Catholic Research Articles

Artificial Intelligence and an Anthropological Ethics of Work: Implications on the Social Teaching of the Church

It is the contention of this paper that ethics of work ought to be anthropological, and artificial intelligence (AI) research and development, which is the focus of work today, should be anthropological, that is, human-centered. This paper discusses the philosophical and theological implications of the development of AI research on the intrinsic nature of work and the nature of the human person. AI research and the implications of its development and advancement, being a relatively new phenomenon, have not been comprehensively interrogated in the social and ethical teachings of the Catholic Church. This paper, therefore, proposes a path for this interrogation by expounding a discourse which is believed to be epistemically helpful in the developing discourse of AI in the ethical and social teachings of the Church. The advancement in the research on AI is not only redefining the meaning of work, but, even more so, it is questioning the metaphysical notion of the human person and the theological notion of work as an intrinsic part in the selfhood and dignity of the human person.

Religion Lived In-Between. Time, Space, and Religious Practices of Roman Catholic Women in Poland

Abstract The article focuses on the role of time and space in the religious practices of Roman Catholic women. It aims to demonstrate not only how the spatial-temporal conditions of everyday life shape religious practices, but also how the space and time for practicing religion are produced as a result of practices. The article also shows how religious and other practices compete for limited spatial-temporal resources, contributing to the transformation of religious practices by incorporating new materials, technologies, and meanings. Based on the results of qualitative research among Roman Catholic women in Poland and using the praxeological lived religion approach, the analysis shows that religion is lived by women in-between—interwoven in temporal and spatial terms between other practices, either dominated by them or sometimes gaining a monopoly. The shape of religion in everyday life, therefore, does not only depend solely on the dynamics of religious practices, but also results from tensions between various social practices.

Another Look: American Catholics and the Quest for Equality in the Civil War Era

Robert Emmett Curran’s masterful treatment of American Catholicism in the Civil War era is the first comprehensive history of Roman Catholics in the North and South before, during, and after the war. Curran provides an in-depth look at how the momentous developments of these decades affected the entire Catholic community, including Black and indigenous Americans. He also explores the ways that Catholics contributed to the reshaping of a nation that was testing the fundamental proposition of equality set down by its founders. Ultimately, Curran concludes, the revolution that the war touched off remained unfinished, indeed was turned backward, in no small part by Catholics who marred their pursuit of equality with a truncated vision of who deserved to share in its realization.

Application of ISAK 35 to the Presentation of Financial Reports of the Manado Diocese of the Catholic Church

Application of ISAK 35 to the Presentation of Financial Reports of the Manado Diocese of the Catholic Church

Karl Rahner’s Theology of the Diaconate: A Reappraisal

Abstract Both before and after the Second Vatican Council, Karl Rahner promoted the restoration of the diaconate as a permanent order in the Catholic church. His theology of the diaconate has eluded sustained attention. After providing the historical context for his contribution, this reappraisal, in a close reading of Rahner, elaborates on three essential ecclesiological themes: the church’s exercise of its divine right to establish a discrete diaconate by dividing office, the graced nature of diaconal office, and the specialized function of deacons in the formation of ecclesial community.

The Sinful Church and Its Need for Constant Conversion

AbstractThis article justifies and demonstrates that the church, and not only its members, is capable of sinning. It can thereby become a structure of sin and be called a sinful church. This is exemplified through the cases of the Roman Catholic Church's handling of sexual abuse and the Residential School System in Canada. This highlights that the churches, along with calling the world, societies, and all people to change where it is needed, should also be constantly self‐examining and self‐correcting.

Catholic family towards holy perfection: pastoral challenges and management

This research examines Catholic families towards the perfection of holiness: challenges, management, and pastoral care. A Catholic family is a family based on Catholic marriage. The Catholic family itself is referred to as the ecclesia domestica or household church which has a special place in the Catholic Church. This research uses the literature study method. Literature study is research that focuses on searching and deepening supporting literature. Library sources are taken from Church documents that talk about the family and also other sources that support this research. The research results show that Catholic families face external and internal challenges. Therefore, the need to strengthen the foundation of the family in the environment and within the family itself is important in order to realize environment-based pastoral services, as is the pastoral focus of the Diocese of Surabaya. Researchers propose a family catechesis program which aims to build understanding, awareness and concrete action for families towards perfect holiness. This catechesis takes the form of a life catechesis that prioritizes everyday experiences interpreted in the light of the Gospel. This form or method of catechesis is carried out through family recollection in the environment.

Siedem dokumentów i listów Mikołaja Krzysztofa „Sierotki” i Albrychta Władysława Radziwiłłów z końca XVI i początku XVII wieku dotyczących dziesięcin i innych świadczeń dla kościoła w Czernawczycach i prepozytury Św. Barbary w Brześciu

The present paper contains an editing of seven documents and letters concerning the tithes from Radziwiłł’s estates near Brest for the Catholic parish church in Čarnaŭčycy and St. Barbara provostry in Brest. Senders were two members of the Radziwiłł family: Mikołaj Krzysztof “The Orphan” and Albrycht Władysław and addresses parish priests and land-stewards. This documents are interesting sources of knowledge about relations between them and landlord’s activity in the field of solutions to the disputes about tithes.

Conservation of Catholic churches after the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council

Since the use of built heritage is a requisite for its conservation, this article discusses the adaptation of Catholic churches, conceived for the liturgy supported by the Council of Trent (1545-1563), to that of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), which presuppose a symbolically and functionally different spatial layout. Issues concerning this process are presented which sometimes led to the loss of cultural assets, frequently in favor of less pertinent interventions. It presents the architectural program for celebrating the reformed liturgy in Tridentine churches, as expressed by official documents in articulation with the principles of intervention in cultural assets and illustrative examples.

Child Sexual Abuse within the Catholic Church in Spain: A Descriptive Analysis of its Characteristics and Long-Term Impact

ABSTRACT Sexual abuse within the Catholic Church is a serious social issue and a significant public health problem that has caused extensive harm worldwide. In 2022, an independent commission was established in Spain to investigate sexual abuse within the Church. The commission gathered data from 334 victims (82.3% men, 17.7% women), who were predominantly aged between 55 and 74 years old (62.5%). A majority of victims (71.0%) endured sexual abuse involving physical contact, while 21% reported instances of oral, anal, or vaginal penetration. Over half of the victims (57.5%) reported emotional and behavioral issues, as well as functional problems, problems in relationships, sexuality, and cognition, and attributed these difficulties to the abuse. The majority of participants (79.0%) had disclosed the abuse before the study, with the Church taking action in 45.8% of cases. Approximately 8.4% of victims reported the perpetrator was relocated, while 16.2% described institutional efforts to conceal the abuse. In conclusion, victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church in Spain faced consequences that had a significant impact on their lives, exacerbated by lack of societal recognition and a prevalent dynamic of cover-up and concealment by the Church.

Historia kościoła grekokatolickiego na Słowacji

The Catholic Church of the Byzantine-Slavonic rite, that is the Greek-Catholic Church (but also Roman-Catholic Church), derives its presence in the territory of Slovakia from the activities of the Holy Brothers. Their arrival in the Great Moravian Empire in 863 strengthened the empire’s special position , which came from its geopolitical position on the frontier of two cultural and political worlds, western and eastern. Methodius, the archbishop, simply reflected and strengthened the special position of the empire where East met West. He did not become an exponent of Byzantine imperial policy. Although he was on the territory of Byzantine ideology he was also at the service of Rome.

On the Margins of Meaning: Some remarks on gesture asdepicted in the Orthodox frescoes of Roman Catholic churches in Poland

Artykuł jest przedrukiem tekstu z pisma Biuletyn Historii Sztuki, 1-2, 2008, s. 163-176.

Internuncio Antonio Francesco Cirioli's correspondence with the Secretary of State on the eve of the General Sejm held in Warsaw in 1623

From the mid-16th century onwards, the Apostolic Nunciature in Poland was pro-parliamentary, anti-Turkish and counter-reformative. It should not come as a surprise that the preliminary instruction issued to nuncio Giovanni Battista Lacellotti to stay especially alert and secure the interest of the Catholic Church in Poland as well as care for Christian affairs during parliamentary sessions acquired particular significance. In early November 1622, by the appointment of cardinal Cosimo de Torres, under Gregory's XV papal brief of 3 December 1622, Antonio Francesco Cirioli became internuncio. A Bolognese by origin, Cirioli was and a Doctor of Laws and from 1621 an auditor of Cosimo de Torres's nunciature (to date completely absent from the literature of the subject). The office of the internuncio in Warsaw, to which he was appointed following his 13-month service as an auditor, was held by Cirioli for as many as twenty-three weeks, i.e. from 19 November 1622 to 29 April 1623.

Karmelici Bosi w kręgu zainteresowań aparatu bezpieczeństwa PRL na terenie województwa krakowskiego w świetle zachowanych sprawozdań kierowanych do MBP i MSW w latach 1947-1970

In the times of the Polish People’s Republic, national security issues and, at the same time, surveillance of the society and suppression of many institutions – the Catholic Church included - were in the hands of appropriate services, modelled on the Soviet NKVD. At first this was the Ministry of Public Security and since 1956 the Security Police. The first part of the article presents the organization of security units in the voivodship of Cracow and the distribution of monastic communities, while the second throws light on the activities of these units uh the basis of preserved reports sent from Cracow to the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Officials of the Security Police who worked in the voivodship and district departments took a close interest in the Discalced Carmelite monks, taking account of their wartime past, pastoral activity and connections with the Church hierarchy. To ensure influence upon the life of the Discalced Carmelite Province as well as access to information on monastic internal issues they gained several secret collaborators within the congregation itself and its lay associates. The article is the first attempt at showing the methods of the Security Police (SB) and the Security Office (UB) activities directed at monastic orders; methods aiming at subjugating to the authorities not only the orders themselves, but the whole Catholic Church in Poland.

Curriculum vitae of D. Mikuláš (Nicolas) Russnák Theologian and liturgist

University professor D. Mikuláš Russnák came from a clerical family. His father, Pavol Russnák was a Catholic priest o f the Byzantine rite. His mother Many, originally itemed Brinszky, came from Varhaftovce, and was a daughter of a priest. Mikuláš Russnák was bom on 30 April 1878 in Sopkovce. He received the sacrament o f baptism and confirmation in Sopkovce on 7 May 1878. He had threesiblings. His younger brother Pavol was a priest and doctor o f sacred theology. He was a vice-dean at the seminaiy in Prešov, and a canon and a parish priest in Zavadka. He died on 18 March 1943. Of his two sisters, Gizela was older and Etelka was younger than Mikuláš. Gizela married Viktor Leukanič, a Catholic priest o f the Byzantine rite in Klečenov. Etelka married Julius Szinyei-Merse, a lawyer. The children were brought up in file Catholic faith, as would be obvious for the family o f the Catholic priest. The family atmosphere o f devotion and catholicity remained an everlasting value for Mikuláš. His mother Jolana died on 7 June 1898 and his father Pavol died on 27 June 1921.

Kościół katolicki na Białorusi na przełomie XX i XXI wieku

The article discusses the issues surrounding the revival of the Catholic Church at the turn of the 21st century against a broad historical background.

Contributions of the Synodal Process to the Religious Life of Adult Believers in Christian Communities

Synodality, as a determinant of the mentality and style of pastoral activity, has proven to be one of the key themes of Church life in the last few years. The synodal dimension of the Church is seen as the fundamental backbone of all the other important components of pastoral engagement. Religious life and practice of adult believers, on the other hand, remains one of the most challenging pastoral tasks. This claim is so current that concerning many church environments one can legitimately ask whether a mature and developed practice of faith exists at all. The synodal process that is ongoing in the Catholic Church, especially until the fall of 2024, helps to improve so many pastoral activities and most of them concern the practice of faith of adult believers. This paper is dedicated to the theological–pastoral study of the main components of the improvement of this practice in light of the contributions of the synodal process.

Theopolitical police: BOPE, Christianity and popular culture in Rio de Janeiro

ABSTRACT This article centres on contemporary mergers between state security practices, popular media and religion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It discusses the actions and the representations of BOPE – Batalhão de Operações Especiais da Polícia Militar do Rio de Janeiro – the special operations battalion of the military police of Rio de Janeiro, to show how this unit frequently employs Christian symbols and practices to legitimate violence at the border between the legal and the illegal. BOPE’s religious iconography is amplified by movies, memes, toys and popular clothing. BOPE’s military pop-culture can best be regarded as theopolitical because such a perspective underscores the fact that different Christian symbols and practices, derived from Roman Catholicism and Pentecostalism, produce incoherent political theologies that are fuelled by bottom-up innovations and institutional legacies.

Declarações da Conferência Episcopal do Chile durante o governo de Salvador Allende: tensões com Cristãos pelo Socialismo

This article aims to examine the views of the Chilean Catholic Church during the administration of President Salvador Allende. The main themes that arise from the declarations of the bishops will be addressed and the ethical-theological implications of the relationship between religion and politics in the current context will be analyzed. The central axis of the article is to analyze the vision of the bishops towards the Marxist/socialist ideology from the historical and theological analysis of the government of Salvador Allende and the configuration of Christians for Socialism. The bishops’ statements show a critical position towards the Marxist/socialist ideology, seen as synonymous in a discursive strategy of the church hierarchy to disqualify the government and the left-leaning of Catholics. The article is based on a classic analysis of texts, which uses internal and external analysis of episcopal documents between 1970 and 1974, together with a bibliographical review on the historical period.

'Tausi Feagaiga: A Project to Train Caregivers and Empower the American Samoan Community.

The 'Tausi Feagaiga (Covenant Keeper) project was a partnership to support the traditional values of tausi matua (caring for one's elders). The partners included a non-governmental organization (Pacific Youth and Community Development), a faith-based organization (Roman Catholic Diocese of Samoa-Pago Pago), and an institute of higher education (University of Hawai'i John A. Burns School of Medicine). The project was created to address the lack of community-based health care such as home health or hospice, and families needing to work outside the home. A culturally based caregiving curriculum was developed to educate caregivers and improve their knowledge and skills. Using a train-the-trainer model, 125 caregivers were trained in family caregiving from 2016-2020. Training was conducted through an intensive workshop followed by practicum at Hope House, the Catholic Diocese home for the aged. Participants who expressed a willingness and competency were mentored to be trainers to continue the 'Tausi Feagaiga project. The mean self-rated confidence in caregiving improved significantly from 3.17 ± 1.02 (mean SD) pre workshop to 3.53 ± 0.71 post workshop (P = .001). Competence in geriatric syndromes was improved from 18.04 ± 4.27 to 21.31 ± 4.30 after attending the workshop (P < .001) and the feedback was extremely positive. Technical assistance was provided to obtain funding through American Samoa Medicaid State Agency to improve the existing infrastructure of Hope House, obtain much needed supplies, and increase ability to hire the participants. 'Tausi Feagaiga positively impacted the lives of the residents of Hope House, the course participants, the elders in the community, and those who care for them.