what do you think of the statement pope Benedict xvl made on tuesday?

Question

Pope Benedict XVI reasserted the primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document released Tuesday that says other Christian communities are either defective or not true churches and Catholicism provides the only true path to salvation.

Answer 1

I think it’s very arrogant to exclude the rest of the world from the path of salvation unless they’re Catholics. That indicates Vatican is loosing followers and the only way to stop the ‘leak’ is by threatening the people.
Clergy… they are responsible for people turning away from God….

Answer 2

Why do people bother following a mere man? You will not find any reference to the pope being the head of the church. You do find this scripture though..

"And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence." Colossians 1:18

The HE in the above is Jesus Christ. A body cannot have two heads.

The pope is a false teacher. The majority of the catholic church's beliefs cannot be supported by the Bible and in most cases are contrary to Bible teachings. Peter was not the first pope, in A.D. 606 old emperor Phocus, who was himself a murderer and an adulterer, appointed Boniface III as the first pope. The catholic church cannot trace their "papacy" from AD 606 back to AD 33 because the catholic church did not exist prior to AD 606. The catholic church came out of the pagan Roman Empire.

See source for some of the false teachings of the catholic church. They cannot and have not been successfully refuted.

Answer 3

The Pope did not speak on the subject. He simply approve a new document that states nothing new: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20070629_responsa-quaestiones_en.html

Most Christian denominations believe that each of them is the fullest version of the Church of Christ.

While the Catholic Church also believes that she is "the highest exemplar" of the mystery that is the Church of Christ, she does not claim that non-Catholic Churches are not truly Christian. The Catholic Church teaches:

Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements.

Christ's Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church.

All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him.

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 819: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt3art9p3.htm#819

With love in Christ.

Answer 4

The doctrine of apostolic succession is the belief that the 12 apostles passed on their authority to successors, who then passed the apostolic authority on to their successors, continuing throughout the centuries, even unto today. The Roman Catholic Church sees Peter as the leader of the apostles, with the greatest authority, and therefore his successors carry on the greatest authority. The Roman Catholic Church combines this belief with the concept that Peter later became the first bishop of Rome, and that the Roman bishops that followed Peter were accepted by the early church as the central authority among all of the churches. Apostolic succession, combined with Peter’s supremacy among the apostles, results in the Roman bishop being the supreme authority of the Catholic Church – the Pope.

However, nowhere in Scripture did Jesus, the apostles, or any other New Testament writer set forth the idea of “apostolic succession.” Further, neither is Peter presented as “supreme” over the other apostles. The Apostle Paul, in fact, rebukes Peter when Peter was leading others astray (Galatians 2:11-14). Yes, the Apostle Peter had a prominent role. Yes, perhaps the Apostle Peter was the leader of the apostles (although the Book of Acts records the Apostle Paul and Jesus’ brother James as also having prominent leadership roles). Whatever the case, Peter was not the “commander” or supreme authority over the other apostles. Even if apostolic succession could be demonstrated from Scripture, which it cannot, apostolic succession would not result in Peter’s successors being absolutely supreme over the other apostles’ successors.

Catholics point to Matthias being chosen to replace Judas as the 12th apostle in Acts chapter 1 as an example of apostolic succession. While Matthias did indeed “suceed” Judas as an apostle, this is in no sense an argument for continuing apostolic succession. Matthias being chosen to replace Judas is only an argument for the church replacing ungodly and unfaithful leaders (such as Judas), with godly and faithful leaders (such as Matthias). Nowhere in the New Testament are any of the twelve apostles recorded as passing on their apostolic authority to successors. Nowhere do any of the apostles predict that they will pass on their apostolic authority. No, Jesus ordained the apostles to build the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:20). What is the foundation of the church that the apostles built? The New Testament – the record of the deeds and teachings of the apostles. The church does not need apostolic successors. The church needs the teachings of the apostles accurately recorded and preserved. And that is exactly what God has provided in His Word (Ephesians 1:13; Colossians 1:5; 2 Timothy 2:15; 4:2).

In short, apostolic succession is not biblical. The concept of apostolic succession is never found in Scripture. What is found in Scripture is that the true church will teach what the Scriptures teach and will compare all doctrines and practices to Scripture in order to determine what is true and right. The Roman Catholic Church claims that a lack of ongoing apostolic authority results in doctrinal confusion and chaos. It is an unfortunate truth (that the apostles acknowledged) that false teachers would arise (2 Peter 2:1). Admittedly, the lack of “supreme authority” amongst non-Catholic churches results in many different interpretations. However, these differences in interpretation are not the result of Scripture being unclear. Rather, they are the result of even non-Catholic Christians carrying on the Catholic tradition of interpreting Scripture in accordance with their own traditions. If Scripture is studied in its entirety and in its proper context, the truth can be easily determined. Doctrinal differences and denominational conflicts are a result of some Christians refusing to agree with what Scripture says – not a result of there being no “supreme authority” to interpret Scripture.

Alignment with Scriptural teaching, not apostolic succession, is the determining factor of the trueness of a church. What is mentioned in Scripture is the idea that the Word of God was to be the guide that the church was to follow (Acts 20:32). It is Scripture that was to be the infallible measuring stick for teaching and practice (2 Timothy 3:16-17). It is the Scriptures that teachings are to be compared with (Acts 17:10-12). Apostolic authority was passed on through the writings of the apostles, not through apostolic succession.

Recommended Resource: The Gospel According to Rome: Comparing Catholic Tradition and The Word of God by James McCarthy.

Answer 5

First of all Pope Benedict XVI only approved the statement, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued the statement. It does not necessarily say that the Catholic Church provides the only path to salvation. It does, however, say that the Catholic Church is the only perfect Church (doctrinally and structurally) while the Orthodox Church is a Church it is flawed because it does not have union with the sucessor of Peter. It says that Protestant communities are not Churches because they lack apostolic sucession, therefore ordinations are invalid. (This is just what I get from reading it.)
I totally agree with this document. I applaud The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (under Cardinal Llevada) and Pope Benedict for speaking the truth.

Answer 6

I think we're getting past the age of ecumenicism when the Church had to water down it's teachings and placate the Protestants in hopes of greater Christian unity.
Study the history of the Church and the formation of every Protestant sect and you'll find at the basis of them all some form of rebellion, disobedience, pride, etc. where the founders deceive themselves that by creating schism and perpetrating heresy, that they are right and the Church is wrong.
Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, wants His sheep in one pasture.
The Holy Father, Pope Benedict, speaks the truth.

Answer 7

What do U expect from a bunch of guys running around in dresses proclaiming they are God??? This has been going on since Innocent III declared himself to be "Vicar of Christ & God" & the "Supreme Sovereign" over the church & the World & All things on Earth and in Heaven and in Hell are Subject to the Vicar of Christ!!!" Pius X in 1854 just "Proclaimed" the doctrine of the "Immaculate Conception of Mary" and later (1870) pushed the Vatican Council to make him & all subsequent "Papas" "Infallible" for ever. So now if U would, please explain to me why this "Papa" (who never makes a mistake, just like those before him) now says there is no "Limbo"??? Ok, so....like if "Papa" is God & has All Power over Earth, Heaven & Hell, why doesn't he Stop All War, Famine & Disease??? What a "Laughing Stock" the Catholic church Leadership is!!!!!!!! I Really feel sorry for the members of this church of Satan who through All the Heresy of their Leaders Dogma, have stuck with the Lie!!! John

Answer 8

I would, if I were Pope, said it differently, but meaning the same thing. Protestantism, no matter how you look at it, is watered-down Catholicism. Founders of the various schisms have taken what they want, all diffferently, and gotten rid of what they don't. So, if the Church was right in the first place, the other founder determined versions must lack or mis-interpret one truth or another.

Answer 9

The Pope in his capacity as head of the Church has made his position clear. However, it's your free choice to believe in salvation or not. The abuses in the church make it hard to believe in anything. Moreover, the church is an archaic institution that doesn't know where hell is situated, even less where heaven is. Their position on suicide, murder and abortion are abundantly clear. And in the end, only God really knows what happens to your soul.

Answer 10

No, you are letting the news commentaries tell you what the document says instead of reading the actual document for yourself.

Here is a real quote from teh document:

It is possible, according to Catholic doctrine, to affirm correctly that the Church of Christ is present and operative in the churches and ecclesial Communities not yet fully in communion with the Catholic Church, on account of the elements of sanctification and truth that are present in them.[

It follows that these separated churches and Communities, though we believe they suffer from defects, are deprived neither of significance nor importance in the mystery of salvation. In fact the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as instruments of salvation,