Did the council of Trent alter the character of traditional Catholicism?
Yes - It gave the church "pizazz" ... She went "baroque" in order to "bring in the crowds" . See: "Baroque" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque
What is the difference between the modern Catholic Church and the Church in Rome up to 500 AD?
There were many significant differences.We know little about the 1st and 2nd century popes. Indirect evidence and tradition tell us about their dates of birth, reign, and place of origin. A few bits and pieces of information about their actions as pope. Pope Clement issues an epistle to the Corinthians that was powerful enough to be considered inspired and part of the cannon by some authorities.Most of the popes during the first two centuries were thought to be martyred by Roman authority. The evidence is sketchy.We know a lot more about the papacy after the Edict of Milan (313 CE). One significant change was that the popes began to live in the Lateran palace, a gift from Emperor Constantine to the church. Another change was the ability to preside over meetings of bishops in public (e.g., first Lateran Council in 313. From that point there is more evidence that popes issued decrees about the governance of the church, e.g., priests bowing their heads during the reading of the gospel, priestly celibacy, and attacks on heresies.Rome was sacked by the Visigoths in 410. Around that time, Rome had become a second rate city (Western Imperial Capitol was moved to Milan) and the pope of that time took over administration of Rome and its surrounding territory. This got the popes into running secular matters.By contrast, the modern papacy is:Headquartered in Vatican City, though St. John Lateran church is still the official church of the pope.Vatican City has a population of around 2000, most of which are bureaucrats running dozens of councils, committees, commissions, and maintenance of the organization. The Catholic Church is much more centrally administered today than in its first five centuries. For example, the pope now appoints all bishops throughout the world, whereas in the early church through the early middle ages, local populations and civil rulers had a hand in selecting bishops.Today there is a very well defined method for selecting a new pope, whereas for the first half of the history of the papacy a variety of methods were used, including acclamation by the residents of Rome and heavy handed influence by the Holy Roman Emperor.Modern popes are much more active in writing treatises about the church, faith, and spirituality. They also issue governance decrees binding on the whole Church.
What are the 7 sacraments of the Roman Catholic church? And why?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: The Sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositionsBaptism - the first sacrament. Being baptized makes you a member of the churchConfirmation - a further strengthening of the graces you receive in Baptism. It confers the gifts of the Holy Spirit.Confession - telling our sins to a priest and receiving absolution.The Eucharist - we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus as the apostles did at the Last SupperMatrimony - a man and woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life and which is ordered by its nature to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring.Holy Orders - a sacrament by which a man is ordained to the diaconate or to the priesthood.Anointing of the Sick - anointing the sick in order to give them spiritual and sometimes physical strength to bear their illness.
Catholics question about: The authority of the bishop of Rome vs. apostolic tradition?
Concerning the easter debate between Pope Anicetus and Polycarp. Polycarp was taught by the prybester/apostle John the tradition of when easter is to be held, right? but Pope Anicetus didn't agree. In my opinion the tradition of easter is apostolic tradition since it was taught to Polycarp by an apostle... first off does the church consider this apostolic tradition? If so did the pope have the authority to go against apostolic tradition?
Latin prayer a Catholic might say in time of danger?
Hmmmm. I've had the same problem with yahoo. Will "Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tekum" get past the machine, even if the spelling is wrong? And I think that last part is "Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo." There are any number of valid reasons for the Latin to work. It could trigger associations with happier times going to Mass with his family (if he's that old). It could remind him of the music, the incense. There are also some curious things that happen with neural pathways. They're finding that a person who picked up two (or more) languages in childhood will have the same part of the brain activated whatever language is being spoken. On the other hand, if they picked up the extra language(s) later in life, other pathways are used. That means a CVA (brain attack) is less likely to take out both forms of expression. Yes, God draws close to simple prayers. But most often, those scripted Latin prayers are our way of drawing closer to Him; and there is nothing vain or evil about that. --- Ok, just re-read the question, and there's another dimension you may wish to consider: Sometimes a person that's less than lucid may not respond to speech, but music may do the trick (In old-fashioned Catholic services, the Priest sings the Pater Noster in Latin). Look up musictherapy.org for a gateway into that field. A couple of examples: The last time I saw my father alive, he didn't know who I was, and he was pretty confused by the rest of the family around the bed, too. He seemed confused by the words we were using. But I had recently been to a lecture on the Kodaly Method (you can look that up too), so I started singing songs to him in his native language that he sang when he was a boy, and it actually brought him around. On the other hand, there was one case I read about where a person was unresponsive until somebody started playing some Rolling Stones. Have fun...