Must a person understand Latin to be a Catholic?
No. While Latin is the historical language of the Roman Catholic Church in the Western world, and it is helpful to know a little Latin, it’s by no means required. While the Church has always retained its celebration of the ancient Latin liturgy (Usus Antiquior or the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite), it has in recent decades translated all of its liturgies into many vernacular languages. Today, people should have no problem finding a Catholic liturgy celebrated in their own spoken tongue.
That being said, even the Latin liturgies make accommodations for people who don’t know Latin. If one should happen to find oneself at a Latin liturgy, booklets are provided to easily follow along. Scripture passages are read, or re-read, in the vernacular language, and the homily (sermon) is always geven in the vernacular language as well.
Is the Catholic Church opposed to modern science?
No. Quite to the contrary, the Catholic Church virtually invented the scientific method! The Church has sponsored and blessed scientific research, and the Church embraces many scientific theories. Many Catholic priests actually have college degrees in science! In fact, the modern “big bang” theory of astro-physics, on the origin of the universe, was invented by a Catholic priest (Father Georges Lemaître, 1894 – 1966), who was in good standing with the Church. However, the Catholic Church doesn’t teach science as if it were religious doctrine. Rather it insists that science, like all human disciplines, must be subject to a moral code (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2293). Catholics are free to believe in evolution as well, if they so choose, so long as they understand that it was God who created man in his image, and that human beings, and the universe we live in, are not a product of random chance. The idea being that whatever scientific processes God used to create the universe and man are open for debate. What is not open for debate is the religious truth that God created all things and that man was created in God’s image.
Why is Catholic worship so organized and structured compared to most Protestant worship?
Catholic worship is based in liturgy, and this liturgy comes primarily from ancient Jewish worship, both in the Temple and synagogues, and from the Biblical revelation that God is worshipped in heaven through liturgy (Images of heavenly worship from the Book of Revelation). The word “liturgy” is a Biblical word (Luke 1:23; Acts 13:2; Romans 15:16; 2nd Corinthians 9:12; Philippians 2:14-17, 25, 30; Hebrews 8:2 & 6) and comes from a Greek composite word leitourgia (λειτουργία) meaning “the duty [or work] of the people.” This is the prescribed method of public worship God gave to the Hebrew people in their Temple rites which was carried over into the synagogues. The celebrant recites a passage of Scripture, and the people respond with Scripture, or else a response based on Scripture.
The idea is to present an organized and dignified way through which people can express their personal relationship with God publicly and in community. For God has made the New Covenant in Christ with his Church, not the individual (Matthew 26:28; Luke 1:72; Romans 11:27; Hebrews 8:8; Hebrews 8:10; Hebrews 10:16). Individuals share in that covenant by becoming part of the larger Community (the Church) with which that covenant was made. The liturgy is merely a public expression of this. The Catholic Church has many liturgical rituals, but the two main rituals are the Divine Liturgy (often called the “Holy Mass”) in which Holy Communion is celebrated, and the Divine Office (also called the “Liturgy of the Hours”) which is a recitation of the Psalms modeled after Jewish temple worship.
The Divine Office is the official prayer liturgy of the Catholic Church and it is required daily reading for clergy. Regular Catholics (laity) may optionally participate in it too. This Divine Office comes to us directly from the Temple prayer liturgy in ancient Israel, and is based heavily on the Psalms of David. Prayers are set aside for certain times of the day, and the Bible tells us about the Apostles going up to the Temple to pray this liturgy at certain times of the day (Acts 3:1).
The Divine Liturgy (Holy Mass) is the official celebration of the Church, and it’s obligatory for all Catholics on every Sunday and certain holy days during the year. This Divine Liturgy (Holy Mass) is a composite of two Jewish liturgies. The first half is the Liturgy of the Word, which comes to Catholicism directly from the Jewish synagogue liturgy. The second half is the Liturgy of the Eucharist, and this comes to us from the Jewish Passover seder combined with prayers used by Jewish priests in the ancient Templeperiod. Together, the Liturgy of the Word leads us into the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The whole thing marks a continuity between the Church and ancient Israel.
In contrast, when Protestants broke with the Catholic Church in the sixteenth century, they modified their liturgy accordingly. Anglicans and Lutherans initially made very little modifications. In contrast, Reformed and Anabaptists made rather large changes. As we go down through history we reach the modern Evangelical churches. They have stripped away a great deal of liturgy from their weekly services. However, they still retain a shell of liturgy. For example; certain times are designated for singing, other times for praying, and still another time for instruction. At various points during this liturgical shell, the congregation will stand up or sit down. While this is obviously less regimented and structured than Catholic liturgy, it is a shell of liturgy nonetheless.
Why is the Catholic Church so rich when so many of its members are poor?
That depends on what you mean by “rich.” The accusation is leveled that the Catholic Church hoards money while it lets its members starve, and that such dire poverty is not seen in nations where Protestantism is the majority religion. The implication here is that Catholic countries are inherently “poor,” while Protestant countries tend to be more affluent, and this somehow represents the “truthfulness” of Protestantism. Of course, said accusations fail to recognize the influence of godless Marxism in some of these poorer countries, but that’s another topic.
First and foremost, let’s get a few things straight. The Catholic Church is not “rich.” It’s the largest charitable organization in the world; feeding, sheltering and clothing more people than any other. It’s also the largest provider of free educational and medical services on the planet. If you want to say the Catholic Church is “rich” in that it has a lot of resources to draw upon, that is one thing, but to say it hordes its money while letting its members languish in poverty is completely and totally false.
Priests and bishops usually take vows of poverty, which means they get paid a very meager salary, and usually own very few possessions. They usually live in very humble apartments or share houses with other clergy.
As for the instruments and edifices of Catholic worship; such as beautiful altars, vestments, silverware, shrines and massive basilicas, we must remember that these were donated by the people, specifically for the purpose of worship. This is because, in spite of their economic state in life, they want to worship God in a dignified way fitting for the Divine King Jesus. Thus, these things are dedicated to God alone. Priests and bishops do not “own” them. They belong to God, and they are donated to him by the people. This is absolutely Biblical when we consider the Old Testament descriptions of Temple worship during ancient times.
It’s more than that however, unlike many Protestant churches, which are based primarily in the rich industrialized world, the Catholic Church is truly a universal Church, which is primarily based in the developing third-world. Thus, the Catholic Church is truly a Church of the poor. That being said, she champions the rights of the poor, which consist of many things, but one of those rights is the right to worship God in the same way the rich would, showing no distinction or partiality between rich and poor. We see this same advocating for the poor in the Temple worship of the Jews during ancient times (Leviticus 5:11). The rich would bring their lambs and oxen for sacrifice, while the poor brought their pigeons and turtle-doves, or just flour in cases of extreme poverty, but the priest would show no partiality between them. Everyone offered their sacrifices equally in the same glorious Temple of marble and gold, which was dedicated exclusively to God for use by everyone. A similar mentality holds true in the Catholic Church. The poor may be poor, but that does not prohibit them from being brought into the “palace” of King Jesus– a Catholic parish or basilica. It is, after all, just as much for them as for the rich and middle class.
It’s a common assumption, and a false one, that the Catholic Church hordes money because of the beautiful instruments and edifices of Catholic worship. Such assumptions only illustrate a lack of understanding of what these things are for, and a lack of understanding of how the Catholic Church uses the overwhelming vast majority of its resources to help the poor.
Was this short article helpful? If so, consider getting the book: Are Catholics Christian? by Shane Schaetzel. This short article is an excerpt from the book Are Catholics Christian? which has been used by clergy and catechists throughout North America in OCIA (RCIA) and other Catholic education programs. You can get the whole thing, in one short book, by clicking here.
Shane Schaetzel is an author of Catholic books and an Evangelical convert to the Catholic Church through Anglicanism. His articles have been featured on LifeSiteNews, The Remnant Newspaper, Forward in Christ, and Catholic Online. You can read Shane’s books at ShaneSchaetzel.Com
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