3.5 The Church as the Body of Christ

Question 1

What is the body of Christ and how is it relevant today

Answer 1

All Catholics are united to do Christ’s work here on earth today. The term comes from the New Testament and the catechisms•We are all different and therefore have different roles in the Church e.g. the clergy devote their lives to continuing the work of the apostles and helping Christ’s followers achieve salvation, the laity do Christ’s work through their careers, working in the church and family life, and the religious orders devote time of contemplative prayer and ministry in the world focusing on the poor.
We all become members of the body of Christ through baptism •Catholics view the body of Christ as all Catholics with the Pope acting as the head, Protestants see it as all Christians, with no one person taking the role of the head alone.