Problem 1: What is sacramentalism? What is the purpose of sacramentalism?
Problem 2: Historically, how did Christianity develop its sacramental sense? How did the Christian movement develop from a small Jewish sect to what became the Roman Catholic Church?
Problem 3: In the Catholic scheme of things, who should be members of the Catholic Church? What is the role of the priest, the church, and the Pope to Catholic believers?
Problem 4: The Catholic ethic is based on Natural Law. What is this and how does it pertain to stealing, killing, and sexual activity?
Problem 5: What is revealed law? What revealed laws do the Catholics respect? What are the different types of sin? What is the purpose of purgatory? What is an indulgence?
Problem 6: What is the story of the Irish Catholics? How did they come to dominate the Catholic Church in America? What was their attitude towards the church?
Problem 7: When did the Italian Catholics immigrate to the U.S.? What was their attitude towards the church?
Problem 8: What is nativism? What are Protestants afraid of and how have they tried to combat the perceived power of the Catholic Church? What did Catholics do to isolate their church from the dominance of a Protestant culture?
Problem 9: What was the Americanism which was condemned by Pope Leo XIII in 1899? Do you think these criticisms were justified? How did the Americans respond?
Problem 10: What was significant about the Vatican Council II (1962-1965)? What changes in the areas of worship and practices were seen?
Problem 11: The Catholic Church has always felt that the good of the community was more important than the good of the individual. How was this ethic turned upside down in the scandal about priests who abuse children?