The Church

This course leads students toward a deeper understanding of the Catholic Church established by Jesus Christ. The course examines the “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic” Church in its structure, teaching authority, and early history. The course then considers the varied roles of clergy, consecrated religious, and laity. The course concludes with a practical approach to ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, including a survey of the doctrinal differences between Catholics and other Christian ecclesial groups and the major tenets of several non-Christian religions. This part of the course has the intention of enabling students to "recognize, preserve, and promote" the good found in other faiths while maintaining the Church's identity as the Gate of Salvation.

Unit 1: What is the Church?
This unit begins the study of the Church by laying a foundation for Catholic ecclesiology. It considers the Church as a whole by using different common images, such as the Body of Christ and the Kingdom of God.

Unit 2: The Sacrament of Salvation
This unit unfolds the Church’s identity as the “sacrament of salvation” according to the wider use of the term “sacrament” to mean a visible sign of an invisible reality. Specifically, this unit examines the Church’s visible structures and organization.

Unit 3: The Church is Apostolic
The next four units of the course are based on the four “marks” of the Church. This unit surveys early Church history, from its founding by Jesus Christ through the apostles and early Church Fathers.

Unit 4: The Church is Catholic
This unit considers the universal character of the Church, particularly the legitimate diversity found in the practices of the Eastern Catholic churches.

Unit 5: The Church is Holy
This unit explores how the Church exercises her role to sanctify the faithful, especially through consecrated religious life and the universal call to holiness.

Unit 6: The Church is One
This unit expresses the Church’s desire for unity, in accord with Christ’s prayer “that they may be one.” Specifically, this unit defines ecumenism as the effort to reunite separated brethren with the Catholic Church and how this is carried out through charitable apologetics.

Unit 7: Interreligious Dialogue
This final unit considers the common characteristics of world religions and establishes the Church’s approach to interreligious dialogue. It then surveys major non-Christian religions, especially Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam. This is done with the objective of finding the “ray of Truth” present in other religions as described in the Second Vatican Council’s “Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions.”