Pope Say's All Others Are Wrong???

Question

Pope Benedict has approved a new text asserting that Christian denominations outside Roman Catholicism are not true Churches in the full sense of the word. What the heck? I know this story has been out since Tuesday and may have been discussed, but I just now had a chance to read it. This is as rediculous sounding as Muslim Clerics stating we're all infidels. Whats up with these individuals. Obviously, I'm not Catholic, however I'm a Christian. Who is he to judge me. Are you, if non- Catholic, offended by his comments? Crazy world!

Answer 1

Not quite.

Here is the full text of the 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 2

He is not judging you, first of all. He is reiterating what has always been a truth held by the Church. It has been so since it's inception almost 2000 years ago. The Catholic Church is the One True Church started by Christ himself.

This does not mean that there is no salvation for protestants nor does it mean you are not a true Christian. The Pope would never say that.

The media, as the media tends to do, has made it seem that he said this. If you read the statement, you'll see he said no such thing. He only re-stated a fact.

If you look historically at Christianity, you'll see that Catholicism was synonymous with Christianity for 1500 years. If you were a Christian you were Catholic and vice versa. The Church proclaimed it's origin from Christ and could trace it's lineage back to him. Then in the 1500s Martin Luther came along. He decided that the Catholic Church was wrong and he was right. He started the Reformation. This gave birth to protestantism.

So, with the protestant reformation...what changed for the Catholic Church? Nothing. It continues on...still the One True Church. The reformation has nothing to do with the beliefs and teachings of the Catholic Church. It continues as it has for 2000 years.

I converted to Catholicism, from Methodist, about 10 years ago. Believe me I know more now about Martin Luther and the reformation, then I ever knew for the 30 years I was Methodist.

Do not be offended. It is not meant to offend you. Protestants who seek Christ follow his commandments and scripture are seen as part of the One True Church.

Answer 3

I have a feeling you're misinterpreting what was said. He's using a very technical theological definition of the word "Church." In that definition, a "Church" has 4 defining characteristics. It's a historic fact that one of them, Apostolic Succession, is lacking in most of Protestantism. So Protestant communities, such as the Baptists or Anglicans are more correctly termed "Communions," not "Churches" in Catholic parlance. The Pope did not judge you, as a person. Only Christ himself is the judge of the living and the dead.

The same document also mentions the Orthodox Churches, which do have apostolic succession. But the document notes that those Churches don't have Papal Primacy.... and that is a true statement, isn't it?

There's really no need to be offended.

Answer 4

Greetings. I can understand your feelings, but most people already have these feelings that the Pope put on paper. We each follow a denomination because it is perhaps the most truthful tradition out there, at least in our eyes. For example, people who claim to be Baptists clearly see the Catholic Church as wrong, that is why they are not Catholics. Catholics are not Baptists because they feel the Baptist church is wrong in some way. Protestants like to call the Catholic Church as the Whore of Babylon among other charming names. If you personally do not believe in the teachings of the Catholic Church why would the Pope's commentary bother you? Who is the Pope to you anyway?

I used to get very offended when Protestants call my faith a corrupted religion and all sorts of junk, but later I realized their opinions can not shake my faith if it is pure truth in my eyes. What the Pope did was defend and clarify Catholic teachings to a Catholic audience since they are the ones that will take what he says seriously anyway. It is no different from a Pentecostal preacher teaching his doctrine to Pentecostal Christians. I'm sure Catholics won't like what he says other.

You are right in that this world is crazy. People should realize that Christ called all those who are called 'Christian' to be one, regardless of denominations. We mustn't judge one another for such actions are reserved for God alone.

As you can tell I am a Catholic, but I wasn't always one. Though you are not a Catholic, you still bear a piece of divinity, the life of Christ. You are a fellow Christian and such we and all others who bear that title should be united.

Do not let the media or anything get in the way of Christian unity. We have enough enemies and distractions in the world already, we don't need to fight amongst ourselves.

Peace of Christ be with you.

Answer 5

Am I not correct in stating that it is obvious that you have not read the text?
The pope is not condemning Protestants and other non Catholics ,but he is saying that "ecclesial communities" that do not have true Apostolic Succession are not ecclesiae(latin for assemblies and used in Catholic theology for a particular category of religious body) as are the Orthodox and Old Catholic Churches.
Do you as a Non Catholic not believe that we Catholics are wrong about alot of things? If you thought that we were right would you not need to become a Catholic? If so are you not also"rediculous"?
That the Catholic Church teaches that she is the fullness of the Christian Faith and that she is the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church are not news at all and does not come as a "put down" of non Catholic groups. You may also want to read The Decree On Ecumenism and the Declaration On Religious Freedom of the Documentsof Vatican II

Answer 6

>>Pope Benedict has approved a new text asserting that Christian denominations outside Roman Catholicism are not true Churches in the full sense of the word.<<

Yes and no. You have to understand what is meant by "Church" in the sense it is used in this context. A "Church" has to have apostolic succession. Protestant Communions don't have apostolic succession, and the vast majority don't claim to. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THEY (either the Communities or their members) ARE NOT CHRISTIAN. Non-Catholic Christians and non-Catholic Christian Communities are referred to as just that in the document -- Christian.

The Orthodox Churches, which are outside Catholicism, DO have apostolic succession, and are therefore regarded as "true" Churches. In fact, that is the only time the word "true" appears in the documents -- to restate that the NON-CATHOLIC Orthodox (aka oriental) Churches ARE "true" Churches in our understanding of the concept.
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20070629_responsa-quaestiones_en.html

BTW, in case you did read kait's extremely long cut-and-paste, apostolic succession IS Biblical and can be found in Acts 1:15-26.

Answer 7

Not being a Catholic but a Protestant my world continues on as normal :-D

Nothing he says has anything to do with my faith and therefore I'm not offended.

The Catholic Church has taken that stand pretty much from its beginning so nobody should be surprised by this statement.

Answer 8

What would you expect the head dude of a long-established, dogmatic religion to say?

Would you really expect him to say "Oh hell, everybody's right. It doesn't matter if you follow Catholic doctrine or not, as long as you're a good person"?

That's not exactly going to put a lot of money on the Catholic collection plates, is it?

The entire institution of the Catholic church and their rituals is kind of tied into the idea that they're the ones doing it right.

I'm not surprised that the Pope would say such a thing (I don't agree with him, but I'm not surprised he said it). I am kind of surprised that everyone on Yahoo Answers here seems to think it's a big deal.

Answer 9

I'm not offended at all, because he is probably right, all other so called Christian denominations stem from that religion in the first place, they simply jumped ship to start their own that's all, Christianity looks like a tall tree today it has denomination limbs coming out the ying yang, and none of them hold any religious credibility in my opinion.

Answer 10

In my life, I only have one judge. I call Him God. My God doesnt stay in any one church. I was raised Catholic but have since become a Christian. I listen to the pastor and I try to be the best person I can be. One of the other people in here said religion is man made. It may be inspired in some cases by the Bible or the Koran, but human beings interpret it and therein lies the trouble.