14 Facts About Catholicism

1.

The resulting religious discord between Germanic rulers and Catholic subjects was avoided when, in 497, Clovis I, the Frankish ruler, converted to orthodox Catholicism, allying himself with the papacy and the monasteries.

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2.

Catholicism's theses protested key points of Catholic doctrine as well as the sale of indulgences, and along with the Leipzig Debate this led to his excommunication in 1521.

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3.

In subsequent centuries, Catholicism spread widely across the world, in part through missionaries and imperialism, although its hold on European populations declined due to the growth of religious scepticism during and after the Enlightenment.

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4.

Catholicism attempted to mediate between the powers and established a Vatican relief office, to assist victims of the war and reunite families.

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5.

Catholicism expressed concern against race killings on Vatican Radio, and intervened diplomatically to attempt to block Nazi deportations of Jews in various countries from 1942 to 1944.

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6.

Catholicism gave SS General Wolff a corresponding order to prepare for the action.

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7.

Catholicism instituted World Youth Day as a "worldwide encounter with the pope" for young people; it is held every two to three years.

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8.

Catholicism travelled more than any other pope, visiting 129 countries, and used television and radio as means of spreading the church's teachings.

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9.

Catholicism emphasised the dignity of work and natural rights of labourers to have fair wages and safe conditions in Laborem exercens.

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10.

Catholicism emphasised several church teachings, including moral exhortations against abortion, euthanasia, and against widespread use of the death penalty, in Evangelium Vitae.

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11.

Catholicism was known for upholding traditional Christian values against secularisation, and for increasing use of the Tridentine Mass as found in the Roman Missal of 1962, which he titled the "Extraordinary Form".

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12.

Catholicism's resignation has caused controversy among a minority of Catholics who say Benedict did not fully resign the papacy.

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13.

Catholicism's installation was attended by Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the first time since the Great Schism of 1054 that the Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople has attended a papal installation.

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14.

Catholicism is the second largest religious body in the world, surpassed in size only by Sunni Islam.

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