The Eucharist and Transubstantiation

The Eucharist is the Catholic version of Communion; although it is very similar to other Christian communions, it has one key belief that changes the complexity of it: transubstantiation. Transustantiation is the belief that the Priest literally changes the bread into the body of Jesus disguised as bread, the wine turns into the blood of Jesus. Other Christians make the bread and wine symbols of Jesus' body and blood, not believing it is literally his. It makes the Eucharist seem much more real and important in the Catholic faith.

"'The Eucharist Christ." Contender Ministries. 27 Oct 2005. Contender Ministries. 21 Oct 2007 .http://www.contenderministries.org/Catholicism/eucharist.php

Tree Map

Purgatory

Another belief that separates Catholics from other Christian religions is their belief in Purgatory. Purgatory is an in-between stage of physical death and entering Heaven where the soul is torchured and rid of all sins gained. Catholics say that Purgatory is different for each person depending on how much sin they have in their life. Catholics also believe that people can shorten the time a soul is in Purgatory by simply praying for it. They also believe that souls in Purgatory can talk to people in an "intercession." Other Christian religions believe that Purgatory is unbiblical, stating that there is no real scriptural proof to say its real. However it does not change the fact that Purgatory separates Catholicism from other Christian religions.

"Catholicism-Purgatory." Contender Ministries. 27 Oct 2005. Contender Ministries. 21 Oct 2007 .
http://www.contenderministries.org/Catholicism/purgatory.php

Holidays

Ash Wenesday- First Day of Lent
Good Friday- Death of Jesus
Lent- 40 Days and 40 nights Jesus spent in the Dessert
Easter- Ressurection of Jesus
Christmas- Birth of Jesus

Information from www.mqp.org/masses/CatholicHolidays

The First Pope

After Jesus assigned Paul the responsibility to establish the Christian church, Paul traveled to Rome, where he became the first Pope. After Paul’s death, he passed on the role as Pope to the next generation, which was St. Peter (30 to 67 CE), who passed it on to Linus (67 to 76), and then Clement of Rome (88 to 97) etc.. With Peter as the Pope, Jesus’ Apostles became ordained bishops, and when they died, they ordained new bishops. This line of succession created the Roman Catholic Church as a functioning operation.
Even though this system was put into play, it took many years for the church to be taken seriously and establish common teachings. For instance Pope Leo I (400 to 461 CE) was the fist to say that the bishop of Rome was the highest ranking of the bishops of the church. Before that the Pope could not solely speak for the church, all of the bishops had to settle issues together. This form of hierarchy explains a lot about the building of the church systems, but also it demonstrates the traditions and politics of the Roman Catholic Church.

Information provided by: http://www.religioustolerance.org/rcc.htm

The Virgin Mary

Roman Catholicism has a unique belief in Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus. Most Christian religions believe that Mary was a virgin and gave birth to the One who would be the Son of God. Catholicism takes this a step further. One example is that she was visited nightly by angels as a child in the temple, showing the early interest God had in her. Another example is that Catholics believe that she was born and lived without sin. Because of this, she never really physically died and was raised straight into heaven. The last example is that she never had children before and after Jesus was born. Most Christian religions believe in this first part; Catholics are the only ones to believe the latter. Because of this, Catholics believe Mary is almost as much of a God-like figure as Jesus is, however is not truly in the ranks of a God.

"Catholicism-Mariology." Contender Ministries. 27 Oct 2005. Contender Ministries. 21 Oct 2007 .
http://www.contenderministries.org/Catholicism/mariology.php

The Founding of Catholicism

The apostles of Jesus Christ formed the Christian Church. They helped spread God’s word and provided structure for the new religion. It is hard to differentiate between the Roman Catholic Church and the early Christian church. The church became the Roman Empire’s official religion in 380, and remained this way until 1054 when Eastern Orthodox separated itself and became a new religion. At that time Catholicism was officially created, as was Eastern Orthodox Christianity. In past and present day, Roman Catholicism was believed by its followers to be the only true Christianity, and all branches of Christianity that have formed since then are imperfect versions of this universal religion, the religion created through the disciples by God.

Source: http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/roman_catholicism.html

Image from: http://www.catholic.net/RCC/Image_Bank/Basilica.gif