During His lifetime, Our Lord Jesus Christ gathered together a community of believers, taught them how to live and how to pray, and entrusted their care to his closest followers; the Apostles. To the Apostle Peter, Jesus entrusted three great offices;
When Saint Peter came to Rome, and ministered alongside the Apostle Paul, these two great Apostles chose a successor, Linus, to take up the mantle of the Petrine office. St Linus would become the second Bishop of Rome, the first successor of Saint Peter as Pastor of the Church. Over the centuries, Saint Peter’s successors would be acknowledged as the pre-eminent Bishops, first in dignity amongst the others, speaking with a greater authority. The Second Century Bishop and Martyr, St Ignatius of Antioch (himself a ‘Successor of Peter’ as Bishop of Antioch) wrote of the Bishop of Rome: “worthy of God, worthy of honour, worthy of the highest happiness, worthy of praise, worthy of obtaining her every desire, worthy of being deemed holy, and which presides over charity.” The Bishop of Rome, the Pope, presides over Charity, over love, over the whole communion of the Church which exists in Charity.
The Catholic Church of today is led by Pope Francis, the 266th Bishop of Rome, the latest in an unbroken line of succession from the Apostle Peter. As Catholics we believe and affirm the authority of the Pope as the Vicar of Christ, the Universal Pastor, the authoritative teacher, and the symbol of the unity of the Church.
The Catholic Church is the body of Christ- we follow and believe in Jesus Christ as the Incarnate God and Saviour of all mankind. Jesus’ earliest followers gave us an early Creed, a statement or summary of our beliefs. The core beliefs of the Catholic Church are contained in this Creed.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit (and) born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; He descended into hell; on the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, The Holy Catholic Church, The Communion of Saints, The Forgiveness of Sins, The Resurrection of the body and Life Everlasting. Amen.
A ‘Catechism’ (from the Greek word for oral teaching: κατηχέω) is a summary of beliefs and doctrines. For many centuries the Church Councils issued specific Catechisms which taught and explained specific truths of the Catholic Faith. In 1992, Pope John Paul II unified these teachings of the Church into the ‘Catechism of the Catholic Church’. For those seeking to understand the Catholic Faith more deeply, this is a valuable resource which defines and explains the core elements of the Catholic Faith: it explains who God is, his relationship to us, the role of the Church and its Sacraments and much, much more. You will be able to find a copy of the Catechism in many online book shops, but it is also available for free on the Vatican Website:
These are brief and insightful commentaries on faith and culture by Catholic theologian and author Bishop Robert Barron.
Ascension Presents seeks to present the truth and beauty of the Catholic faith through media.
EWTN - the Eternal World Television Network - is a massive online resource for our Catholic Faith and a round-the-clock TV station.
New Advent hosts the Catholic Encyclopedia, as well as full English translations of the Summa Theologica and the writings of the Church Fathers.
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