What is your opinion of Catholicism?

Question

I'm not talking about the individuals...the Church is made up of saints and sinners (e.g. Pope John Paul II, Mother Theresa, or the priests in the scandals). What is your opinion on the beliefs of Catholics?

And if you are going to say what they believe, please quote from an official source (e.g. the catechism or the vatican)

Southern Apostolic: I don't understand. Catholics DO baptize in the name of Jesus Christ.

Answer 1

Opinions don't matter much, as demonstrated by some of the above posts. But the objective facts about Catholicism are:

The Catholic Church is the only Church that can trace its origin directly to Jesus Christ.

The Catholic Church is the only Church that can show a historical record in every century from the 1st to the 21st.

The Catholic Church has a divine guarantee of doctrinal truth from its founder, Jesus Christ, God, who told its leaders "whatsoever you bind upon earth is bound in heaven"; "he who hears you hears Me"; and "the Holy Spirit will guide you to all truth".

The Catholic Church is the only Church approved by God, since He founded it, said that all men were to belong to it, and warned against the establishment of other churches, teaching whatever people want to hear. The doctrinal chaos of Protestantism is the fulfillment of that prophetic warning.

Answer 2

There are many wonderful things about the Catholic Church. My main criticisms though would be that they often stifle the Holy Spirit who enables ordinary men to come into a relationship with God in which there is no need for any intermediary other than Christ….with respect to confessing sins, etc. We have all been given the authority of priests under the New Covenant. Also, I reject their doctrine that denies the “great commission” by stating that one can be saved in some circumstances regardless of whether or not they have a true relationship with Jesus Christ…

Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium 16, November 21, 1964: “…The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day..."

Answer 3

What about quoting from the Bible?
Many of the beliefs of catholic faith is not Bible based.
Purgatory not mention in the Bible.
Mary being the mother of God...ridiculous. Jesus is not THE God. John 20: 17,18.
The trinity is taught, no where in the Bible the word trinity is found, so they over ride it by saying the father, son and holy spirit...see they say here it is?
But add them up 1+1+1= 1???? I get 3.
But the holy spirit is Gods active force his energy to create...Genesis 1 verse 2.
I could go on and on but not enough room here.
Peace to all the individuals who are captured in this belief.
Search for a new church.
May you be successful.

Answer 4

I'm afraid that Catholics' beliefs are for the most part unsupported by Scripture. Jesus Himself insisted He had not come to establish a church, and he certainly did not preach celebacy for any of his followers. He didn't establish a heirarchy of saints nor did he approve of dispensations. He did not approve of idolatry, which to me suggests the Catholic church should get rid of all that statuary and all those icons that adorn it's edifices - though admittedly some of those cathedrals in Europe and Mexico are absolultely magnificent in appearance. I can't help, though, thinking at the same time I'm admiring the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Mexico City how many desperately poor and hungry orphan children in the barrios could be fed and cared for with the money wasted building all those woderful churches. Did you know in Mexico City alone there are nearly four MILLION destitute orphans? They die by the dozens every night and, when found, are unceremoniously dumped in piles and then bulldozed into mass graves. Shame on the Catholic church for this ongoing holocaust. Shame, shame, shame!!!!!

Answer 5

I have always thought that they, as a religion, want the people to rely on the preisthood instead of making spiritual progress on an individual basis.

Studying with a catholic woman (my wife and I actually) we noticed that they are steeped in rituals and traditions that are not founded in the Bible.

Many, many of the teachings of the Church conflict with the Bible head on.

I feel, just on a side note, that if Catholicism represented God they would have done SOMETHING about the pedophile priests. But insead they did the opposite and covered it up. We are talking years here, not just a current administration.

Answer 6

There are many good people in the Catholic religion. However, I believe the catholic church is a cult. I believe every practicing catholic is guilty of child sex abuse, because they did not stand up against the church in its mishandling of this tragedy. If you allow it-you are just as guilty as the pervert. I think that before anyone can ever take the catholic church serious again, the members must clean out the church from the top down, all the way to Rome. Until then, at least in my book, every catholic is guilty of child rape. Every man, woman, priest, cardinal and pope-they are all guilty.

Answer 7

The Roman Catholic Church is the true church and the only one founded by Jesus Christ. Matthew 16:18, is that in Protestant Bibles? If you don´t believe it, you make Jesus a liar. Who founded your church?

Answer 8

i think the catholic church has been corrupt since the beginning. There was a very popular practice in the dark ages of buying a relative's rights into heaven, after they had died, which makes no sense and I do not agree with it. I do not agree with confession, that is between me and god. I do not agree with purgatory, that is saying there is a get out of jail free card. I don't agree with allowing gambling (ie bingo) in the sanctuary of god. I don't agree with the praying to saints versus straight to christ, he says "I am the way, the truth, and the light. No one comes to the father except through me", so where do the saints fit in? I don't agree that there should be one person leading millions more, because every human is liable to err.

I think Catholicism has found itself wrapped up in all the rules that men made, and has completely lost the rules god made.

Answer 9

This is meant with no disrespect but is meant to be informative.
If the Catholic Church made the Bible, is it not strange that she failed to include any word about the assumption of Mary, her immaculate conception and about the efficacy of praying to her; about the veneration of relics, images and saints; about the use of holy water; about the ceremony of the mass; about a pope’s being the vicar of Christ; about monsignors, archbishops and cardinals; about purgatory; about a celibate clergy; about not eating meat on Friday or during Lent; about making novenas; about infant baptism; etc.? Is not the fact that the Bible is silent on all these outstanding points of the Catholic religion strong circumstantial evidence that the Catholic Church did not make the Bible? that it is not a Catholic book?

Who made the Bible is very clear from its own pages. God is its author. “Thy word is a lamp to my feet.” “The spirit of the Lord hath spoken by me: and his word by my tongue.” “Thy word is truth.” “For the word of God is living and effectual.” “The holy men of God spoke, inspired by the Holy Ghost.”—Douay Version at 2 Ki. 23:2; Ps. 118:105; John 17:17; Heb. 4:12; 2 Pet. 1:21.
The facts are that not one of the oldest, most reliable and most valuable manuscripts of the Bible was found in territories under Catholic domination. Even her prized Vatican manuscript 1209 has been in her possession only since the fifteenth century.
Not only can no credit go to the Catholic Church for preserving the Bible but the facts of history show that she has been the chief destroyer of the Bible. Copies of Wycliffe’s Bible were hunted out by her from one end of England to the other and then destroyed. At the time when England was under Catholic domination, for anyone to be found guilty of reading the Bible in English meant the forfeiting of “land, cattle, life and goods from his heirs forever”. Indicative of the way the Catholic Church really feels about the Bible is the following excerpt taken from current Catholic Bible tracts: “The Christian is not bound to read the Bible since it is the Church who proposes to us for our belief Divine Revelation as contained in Scriptures and Tradition.”
Especially the Catholic Church is known to use her adherents to sway the ballot the way she wants. This takes quantity and not necessarily quality; devoted church supporters, but not Bible Christians. So in making her adherents the Catholic Church was never particular about really making over the minds of people to uproot paganism and put Christian beliefs in its place.
Just a little info about the Catholic church without a lengthy discussion about why some of the practices do not agree with God's word in the bible.
Should Icons Be Used?
http://www.watchtower.org/e/20050508a/article_01.htm
The End Of False Religion Is Near
http://www.watchtower.org/e/kn37/article_01.htm

Answer 10

It's a Christian religion. I don't like Christianity because I think it's caused, and will continue to cause, more trouble than it's worth. My family is all Catholic. I grew up Catholic. I don't like the religion and I don't like Christianity as a whole.