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Latino
Cultural Profile
Religion
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Basic Beliefs
Roman Catholics believe in the Trinity.
The Trinity signifies that in the unity of the Godhead there are
three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and these
three Persons are distinct from one another. In the Trinity, the
Son is begotten of the Father by an eternal generation, and the
Holy Spirit proceeds by an eternal procession from the Father and
the Son. However, the Persons are co-eternal and co-equal; all-
alike are powerful. This is said to be the revelation regarding
God’s nature, which Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came upon the
Earth to deliver to the world (Knight, WEB).
Sacraments (The Roman Catholic Church
has eight sacraments)
- Baptism is the initiation of
a child or person into the Roman Catholic Church.
- Confirmation is celebrated
once a year usually during the Easter Season.
- Communion is celebrated
every week, usually on weekdays; during communion
individuals receive the Body and the Blood of Christ.
- Rite of Christian Initiation of
Adults is a process whereby adults who are not baptized
or who have been baptized into another Christian faith, are
initiated into the Roman Catholic tradition.
- Reconciliation is the
sacrament through which sins are confessed and
forgiven.
- Anointing of the Sick is the
sacrament through which the extremely or hopelessly ill are
blessed and their sins are forgiven before they depart from
this world.
- Marriage is the union of man
and woman.
- Holy Orders are the rites of
Christian ordination.
Ecclesiastical Feasts
Feast Days, or Holy Days, are days that
are celebrated in commemoration of the sacred mysteries and events recorded in the history of redemption, in
memory of the Virgin Mother of Christ, or of His apostles,
martyrs, and saints, by special services and rest from work. A
feast not only celebrates an event or person, but also spiritual
life in general. Not all Roman Catholics celebrate every feast;
some may recognize only four, while others may recognize
forty-four (Knight, WEB). Four of the major feasts are as follows:
- Christmas (He is born in our hearts).
- Good Friday (We nail ourselves to the
cross with him).
- Easter (We rise from the tomb of sin).
- Pentecost (We receive the gifts of the
Holy Ghost).
Doctors and Medical Staff
Should Be Aware of the Following:
The Feast Days or Holy Days often involve
changes in diet. For example, during Lent a Roman Catholic may
abstain from eating meat on Fridays. Patients should be asked if
they have altered their diets in any manner in recognition of
the Holy Days.
- Hispanic Roman Catholics may believe
that their health is in God’s hands. Hence, they will not
take any preventative health measures. When ill, they may turn
to prayer and the lighting of candles, rather than Western
medical treatment (Galanti, 50).
- Some Roman Catholic Hispanics may wear
rosaries or holy medals and these should only be removed if
absolutely necessary.
If a Hispanic Roman Catholic is near death
it is appropriate / important that a priest be brought in so that he can
receive his last rites, the sacrament administered to a person
near death.
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