The Roman Catholic Church is a denomination of the human Christian faith and one of the dominant religions of planet Earth.[1]
Historical Overview[]
The church traced its origins back to the human religious figure Jesus Christ, who had lived approximately 2,200 years before the Third Age of mankind. Seeing Christ as a divine being - the Son of God - the church grew in the years following Christ's life on Earth to become a major religious movement on Earth. As various splits happened in Christianity over the centuries the Catholic Church would still remain one of the largest components of that movement.
The Earth city of Rome became an important part of the church, even more so as the Roman Empire legalized Christianity and later made it the state religion of the Empire. The church established its headquarters on Vatican Hill in Rome. Over the years the leader of the church, the Pope, became a powerful religious and temporal leader. Eventually the Pope's temporal power was diminished, but their religious authority still remained quite important.
Church History in the Third Age[]
For a large portion of its history the church restricted its ordained leadership and priesthood to men, however by the 23rd century this restriction was no longer in place.
Father Cresanti, a Roman Catholic priest, participated in Babylon 5's display of humanity's belief systems in 2258.
In 2260, monks from the Trappist Order - led by Brother Theo Ankises - arrived on Babylon 5 with the intention of carrying out a mission to learn all the names and faces of God from their alien brethren. Brother Theo had selected his companions carefully, seeking out experts in linguistics, bio-genetics, chemistry, engineering, and other scientific disciplines. Brother Theo's group immediately assisted B5 security by identifying and locating a terrorist responsible for a number of bombings on the station.[2]
It was a known practice in the church to take in people who had been the subjects of mindwipe, the new personalities being driven to serve. The church and its various monastic orders did not inquire into the individual's past, merely their reasons for joining and their doctrinal and ecumenical beliefs. This happened with the Trappist Order when they took in Brothers Edward and Malcolm, both of whom had been murderers in their previous lives prior to being mindwiped.[3]
In 2261, Brother Theo helped the cause of the Earth Alliance Resistance by using his contacts through the church to contact officials in the Baptist Church as well as Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist figures to help coordinate the gathering of intel to provide to the resistance leaders.[4]
In 2267, Pope Bernadette II, trapped on Earth with all others who had been afflicted by the Drakh plague, called for a day of prayer and fasting to restore order, and urged all churches to support the scientific quest for a cure.[5]
In 2271, the church responded to an unusual request by Colonel Elizabeth Lochley, sending a priest to Babylon 5 for the purpose of performing an exorcism. Father Cassidy and Col. Lochley unraveled the story behind B5 staff member Simon Burke and Asmodeus, the demonic creature that had come to possess his body.[6]
The church is known to have survived the Great Burn of 2762 and was still based in the Vatican in Rome. By 3262, various monastic orders still applied to the church for recognition, though Rome had a policy against those orders that sought to resurrect the scientific and technological knowledge of the past, as that knowledge was blamed for the Great Burn. However, elements of the Anla'Shok had secreted their way back onto the planet - in line with prophesies made by such figures as Delenn III - and set up operations to help mankind rebuild. Brother Alwyn Macomber was part of one such operation, unknown to other members of his order who thought him a simple monk.[7]
Ordained Members in 23rd Century and Beyond[]
- Pope Bernadette II
- Father Cresanti
- Father Cassidy
- Father Raffelli
- Trappist Order
- Brother Theo Ankises
- Brother Edward
- Brother Malcolm
- Other Monastic Orders
- Brother Alwyn Macomber
- Brother Michael
Known Catholic Individuals[]
- Commander Jeffrey Sinclair (taught by Jesuits)[8]
- CWO Michael Garibaldi (raised Catholic, now agnostic)[9]