THE Catholic church, also known as Roman Apostolic Catholic Church is a church founded according to teachings of Jesus Christ and that has the apostle Peter as a prominent figure, for it was through him that the Church began to be built (Matthew 16:18).
It is one, holy, catholic (universal) and apostolic and as the only sacrament of salvation, by the will of Christ is characterized by indefectibility (he will survive until the end of the world) and infallibility.
The Catholic Church considers itself the only Church of Christ and that is why it is called Catholic. It consists of particular churches or dioceses, each of which is entrusted to a bishop in communion with the successor of Peter (the Pope or vicar of Christ). The baptized who are united with Christ in His visible body through the bonds of faith, sacraments and ecclesiastical discipline are in communion with the Catholic Church.
For the Catholic Church, the Pope, Bishop of Rome who resides in the Vatican, is the visible representative of Christ on earth and the visible head of the Church. As successor to the chief of the apostles, Peter (apostolic succession), the Pope is the legitimate holder of the supreme hierarchical authority of the Church.
Learn more about meaning of the pope.
A visible sign of the union of God with men, the Catholic Church is a visible organism, instituted, therefore, as a society governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in union with him. They have a threefold mission or functions: priestly, prophetic (of magisterium) and pastoral.
The Catholic Church, due to liturgical rites and ecclesiastical discipline, is divided into the Latin Church and the Eastern Church.
Brazilian Catholic Church
In the Portuguese overseas expansion, the Portuguese kings sought the Church's support for the evangelization of the discovered lands. Thus, Christianity was implanted in Brazil, Africa, India, Japan and China.
The Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church (ICAB) is a schismatic Christian church founded in 1945 by the Bishop of Maura, D. Carlos Duarte Costa. Before him, Canon Amorim, from Itapira (S. Paulo), in 1914, and D. Salomão Ferraz, in 1936.
Its foundation is due exclusively to the refusal to submit to the Pope and to ecclesiastical discipline, namely regarding the celibacy of the clergy. Its projection in national life is small.
Catholic Charismatic Church
The Charismatic Apostolic Catholic Church is a church that has several differences compared to the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church. The Charismatic Church does not have the seven sacraments that the Roman Apostolic and the Pope is not the supreme leader of the Church. In the case of the Charismatic Church, confession is not a sacrament.
Bishops, priests and deacons of the charismatic Church can marry, unlike what happens in the Catholic Church, due to celibacy. According to the Charismatic Church, purgatory does not exist, and for this reason the dead do not need prayer. Another difference between the two churches is that in the charismatic church, contraceptive methods are allowed.
See too:
- Inquisition
