Catholicism

Many people use the word "Catholicism" to talk about religious beliefs of the Catholic Church,
whose leader is called the "Bishop of Rome" and often called the "Pope". The Catholic
Church is based in the Vatican City, a small independent country in the city
of Rome, Italy. Sometimes the word also refers to beliefs of other Christian churches, which
have many beliefs similar to the Catholic Church, but do not believe the Bishop of Rome is their
leader.

The Catholic religion is one of the most recognized and practiced religions in the world. Many
people who believe in God may refer to themselves as being Catholic or have been raised with
Catholic beliefs and sacraments.

The catholic religion has many beliefs:

-The Ten Commandments

-The belief that God knows everything, that God has unlimited power, and that everything God
does is good
-The belief that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world, rose again, and one day "will come
again in glory to judge the living and the dead."
-The importance of worshipping God.
- The infallibility of the Bible

The seven sacraments which were instituted by Jesus and entrusted to the Church are visible
rites.
The list of sacraments is often organized into three categories: the sacraments of initiation ,
consisting of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist;
The sacraments of healing, consisting of Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick;
and the sacraments of service: Holy Orders and Matrimony.

Something about history

In the early sixteen century many people were critising the Roman Catholic Church. Soon, huge
changes were taking place. Europe had never seen anything like it before.
The Roman Catholic Church taught that priests were necessary to find god and that the only
head of the church was the pope.

In England and Wales.

Edward VI was only nine when he became king, he and all his advisers were Protestants. There
were no executions, although one catholic bishop was imprisoned for opposing the changes,
some people carried worshipping peacefully in the old ways.
Many catholic communities managed to avoid the changes altogether.

Meanwhile in Scotland.

Mary queen of Scots, a catholic was forced to give up her throne to her protestant son James.
Mary was a Roman catholic, and she changed everything back again! The pope was restored
as the head of English church. All the changes made by Edward VI were cancelled. Mary began
to persecute the Protestants. During her reign about three hundred Protestants were burnt to
death, one of these people was Thomas Cranmer.
During the Mary’s reign it was dangerous to be protestant, most of the people burnt in Mary’s
reign were ordinary people. she gained the nickname of Bloody Mary because of the
persecution of the Protestants during her reign.
Mary’s half sister Elizabeth could be very cruel too; she persecuted both Catholics and
Protestants.
She wanted Protestantism which was still very similar to the Catholic Church. Elizabeth was
trying to find a middle way.
England was now protestant, many catholic families carried on living there. It was easier for rich
catholic families to go on avoiding Protestantism. They could afford to pay weekly for not going
to church. However it was very difficult for them to worship.

In conclusion, the Roman Catholic Church is one of a lot of religions. It is all up to personal
opinion as to what an individual believes in and how they act upon it. Protestants have very
different beliefs to Catholics but they all look up to the same person; God. No one can judge us
for our religion. It is all up to personal opinions and personal views.