BOOKS DEALING WITH CONFLICT, CHANGE AND TRENDS IN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

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Change in the Catholic church:

The Roman Catholic Church has been phenomenally successful. It holds the world's record for longevity for any organization. But like most organized religious groups, it sometimes has difficulty handling change. This is very apparent today, as Catholicism struggles to be a universal church spanning widely disparate cultures which have opposing -- and rapidly evolving -- beliefs concerning democracy, human sexuality, and other topics. There are many indications that the Church is improving its ability to handle change. For example, it took the church about four centuries to accommodate Galileo's astronomical discoveries, but only a little over a century to embrace almost all of the theory of evolution.

Many recent books have been written about change in the Church. Some cover an increased role for the laity, greater democracy, and freedom of thought and speech within the organization. But most deal with sexually related topics: abortion, birth control, celibate priesthood, female ordination, feminism, homosexuality, in-vitro fertilization, masturbation, pre-marital sex, same-sex marriage, etc.

Abortion:

Abuse of children by the clergy:

Anti-Catholic prejudice:

Celibate Priesthood:

This list continues below.

Crises in the church:

Criticism of the church:

The future:

Homosexuality:

Laity:

Seminary training:

Women in the Church:

Copyright © 2004 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2004-JAN-21
Latest update: 2004-JAN-21
Author: B.A. Robinson