First American pope elected and will be known as Pope Leo XIV

The elements of the conflict now raging are unmistakable, in the vast expansion of industrial pursuits and the marvelous discoveries of science; in the changed relations between masters and workmen; in the enormous fortunes of some few individuals, and the utter poverty of the masses; the increased self reliance and closer mutual combination of the working classes; as also, finally, in the prevailing moral degeneracy. The momentous gravity of the state of things now obtaining fills every mind with painful apprehension; wise men are discussing it; practical men are proposing schemes; popular meetings, legislatures, and rulers of nations are all busied with it - actually there is no question which has taken deeper hold on the public mind.”

From the last Pope Leo over 100 years ago.

Btw how do you know this?! Have you memorized stuff of all the passed popes?

I was raised Catholic and couldn't have even told you there'd been a single Pope Leo, let alone 13 of them before today. The only Pope quote I could even give you is the term "Ex Cathedra".

For further details see the encyclical's Wikipedia entry at https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rerum_Novarum

For the text itself: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/docum...

It's cool, no offence taken.

My mother took it all very seriously, but she was also syncretic New Age/Hindu/Catholic; she got me baptised at birth and took the lead with Sunday school and going to Church etc, my dad was mainly interested in getting me into a good school that was Catholic but himself was atheist.

I actually read the entire New Testament while at school, took it at face value, thought "this doesn't work, does it?" and went to Wicca for a bit before deciding that wasn't for me either.

I think at no point did anyone bother to explain the structure of the Catholic church, they just kinda assumed we all knew it, when what we knew was from pop culture. I think your local priest was unavoidable knowledge, but pop culture gave me bishops, the Pope (but not the fact that his official title isn't that until it came up on the quiz show QI), and the obvious joke about Cardinal Jaime Sin. The actual education gave me no sense of ranks or the organisation or how nuns and monks fit in — just the same five bible tales (birth, walking on water, feeding of 5000, eye of the needle, death and resurrection) over and over again. With singing.

The pattern you've noticed, I think also applies to the UK citizenship test: there's a general sense that most people born with UK nationality wouldn't be able to pass the test to become a citizen as an adult.

Questioner: "Why do we need to know all of this [bible study, theology, etc]? I can just think of the medieval peasant who is illiterate and thus disqualified from any and everything that you're talking about."

Dr. Hahn: "I think the best response to your question would actually come from the medieval peasant himself, because if you could imagine him standing here next to me he would look at you and say, 'You're using me as an excuse? You have books, you have literacy, you have access to these resources, and you're using me as an excuse to not take advantage of them?'"

Turns out there are a lot of 'those' Catholics.

everything old is new again.

history repeats.

we never learn.

The Terminator: "It's in your nature to destroy yourselves"

"I was raised Catholic" is like "I'm not racist but".

Including atheists?

The classic example being asking one "What is the immaculate conception?"

That said, I have no reason to think that the average Catholic is more or less knowledgeable about his religion than any other Christian.

Also, most Catholics are born in catholic families so it's not like they chose catholicism over something else.

This is to say, or rather explain, that I respect those who convert and have a predilection to Traditionalism. Part of the reason cradle Catholics drifted away is that the boomer generation basically ruined the mystique and the tradition, so when you're a kid it just felt like another chore.

Haha obviously I’m kidding you but that’s truly tangentially relevant

Even today a single manuscript vellum scroll is a significant expense.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_about_Opus_Dei

Personal experience: when I was in high school in my country there was a teacher who was in Opus Dei. He tried to recruit students by leaving them a letter and inviting them to a "scholarship". I got such a letter, I was so excited. The school found out about that and investigated. We're a mixed-race country. The Opus Dei teacher has invited exclusively white students. He had invited top students #2 to #4 in my class by grade, but not #1, who was black.

Before that the church did expect at least priests and monks and nuns to be able to read the Bible, and there were a lot of them.

Most is strictly true, but you are talking about a millennium between the clear primacy of Rome and the invention of the printing press, and half a millennium since so its not hugely more.

Finally, historically most people could not own books and had no to limited literacy. Literacy is not necessary to be a good anything, but its definitely better to be literate and have access to things to read.

I do not know whether that is true any more, at least in all countries. At one Catholic parish I knew in Britain about half the congregation were adult converts.

Then there are a lot of people who leave and return. I might count as that - Catholic family, was agnostic (and married in registry office, which turned out to be useful), and now am definitely a Christian but feel denomination does not matter and do not really accept much of the Catholic theology (and some of its practical consequences, such as no women priests really bother me). OTOH I have not, and would not, formally leave the church either.

Bring serious, it's kind of important due to the Pope's infallibility.

one of my grandparents dabbled, and every single one of them i’ve met were very… trying to be kind here… veerrry very into the church. not a normal into the church, much more extreme. i’m desperately trying not to use the c word, but it really does fit. if one finds themselves being taken in, truly, please, take just a lil bit and learn how orgs like scientology and heavens gate etc… recruit people. the recruitment similarities are uncanny. the after effects are uncanny.

But still, both are highly variable in quality/coverage and likely much less consistent than you might assume if unfamiliar with the space.

Typically the previous pope with that name is where you look. Maybe the first too. Leo I stood up to Atilla the Hun. Leo XIII championed trade unions and workers rights (though also rejected socialism). Make of it what you will.

There are single-race countries?

How does one officially leave the Catholic Church?

Sure, you can stop attending church and taking communion, but you're still on a list somewhere in your parish(es).

I think it's great that literacy and the printing press has democratized the reading of books, but when you're faced with such a corpus presented by Catholic tradition, you really need to pick and choose your weekly time investments!

I've inquired with a few religious orders as a layperson. The first thing you will find when inquiring with them is the thickness of tomes that land on the table for all adherents to read. Each religious order has a particular spirituality that is synthesized in the writings of saints and mystics. So if I was not already well-acquainted and well-grounded in the Old and New Testaments, and in the habit of reading those every day, what good would it do me to read Aquinas? Or Leo XIII encyclicals? Pointless.

The Bible itself has so many layers and aspects and messages for us. Many scholars invest entire lifetimes in understanding only the Bible. The only way to be a good Christian is to live the life. It doesn't matter what books you've read, at the end of the day, only your experience and your response to the Holy Spirit. If that means reading books, then good. If that means welding metal, also good. But, don't try to break open the words of Aquinas before you've read Daniel, or Matthew!