Introduction

About half of the world’s 2.1 billion Christians are members of the Roman Catholic Church, making it the largest Christian denomination. Catholics believe that the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus. Roman Catholicism became the official religion of the Roman Empire in AD380.

As successor to Saint Peter, the Pope heads the Church, and believers see it as the one true Church founded by Jesus. Catholic bishops are the successors of the 12 apostles. The authority of the Church is absolute and the Pope is infallible in his declarations on doctrine.

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Catholic values

The most important source of Catholic values are the Ten Commandments from the Old Testament, which God gave to Moses, and the Beatitudes from the New Testament, which are some of the main teachings of Jesus Christ.

These are the ten commandments from the book of Exodus, Chapter 20, 1-17:

1. You shall have no other Gods but me.

2. You shall not make for yourself any idol, nor bow down to it or worship it.

3. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.

4. You shall remember and keep the Sabbath day holy.

5. Respect your father and mother.

6. You must not kill.

7. You must not commit adultery.

8. You must not steal.

9. You must not give false evidence against your neighbour.

10. You must not be envious of your neighbour’s goods. You shall not be envious of his house nor his wife, nor anything that belongs to your neighbour.

These are the Beatitudes from Matthew’s Gospel, Chapter 5, 1-12):

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

2. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

3. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled.

5. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.

6. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

7. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.

8. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

9. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

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