Kanczes 1

Rachel Kanczes

Mrs. Fulmer

AP Language and Composition- 7

12 March 2017

Are the Catholic Churchs beliefs, rules, procedures, and expectations corrupt, false, harsh,

overbearing, and even hypocritical?

Since its creation, Catholicism has been a reigning world power that consumes the lives

of many. This institution has created a force of members who follow in the steps of their savior

while being judged by laws and strictures of the church. Being one of the many religions in the

world, the Catholic Church has insured its successfulness in many ways. The church requires

that people stay active in the church and spread the good news of Christ while also living freely

in their daily lives. Some believe that the church is a peaceful and gentle environment,

promoting world peace and safe and smart choices. Catholicism has shown its power throughout

history, creating an institution that is strict in certain manners while also appearing gentle and

submissive in other ways. With such dominant power, Catholicism is oppressive to many of its

long-devoted members. This reigning power over the free will of the members of the Catholic

Church has corrupted them. Catholics should be able to express their will more freely and still

feel they are being good Christians.

Being around for centuries, the Church has created a diverse and plentiful amount of

members in every part of the world. The belief that God carries people in his arms, As one that

stands or walks in slippery places is always exposed to fall, gives people something to believe

in during tough times or even simple times during ones life (Edwards 1). However, strict beliefs
 Kanczes 2

of the Church can become overbearing to some exposed to society every day. These strict beliefs

can make people feel that if they disobey God one time, they are automatically condemned into

hell. As Edwards mentions in his sermon, The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as

one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, adhors you, and is dreadfully

provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire. A large portion of people, however, believe

that the amount of power that Catholicism holds has not affected them or their lives; they choose

to believe that this strict power is what keeps them involved in the church. There is room for

discussion between these groups. This difference in beliefs that the church can be overpowering

or that it is a saving force worth discussing. For a more united religion, people must be willing

to place themselves in each others shoes, as someone who may believe in this power or

someone who does not choose to.

The Catholic Church has been dictating its members lives since its creation. The

Churchs laws define the life that all dedicated Catholics should live. In the 1800s some were

scared that the Catholics were ruining their society, quoting Abraham Lincoln It will read all

men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics (Lincoln 2). Ultimately,

not all Catholics support this strict way of life defined by the Churchs laws. In my graphic

below, American Catholics, the graphs show a decreased amount of Catholics who attend masses

in the United States accompanied by a decrease in priests willing to join the Church.
 Kanczes 3

The church has set strict strictures on the laws of abortion. For example, some people believe

that the killing of an unborn infant is an unforgivable mortal sin, for You shall not slay the child

by abortions (phthora). You shall not kill what is generated (Cahill 2). Such evidence of the act

of abortion being a mortal sin in church history and the Bible, makes its members believe that

they should not dare to go against Gods will and commit a grave sin. Believers in strict church

power, for example, follow the Lenten laws very closely. In the season of lent, all Catholics

should avoid consuming meat on Fridays and should fast, only eating one large meal a day. In
 Kanczes 4

the Bible, Catholics learn that Jesus survived in the desert for 40 days with no food and then died

for their sins, so they learn to sacrifice their own meals to pay back the debt they owe to their

Lord and Savior. Church regulations have also advised that members should help their diocese

and their institution funded by donating and contributing money, for Churches are also

institutions which rely on economic inputs to maintain their activities (Chantrill 2). Such an

implication is visible in the Pittsburgh dioceses fund for the Church Alive. This foundation asks

for money to help provide the members with the best experience in masses and other Church

activities. However, if a certain branch of the diocese does not contribute enough, they are at

risk of combination with another institution and loosing amenities that they previously had, such

as schools. At the potential for this risk, Catholics pay large sums of money to ensure that their

branch of the Church stays afloat during tough economic times. The believers in strict

enforcement of the Churchs power believe in the preceding aspects of the Church for reasons

mentioned in the Bible or reasons that have become tradition over the course of the Churchs

history. These perspectives help guide this side of the argument towards their goal of a stricter

Church with a strong faith. However, there are opposing views on the Churchs amount of

power; some believe that the power the church holds is overbearing and controls their personal

lives.

In the past, the Church has had a history of changing its strictures. At its young age, the

Church did not condemn the act of abortion as the killing an infant, but as time went on and the

institution began to grow, it began to enact the action as a law, it was universally recognized

in church law until the decree Sicut ex of Innocent III in 1211 (Cahill 2). In the past year, Pope

Francis has also enacted a change in Church law; Pope Francis on Monday extended

indefinitely to all Roman Catholic priests the power to forgive abortions, a right previously
 Kanczes 5

reserved for bishops or special confessors in most parts of the world (Pope 1). The article

goes on to mention that, Not only is this the change in Church policy, it changes Church law

(Pope 1). This drastic change in Church law is one example of how often the church changes

in time, but the church also shows its power in many other ways. Within the Lenten traditions,

the Church has set very strict guidelines. These Lenten regulations state that anyone over the age

of 14 is required to fast during the season and for no reason should anyone eat meat on Fridays,

especially Good Friday. These laws have created quite a stir within the Catholic community.

There are potential conflicts with such a strict regulation. Perhaps a public school might not

provide a Lenten alternative to some looking to practice good Catholic ideals, or such small

meals during the Lenten season may begin to alter a practicing Catholics body. These

consequences not only affect the member on a personal level, but such a sacrifice can begin to

make the religion itself seem very overbearing with its practices.

In recent years, the Catholic Church has put into place a new initiative to raise funds, the

Mission for the Church Alive. When the Church was just starting out, it realized that it had no

foundation. The church found that they needed funds to start a reliable foundation. During

Romes time, the church would make its members pay indulgences in order to receive

forgiveness from God and assurance that they would go to heaven. If they did not pay and they

had previously disobeyed God in some manner, they would ultimately pay for what they had

done and would receive a sentence to hell. In modern society, such a practice is into play once

more. Today, members of the Church contribute money to their branchs Church Alive fund, but

this recent implication in the Church has just put them back to where they began. From this

implication, combined with the Churchs loss of members, you can see that the Church is falling

fast. However, the power of the institution combined with its teachings has lured people to pay
 Kanczes 6

for its inputs and provide their local institution with the things it needs to function. The churchs

dominance in these situations has created a powerful and widespread institution; for There is no

fortress that is any defence from the power of God (Edwards 2). This powerful institution has

become what everyone knows as the almighty Catholic Church.

In all of this discussion, however, there is room for common ground. Within all of the

madness of this issue, the wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over a great part

of this congregation (Edwards 14). Within all of the issues mentioned within this paper, both

sides have to examine the others viewpoints; see things through each others eyes. For abortion,

both sides have a sense of human life. They do not just plainly think of issues and think of the

deep debate over it, they consider the life of a human being. Whether it be for or against, both

sides have a common sense of courtesy and change within the church. Active members of the

church see change in their institution all the time, and regardless of what they believe, they

accept it. They all have one common faithful ideal, which holds them together as a congregation.

During lent, all members sacrifice something. Whether it be a fasting sacrifice or just a Friday

sacrifice, they all give up something, some more than others. However, this one act of penance

does not define their mark in the Church. Undoubtedly, every member has committed a sin in

the past and not fasting, though it be a Lenten regulation, is not considered a mortal or grave sin

in any sense of the Churchs law. All members commonly agree that they celebrate Lent for one

reason and that the rising of their Savior is important above all, but some choose to take this act

of penance more seriously. The Church Alive fund is another aspect of the Church that is open

for discussion. Some members will do whatever is possible to donate to their Churchs fund, but

some have doubts. Some do not know where the money they give is going, some are in financial

situations that make them unable to donate, or some give whatever they have. All Christians
 Kanczes 7

give up something to the Church, be it money, their life, or their time, but money is a difficult

thing to give sometimes. All members understand the situations that others may be in and

Church members usually understand that to get a really superior product you have to pay more,

but all members give something to the Church, in one form or another (Chantrill 2). All parts of

the Church understand that they must work together to form a perfect institution, even though it

may require some sacrifice. However, in the Catholic faith, they are willing to work to diminish

the hardships.

All Catholics look at their faiths from different perspectives and these views are what

makes the religion unique and special to those who belong to it. With sufficient evidence, one is

able to denounce the Church as guilty of being oppressive to many of its long-devoted members,

corrupting them, and not allowing them to express their free will. However, the believers in a

strict Church have reasons behind their thoughts, as the opposing side does as well. Although

The bow of Gods wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string and justice bends the

arrow at your heart, Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, allowing the

congregation to have opinions and voice them as well as be heard by other members of their

giving institution (Edwards 7, 13). Catholics must strive to understand each other for the sake of

their faith, for A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be and not

building bridges, is not Christian (McDonald 3). All members of this faith should further

examine each others thoughts and feelings, calling for a more united Church.
 Kanczes 8

Works Consulted

Cahill, Lisa Sowle. Abortion: III. Religious Traditions: B. Roman Catholic Perspectives.

Encyclopedia of Bioethics, edited by Stephen G. Post, 3rd ed., vol. 1, Macmillan

Reference USA, 2004, pp. 31-35. Gale Virtual Reference Library, Gale Cengage

Learning, doi:CX3402500018.

Catholicism and Modernism. American Decades, edited by Judith S. Baughman, et al., vol. 5,

Gale, 2001, Gale Virtual Reference Library, Gale Cengage Learning,

doi:CX3468301664.

Chantrill, Christopher. "The Catholic Church Needs to Be Stricter to Grow." The Catholic

Church, edited by Noah Berlatsky, Greenhaven Press, 2010, Opposing Viewpoints in

Context, Gale Cengage Learning, doi:EJ3010384260.

Edwards, Jonathan. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Christian Classics Ethereal

Library, 8 July 1741, CCEL, Harry Plantinga, 2015,

https://www.ccel.org/ccel/edwards/sermons.sinners.html.

Hehir, J. Bryan. "Population Ethics: III. Religious Traditions: D. Roman Catholic Perspectives."

Encyclopedia of Bioethics, edited by Stephen G. Post, 3rd ed., vol. 4, Macmillan

Reference USA, 2004, pp. 2064-2070. Gale Virtual Reference Library, Gale Cengage

Learning, doi:CX3402500423.

Holm, Phil and Jake OConnell. American Catholics. AP Images, Associated Press, 12

November 2006, doi:0611120148.

Lincoln, Abraham. "On the Know-Nothing Party." Social Policy: Essential Primary Sources,

edited by K. Lee Lerner, et al., Gale, 2006, pp. 92-94. Gale Virtual Reference Library,

Gale Cengage Learning, doi:CX2687400047.

 Kanczes 9

McDonald, Thomas L. "U.S. Bishops Face the Challenges of a DIVIDED NATION." Catholic

Digest, vol. 81, no. 3, Jan/Feb2017, p. 54. Masterfile Primer, EBSCO Industries, 2017.

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=uid&db=f5h&AN=120752743

&site=ehost-live.

Pope Extends Power to Forgive Abortion to all Roman Catholic Priests. Reuters, 21 November

2016, World News Digest, Infobase Learning, 2017,

http://wnd.infobaselearning.com/recordurl.aspx?wid=19515&nid=307166&umbtype=1.

Williams, Peter. "United States of America." Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices,

edited by Thomas Riggs, vol. 3: Countries: M-Z, Gale, 2006, pp. 518-535. Gale Virtual

Reference Library, Gale Cengage Learning, doi:CX3437900246.