The Church as Institution

"The Church has a visible and social structure as a sign of her unity in Christ."
Vatican II: Constitution on the Church in the Modern World




Church Law
The Catholic Parish
The Catholic Diocese
Hierarchy
Other



CHURCH LAW


Code of Canon Law

Code of Canon Law IntraText version

Sacrae Disciplinae Leges Apostolic Constitution of Pope John Paul II promulgating the 1983 Code

Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts Profile of the Council. Will eventually contain council documents

Law in the Life of the Church Statement of the New Zealand bishops upon the released of the 1983 Code

Canon Law Society of America

Canon Law Auguste Boudinhon, Catholic Encyclopedia, 1910


THE CATHOLIC PARISH


The Parish See articles 26-27 of Pope John Paul II's 1988 Apostolic Exhortation "Christifideles Laici"

Called to Global Solidarity: International Challenges for U.S. Parishes 1997 document from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops

One with Christ A Pastoral Letter on Catholic Parish Life in New Hampshire, March 2004

Pastoral Letter on Parish Clustering for Advent Pastoral letter by Bishop Michael Malone of Maitland-Newcastle, Australia

Parishes Online Parishes Online Search Engine helps you quickly find web sites, Mass times and directory information on any parish or diocese in the US

Scotland's Parishes on the Web

Parish Mission Statements
St. John the Baptist Parish, Newburgh, IN
St. Mary of the Visitation Parish, Huntsville, AL

Parish Registry System The Parish Registry System (PRS) is a "heavy-duty" MS-Windows-based program designed to make parish record-keeping easier. It consists of six registers: Families, Groups, Planned Giving, Baptisms, Weddings and Other Lists, each of which can contain hundreds of thousands of records

Parish Social Justice A variety of resources to help parishes and individual Catholics learn more and do more in the arena of social justice

Parish ministry Articles from the magazine Salt of the Earth

Parish Pastoral Councils A General Orientation A PowerPoint presentation by Mark F. Fischer, a Catholic theologian and professor who has written two books and more than fifty articles about PPCs

Parish Pastoral Councils Courtesy of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Includes: Introduction by Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia; Rationale for Parish Pastoral Councils, Based in Documents of The Second Vatican Council Based on the 1983 Code of Canon Law; Principles Guiding Parish Pastoral Councils; Purpose of Parish Pastoral Councils; Function of Parish Pastoral Councils; Role of the Pastor in Parish Pastoral Councils; Parish Pastoral Council Size, Membership & Terms of Office; Parish Pastoral Council Meetings and Relationships with Other Committees


THE CATHOLIC DIOCESE


Catholic dioceses all around the world

Catholic Dioceses in the United States

US Catholic Dioceses From the US Catholic Conference web page

Vision Statement, Diocese of Arundel and Brighton in the U.K.

Mission Statement, Diocese of Boise, Idaho


HIERARCHY


Vatican II: Dogmatic Constitution on the Church See Chapter 3: The Hierarchical Structure of the Church, with Special Reference to the Episcopate

Magisterium Exercises Authority in Christ's Name Pope John Paul II, Address to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, November 24, 1995

Can Anything Good Come From Nazareth? On Some Dynamics of Hierarchy By Paschal Baute

The Claims of the Primacy and the Costly Call to Unity 1996 lecture at Oxford by retired Archbishop John R. Quinn of San Francisco. Responses by Cardinal O'Connor, Bishop James McHugh, and Archbishop Rembert Weakland

The Selection of Bishops Article by Thomas J. Reese, S.J. in America, 1984

Be Not Afraid: The Bishop as a Messenger of Hope Article by Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Denver

Episcopal Conferences: Historical, Canonical, and Theological Studies Full text of the book edited by Thomas J. Reese, S.J.(Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1989)

Archbishop: Inside the Power Structure of the American Catholic Church Book by Thomas J. Reese, S.J. (Harper & Row, 1989)

Conferences of Bishops Theology Library links

College of Cardinals A listing of the Cardinals, grouped as U.S. and Non-U.S

Cardinals and Conclaves Article by Thomas J. Reese, S.J. in America, 1994

The Pope George Joyce, The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911

On the Primacy of the Pope Boniface VIII: Unam Sanctam (1302)

First Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Christ Session 4 of Vatican I, dealing with the papacy and papal infallibility

In the Service of Unity New Zealand bishops' pastoral letter on the role of the pope in the Church

Pope John Paul II This is the Vatican website where you can find the pope's biography as well as his major papal documents

The Complete List of Popes A listing of all the popes with information on each one

Universi Dominici Gregis Apostolic Constitution issued by Pope John Paul II on vacancy of the Holy See and the election of the pope

The Vatican Theology Library links

The Petrine Ministry in a Changing Church Article by Hermann J. Pottmeyer

The Papacy for a Global Church Article by Avery Dulles, S.J. in America, 2000

The Papacy for an Ecumenical Age: A Response to Avery Dulles Article by Ladislas Orsy, S.J. in America, 2000

Avery Dulles & Ladislas Orsy in Dialogue Article by Avery Dulles, S.J. and Ladislas Orsy, S.J. in America, 2000

Infallibility Revisited Article by John J. Carey in Theology Today, 1972

History and Art in the coats of arms of the Popes Lots of history, art and architecture from an Italian enthusiast


OTHER


Vatican II: Decree on the Eastern Catholic Churches

Pope John Paul II: Orientale Lumen Apostolic Letter to the Eastern Churches, 2 May 1995

Pope Pius XII: On the Reunion of the Ruthenian Church with Rome Promulgated on December 23, 1945

Pope Pius IX: On the Care of the Churches Encyclical of 8 Apr 1862. Pius, writing to the Eastern Bishops, speaks on papal authority, while reassuring them that Rome has no intention of forcing the Latin Rite on the Oriental. Churches

Eastern Catholic Churches in the U.S.

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Eastern Byzantine Rite

Syro-Malabar Catholic Church

The Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Passaic

East Syrian Rite Also known as the Chaldean, Assyrian, or Persian Rite. An article from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia




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