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Introduction TheCatholic Church (Latin:Ecclesia Catholica), also known as theRoman Catholic Church, is thelargest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billionbaptized Catholicsworldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history and development ofWestern civilization. The Church consists of 24sui iuris (autonomous) churches, including theLatin Church and 23Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500dioceses andeparchiesaround the world, each overseen by one or morebishops. Thepope, who is the bishop ofRome, is thechief pastor of the church. The core beliefs ofCatholicism are found in theNicene Creed. The Catholic Church teaches that it is theone, holy, catholic and apostolic church founded byJesus Christ in hisGreat Commission, that its bishops are thesuccessors of Christ'sapostles, and that the pope is thesuccessor ofSaint Peter, upon whomprimacy was conferred by Jesus Christ. It maintains that it practises the original Christian faith taught by the apostles, preserving the faithinfallibly throughscripture andsacred tradition as authentically interpreted through themagisterium or teaching office of the church. TheRoman Rite andothers of the Latin Church, theEastern Catholic liturgies, and communities and societies such asmendicant orders,enclosed monastic orders,third orders and voluntary charitable layassociations reflect avariety oftheological andspiritual emphases in the church. Of itsseven sacraments, theEucharist is the principal one, celebratedliturgically in theMass. The church teaches that throughconsecration by apriest, the sacramentalbread andwine become thebody and blood of Christ. TheVirgin Mary isvenerated as theMother of God, andQueen of Heaven; she is honoured indogmas, such as that of herImmaculate Conception,perpetual virginity andassumption into heaven, anddevotions.Catholic social teaching emphasizes voluntary support for the sick, the poor, and the afflicted through thecorporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Catholic Church operates tens of thousands ofCatholic schools,universities and colleges,hospitals and orphanages around the world, and is the largest non-governmental provider of education and health care in the world. Among its other social services are numerous charitable and humanitarian organizations. (Full article...) Selected article  Vix Pervenit: On Usury and Other Dishonest Profit was anencyclical, promulgated byPope Benedict XIV on November 1, 1745, which condemned the practice of charginginterest onloans asusury. Because the encyclical was addressed to theBishops ofItaly, it is generally not consideredex cathedra. TheHoly Office applied the encyclical to the whole of theRoman Catholic Church on July 29, 1836, during the reign ofPope Gregory XVI. The encyclical codified Church teachings which date back to earlyecumenical councils, at a time whenscholastic philosophy (which did not regardmoney as aproductive input) was increasingly coming into conflict withcapitalism. Though never formally retracted, the encyclical's relevance has faded as the Church retreated from actively enforcing its social teachings in the financial sphere, and as the practice of charging interest on loans became almost universally accepted—legally and ethically. Selected image  Credit:Blieusong The façade ofNotre-Dame de Paris, showing the Portal of theVirgin, Portal of theLast Judgment and Portal ofSt-Anne. Selected biography  Bede (/biːd/; c. 672 or 673 – May 25, 735), alsoSaint Bede, theVenerable Bede, or (from Latin and Old English)Beda (Old English pronunciation:[ˈbeːdɑ]), was aBenedictinemonk at theNorthumbrianmonastery of Saint Peter atMonkwearmouth, today part ofSunderland, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modernJarrow (seeWearmouth-Jarrow), bothNorthumbria. He is well known as an author and scholar, and his most famous work,Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History of the English People) gained him the title "The father ofEnglish history". Bede became known asVenerable Bede (Lat.: Beda Venerabilis) soon after his death, but this was not linked to consideration forsainthood by theRoman Catholic Church. In fact, his title is believed to come from a mistranslation of the Latin inscription on his tomb inDurham Cathedral, intended to beHere lie the venerable bones of Bede, but wrongly interpreted ashere lie the bones of the Venerable Bede. Did you know... 
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