(2)
Breaking Into the Protestant Club	312	(1)
Catholics and the Revolution	313	(1)
Coming in Droves: The Immigrant Experience	314	(1)
Potatoes, Poverty, and Discrimination: The Irish in America	314	(6)
Sauerkraut and Sausages: Germanic Education and Liturgy	315	(1)
Poles: Pierogi and Patriotism	316	(1)
Italians: Pasta and Festa	317	(1)
African Americans: Soul Food, Clapping, and Justice	318	(2)
A Checkered Church Solidifies	320	(3)
Catholic Prosperity	321	(1)
The Loss of Innocence	322	(1)
Catholics Come of Age	323	(6)
Movin' on Up	323	(1)
The Transference of Leadership: The Baton Is Passed	324
Part 7: A Look to the Future	321	(34)
25 Catholic Sexuality: The Church's Dirty Little Secret?	329	(10)
Sex, Lies, and Vatican Tapes	330	(1)
"Safe" Sex: Cover-up by Bishops	330	(1)
Is Sex Abuse a Catholic Issue?	330	(1)
Our Legacy: Dualism and the Mind/Body Split	331	(3)
The Soul of a Cleric: Anthony and Augustine	331	(1)
Celibacy's Slippery Slope	332	(1)
Spawning Ground for Sin Legislation	332	(1)
Sex Education: "Thou Shalt Not"	333	(1)
Clericalism: The Secret Culture	334	(3)
The Power of Secrecy	334	(1)
Bishops: Stewards and Shepherds	335	(1)
Peeking Under the Cleric's Robe	335	(1)
Protecting Patriarchal Power	336	(1)
Sexual Imagination (Thou Shall...)	337	(2)
The Paradox: Lousy Laws, Good Sex	337	(2)
26 Face-to-Face in the Third Millennium: The Church Looks to the Future	339	(16)
Recap: Past, Present, and Future	340	(2)
The Tectonic Plates Shift	340	(2)
The Church Is One	342	(2)
The Church's Unified Vision	342	(1)
Unified Vision Interrupted	342	(1)
Women in the Wings	342	(1)
Letting Justice Roll Down	343	(1)
The Church Is Holy	344	(1)
Spirit on the Rise	344	(1)
The Church Is Catholic	345	(2)
Universal: All Over the Map	346	(1)
Speakinga Universal Language	346	(1)
The Church Is Apostolic	347	(2)
Partnership: From Power Over to Empowerment	348	(1)
Sharing the Bread	348	(1)
The New Generations: Passing the Cup	349	(4)
Post—Vatican II Generation: Anglos	350	(1)
The Latino Generation	351	(1)
Quantum Generation: Generation Q: Identity Chosen, Not Commanded	352	(1)
Incarnation: Celebrating Life	353
Appendixes
A Glossary	355	(6)
B Recommended Reading	361	(16)
Index	377