Criticism of the Catholic Church
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Criticism of the Catholic Church subsumes critical observations made about the current or historical Catholic Church, in its actions, omissions, structure, or nature; theological disagreements would be covered on a denominational basis. Criticism of the Catholic Church in previous centuries was more closely related to theological disputes. In the Twentieth Century, criticism relates more to a clash of philosophy, e.g., the conclusions of humanism vs. the dogmas of Christianity.
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Pressure on traditional mores and practices
- birth control & pre-marital chastity
- homosexuality
- celibacy of the ordained
Ordination of women
As a result of feminism and other social and political movements that have removed barriers to the entry of women into professions that were traditionally male strongholds, in the latter quarter of the twentieth century many women in a handful of countries sought ordination into the Roman Catholic priesthood.
The historic Roman Catholic position (as well as that of the Orthodox and other ancient churches), is that women cannot be priests or bishops, because priests and bishops are successors to the Apostles, and that in the sacrifice of the Eucharist the priest acts in representation of Christ. Jesus chose only men to be the twelve apostles, hence only men can become priests and bishops. Further, this has been the clear teaching of the Church since the time of the Apostles. On May 22, 1994, Pope John Paul II issued an apostolic letter, Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (Priestly Ordination) which reaffirmed the traditional position, and concluded:
- Although the teaching that priestly ordination is to be reserved to men alone has been preserved by the constant and universal Tradition of the Church and firmly taught by the Magisterium in its more recent documents, at the present time in some places it is nonetheless considered still open to debate, or the Church's judgment that women are not to be admitted to ordination is considered to have a merely disciplinary force.
- Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church's divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Luke 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful.
Within Roman Catholicism itself, debate on the subject now focuses on whether this statement is meant to invoke extraordinary papal infallibility (see the concept of the extraordinary magesterium) and raise the rule that women cannot be Roman Catholic priests to the level of an irreformable dogma of the Roman Catholic Church. That disagreement as to the status reached to the heart of the Church. However, its infallibility was confirmed by the CDF in its Responsum Ad Dubium on October 28, 1995, when they responded to a Bishop's inquiry with the following:
"This teaching requires definitive assent, since, founded on the written Word of God, and from the beginning constantly preserved and applied in the Tradition of the Church, it has been set forth infallibly by the ordinary and universal Magisterium (cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium 25, 2). Thus, in the present circumstances, the Roman Pontiff, exercising his proper office of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32), has handed on this same teaching by a formal declaration, explicitly stating what is to be held always, everywhere, and by all, as belonging to the deposit of the faith.
The Sovereign Pontiff John Paul II, at the Audience granted to the undersigned Cardinal Prefect, approved this Reply, adopted in the ordinary session of this Congregation, and ordered it to be published."
Critics accused some of those attached to Ratzinger's Congregation of trying to make the document sound infallible to try to kill off the debate, in effect spinning a fallible document as infallible. Such an accusation has been made in the past, notably Pope Paul's encyclical, Humanæ Vitæ about which one conservative curial cardinal stated "the Holy Father has spoken. The issue is forever closed." However, these criticisms are based on a faulty understanding of the doctrine of infallibility.
What is missed in the debate is that "what has always been taught" is as infallible as a solemn definition that springs from the Pope's Infallible Magisterium. That which has always been taught by the Church is a part of its Universal Magisterium, which is as infallible as such solemn definitions as that used to define the Assumption of Mary. In fact a mere layperson is considered to be infallible when he would simply repeat what the church has always taught.
Opposition to birth control
Roman Catholic opposition to birth control has been criticized as adding to overpopulation, poverty and destitution. Others also argue that their refusal to allow missionaries to discuss condoms in Africa has added to the AIDS epidemic there.
In response, many in the Church claim that there are enough food and other resources on the planet for everyone, and that there is no correlation between population density and wealth or poverty. Some of the richest countries in the world have the densest populations, and vice versa. Supporters of birth control argue that economic growth which allows for a high population density without poverty is a direct function of the availability of birth control, as it leads to smaller families (as is the case in all nations which allow birth control), which in turn have more purchasing power to support themselves and provide their children with education, which is universally recognized as necessary for sustainable growth.
While many people in third world countries regard children as their only defense against destitution, supporters of birth control argue that the dependency on child labor is a vicious circle. A higher availability of children as labor forces pushes down wages; more children require more food, which in turn requires the employment of children to bring in the food.
The Church has repeatedly stated its position that condoms are not adequate prevention for sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS, claiming that they are expensive, fallible and liable to provide a false sense of security. Instead the Church argues for sexual abstinence and non-promiscuous sexual relationships. Most scientists dispute the Church's position on condom security, and argue for a mixed approach of preventive measures instead. Some utterly reject sexual abstinence education as misleading (see sex education, sexual abstinence).
Nevertheless, the Church stands by its doctrines on moral sexual intercourse as defined by the Natural law: intercourse must at once be both the renewal of the consummation of marriage and for the purpose of procreation. If each of these postulates are not met, the act of intercourse is, according to Natural Law, an objective mortal sin. Therefore, since artificial contraception expressly prevents the creation of a new life (and, the Church would argue, removes the sovereignty of God over all of Creation), contraception is unacceptable. The Church sees abstinence as the only objective moral strategy for preventing the transmission of the AIDS virus.[1] [2]
Historical crimes
See separate articles Crusades and Inquisition.
The present Church is also accused by some of crimes committed throughout its history, such as the actions of the Inquisition, the condemnation of Galileo Galilei or its complacency in the Holocaust which was openly admitted in 1997 by the French Catholic Church.
Aside from discussing specific cases, the Church's response is that Catholics are "fallen human beings" no less than non-Catholics and that indeed Church members, including the hierarchy, have been involved in and responsible for crimes, but that this individual guilt cannot be transferred to the body of the Church spreading through the ages. In 2000, Pope John Paul II has publicly asked for pardon "for the sins of Catholics throughout the ages".
Abuse scandals
In 2002, a major scandal errupted in the U.S. Catholic Church when a wealth of allegations of priests sexually abusing children surfaced. Adding to the furor were revelations that the Church was aware of some of the abusive priests, and simply shuffled them from congregation to congregation instead of taking action. The scandal led to the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law from the Boston archdiocese.
See also
Footnotes
- This one appears lost: 3 Technically each diocese operates separately of its neighbours, while religious orders in each diocese are not answerable to or under the control of the local bishop. As a result suspicions about the behaviour of secular priests (priests belonging to the diocese) were not always reported to other dioceses or to religious order-run schools or hospitals, while abuse by religious priests (priests belonging to a religious order) was not always relayed by his order to the diocese and its schools. The most notorious example involved Fr. Brendan Smyth, a Norbertine Order priest in Ireland, whose activities (known about since 1945) were not reported to diocesian clergy let alone the police. In 1994, Brendan Smyth pleaded guilty to a sample set of 17 charges of sexual abuse of children in Belfast from a far longer list. A number of dioceses, the Cardinal Archbishop of Armagh and Smyth's own order publicly blamed each other and accepted no responsibility themselves for the failure to stop Smyth over 47 years.it:Critiche alla Chiesa Cattolica
pl:Krytyka Kościoła katolickiego pt:Aspectos controversos do Catolicismo