Who leads the Catholic Church?
"Catholic Church in Norway The Catholic Church in Norway is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, the Curia in Rome and the Scandinavian Bishops Conference. There were, as of May 2014, over 151,000 registered Catholics in Norway. It is claimed there are many Catholics who are not registered with their personal identification number and who are not reported by the local church; the full number may be as high as 230,000, 70% of whom were born abroad. That constitutes about 5% of the population, making Norway the most Catholic country in Nordic Europe."
"Church is headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the pope (; ""father""), who is the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. The current pope, Francis, was elected on 13 March 2013 by papal conclave. The office of the pope is known as the ""papacy"". The Catholic Church holds that Christ instituted the papacy upon giving the keys of Heaven to Saint Peter. His ecclesiastical jurisdiction is called the ""Holy See"" (""Sancta Sedes"" in Latin), or the ""Apostolic See"" (meaning the see of the apostle Peter). Directly serving the pope is the Roman Curia, the central governing body that"
"are the spiritual successors of the original twelve apostles, through the historically unbroken chain of consecration (see: Holy orders). The pope is the spiritual head and leader of the Roman Catholic Church who makes use of the Roman Curia to assist him in governing. He is elected by the College of Cardinals who may choose from any male member of the church but who must be ordained a bishop before taking office. Since the 15th century, a current cardinal has always been elected. The New Testament contains warnings against teachings considered to be only masquerading as Christianity, and shows how"
"religious orders; and the diaconate, composed of deacons who assist bishops and priests in a variety of ministerial roles. Ultimately leading the entire Catholic Church is the Bishop of Rome, commonly called the pope, whose jurisdiction is called the Holy See. In parallel to the diocesan structure are a variety of religious institutes that function autonomously, often subject only to the authority of the pope, though sometimes subject to the local bishop. Most religious institutes only have male or female members but some have both. Additionally, lay members aid many liturgical functions during worship services. The hierarchy of the Catholic"
"Hierarchy of the Catholic Church The hierarchy of the Catholic Church consists of its bishops, priests, and deacons. In the ecclesiological sense of the term, ""hierarchy"" strictly means the ""holy ordering"" of the Church, the Body of Christ, so to respect the diversity of gifts and ministries necessary for genuine unity. (1 Cor 12) In canonical and general usage, it refers to those who exercise authority within a Christian church. In the Catholic Church, authority rests chiefly with the bishops, while priests and deacons serve as their assistants, co-workers or helpers. Accordingly, ""hierarchy of the Catholic Church"" is also used"
"dramatic changes in policy as well—for example removing conservatives from high Vatican positions, calling on bishops to lead a simpler life, and taking a more pastoral attitude towards homosexuality. History of the Catholic Church According to tradition, the history of the Catholic Church begins with Jesus Christ and his teachings (c. 4 BC – c. AD 30) and the Catholic Church is a continuation of the early Christian community established by Jesus. The Church considers its bishops to be the successors to Jesus's apostles and the Church's leader, the Bishop of Rome (also known as the Pope) to be the"
"The names ""Catholic Church"" and ""Roman Church"" were also used in the documents of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), the First Vatican Council (1869–1870), the Council of Trent (1545–1563), and numerous other official documents. The Catholic Church follows an episcopal polity, led by bishops who have received the sacrament of Holy Orders who are given formal jurisdictions of governance within the church. There are three levels of clergy, the episcopate, composed of bishops who hold jurisdiction over a geographic area called a diocese or eparchy; the presbyterate, composed of priests ordained by bishops and who work in local diocese or"
"Catholic laity Catholic laity are the ordinary members of the Catholic Church who are neither clergy nor recipients of Holy Orders or vowed to life in a religious order or congregation. The laity forms the majority of the estimated over one billion Catholics in the world. Whereas the ministry notably sanctifies the laity, the mission of the laity, according to the Second Vatican Council, is to ""sanctify the world"". The Catholic Church is served by the universal jurisdiction of the Holy See, headed by the Pope, and administered by the Roman Curia, while locally served by diocesan bishops. The Pope"
"is dogmatically defined Catholic doctrine, and is therefore ""de fide"". In this view, the Catholic Church— composed of all baptized, professing Catholics, both clergy and laity—is the unified, visible society founded by Christ himself, and its hierarchy derives its spiritual authority through the centuries, via apostolic succession of its bishops, most especially through the bishop of Rome (the Pope) whose successorship comes from St. Peter the Apostle, to whom Christ gave ""the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven"". Thus, the Popes, in the Catholic view, have a God-ordained universal jurisdiction over the whole Church on earth. The Catholic Church is"
"had been ratified. The church teaches that only the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ, who appointed the Twelve Apostles to continue his work as the Church's earliest bishops. Catholic belief holds that the Church ""is the continuing presence of Jesus on earth"", and that all duly consecrated bishops have a lineal succession from the apostles. In particular, the Bishop of Rome (the Pope), is considered the successor to the apostle Simon Peter, from whom the Pope derives his supremacy over the Church. The Church is further described in the papal encyclical ""Mystici corporis Christi"" as the Mystical Body"
"is understood as a sign and guarantee that the Church, both local and universal, is in diachronic continuity with the apostles; a necessary but insufficient guarantor thereof. Papal primacy is different though related to apostolic succession as described here. The Catholic Church has traditionally claimed a unique leadership role for the Apostle Peter, believed to have been named by Jesus as head of the Apostles and as a focus of their unity, who became the first Bishop of Rome, and whose successors inherited the role and accordingly became the leaders of the worldwide Church as well. Even so, Catholicism acknowledges"
"The Church also holds that uniquely among the apostles Saint Peter was granted a role of leadership and authority, giving the Pope the right to govern the Church together with the bishops, and making his leadership necessary for the completion of the College. Hence, Catholicism holds that the Bishop of Rome, as successor of Peter, possesses this role: the Pope, uniquely among bishops, may speak for the whole Church, and a council of bishops is incomplete without the approval of the pope. Papal pronouncements which meet the requirements of the decree on papal infallibility of the First Vatican Council, and"
"Pope The pope ( from ""pappas"", ""father""), also known as the supreme pontiff (from Latin ""pontifex maximus"" ""greatest priest""), is the Bishop of Rome and ""ex officio"" leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. Since 1929, the pope has also been head of state of Vatican City, a city-state enclaved within Rome, Italy. The current pope is Francis, who was elected on 13 March 2013, succeeding Benedict XVI. While his office is called the papacy, the episcopal see and ecclesiastical jurisdiction is called the Holy See. It is the Holy See that is the sovereign entity of international law headquartered in"
"North-West, 62%, 16% and 13%, respectively. The headquarters of the 1.2-billion strong Catholic Church, the State of Vatican City (see also Holy See), is an enclave within the city of Rome and, thus, the Italian territory. The Church's world leader, the Pope, is the Bishop of Rome, hence the special relationship between Italians and the Church—and the latter's entanglement with Italian politics (see Lateran Treaty and the section below on religion and politics). The current Pope is Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who, before his election in 2013, is from Argentina and was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1998"
"careers in support of Church institutions, including educators, health care professionals, finance and human resources experts, lawyers, and others. Leadership of the Catholic Church in the United States is provided by the bishops, individually for their own dioceses, and collectively through the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. There are some mid-level groupings of bishops, such as ecclesiastical provinces (often covering a state) and the fourteen geographic regions of the USCCB, but these have little significance for most purposes. The ordinary office for a bishop is to be the bishop of a particular diocese, its chief pastor and minister, usually"
"impossible to decide which side represented at various times the legitimate succession, in particular regarding Pope Leo VIII, Pope Benedict V and some mid-11th-century popes. Pope The pope ( from ""pappas"", ""father""), also known as the supreme pontiff (from Latin ""pontifex maximus"" ""greatest priest""), is the Bishop of Rome and ""ex officio"" leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. Since 1929, the pope has also been head of state of Vatican City, a city-state enclaved within Rome, Italy. The current pope is Francis, who was elected on 13 March 2013, succeeding Benedict XVI. While his office is called the papacy, the"
"authority, which is exercised by the pope and the College of Bishops in union with the pope, the bishop of Rome. Catholic doctrine is authoritatively summarised in the ""Catechism of the Catholic Church"", published by the Holy See. The Catholic Church holds that there is one eternal God, who exists as a ""perichoresis"" (""mutual indwelling"") of three ""hypostases"", or ""persons"": God the Father; God the Son; and God the Holy Spirit, which together are called the ""Holy Trinity"". Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is the ""Second Person"" of the Trinity, God the Son. In an event known as the Incarnation,"
"the church; the worldwide church is supervised by full-time general authorities, some of whom receive modest living allowances. No formal theological training is required for any position. All leaders in the church are called by revelation and the laying on of hands by one who holds authority. Jesus Christ stands at the head of the church and leads the church through revelation given to the President of the Church, the First Presidency, and Twelve Apostles, all of whom are recognized as prophets, seers, and revelators and have lifetime tenure. Below these men in the hierarchy are quorums of seventy, which"
"the Catholic Church. The word is derived from Latin ""magisterium"", which originally meant the office of a president, chief, director, superintendent, etc. (in particular, though rarely, the office of tutor or instructor of youth, tutorship, guardianship) or teaching, instruction, advice. In the Catholic Church the word ""Magisterium"" refers to the teaching authority of the church. This authority is understood to be embodied in the episcopacy, which is the aggregation of the current bishops of the church, led by the Bishop of Rome (the Pope), who has authority over the bishops, individually and as a body, as well as over each"
"Roman Catholic Church, primarily in its duty to choose a successor upon the death of a church president. There are differences, due in part to the President and the Twelve having life tenure, which may lead to an older or infirm President of the Church, but also provides considerable training of apostles to take over the office of the Presidency; meaning ""the members of quorum are being groomed for the job during this time."" Church policy decisions are made unanimously, with consultation among the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve, and where appropriate, the Seventy, each of which has"
"respectively. Among bishops, some are metropolitans, archbishops, or patriarchs. The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, the supreme and universal hierarch of the Church, and his authorization is now required for the ordination of all Catholic bishops. With rare exceptions, cardinals are bishops, although it was not always so; formerly, some cardinals were people who had received clerical tonsure, but not Holy Orders. Secular clergy are ministers, such as deacons and priests, who do not belong to a religious institute and live in the world at large, rather than a religious institute (""saeculum""). The Holy See supports the activity of"
"and its exercise produced a gradually widening rift between the Churches which continued with some occasional relief throughout the following centuries until the final rupture of the Great Schism (marked by two dates: 16 July 1054 and the Council of Florence in 1439). The Catholic Church has an episcopate, with the Pope, who is the Bishop of Rome, at the top. The Catholic Church considers that juridical oversight over the Church is not a power that derives from human beings, but strictly from the authority of Christ, which was given to his twelve apostles. The See of Rome, as the"
"reference was made to the leaders of the church to decide what was true doctrine. The Catholic Church believes that it is the continuation of those who remained faithful to the apostolic leadership and rejected false teachings. Catholic belief is that the Church will never defect from the truth, and bases this on Jesus' telling Peter ""the gates of hell will not prevail against"" the church. In the ""Gospel of John"", Jesus states, ""I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all"
"known as apostolic succession. In particular, the Bishop of Rome (the pope) is considered the successor to the apostle Simon Peter, a position from which he derives his supremacy over the church. Catholic belief holds that the church ""is the continuing presence of Jesus on earth"" and that it alone possesses the full means of salvation. Through the passion (suffering) of Christ leading to his crucifixion as described in the Gospels, it is said Christ made himself an oblation to God the Father in order to reconcile humanity to God; the Resurrection of Jesus makes him the firstborn from the"
"to have received the Holy Spirit, preparing them for their mission in leading the church. The Catholic Church teaches that the college of bishops, led by the Bishop of Rome are the successors to the Apostles. In the account of the Confession of Peter found in the Gospel of Matthew, Christ designates Peter as the ""rock"" upon which Christ's church will be built. The Catholic Church considers the Bishop of Rome, the pope, to be the successor to Saint Peter. Some scholars state Peter was the first Bishop of Rome. Others say that the institution of the papacy is not"
"Head of the Church Head of the Church is a title given in the New Testament to Jesus. Roman Catholic theology will commonly distinguish between ""Visible Head"" and ""Invisible Head"" in order to allow the term to apply to human leadership in the Church. It is found for example in Colossians 1.18, Colossians 2.19, Ephesians 4.15 and Ephesians 5.23. In Roman Catholic ecclesiology, Jesus is called the ""Invisible Head"", while the Pope is called the ""Visible Head"". Therefore, the Pope is often called the Vicar of Christ. Roman Catholic theology claims a close collaboration between christology and ecclesiology. At the"
"Catholic Church doctrine holds that the papacy has authority delegated from Jesus to rule over the entire Church. There are various views on the nature of the primacy and how it has been exercised and passed on. This belief makes a distinction between the personal prestige of Peter and the supremacy of the office of pope which Catholics believe Jesus instituted in the person of Peter. Some, but not nearly all, Protestant denominations accept the concept of the primacy of Peter, but believe it was only relevant during the lifetime of Peter. They do not believe the pope holds any"
"their head. Thus, is derived another title by which the pope is known, that of ""Supreme Pontiff"". The Catholic Church teaches that Jesus personally appointed Peter as leader of the Church, and the Catholic Church's dogmatic constitution ""Lumen gentium"" makes a clear distinction between apostles and bishops, presenting the latter as the successors of the former, with the pope as successor of Peter, in that he is head of the bishops as Peter was head of the apostles. Some historians argue against the notion that Peter was the first bishop of Rome, noting that the episcopal see in Rome can"
"the Pope in the Roman Catholic Church. The Archprelate is elected by a congress of Patriarchs, who are analogus to cardinals in the Catholic Church. (In real Christendom, a Patriarch is the head of one of the Orthodox churches). A Patriarch is usually in charge of the religious administration of a city; e.g. Dolmant is the Patriarch of Demos, Bergsten is the Patriarch of Emsat. So a Patriarch also seems to undertake the duties of local diocesan Catholic bishops or archbishops (in fact, the archbishops of several cities are usually made cardinals). The four preceptors of the Militant Orders (the"
"a papal conclave to elect a successor. Although the conclave may elect any male Catholic as pope, since 1389 only cardinals have been elected. The canon law of the Catholic Church is the system of laws and legal principles made and enforced by the hierarchical authorities to regulate the church's external organisation and government and to order and direct the activities of Catholics towards the church's mission. In the Catholic Church, universal positive ecclesiastical laws, based upon either immutable divine and natural law, or changeable circumstantial and merely positive law, derive formal authority and promulgation from the office of pope"
"church teaches that its founder is Jesus Christ. The New Testament records several events considered integral to the establishment of the Catholic Church, including Jesus' activities and teaching and his appointment of the apostles as witnesses to his ministry, suffering, and resurrection. The Great Commission, after his resurrection, instructed the apostles to continue his work. The coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, in an event known as Pentecost, is seen as the beginning of the public ministry of the Catholic Church. The church teaches that all duly consecrated bishops have a lineal succession from the apostles of Christ,"
"Catholic Church in the United States The Catholic Church in the United States is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope in Rome. With 20.8% of the United States population as of 2018, the Catholic Church is the country's second largest single religious group after Protestantism, but the country's largest religious denomination. The United States has the fourth largest Catholic population in the world after Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines, the largest Catholic minority population, and the largest English-speaking Catholic population. The central leadership body of the Catholic Church in the United States is the U.S."
"Francis. That is, the Catholic Church maintains the apostolic succession of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope - the successor to Saint Peter. In the account of the Confession of Peter found in the Gospel of Matthew, Christ designates Peter as the ""rock"" upon which Christ's church will be built. While some scholars do state Peter was the first Bishop of Rome, others say that the institution of the papacy is not dependent on the idea that Peter was Bishop of Rome or even on his ever having been in Rome. Many scholars hold that a church structure of plural"