Jesus is the head of the church. Any "church" where Christ is not the head, is not His church. Is the Pope...

Question

the head of the Roman Catholic Church?

If even one pope contradicted Christ, he would not be the "vicar" of Christ, and the Catholic church would be nothing more than a religious organization, not the church of Jesus Christ.

Many Papal decrees have contradicted the truth of the Bible and even Jesus Christ specifically.

Is the Catholic church, therefore, part of the true church of Jesus Christ?

Or not?
.

Answer 1

There are many reasons why the Catholic Church is not the church that Christ founded. I'll list a few, you can also read the articles listed in the source for more info.

With one billion members, the Roman Catholic Church is the largest denomination in the world. Since the Bible teaches that Jesus built only one church, we must learn if the Roman Catholic Church is the one mentioned in the Bible (Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 5:22-33; Colossians 1:18).

Organization

The organization of the Lord’s church is described in the Bible (Philippians 1:1). It is made up of saints {Christians}. Christian men who meet God’s qualifications serve as bishops (also called elders and pastors). Deacons are servants who work under the elders (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9). Elders are to be appointed in each church (Acts 14:23). The Bible always speaks of a local assembly having two or more bishops (Acts 14:23). These bishops (elders) have the rule over the church (Hebrews 13:17). Their rule is limited to the church where they are members (1 Peter 5:1-3).

The Roman Catholic Church is a body with two heads! It claims Jesus is its head in Heaven and the Pope is its head on earth. The “college of cardinals” elects the Pope to office. Under the cardinals are the archbishops, bishops, priests, monks, nuns, and finally “the laity” (ordinary members). Clearly, the organization of the Roman Catholic Church proves it is not the church of the Bible.

Salvation

The Bible teaches all are born sinless and pure (Matthew 18:1-5; 19:13-15). When we sin, we separate ourselves from God (Isaiah 59:1,2). The result of sin is spiritual death (Ezekiel 18:20; Romans 6:23). Salvation from sin is by the grace of God (Titus 2:11-14). This does not mean all will be saved. Christ “became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Hebrews 5:9). Jesus is the Sacrifice for our sins (Hebrews 9:24-28; 1 Peter 1:17-19). We receive His free gift of salvation by hearing His Word (Romans 10:17), believing in Him (John 8:24), repenting of our sins (Acts 17:30,31), confessing His name (Matthew 10:32,33), and being baptized in water for the remission of sins (Romans 6:1-4; Acts 2:38). When we show our faith in this way, God adds us to His church (Acts 2:47; 1 Corinthians 12:13).

In order to go to Heaven, we must serve God faithfully until death (Revelation 2:10; 2 Timothy 4;4-8). When one sins after becoming a Christian, he can be forgiven. He must confess his sins, repent, and pray for forgiveness (James 5:16; Acts 8:13-24).

When a child is twelve years old, he must be confirmed, according to Roman Catholic teaching. The priest makes the sign of the cross on the child’s forehead. This is supposed to give him the Holy Spirit.

When a Catholic sins, he must confess to a priest. The priest decides what act of penance the sinner must do. When this is done, the priest grants forgiveness. God’s law of pardon for erring Christians is ignored. Priests who are weak, sinful men, like we are, are given the power to forgive sins by the Roman Catholic Church. The Bible teaches that only God has the power to forgive sins (Mark 2:5-12). It is blasphemy for a man to claim to do this. It is clear the Roman Catholic Church is not the church of the Bible because it does not practice what the Bible teaches concerning salvation!

What Happens When We Die?

Luke 16:19-31 tells us that one’s soul goes to Hades when he dies. Hades has a place of comfort for the righteous and a place of torment for the wicked. There is a great gulf between the two. One cannot cross from one to the other. Souls remain in Paradise until the Last Day. Then our bodies will be raised from the grave and changed into spiritual bodies (John 5:28,29; 1 Corinthians 15:35-44). Each person will then stand before the Lord to be judged (2 Corinthians 5:10).

However, the Roman Catholic Church does not teach this. They believe souls go to a place called Purgatory. They are punished in order to be purified. How long one has to spend in Purgatory will depend upon how bad he was on earth, how much money he gave to the Roman Catholic Church to buy indulgences, and how much money his family and friends give to the Church on his behalf. The doctrine of Purgatory does not come from God. It was made an official doctrine of the Roman Church by the Council of Florence in 1439. The Roman Catholic Church is not the church of the Bible!

Moral Issues

The Bible teaches it is wrong to lie (Colossians 3:9; Revelation 21:8). It also teaches it is wrong to steal (Romans 2:21; 13:9,10; Ephesians 4:28). The Roman Catholic Church, however, teaches the doctrine of “mental reservation.” This doctrine says that one can lie on certain occasions and not be guilty of sin. The Roman Church also teaches that in some cases one can steal and not be guilty of sin. This type of behaviour is not taught in the Word of God. It clearly shows that the Roman Catholic Church is not the one, true church we read about in the Bible.

Much more could be said. These examples are enough to show us that the Roman Catholic Church, even though very large, is not the Lord’s church! Please study the Scriptures for yourself. Do not become a member of any church which is not found in the Word of God!

The Bible clearly sets forth the one, true church which was built by Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:18,19). It was built long before the Roman Catholic Church began.

Answer 2

The first Pope was James the Just, the brother of Jesus. All orthodox churches have based their belief on this indisputable fact since the formation of christianity.

In contrast, the completely ficticious religion of Roman Catholicism created its own claim to being first some 400+ years after the fact, by claiming St. Peter was the first Pope and that Popes existed in Rome, even during the time of persecution!

Now if this isn't proof enough that The Vatican has absolutely nothing to do with Jesus, has no credibility and says and does whatever it takes to remain in power, then the 19th Century decree that the Pope is infallible should be a clear resounding beacon.

By the decree, the Popes in effect made themselves Gods, deities on earth, above all human law and all humans. Not even Jesus claimed himself infallible!

So this is why it is so hard to get a straight answer out of Catholics and why it remains such a powerful religion. As the pagans once knew, having a living human being as your god, which you can see and worship is much more powerful than praying to some inanimate object.

Answer 3

Yes, Jesus is the head of the Catholic Church. The Pope is the Vicar (substitute) of Christ much as a substitute teacher is the teacher when the chief teacher is absent.

"Many Papal decrees have contradicted the truth of the Bible and even Jesus Christ specifically."

Without any examples, this is just a baseless accusation. I will wait for a specific example

Answer 4

No. Ever since Luther did what he did, the Christian church has shown to be blessed by God. All the great songs of the church are by born again Christians.
It is the Christians dominating the Christian airwaves.
America is a great testimony to the Christian movement, it is the greatest most blessed nation on earth.
Where catholicism is found, there is also found poverty, disease, and many other curses. Central and South America is filled with catholics. Anywhere catholicism is is bad news.
There is no way the RCC is the church, it is the apostate church.
Thanks to the Jews who wrote the Bible we have the Bible. The RCC did not write the Bible, they killed Jews and Christians, and elevated a man instead of God and are paying for it now.
The popes are nothing more than modern day Caesars.
The Cardinals are modern day Roman senators and the priests are modern day Roman soldiers.
All the framework of the RCC is the exact framework of ancient imperial Rome.

Answer 5

Jesus personally founded, authorized, empowered and guaranteed the Catholic Church, and he did the same for the office of Pope, even though Jesus has ALWAYS remained at the head of the Catholic Church, in every age.

The Catholic Church has always been the true church of Christ, and it always will be so, because if it is not, than Jesus is a powerless liar, scripture has been broken, and we are all still trapped in our sins.

The bible is a product of the Tradition of the Catholic Church, so it is highly unlikely that your opinion trumps that of the only church that Jesus ever instituted, for the purpose of our salvation.

There is not a single Papal decree that has ever failed to be fully compatible with both the letter and the spirit of ther entire body of all authentic scripture and church tradition ... there are only those who mistakenly think that is the case ... and you are obviously one of them.

Answer 6

The Catholic Church is the ONLY church of Jesus Christ. Jesus established only this church and gave authority only to the Apostles, namely Peter. Peter was the first Pope of The Holy Roman Catholic Church. May you one day realize that the Catholic Church is Christ's church. God Bless

EDIT: And please show me how and where the Catholic Church has contradicted the bible..If not for the Catholic Church, we would only have the Torah.

Answer 7

All Christians believe in forgiveness, so even the pope goes to confession and takes communion. It used to be that popes were descendants of the disciple St Peter and modern, elected popes serve as vicars of the catholic church. The Catholic church broke off from the original church. The Eastern Orthodox Church remained thus the pope is in Rome and the ecumenical patriarch (bishop) in Constantinople. How 'true' do you want the church to be? It is headed by people like you and me. Protestants are christians and follow Christ. so yes, the Catholic Church is part of Christ's church on earth.

Answer 8

Not only does some of the doctrine contradict the Bible, but some even contradicts formerly held Catholic doctrine. The present day Catholic church contradicts the Catholic church of the past.

Answer 9

How can I relate to the Bridegroom if I keep away from the Bride with distain? Is Christ my head if i am not in the body of the Church ? Those Christians not in full communion with the mother Church of all Christians,the Catholic Church are also members of the Body but they don't have the whole popsicle.

Answer 10

Where did you learn logic. there is no doubt that the Catholic Church is the Church founded by Jesus and the disciples. there is no other. It is based on the veracity of the teaching of Christ and not on any man. The Pope could be the most sinful man that ever existed but could not destroy the veracity of the Church.

And, contrary to what you claim the Pope does not contradict the Bible. You got to learn to think through these things and avoid these non-sensical questions.

In Christ
Fr. Joseph