For nearly two thousand years, the Catholic Church has existed as the preeminent religious organization of the Christian faith. The faith's adherents are estimated to be in excess of 1.2 billion people, who look to the Vatican for guidance and interpretation of the Christian Scriptures. While most Catholics strictly adhere to the dictates of their Church, there is a more recent strain of Catholic fundamentalism that is in conflict with modern Catholicism.
The end result of this vehement disagreement over doctrine has led to a separation within the broader Church as certain elements have resisted the attempt to make Vatican policy more liberal. The fundamentalists have sought to reimpose strict interpretation of traditional Catholic teachings, and their efforts have caused a serious debate among both the priestly class and average worshippers.
Much of this debate began after some members of the Roman Catholic Church became dissatisfied with the liberal movement codified at the Second Vatican Council. Many traditionalists saw the Council's results as being a weakening of traditional Vatican doctrine, and were determined to resist what they saw as a movement away from the Vatican's traditional positions on the issues of the day.
Nor are the areas of disagreement few. They are many, and varying, and extend across nearly the entirety of doctrinal understanding. These fundamentalists are adamant on issues like ordaining women as priests, maintaining celibacy for the priesthood, resisting anything other than natural birth control, and similar social issues on which the liberals would seek to moderate Rome's policies.
In addition, these more conservative Catholics are also opposed to anything other than a Latin Mass, and maintain that Vatican pronouncements are the final say in matters of Scriptural interpretation. They also hold fast to the notion that the Catholic Church is the only true pathway to salvation for Christians and that all other denominations must eventually return to the Roman Church or risk condemnation from God.
More liberal elements within the Church hierarchy steadfastly oppose such dogma, insisting instead on presenting a more accommodating face to the world. They believe that the Gospel is ultimately harmed by such strident insistence on strict doctrine, since they feel that those beliefs paint God as an all-powerful dictator just looking for a reason to punish mankind.
The Church itself has maintained a contentious relationship with many fundamentalist groups, including the prominent Society of Saint Pius X. The Vatican has even gone so far as to declare many of these fundamentalists as being in effective schism with the formal Church, which places them in a position of being outside of Church fellowship.
This continuing split demonstrates that the mighty Roman Catholic Church has marched into the current century in anything but a state of united strength. While liberal elements have proven themselves willing to water down many traditional doctrines in an attempt to make Christianity more appealing to modern societies, the fundamentalists believe that such compromises weaken Christ's message and place popularity over the need for sound doctrine and revealed truth.
The end result of this vehement disagreement over doctrine has led to a separation within the broader Church as certain elements have resisted the attempt to make Vatican policy more liberal. The fundamentalists have sought to reimpose strict interpretation of traditional Catholic teachings, and their efforts have caused a serious debate among both the priestly class and average worshippers.
Much of this debate began after some members of the Roman Catholic Church became dissatisfied with the liberal movement codified at the Second Vatican Council. Many traditionalists saw the Council's results as being a weakening of traditional Vatican doctrine, and were determined to resist what they saw as a movement away from the Vatican's traditional positions on the issues of the day.
Nor are the areas of disagreement few. They are many, and varying, and extend across nearly the entirety of doctrinal understanding. These fundamentalists are adamant on issues like ordaining women as priests, maintaining celibacy for the priesthood, resisting anything other than natural birth control, and similar social issues on which the liberals would seek to moderate Rome's policies.
In addition, these more conservative Catholics are also opposed to anything other than a Latin Mass, and maintain that Vatican pronouncements are the final say in matters of Scriptural interpretation. They also hold fast to the notion that the Catholic Church is the only true pathway to salvation for Christians and that all other denominations must eventually return to the Roman Church or risk condemnation from God.
More liberal elements within the Church hierarchy steadfastly oppose such dogma, insisting instead on presenting a more accommodating face to the world. They believe that the Gospel is ultimately harmed by such strident insistence on strict doctrine, since they feel that those beliefs paint God as an all-powerful dictator just looking for a reason to punish mankind.
The Church itself has maintained a contentious relationship with many fundamentalist groups, including the prominent Society of Saint Pius X. The Vatican has even gone so far as to declare many of these fundamentalists as being in effective schism with the formal Church, which places them in a position of being outside of Church fellowship.
This continuing split demonstrates that the mighty Roman Catholic Church has marched into the current century in anything but a state of united strength. While liberal elements have proven themselves willing to water down many traditional doctrines in an attempt to make Christianity more appealing to modern societies, the fundamentalists believe that such compromises weaken Christ's message and place popularity over the need for sound doctrine and revealed truth.
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