Pope John Paul II
"Veritatis Splendor" was about the church's moral teachings. Some major points made in this encyclical are of abstaining to conform to the world and morality. The point of this encyclical is to remind the Catholic people of what the church believes in because along with the times, people are changing. Conforming to the world, meaning participating in the immoral acts that are being committed is not what the church wants people to do. The church is sticking to their guns on all of their teachings ands expects Catholics to do the same. Although I disagree with some of the teachings of the church, I think it is good that they are not conforming. I Think the church should be a solid foundation and changing would just convey to the people that it is weak.
Pope John Paul II visited the United States from October 4 -- 8 in 1995. This was the first time in sixteen years that the pope had visited us. Americans would have done anything to get a glimpse of the pope while he was here on his short visit. People went to great lengths to get tickets to the many services he said while here. I find all the excitement shown by the Catholics kind of odd because in polls taken a little while after his visit, the majority of Catholics disagree with his teachings. TIME Magazine, CNN and U.S. News took the polls. Some of the results were rather surprising. Only 15% of American Catholics believe they should always obey his teachings on moral issues. Seventy-nine% believe Catholics can make up their own mind. Two-thirds of Catholics do not believe abortion is wrong in every case. Although the pope's visit may have appeared to be a success in that he reached everyone, a few months after his departure the hype wore down and people went back to their normal beliefs. I think that the pope is seen as more of a famous person than as someone whose teachings we have to follow.
Pope John Paul II is liberal when it comes to social justices, but very conservative when it comes to morals. He encourages change in the governments, which have existed for a while, in some countries. While he encourages reform in that aspect of life, he is not happy about moral liberals.
It is clear that between 1540 & 1559 that the Catholic Church became increasingly intolerant of debasement and dissent. This is mostly due to the leaders that came to the papal throne within this period. Between 1540 & 1559 there was a variety of pope’s with very differing views on how to contend with the issues of Protestantism, debasement and dissent.
Peter Alexeevich, also known as Peter the Great, is generally acknowledged to be the most outstanding of the Russian czars (Mano, 2010). For 29 years Peter ruled Russia. When Peter first came into unshared power, he felt that Russia was quite medieval compared to the rest of Europe. After his first year in power, he decided to leave Russia to discover what was going on in the western side of Europe. Upon his return, he began incorporating practices he had seen in the rest of Europe into Russia.
One of the three basic pillars of the Roman Catholic Church is Tradition. The Church often uses this pillar of Tradition to validate its actions or to establish its own infallibility. One unspoken foundation that I feel is more essential, however, is that of Love. Love is what is taught in Scripture, another pillar of the Church, and should, therefore be the root of any traditions in the Catholic faith. By judging human actions or the spirit of God by cold laws enforced by the Church, we lose important insight into what our faith and our existence are truly about. Even the Church, in its humanness, sometimes forgets that love of God, others, and ourselves should be the core of every decision we make. The Church that many see as harsh and archaic could easily be refreshed and renewed, not by peppier music or stand-up comic priests, but by emphasis on the spirit of love rather than the letter of the law.
...consciously continue the application of the apostolic tradition. However, it may not be so easy for future generations not socialized into Catholicism, to make effective moral decisions. Therefore, this paper suggests that the future of ecumenism depends on whether or not the Catholic Church can continue to modernize.
was a tough road, he had to work in the farms and also try to
From this experience, I felt that the Pope was an exemplification of the closest human being to God. Everything he said gave me the same feeling that I get when I read the bible, except this happened in reality instead of my imagination while reading the bible, which magnifies the intensity for my love of God even more.
St. Francis of Assisi was born in Umbria in the year 1182. He was a child every father hoped for, he was filled with life, a determined and courageous individual. He was gifted with rather good looks, qualities that attracted friends and a gift of leadership. His father was an extremely wealthy merchant in Assisi. But this son, his favourite, was the one who broke Peter Bernardone’s heart. The boy turned on his father, and in a vicious event that eventually resulted into a public scene. St. Francis of Assisi stepped away from his father, his business and left his father in a state of immense emotional suffering.
Francis was born at Assisi in Umbria in the early 1180’s. His fath er was Pietro Bernadone, a very wealthy cloth merchant. His baptized name was Giovanni but it was changed to Francesco. Francis received a decent amount of schooling as a child although he did not show much interest in it. He was very spoiled and did not want to go into his father’s business. He had high status, was handsome, wore fine clothing, and was very well known with the people of Assisi.
Through the close study of two of the aspects shown in the diagram, their contributions allow Christianity to be considered a living religious tradition. The significant contributions of Pope John XXIII, during both his papal and Pre-papal life have had everlasting effects on not only Catholicism, but Christianity as a whole and lead to the sense of Christianity being a living religious tradition. His works include two Papal encyclicals, Mater et Magistra and Pacem in Terris, along with his work being Apostolic Delegate of Greece and Turkey. Moreover, The significant practice of Baptism has further contributed to Christian being considered a living religious tradition as it accounts for the premise of most Christian beliefs to be initiated, especially in terms of salvation and affirming the beliefs in the trinity and following the teachings of Jesus Christ.
History is indeed made up of significant events which shape our future and outstanding leaders who influence our destiny.
	John Paul was born in the small fishing village of Arbigland, Scotland on July 6, 1747. To his parents John Paul and Jean MacDuff he was the fourth child. They had seven children but unfortunately all but two died in infancy. The family was originally from Fife but John Paul's father had taken the family and moved to Arbigland where William Craik, the owner of a large estate their had met him and hired him to be his gardener.
Saint Catherine of Siena is the saint that I have chosen to be my saint. She was very interesting to me, and her story was very intriguing. She is the patron saint of fire prevention, bodily ills, sick people, miscarriages, nurses, and illness. She was canonized in 1461 by Pope Pius II. Her feast day is now celebrated on April 29.
Saint Francis of Assisi was a uniquely spiritual man who gave up a life of wealth and position to lead a life of poverty in accordance and service to God. Embracing a life according to the Gospels, Francis went on to establish a Monastic Order, known as the Franciscans. In the midst of the political climate within the religious community of Italy, Francis emerged a champion for the poor and sick, with humility and no regard for himself. Francis exhibited his love for God through his love and admiration for all of God's creation including nature. The principles of Saint Francis are as relevant today as they were in thirteenth century Italy; service and love to all of God’s creation.
Francis of Assisi lived about eight hundred years ago. He was born in the city of Assisi, Italy, in 1182. He was the son of Piero of Bernadone, who was a wealthy merchant. He received a education and seemed to follow his father's footsteps as a wealthy merchant. In 1201 he took part in an attack on Perugia, was taken hostage, and remained a captive there for a year. After his release, Francis joined the army but couldn't complete his time because he got sick. This period of time would change his life forever. During his sickness, Francis would spend hours meditating on the Lord in an old church, and he felt God drawing near to him. Some people come to Jesus with a memorable experience, but others come to Christ through a process. Francis' conversion wasn't an overnight experience, but it was definitely real.
St Ignatius of Loyola is an inspiring person and has touched the lives of many people even now centuries after his death. Loyola has affected the lives of an uncountable number of people, either directly or indirectly. He started as an extremely brave and tough soldier and turned into the founder of a powerful religious order. He was born in 1491 in Spain and founded the Jesuits in 1540 at the age of 49.The Jesuits today are still a devoted religious order. Everything they do is in God’s name, hence their motto AD MAIOREM DEI GLORIAM this literally means “for the greater glory of God”. (Linten, Seven Things) Many Jesuits (and even non Jesuits like Pope John Paul II) sign their documents with amdg at the end to show that they do their work for God and not solely for themselves. (Linten, Seven Things) The Jesuits have survived multiple persecutions and yet have still remained a major influence in the church and in universities around the world. If it were not for an unfortunate cannonball shattering a soldier’s leg then none of this may have happened.