is the catholic church corrupt?

Question

i personally like catholics, but many things make me question the catholic church
1.) the power of the pope to "enact" doctrine not founded in the bible
2.) the catecism, as opposed to the bible
3.) eating christ at the eucharist - i believe its a symbolic gesture and very disrespectful to "consume" his physical body at mass..........
4.) homosexuality among the priests, is it a widespread problem, i would find it EXTREMELY difficult to trust a catholic priest...................

Answer 1

No, the Catholic church is not corrupt -- sorry to disappoint those who love to bad-mouth us.

The Pope is the Head of the Church on earth, but even he answers to the true Head of the Church in Heaven, Jesus Christ. He doesn't proclaim an article of faith without much prayer, consultation, and study. Besides, if you take a look at the doctrinal statements of just about any Protestant church, you will find things that are not based purely on Scripture or that are open to serious question.

The old saw that Catholics don't read the Bible is about as untrue as untrue ever gets. Not only are we encouraged to read the Bible, but the basis of each Mass is the Scriptural passages that are read that day. You will find that many Catholics know their Bible very well, and I'd like to think that I'm one of them.

As far as the Eucharist is concerned, Jesus said, "This is my Body which will be given up for you. This is my Blood, which will be shed for you." He didn't say that the elements would be sort of like His Body and Blood or kinda like them. . .He said that they ARE His Body and Blood.

Homosexuality is not limited to the Catholic clergy, nor is sexual misconduct. If you aren't going to trust a priest, then don't trust a Methodist or Presbyterian minister, either -- there were just as many reports of sexual misconduct in those two churches as in the Catholic church. God says that both homosexual sin and hetrosexual sins are wrong. . .He doesn't discriminate between them.

The Catholic church has had its problems over the years, but it has endured and will continue to do so. Its Founder and Head, Jesus, will always protect His own Church.

Answer 2

1. The pope acts on authority given to him by Christ, the same authority that was given to Peter. The doctrines of the Church are based on that same authority, as is the bible.

2. The catechism is the Catholic interpretation of the holy scriptures. It is a single, comprehensive document stating all of the beliefs of the Church.

3. The Eucharist is not and never was a symbolic gesture. Read any document of the early church fathers as well as the bible and you will see Christ gave us Himself in the form of the consecrated host.

4. You speak as if the only homosexuals in the world are Catholic priests. What about the protestant ministers who confess their homosexuality? Or the atheists, or Jews, or anyone else for that matter?

Answer 3

Some members of the Catholic clergy are corrupt. In 1997 I bribed the Monsignor of Cebu City. Overall IMO the Catholic Church is good and there are many Godly people doing his work all over the world.

Answer 4

1) The bible is a product of the traditions of the church. The church is in no way subserviant to the bible. No pope has ever defined anything that is in any way contrary to authentic scripture ... only things contrary to false protestant tradition.

2) Jesus commanded the apostles to teach and to baptize. He never gave them a bible with which to do it, or specified that anyone ever use a bible.

3) Jesus never said anything about it being symbolic. The eucharist is only symbolic for protestants, who abandoned the authentic body and blood of Jesus Christ, when they abandoned the true Church.

4) How would you know how widespread the problem is, when nobody has these figures?

Based on most of your objections and beliefs, it would appear that YOU are corrupt.

Answer 5

just cuestion... it's better than not even caring.

Catholics are sinners, priests too.

But we are exactly strong when we recognize our human wrechedness, when we really accept the truth.* Then we can let God take over. And scandal will just make this more obvious!

.....But if you don't beleive in anything else, beleive in the eucharist! Is it disrespect? Was it disrespect for Peter to let his feet be washed by Christ? No, what really offended Jesus was his objection to it!


Inspite of scandal, the eucharist is what keeps our faith : Because in each communion we recognize Jesus, who is "in all and though all". And through the eucharist we know that God is in charge.

Answer 6

Here are the indisputable facts that Catholic apologists, pr agents and spin doctors refuse to acknowledge, seek to have suppressed and attack as untrue.

1. The Catholic Church was without question the single largest and wealthiest economic entity of human history from 400 CE to 1800 CE (over 1400 years). It has only been since the advent of private banks and financial secrecy laws that the true wealth of the church has become "hidden in plain site".

2. The Vatican today is without question the single largest and wealthiest organization on the planet, with assets exceeding $3,000 Billion.
http://one-faith-of-god.org/final_testament/end_of_darkness/truth/truth_0030.htm

The Vatican is by far the largest holder of land titles for any organisation or government in the world with visible title to around US $316 Billion of property (churches, schools, hospitals etc) and around US $2,623 Billion of investment property hidden in an extremely complex networks of hundreds of thousands of trusts and front companies.

The current market property value of Vatican City, in the heart of Rome alone is worth between US $1 Billion and $3 Billion. This excludes the value of the priceless artworks and valuables stored within its walls.

3. The Vatican is responsible for the deaths of more people than any other organization/state in human history.

Hundreds of millions of lives have been lost because of the Popes and the church. See the Almanac of Evil.
http://one-faith-of-god.org/final_testament/end_of_darkness/evil/evil_0120.htm

4. The Vatican has known the truth that Paul of Tarsus created christianity not Jesus, but refuses to reveal the truth

The Vatican has known for almost 2000 years that it was Paul of Tarsus, not Jesus who founded christianity.
http://one-faith-of-god.org/new_testament/apocrypha/founders_christianity/founders_christianity_0010.htm

Jesus founded the Nazarenes also known as the gnostics.
http://one-faith-of-god.org/new_testament/apocrypha/nazarenes/nazarenes_0010.htm

===============
What would Jesus Do?

+ The Catholic Church has never been the legitimate body representing Jesus. It is an imposter, a fraud.

+ In spite of the overwhelming evidence of corruption, of morally bankrupt behaviour, of evil, many people continue to defend such action, to the point of attacking those who dare to raise it.

+ Until good people are prepared to take a stand against such evil, it will continue to thrive.

Answer 7

1. That power was given to the Pope when Jesus said to Peter (the first Pope) "And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:17-19)

2. We do not use the Catecism in place of the Bible, we use it in conjunction with the Bible.

3. Jesus is clearly speaking literally when He tells us to eat His flesh and drink His blood. When Jesus spoke symbolically about food, as He did in Jn 4:31-34 and Mt. 16:5-12, the disciples interpreted Him literally. Jesus show them the He is only speaking figuratively. In Jn 6, when Jesus is speaking of the Eucharist and the disciples interpreted Him literally and could not believe He did not correct them. As a matter of fact He repeats Himself stating in clearest possilbe language the we must eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to have eternal life,

Also, in the Aramaic language that Our Lord spoke, to symbolically "eat the flesh" or "drink the blood" of someone meant to persecute and assault them, as in Ps 27:2; Isaiah 9:18-20; Isaiah 49:26; Micah 3:3; 2 Sam 23:15-17; and Rev 17:6,16. So if Jesus is speaking symbolically then He would be telling us "whoever persecutes and assaults me will have eternal life." That makes no sense.

4. How do you know that priests are homosexuals?

God bless,
Stanbo

Answer 8

All religions are corrupt. Why? Men are corrupt, and they run the
Church. Homosexuality is just not wide spread among catholics.
I understand some people believe there faith is the true faith, and everyone else should pack there bags for hell. All people have secrets in all faiths. Don't believe me? Go ask Ted Haggard.

Answer 9

You are a moron.

1. List them!

2. The Catechism reiterates the Bibl, if you'd take our nose out of the chick tracts long enough to read.

3. Oh goody!!!
Jesus replied, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst." At this point the Jews understood him to be speaking metaphorically.


Again and Again



Jesus first repeated what he said, then summarized: "‘I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.’ The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’" (John 6:51–52).

His listeners were stupefied because now they understood Jesus literally—and correctly. He again repeated his words, but with even greater emphasis, and introduced the statement about drinking his blood: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him" (John 6:53–56).


No Corrections



Notice that Jesus made no attempt to soften what he said, no attempt to correct "misunderstandings," for there were none. Our Lord’s listeners understood him perfectly well. They no longer thought he was speaking metaphorically. If they had, if they mistook what he said, why no correction?

On other occasions when there was confusion, Christ explained just what he meant (cf. Matt. 16:5–12). Here, where any misunderstanding would be fatal, there was no effort by Jesus to correct. Instead, he repeated himself for greater emphasis.

In John 6:60 we read: "Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?’" These were his disciples, people used to his remarkable ways. He warned them not to think carnally, but spiritually: "It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life" (John 6:63; cf. 1 Cor. 2:12–14).

But he knew some did not believe. "After this, many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him" (John 6:66).

This is the only record we have of any of Christ’s followers forsaking him for purely doctrinal reasons. If it had all been a misunderstanding, if they erred in taking a metaphor in a literal sense, why didn’t he call them back and straighten things out? Both the Jews, who were suspicious of him, and his disciples, who had accepted everything up to this point, would have remained with him had he said he was speaking only symbolically.

But he did not correct these protesters. Twelve times he said he was the bread that came down from heaven; four times he said they would have "to eat my flesh and drink my blood." John 6 was an extended promise of what would be instituted at the Last Supper—and it was a promise that could not be more explicit.


4. NEW YORK (ABP) -- With awareness of sexual abuse by clergy in Southern Baptist churches on the increase, a well-known television newsmagazine is taking notice.

In show -- scheduled to air the evening of April 13 -- called "Preacher Predators," ABC's "20/20" will examine the problem of sexual predators in Baptist churches as well as those of other denominations. According to ABC producers, the show will also study the unique role that Baptist polity and autonomy can play in perpetuating or resolving the problem.

Producers said they decided to investigate sexual abuse because several Baptist ministers in states across the South have been prosecuted for sex crimes within the last year.

http://www.abpnews.com/2013.article

http://www.abpnews.com/2076.article

Answer 10

The Roman Catholic Church contends that its origin is the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ in approximately 30 A.D. The Catholic Church proclaims itself to be the Church that Jesus Christ died for, the Church that was established and built by the Apostles. Is that the true origin of the Catholic Church? On the contrary. Even a cursory reading of the New Testament will reveal that the Catholic Church does not have its origin in the teachings of Jesus, or His apostles. In the New Testament, there is no mention of the papacy, worship / adoration of Mary (or the immaculate conception of Mary, the perpetual virginity of Mary, the assumption of Mary, or Mary as co-redemptrix and mediatrix), petitioning saints in Heaven for their prayers, apostolic succession, the ordinances of the church functioning as sacraments, infant baptism, confession of sin to a priest, purgatory, indulgences, or the equal authority of church tradition and Scripture. So, if the origin of the Catholic Church is not in the teachings of Jesus and His apostles, as recorded in the New Testament, what is the true origin of the Catholic Church?