Catholic Practices & the Kingdom of God (AQA GCSE Religious Studies B): Revision Note

Work of a local Catholic agency

• Jesus taught his followers to “love your neighbour as yourself” (Mark 12:31) and demonstrated this throughout his life in the way he treated others

• As members of the Body of Christ, Christians follow this teaching and help others through local, national and global charities

Saint Vincent de Paul Society

• The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP) was founded in 1833 in Ireland

• The SVP’s purpose is to put Catholic social teaching into action through its work for society’s most vulnerable members

• SVP volunteers:

  • Help the homeless

  • Visit the sick and people in prison

  • Support people suffering from addiction

  • Befriend the lonely

  • Feed the hungry

• SVP volunteers offer practical support, training and financial help for those who need it

• Its members carry out their work through support centres, where they offer counselling services

• SVP volunteers offer support to anyone in need, regardless of faith or background

• This work is important because it:

  • Puts the gospel teaching of “love your neighbour” into practical action 

  • Helps break down barriers between people

  • Supports society’s most vulnerable members

  • Offers people support and friendship

  • Helps people develop feelings of self-worth and dignity and gives them the chance to live a better life

Work of a national or global Catholic agency

CAFOD

• Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) works to fight poverty and injustice around the world 

• CAFOD responds to emergencies and natural disasters, providing short-term aid in times of greatest need 

• Its chief aim is to teach people the skills to help themselves, support their families and contribute to their communities

• CAFOD challenges inequality and conflict in the world, speaking out for justice

• CAFOD tackles the issues caused by conflict, such as working to support refugees

Kingdom values in different Catholic vocations

• Kingdom values are the values that people should have as members of the Kingdom of God

• Jesus explained these values in teachings such as the Beatitudes

• Kingdom values include:

  • Love for others

  • Obedience to God

  • Desire for peace

  • Desire for justice

  • Desire for reconciliation

  • A wish to serve God

  • Humility

• Christians follow Jesus’s example and teachings in many different ways in their lives

• A vocation is a calling from God for a person to follow a certain path in life

  • There are many vocations, each offering people a chance to use their talents and express Kingdom values through their actions

Priesthood

• Priests make the Kingdom of God present in people’s lives through their role in performing the sacraments and looking after the people of the Church

• Priests dedicate their lives to being servants of God and of the people 

• This is a huge commitment 

  • A priest vows celibacy, committing himself to God rather than having a family, thus ensuring his availability to serve the needs of others 

  • In doing this, he is following Jesus’s example of committing to a life of caring for others instead of getting married or having a family

  • The priest also takes a promise of obedience to the bishop, through which he is obeying God

Family life

• Married people have a vocation and dedicate themselves to love and be faithful to one another by taking vows during the marriage service

• Catholic parents must demonstrate Kingdom values in their relationship and teach these to their children

Religious life

• Monks and nuns dedicate themselves to God by living in religious communities, such as monasteries and convents

• They take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience to show they are fully committed to God

• Their lives are simple and centre around prayer and service

• The community may be enclosed (shut off from the world) or serve as a place where people can engage in a peaceful atmosphere for prayer and reflection

• Religious brothers and sisters also dedicate themselves to God, take the same vows and live a life of prayer. However, they go out into the world to serve God and show God’s love by helping other people. They:

  • May take on roles in caring, nursing or teaching

  • Are translating their prayer into action

  • Are showing Kingdom values through their love for others

Belief in justice, peace and reconciliation

• Many Catholic individuals are excellent examples of Kingdom values in action

• Their lives and actions demonstrate their commitment to values such as peace, justice and reconciliation

• Examples include Mother Teresa and Pope Francis

Pope Francis

• Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1936

• He was elected Pope in March 2013 and served until his death in 2025

• Throughout his life and papacy, Pope Francis was concerned with justice, peace and reconciliation

Justice

• When Pope Francis was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he increased the number of priests working among the poor in the area

• Upon becoming Pope, he used a simple metal cross, rather than a gold one, and lived in a humble apartment instead of the large official residence in the Vatican

• He spoke out against injustice and economic policies that led to poverty and the exploitation of the poor

• Pope Francis demonstrated the Kingdom values of humility and commitment to justice for the poor

• At his funeral, Cardinal Re said of Pope Francis: “His insistence on working on behalf of the poor was constant” (Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, homily at Pope Francis’s funeral, 2025)

Peace

• Pope Francis welcomed world leaders to the Vatican to seek resolutions to long-running conflicts. For example, he brought the Palestinian and Israeli presidents together for prayer and discussion

• During 2014–15, he helped restore good relations between the United States of America and Cuba

• Pope Francis used his public addresses to pray for peace, especially in areas facing great conflict and division

Reconciliation

• Pope Francis helped bring Christians, Jews and Muslims together and ease tensions between communities. He would arrange services where the leaders of different faiths could pray together

• He visited areas of conflict, trying to bring reconciliation and peace

  • He was known for his saying, “Build bridges, not walls”

• Each Maundy Thursday, Pope Francis visited a local prison and washed the feet of 12 prisoners to show that people who have committed crimes are not rejected by the community