Before World War II, the Catholic Church shared a close bond with the Fascist Government. Catholicism was strong in European countries that had a Fascist Government in control. The Catholic Center Party even voted in favor of Hitler, showing they wanted him to rule Germany (ANT 39). This was because Hitler guaranteed "Catholics freedom to profess and practice their religion freely" and he helped Catholics get "finance and property

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The Catholic Church has very strict guidelines about many issues that deal with sex. They believe that "genital expression of sexuality belonged . . . to marriage alone . . . premarital intercourse, masturbation and homosexual acts were grave abuses of the sexual function (ANT 141). The church, traditionally, also wanted people to go to confession to testify their impure thoughts or after masturbating. During the period between puberty and marriage, a catholic had to overcome temptation. This to many is very hard to abide by but historically it has never been a problem, or at least was never anyone talked about. The most overlooked rule of the Catholic Church is that even married couples were not allowed to use birth control. Pope Paul VI on July 30, 1968 in his article "Humane Vitae," which translates "Of Human Life," formally stated that only the rhythm method or abstinence could be used to control the size of families (ACM 15). If a couple, married or non-married, h!

The apex of the Catholic Church is the pope, who is to spread the word in place of Jesus, and the structure trickles down and includes all members of the church. There are many different ranks in the church, but the most common ranks underneath the pope in order are Cardinals, Bishops, Priests and finally the members of the parish. The Pope is the "visible head of the mystical body of Christ (YC 218)." He has the power to introduce, change or delete laws of the church. He also has the power to canonize saints. The only thing that the pope is not allowed to change is the seven sacraments (YC 217). The pope is in control of his own city, mentioned earlier in the text, called the Vatican City. The Vatican City is a 108.7 acre area surrounding the city of Rome, Italy. It is filled with art galleries, museums, churches, libraries and palaces. It is unknown about finances but the Vatican receives 1.5 million dollars in collections a year. The entire wealth of the city is !

Many feminists have criticized the church for not giving women equal rights. Since the beginning of time women were treated with less respect than men were. The Catholic Church has always had a great respect for women but hey do not show it during the mass. The men were the only sex able to participate in the mass. Women were to stay in the pews with their head covered and pray, while the men were allowed on the altar, could lead the congregation in church readings and pray with out their head covered. While women are now looked up to more than ever, most churches have become more liberal in what they allow women to do while some keep their traditional values. Some people consider the churches that give women equal rights as a modern day church. These churches for the most part allow women to do everything that a man can do except become a priest. They allow girls to become altar girls, women are allowed to say the readings for the day and any confirmed female can take!

The Catholic Church has a very complex structure. To be part of the church you must participate in the sacraments and tend to your obligations. There is also a group of rankings that extends from God all the way down to the clergy member. It is a year round job that should be on your mind at every waking moment. The Catholics even celebrate more occasions and people than other protestant religions do. The Catholic Church is like a chair, if you take away one leg it will still stand, but it will be missing a vital part of its structure.

was apparent that the structure of the Catholic Church held strong during its first battle of the 20th Century.

Sacraments and obligations are two of the most essential tasks of being a member of the Catholic Community. There are seven sacraments and a member is required to complete six of them. A member of the church completes these tasks chronologically throughout their life

Some common words found in the essay are:
Catholic Church, Jesus' Apostles, York Times, Easter Catholics, LBB Fasting, Paul II, Holy Days, Catholics Catholics, Catholic Community, Christ YC, catholic church, 20th century, traditional values, john paul, pope john paul, pope john, structure catholic church, birth control, body christ, structure catholic, vatican city, paul ii, john paul ii, catholic church institution, pope pius xii,
Approximate Word count = 2909
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)