Catholic Research Articles

Semangat Pelayanan Santa Teresa dari Calcutta Menjadi Inspirasi Bagi Katekis Masa Kini

St. Teresa of Calcutta was a Religious who had a strong faith and love for the poor. She is one of the figures in the Catholic Church who has been canonized a saint. The purpose of this writing is to study the life and charism of St. Teresa of Calcutta who lived her faith in God which was manifested in her service to the poor. The method used to explore this theme is a literature review. The authors have tried to explore matters related to St. Teresa and her service through reliable sources. Through this writing have findings were obtained about the life and work of St. Teresa's of Calcutta. The exemplary and attitude of St. Teresa's life are figures for catechists for their work and service. Catechists need to live the values ​​of Evangelical spirituality as lived by St. Teresa of Calcutta. This writing can inspire catechists to develop spiritual values ​​that are rooted in a strong faith in God that manifests itself in concrete actions. The implications of writing St. Teresa can be an inspiration and example for catechists to be closer to God, faithful in their duties and service.

UGCC's Mission in Ecumenical Dialogue: Relations with Eastern Catholic Churches

The article, based on a generalization of historical facts, examines the active status of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) in the system of Eastern Catholic Churches (ECC) by clarifying the specifics of their emergence and development, reveals the special role of the UGCC in ecumenical communication between the Eastern Catholic Churches, and outlines the prospects of this movement in the process of establishing and strengthening relations between Catholics and Orthodox in Ukraine and around the world. The authors propose to use the results of the study to correct the Ecumenical Concept of the UGCC, complementing the strategy of the UGCC in matters of interfaith communication with concrete steps in cooperation with the ECC.

Historical Development of the Rozhnyativ Deanery of the Lviv Archdiocese of the Greek Catholic Church (1907-1946)

The article examines the historical development of the Rozhnyativ deanery of the Lviv Archdiocese of the Greek Catholic Church. The structure and activities of the parish network during 1907-1946 are highlighted. The key role of the Church in the development of parish communities is revealed.

Chortkiv Deanery of the Stanislaviv Greek Catholic Eparchy in 1939-1946

The purpose of the article is an objective study of the historical development of the Chortkiv Deanery of the Stanislaviv Diocese of the Galician Metropolis of the Greek Catholic Church during the Second World War of 1939-1945 and the establishment of Soviet power in Galicia in 1945-1946, which led to the forced liquidation of the UGCC and its transformation into a “catacomb” church. Research methodology: the basic methods are microhistorical, biographical and prosopographic. The scientific novelty is that for the first time the peculiarities of the historical development of the Chortkiv Deanery of the Stanislaviv Eparchy of the UGCC during the Second World War and the “second Sovietization” of Galicia (1939-1946) are analyzed. Conclusions: The authors show the specifics of church-state relations, the mutual influence of political and ecclesiastical administrative-territorial divisions in the process of liquidation of the UGCC, and the role of individual priests in the events of this time.

Biographical Dictionary of the Clergy of the Stanislaviv (Ivano-Frankivsk) Diocese - Metropolitanate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (1885–2020). Part 3: Biograms for the letter "A", issue 3

The purpose of the article is to publish fragments of a biographical dictionary - biographies of priests with the letter "A". Research methodology: biographical and prosopographical methods are outlined as the main ones in the process of implementing this project. The scientific novelty is that the publication of the second part of the series of biographies (biographical notes) of representatives of the clergy of the Stanislaviv Diocese under the letter "A" has been carried out. This publication includes the biographies of such persons as Andriishyn Mykhailo (1876–1938) and Andriishyn Yakiv (1845–1918). Conclusions: The reconstruction of the biographies of Greek Catholic priests (on the letter "A"), based on a significant source base, proves their active activity not only in the church and religious, but also in the political, public, economic and cultural spheres of the life of the Ukrainian people.

The process of transition of the UGCC to the new calendar

Starting September 1, 2023, the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church will eliminate the error of the old Julian calendar and church holidays will correspond to the astronomical calendar that our society lives by. For the past 123 years, we have been living according to a calendar that lagged behind the astronomical calendar by 13 days.

The Biblical Aspect of the Term “Immaculate” as the Basis for the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception

In this article, we considered the biblical basis of the Church's teaching on the Immaculate Conception. The Catholic Church proceeds from the biblical concept of «kekharitomen» (гр.), which formed the basis of the teaching about this glorious Marian dogma. In this work, the linguistic sources of this term were presented, which shed light on the actions of the Holy Spirit, Who, erring over all creation with the will of the Father through the Son, being their common personal Love, creates Mary as a new Creation. In Eph 1, 6 St. Paul speaks of our justification through the will of the Father by grace in His beloved Son Jesus Christ. The Apostle of the Nations uses the verb «kharito» (гр.), which means that the Mother of God was justified in advance thanks to the anticipatory action of the Holy Spirit with the will of the Son and the Father. God would not be omnipotent if He did not protect His Mother from the sin of the ancestors. That is why, thanks to the future Incarnation, He forbids the Most Pure One from original sin in an anticipatory way, so that through Her He may take the body and redeem the whole world on the Cross. This work should become a bridge between Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants, who should look at Christ in a new way through the prism of Mary's perfect holiness from the Conception.

If not belief in God, then what? Identifying factors that contribute to well-being among Polish nonbelievers

Recent estimates by the Pew Research Center show that Poland is one of the fastest secularizing countries in the world. Despite the growing role of such attitudes in Poland and other countries around the world, still little is known about the psychosocial functioning and mental health of nonbelievers. The present study aimed to fill in this knowledge gap by examining various factors that may contribute to nonbelievers’ well-being, including perceived social support, emotion regulation strategies, secular beliefs (humanism and belief in science), and clarity of self-beliefs. Five hundred Polish nonbelievers took part in this study, of whom 38% reported no nominal affiliation with any religious or secular group, 33% affiliated with Roman Catholics, and 22% identified as Atheists. Comparing these groups, we found that while Catholics and Atheists did not differ significantly in terms of their overall well-being, religious “nones” scored lower than Catholics on overall well-being (but not meaning in life or social support). In addition, it was found that—at the level of the whole sample—having greater clarity of self-beliefs, using functional emotion regulation strategies, as well as having greater perceived social support were all positively associated with the presence of meaning in life and well-being.

Diecezja żmudzka w 1830 roku w świetle schematyzmu na 1831 rok (1). Schematyzm – edycja źródła

The presented text is an edition of the schematism of the Samogitian diocese prepared for 1831. The information gathered in it allows one to learn about the state of the Catholic Church, especially its administrative structure in Samogitia before the outbreak of the November Uprising. The collapse of the independence uprising directed against the Russian invaders initiated repressions that significantly limited the Church’s pastoral activities. The material describing the Samogitian diocese at the end of 1830 was divided into three articles. The first includes a critical edition of the schema of the Samogitian diocese published for 1831, along with a discussion of the formation of the rules for preparing Samogitian schemas for printing from the first found catalog of 1787 until the outbreak of the November Uprising. The second will present the administrative structure of the Samogitian diocese and the history of the temples then existing in the Samogitian diocese. The last – third – article will publish data on the diocesan clergy working in the Samogitian diocese on the eve of the outbreak of the uprising, as well as biographies of the priests mentioned in the schema.

Time as a Category in Survivors' Reports About Child Sexual Abuse: An Explorative Approach to Lifetime Abuse.

Since the 1990s, cases of serious violence and abuse, particularly sexual abuse in educational and social institutions of the Catholic Church, have been reported in numerous countries, including Ireland, the United States, and Australia. In many countries, commissions have been set up to investigate the widespread cases of abuse that could not be prosecuted under criminal law. The testimonies of survivors and other witnesses are used by the commissions of inquiry in their work. Since 2016 the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in Germany has collected more than 2,500 reports from survivors of child sexual abuse. Forty-four testimonies were analyzed in a study seeking to understand more about lifetime abuse. In an explorative analysis, aspects of time as a key category in the reports were identified using the structured content analysis method. The results highlight the importance of time in the reports and during all phases of the survivors' lives. Overall, four themes are relevant: (a) the identification of turning points, (b) time to make sense of what happened, (c) the practice of waiting, and (d) time-bound experiences of testifying.

The Offence of Abduction in Canon Law and Kidnapping in Polish Penal Law—Selected Issues

The article examines the issue of abduction and kidnapping in the modern world. This issue is analyzed in two legal systems: the canon law of the Latin Rite Catholic Church and Polish penal law. The choice of these two systems aims to highlight the consistency in understanding and penalizing the offence of abduction (kidnapping). A mixed-method approach, incorporating both analysis and synthesis, is employed in this study. The analysis is comprehensive and multifaceted, while the synthesis aids in organizing and integrating the findings on this topic.

„W tej sytuacji sprawę znów odłożono”. Kwestia prawosławia w województwie krakowskim na marginesie sprawozdania Wydziału do spraw Wyznań z 1969 r.

After World War II, the displacement of the population irreversibly changed the ethnic and religious structure of south-eastern Poland. The Lemko people who lived in the districts of Nowy Sącz and Nowy Targ were displaced from the area of the Kraków voivodeship. Most of the people belonging to this ethnic group were of the Greek Catholic faith. In the interwar period, however, some of them converted to Orthodoxy. There were nine churches of this religion in the Nowy Sącz district. All of them were closed due to the displacement of the faithful. The liberalization of the system allowed expatriates to return. For many reasons only few of them returned. None of the Orthodox parishes in the Krakow Province resumed their activities. However, efforts were made to set up pastoral centers. This was met with the reluctance of the local authorities. In 1969, the national religious administration conducted a survey on the functioning of the Orthodox Church in the country. In response, a report was prepared on the situation of this religion in the Krakow Province.

“A Colony to Themselves”: Scottish Highland Settler Colonialism in British North America, 1770–1804

Abstract This article explores the links between anti-Catholicism in the United Kingdom and the acceleration of settler colonialism in British North America, and it does so by considering two group migrations from Catholic districts in the North West Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Occurring over 30 years apart, the Glenaladale settlement (1772) in Prince Edward Island and the Glengarry settlement (1803) in Upper Canada offer instructive insight into how anti-Catholicism activated Highland Catholic colonial agency. Not only did significant numbers of Highland Catholics choose to quit Scotland forever, but their settlement in places like Prince Edward Island and Upper Canada accelerated the process of settler colonialism and the establishment of the Catholic Church. The colonies at Glengarry and Glenaladale were peopled by settlers who were doubly motivated to settle in the empire. They stood to prosper economically—certainly—and they also stood to gain the freedom to practice their faith free of obvious interference. To the Indigenous peoples whose ancestral lands they settled, the consequences were not softened by this pretext for settler colonization, and too often the history of anti-Catholic discrimination in the four nations elide the fact that Catholics were enthusiastic colonizers elsewhere, and that the two processes were often related.

The role of catholic faith on health - post-pandemic: theological reflection

Health is one of the main elements in human life. Everyone always gives ample space for their health. However, sometimes people forget this when their life goals are not well understood or are limited to certain achievements. This scientific work examines the reinterpretation of the Catholic faith as a search for human nature and how the Catholic faith and health are actually an inseparable unity because humans are complete creatures. Apart from that, this scientific work also reflects the ideal human attitude in facing crises, especially health crises in the new post-pandemic era, namely "Being human also means being a healthy human being" because humans who are able to find faith can understand it. the importance of health in their lives. For those who understand the integral relationship between the Catholic faith and health, this provides confirmation of the true dignity of human beings, including their relationship to "the Divine."

Role of the Catholic Church in addressing environmental crisis in Chuka Igambang’ombe Sub-county, Kenya

Role of the Catholic Church in addressing environmental crisis in Chuka Igambang’ombe Sub-county, Kenya

Teaching Catholic Religion in Croatian Public Schools: Legal Frame and Challenges

This paper explores the Croatian framework of collaboration between the state and the Catholic Church in the educational field, specifically the teaching of Catholic religion in public schools. First, the statute of the subject of religion was analyzed, following what is established in the Agreement with the Holy See and its Development Agreement with the Croatian Conference of Bishops. Some challenges to this peculiar model of cooperation were revised, mainly the ones regarding the enrollment and the co-responsibility of both ecclesiastical and state authorities in the approval and control of programs and contents. Second, the status of religion teachers was also evaluated. The same ecclesiastical and state authorities also have competence over the teaching staff, from their training to the control of their work, and must confront inconvenient situations related to the suitability of these professionals. In the study of each section and its corresponding rules and practices, it was possible to outline singular aspects, in some cases recognized—or rejected—judicially as discriminatory. This approximation to the right to religious education intends to examine the practice observed by the respective authorities in applying such provisions. The obtained findings and proposals about the singular Croatian model provide a useful contribution for comparative purposes.

‘They lived happily ever after’? Practices of sustaining the durability of Roman Catholic marriage in the context of transformations in intimacy in late modernity

Although in late-modern societies the idea of a ‘forever’ relationship has lost its dominant status, it is consistently upheld by the Roman Catholic Church. The aim of the article is to analyse the practices of sustaining the durability of Catholic marriage, which we treat as ways of adapting to the tensions between late-modern models of intimacy and the rule of indissolubility of marriage. We refer to data collected in qualitative research among educated Roman Catholic women in Poland. Using the lived religion approach, we demonstrate how these women sacralise actions within marriage that have been secularised in the late-modern world, while also using late modernity as a reservoir of meanings, leading to hybridisation of religious practices. We argue that sustaining conservative religious rules is often based on actions in which religious aspects are negotiated and transformed. Religion operates ‘non-autonomously’ in these processes, entering a relationship with elements that are originally not religious.

Genders, sexualities, and Catholic schools: towards a theological anthropology of adolescent flourishing

ABSTRACT Good religious education needs to be rooted in a robust theological anthropology. The Roman Catholic Church’s gender complementarity approach is inadequate for accompanying adolescents in Catholic schools as they engage in questions of gender and sexuality; instead, educators need a theological anthropology oriented towards adolescent flourishing. To construct a more capacious theological anthropological approach, one that is still authentically Catholic and rooted in the Church’s official documents, this essay turns to Pope Francis’ Christus Vivit and Fratelli Tutti. From Francis’ concern for mercy and accompaniment, a theological approach to the goodness of adolescence is described, which can ground theological reflection on gender and sexuality in love and human dignity, rather than shame and exclusion.

Slavery and the Catholic Church in the United States: Historical Studies ed. by David J. Endres (review)

Slavery and the Catholic Church in the United States: Historical Studies ed. by David J. Endres (review)

The Existence of Muhammadiyah in Education to Fulfill The Promise of Independence in East Nusa Tenggara

This article describes and explains Muhammadiyah's contribution to East Nusa Tenggara. The figure of KH. Ahmad Dahlan, with the Muhammadiyah organization, has answered every need of society, from Islamic renewal to working in the social, preaching, and education sectors. Muhammadiyah has eradicated backwardness, poverty, and ignorance and carried out total resistance against formalism and religious conservatism by breaking down "TBC" (Tahayul, Bid'ah, and Churafat). Because Muhammadiyah truly believes that Islam is a religion that contains progressive values. East Nusa Tenggara is known as an archipelago province because it consists of many islands. The number is more than 500 large and small islands, both named and unnamed. The large islands include Flores Island, Lembata, Sumba, and Alor. The islands that are relatively small and have names include Semau Island, Rinca, Komodo, Permaan, Kojadoi, and many more. The people of East Nusa Tenggara (well known as NTT) are mostly Catholic Christians, more than 55%, Protestant Christians, around 35%, and Muslims, only around 10%. Muhammadiyah locally has an organizational agenda as a response to the conditions of the people in remote areas of the country. While nationally, there is a special agenda related to the needs of the organization. This article uses qualitative methods to analyze the data related to the topics. As a finding, since the beginning of its existence, Muhammadiyah has indeed been intended as a da'wah institution that focuses on strengthening the capacity of the people. Muhammadiyah, in carrying out its mission to educate the nation's generations both before and after independence, can provide an image to the NTT community that Muhammadiyah has actually contributed to fulfilling the promises of independence. This can also be felt by the NTT community, especially in the fields of education, health, and social. This is proven by Muhammadiyah establishing schools, orphanages, and health clinics. Muhammadiyah has contributed a lot to upholding this country on its path. The strength and spirit that have been rooted since 1912 have been able to survive and continue to exist in this beloved country.