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Introduction TheCatholic Church (Latin:Ecclesia Catholica), commonly known as theRoman Catholic Church, is thelargest Christian denomination, with an estimated 1.27 to 1.41 billionbaptized membersworldwide as of 2025. One of the world's oldest continuously functioning institutions, it has played a formative role in the development ofWestern civilization. The Church consists of 24sui iuris (autonomous) churches—theLatin Church and 23Eastern Catholic Churches—which together encompass nearly 3,500dioceses andeparchies governed bybishops. Thepope, as bishop ofRome, serves as the Church'schief pastor. Catholic doctrine is rooted in theNicene Creed. The Church teaches that it is the "one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church" founded byJesus Christ in theGreat Commission; that its bishops are thesuccessors of theapostles; and that the pope is thesuccessor ofSaint Peter, to whom Christ entrusted a uniquepastoral role. It holds that the apostolic faith is transmitted throughScripture andsacred tradition, interpreted authentically by themagisterium, the Church's teaching authority. Catholic liturgical life includes theRoman Rite andother rites of the Latin Church, along with the diverse liturgical traditions of theEastern Catholic Churches. Religious orders,monastic communities,third orders, and laymovements contribute to awide range oftheological andspiritual expressions within Catholicism. Among the Church'sseven sacraments, theEucharist is regarded as the central act of worship and is celebrated in theMass. Catholics believe that throughconsecration by apriest, thebread andwine become thebody and blood of Christ. TheVirgin Mary isvenerated as theMother of God andQueen of Heaven, and is honored throughdoctrines such as theImmaculate Conception,perpetual virginity, andAssumption, as well as through numerousdevotional practices.Catholic social teaching emphasizes care for the poor, the sick, and themarginalized through thecorporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Church operates tens of thousands ofeducational andmedical institutions worldwide and is the largest non-governmental provider ofeducation and health care. It also supports a wide array ofcharitable andhumanitarian organizations. (Full article...) Selected article  Catholic social teaching comprises those aspects ofCatholic doctrine which relate to matters dealing with the collective aspect of humanity. The foundations of modern Catholic social teaching are widely considered to have been laid byPope Leo XIII's 1891encyclical letterRerum Novarum. A distinctive feature of Catholic social teaching is its concern for the poorest members of society. This concern echoes elements of the Jewish law and of the prophetic books of theOld Testament, and recalls the teachings ofJesus Christ recorded in theNew Testament, such as his declaration that "whatever you have done for one of these least brothers of Mine, you have done for Me." Another distinctive feature of Catholic social doctrine is the way in which it has consistently critiquedmodern social and political ideologies both of the left and of the right:communism,conservatism,socialism,libertarianism,capitalism,liberalism andNazism have all been condemned, at least in their pure forms, by the Popes at one time or another. Selected image  Credit:Acarpentier The Tomb ofBrother André. When Brother André died, a million people filed before his coffin. His heart is preserved in amonstrance in the oratory. It was stolen in March 1973, but recovered in December 1974. He wasbeatified byPope John Paul II on May 23, 1982. The miracle cited in the beatification was the healing in1958 of Giuseppe Carlo Audino, who suffered from cancer. Selected biography  Blaise Pascal (French pronunciation:[blɛzpaskal]), (June 19, 1623 – August 19, 1662) was aFrenchmathematician,physicist, andreligiousphilosopher. He was achild prodigy who was educated by his father. Pascal's earliest work was in the natural and appliedsciences where he made important contributions to the construction of mechanicalcalculators, the study offluids, and clarified the concepts ofpressure andvacuum by generalizing the work ofEvangelista Torricelli. Pascal also wrote in defense of thescientific method. Pascal was a mathematician of the first order. He helped create two major new areas of research. He wrote a significant treatise on the subject ofprojective geometry at the age of sixteen, and later corresponded withPierre de Fermat onprobability theory, strongly influencing the development of moderneconomics andsocial science. Following amystical experience in late 1654, he abandoned his scientific work and devoted himself to philosophy andtheology. His two most famous works date from this period: theLettres provinciales and thePensées. Pascal suffered from illhealth throughout his life and died two months after his 39th birthday. Did you know...
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