Roman catholicism anyone?

Question

in my project for sociology, we are anaylyzing roman catholics using the structural-functional paradigm. i'm wondering if any catholics know the order of the church. such as the pope is the leader and who follows behind him and etc etc. we wanted to do a chain starting with the pope and the positions that follow below him and their role in the church. please help!

Answer 1

Sorry, I just know the pope.

Answer 2

Pope, Cardinals, Bishops, Monsignors, Priests.

Answer 3

they borrowed their system from the n***s and Hitler

it's pretty similar to "do as I say not as I do"

Answer 4

GOD,

Pope

Cardinals (there are 3 types/levels)

Vicarious (there are a few types)

Bishops (there are around 3 different roles)

Archdioceses Priests  (A county may have 1 or more)

Dioceses Priests (belongs to the Archdioceses)

Priests (for Churches)

Seminarians

BUT thats the Diocesan church, you can have a Legionaries of Christ levels or Opus Dei levels, or Franciscan Levels... all are Catholic.

Hope I can Help

Take in consideration that a Priest in a Dioceses may be a assistant, or director or "leader" of that, so each Grade may have different and several levels depending of the apostolate.

Answer 5

pope

cardinal

archbishop (for big cities)

bishop

priest

decan

if you want to include them

nun

alterboy

Answer 6

I would prolly just google it....much easier

Answer 7

google it.. but hey its not like youre asking this question on yahoo, which has a search engine

Answer 8

Come on just try the Web and you'll find extremely valuable details...

Answer 9

Pope- cardinals- bishops- monseignors- priests/monks-nuns

Answer 10

As it is evident it is a pyramid in which each level has several branches. Now the problem is what kind of structural-functional analysis you want to apply to this.

Answer 11

Pope, cardinal, archbishop, bishop, (monsignor), priest are the 'ordained' people in the RC church, all male.  There are other 'titles' such as 'abbot' but those are used only in some of the 'orders' ... there are many different 'orders' with the most famous being the Jesuits (mainly teachers), the Benedictines, and the Fransiscans.  

Every church has a 'parish' (land within a certain border) and some are NOT actually a part of the 'Diocese' but are 'of a certain order' of Catholicism.  The parish churches generally answer to the diocese.  A diocese is led by a Bishop or an Archbishop, and occasionally a Cardinal.  Some bishops are 'auxiliary' and do not head a diocese, and these are usually in a diocese led by an archbishop or cardinal.  The 'Cathedral' church is the 'head of the Diocese, but it has a regular priest (in the past, it could be a 'monsignor' but that title is no longer used in the U.S)  and the bishor or archbishop or cardinal is not there for EVERY mass ... but only for certain masses, such as the Midnight Mass at Christmas, the Easter Mass (also a 'midnight mass' on Saturdary night), and Ash Wednesday.  

The Roman Catholic church has changed since the 'conclave of Bishops' (also Archbishops and Cardinals) of the 1960s ... before then ALL masses were in Latin, the priests all faced the altar wall (not the congregation as is done now, and many churches have the altar in the 'middle' of the 'cross' of the church).  ALL churches have one of two 'floor plans' ... a 'cross' or a 'ship' ... some have 'chapels' that are 'off the cross' and are 'separate' from the main altar with 'altars' of their own.  

The Pope is ELECTED by the 'college of Cardinals' ... when a pope dies, the Cardinals (they wear RED) are locked inside a special chapel in the Vatican (an independant country wholly within the city of Rome) with NO COMMUNICATION to or from the outside world until a new Pope has been elected.  Each time a 'vote' is taken they are burned ... black smoke means no Pope has been elected, white smoke means we have a new Pope.  

There are other 'titles' for the Catholic clergy, but the ones I gave you are the ones 'in order from top to bottom' and the others are 'auxiliary titles' that have nothing to do with the heirarchy of the Holy Roman Catholic Church.  

I hope this helps you ...

Answer 12

Pope, college of cardinals, archbishops, bishops, pastors, brothers, etc. why? Catholicism can be a wonderfully enriching dogma and faith. Study it. It has helped me in my struggles...it has done much for the poor world wide. It has faults and failings. Be prepared to forgive. Be caring, but be strong. As hard as it sounds, love your enemies. I am proud, raised an agnostic/atheist...wondering if I had a Jewish past, to have embraced it. I would have loved to find the way of my ancestors-if it was not Catholic, but I was led to where I am today. Peace be with you!

Answer 13

search catholic church hierarchy on wikipedia.

Answer 14

Pope

Cardinals

Bishops [Shepherd of the flock]

priests

deacons

This is the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Pope and cardinal are titles only. There are only 3 Holy Orders in the Catholic Church; bishops,priests, and deacons. The Pope and Cardinals, like I said are titles only, because they are bishops.

Answer 15

pope is the bishop of Rome and he is the head of the church this goes to cardinals and then this goes to arch bishops then bishops then priests then the laity..... i dunno if that's right double check that if you can.....

Answer 16

i second that motion =]

Answer 17

Much like any organised crime syndicate, only better. The single most evil and damaging organisation on the planet !!

Oh, and you'll usually find alter boy directly under cardinal or arch bishop :))

Answer 18

As far as i know it goes pope-cardinal-archbishop-bishop-priest but you'd probably be better of looking for an article on wikipedia.

Answer 19

Believe in God, then he shall help you.

Answer 20

I agree with Amber. Get it from a reliable source. My 78 year old mother has been a Catholic all her life and hasn't got a clue. Don't trust anyone to know. I don't remember ever being taught this in Catholicism classes either.