Certified Questions for Reference
a. To what extent should Catholic doctrine to be applied and binding on Paul Yu?
b. is it legitimate to question the Catholic doctrine as a Catholic?
c. to what extent should Catholic practices be adopted in my daily life?
 

Ajudicator
Paul Yu
(Senior Allies' opinions not sought since it involves primarily internal religious issues)
 

Judgments
1. that Catholic faith remains the cornerstone of Paul Yu's life and moral standard;
      the proposition that Catholic doctrines & beliefs are binding on me cannot be
      challenged (Third Cardinal Alfonsa Premises (CAP) applied)

2. "adopting the Catholic faith" is a matter of extent of acceptance of the relevant
      doctrines as laid down by the Roman Catholic Church; such doctrines distinguish
      the Church from other branches of the Christian Church.

3. that a person is qualified as a true Catholic if he elects to accept most of the Catholic
      doctrines; he or she however is not required to accept all of them.

4. on the other hand, a person, though baptised as a Catholic officially, cannot properly
      be called a true Catholic if he or she can only accept some general or core principles
      of the Catholic Church, eg believe only in love and charity.

5. if core principles are the only thing a Catholic is prepared to accept and believe in, he
      or she can only be a Christian in the broad and general sense but fail to be qualified
      as a Catholic in the Alfonsa view.

6. as an independent person and having received tertiary education, it is legitimate for
      him/her to critically examine all beliefs and issues that he/she may face in life, Catholic
      doctrines are no exceptions to that. The effect of the Third CAP is that Catholics can
      challenge part and parcel or a part of the entire beliefs, but Paul Yu is not entitled to
      abandone the Catholic faith altogether.

7. following the above premises, Catholic practices should be adopted in Paul Yu's daily
      life, but the extent and exact application of all such practices should be determined
      by Alfonsa subject to the requirements of reasonableness and practicality.

8. certified questions answered accordingly.
 
 

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JUDGMENTS

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per Paul Yu :-
 

Background
Paul Yu was baptised as a Christian following the Catholic doctrine since 1989.
Catholic faith had since been very central and important to Paul Yu's life.  For
years Catholic doctrines had been applied and observed very strictly and slowly
it was developed into an unchallengeable, supreme body of beliefs.

Nevertheless, in recent years, I am growingly aware of the need to review my
Catholic faith, its various beliefs and traditions, and the relevance of all these
rules and concepts when applied to me.  As a mature and independent university
student, the law that religious doctrines are to be taken for granted and received
wholly can no longer stand.

Therefore, the Catholic doctrines and all relevant sub-issues were submitted for
critical examination and a decision was sought.

The Cardinal Alfonsa Premises
The Cardinal Alfonsa Premises (CAP) are the supreme guidelines and assumptions
that provides directions and directives for Paul Yu's life and behaviour.  These are
binding on me and are not subject to challenge. They can only become ineffective
by way of thoroughly-considered abolition or amendment by Alfonsa.

The CAPs are binding in the sense that all acts and behaviours of Paul Yu have to
be consistent and consonant with them.  And inconsistent acts will be ultra vires
and should be corrected.

The Third CAP, which reads "Catholic faith shall be the guiding force for my
behaviour", is hence applicable and unchallengeable.

Questioning the Catholic doctrines
The question as to whether it is legitimate to challenge the Catholic doctrines is
different from the question whether it is legitimate to challenge the Catholic faith
as a whole. The latter is expressly prohibited under the CAP 3.

"Catholic doctrines" refers to a body of beliefs and concepts which was set out and
incorporated as part of the Catholic teaching and belief. It is, by its very nature, a
kind of concepts and teachings which are to be accepted voluntarily by a person
after independent critical examination.

As an independent person and having received tertiary education, it is legitimate for
him or her to critically examine all beliefs and issues that he or she may face in life,
Catholic doctrines are no exceptions to that.

This is particularly true for Paul Yu, who was baptised when he was very small. It is now
suitable time for review of the doctrines which he 'accepted' many years ago.

Questioning or even challenging the Catholic doctrine bears no essential difference
from challenging the Confucious teachings or other ideals.  Such an act is merely the
putting in of intellectual efforts and application of independent value judgment and
appraisal by a well-reasoned individual, provided that he or she is critically examining
the doctrines with a positive view of checking his or her own belief but not to challenge
for the sake of challenging things only.

The mere fact that Paul Yu is a Catholic does not and should not preclude him from
reviewing or revisiting preciously-accepted doctrines and teachings whenever proper
and necessary.

Therefore, in my judgment, the answer to Reference Question No.2 should be 'yes'.

Qualification to be a true Catholic
Applying our common logic, it is reasonable to expect a person claiming to be
a Catholic to accept a large part, if not all, and if not most, of the Catholic teachings.
I will explain this proposition in detail in the following.

Catholic teachings are beliefs laid down by and specifically for the Roman Catholic
Church.  Such teachings embody a wide range of concepts which of course include
common Christian principles of love, charity and forgiveness. Accepting all these
teachings of the Catholic Church will already enable fellows Catholics to become
Christians in the broader sense.

Catholic doctrines as opposed to general Christian teachings
However, since the Roman Catholic Church is a branch of the greater Christian
Church and differs from other branch churches in certain beliefs and practices, it is
hence necessary to appreciate that accepting the Catholic faith, or more precisely
Roman Catholic faith ought to be quite different from accepting the beliefs of
other Christian communities. Otherwise, there could be no essential difference
between a Catholic and a broader-sense Christian.

We are Catholics because we accept the Catholic faith. It is part of the common
Christian faith but is more refined and may share different views on the same
matter with other Christian branches. General concepts like love and charity as
mentioned above are common to all Christians from all communities and hence
it is part of but not the only thing included in the Catholic faith.  Accepting all of
these are the first and essential step for everyone to be a Christian. They are however
insufficient, in my opinion, to qualify a person to be a Catholic.

Other concepts important to the Roman Catholic belief include the communion of
saints, the view on holy communion, the making of confession as well as the belief in
the existence of the purgatory. When we receive baptism in a Catholic Church, we
are asked to accept all these teachings.

This is precisely the fine point where my earlier proposition that a true Catholic
must accept to a large extent of the Catholic faith comes into play.  The whole
purpose is to allow a Catholic to distinguish his belief from other Christians.

Some had already argued that both Catholics and Christians are Christians in the
broad definition, we should not overstress all these distinctiveness and differences
between a Catholic and a Christian. However, this argument could not be acceptable
because it is not logical.

As a member of the Catholic Church, we are baptised by the Catholic baptism and
we voluntarily elect to accept the Catholic doctrines.  Since we have appreciated
all the differences and distinctiveness at the very beginning but went on to believe in
the Catholic faith but not others, we were indicating that we believe because of all
these differences. Otherwise, we will believe in another set of Christian doctrines.

Hence, we ought to uphold our earlier decision by upkeeping the differences but not to
undermine all such differences merely for the sake of better relationship with other
Christians.

In sum, if we wish to be called a true Catholic we have to accept not only
those core concepts but also some or most, though not necessarily all, of these
teachings.  Failing to do so will qualify a person to be a Christian broadly but not a
Catholic. It is odd if to see a person so claimed to be a Catholic who does not know,
understand and accept the Church's teachings, which are supposed to be different
from other Churches.

Extent of Application of Catholic practices in daily life
Since CAP3 is binding and we have to follow the Catholic faith, Catholic practices
such as prayers and Sunday Masses should be practised by Paul Yu. Practising all
these will enable Paul Yu to upkeep his enthusiasm in the Catholic belief and allow
closer contact with God.

However, the extent to which such practices are to be followed are to be decided
by Paul Yu himself. In general, it seems fit to follow most of the Catholic practices
in my daily life.  All such decisions are subject to the standards of reasonableness
and practicality and should be made in light of the prevailing circumstances of
life at that time.

It is important to bear in mind that all such practices are intended to maintain one's
faith and hence their exact implementation should be devised in a such a way as
to accomodate this greater goal.

Conclusion
Certified Questions for Reference should be answered accordingly.
 
 
 
 

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