Confessions Of A Catholic
Religion/Philosophy
Hi David,If, as you say, you do not believe that any man is infallible, then you can't be a Catholic. The Pope claims to be infallible, and as a Catholic you are required to obey him as infallible -
or you are declared anathema .
We teach and define that it is a dogma Divinely revealed that the Roman pontiff when he speaks ex cathedra, that is when in discharge of the office of pastor and doctor of all Christians, by virtue of his supreme Apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine regarding faith or morals to be held by the universal Church, by the Divine assistance promised to him in Blessed Peter, is possessed of that infallibility with which the Divine Redeemer willed that his Church should be endowed in defining doctrine regarding faith or morals, and that therefore such definitions of the Roman pontiff are of themselves and not from the consent of the Church irreformable.So then, should anyone, which God forbid, have the temerity to reject this definition of ours: let him be anathema. (see Denziger 1839).
Wikipedia I did respond when you pointed out how Paul referred to himself as father of believers, but my response (which was time consuming) has gone missing (I assume deleted).Your comment (above) touches on the difference between Protestant Christians and Catholics.For the Catholic, you are asked to "
check your brain at the door " and become an "
intellectual corpse ". You must accept the teaching of the Magisterium, no matter how unBiblical, illogical, ludicrous, or evil, it is. "
The task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted solely to the Magisterium of the Church, that is, to the Pope and to the bishops in communion with him. "[Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. 1997, pt. 1, sect. 1, ch. 2, art. 2, III [#100]This (in large part), is what sparked the Reformation in the first place. Luther nailed 95 Biblical proofs, against the selling of indulgences, to the door of the Church in Wittenberg Germany.
He insisted that, since forgiveness was God's alone to grant, those (Pope and Prelates) who claimed that indulgences absolved buyers from all punishments and granted them salvation were in error. Christians, he said, must not slacken in following Christ on account of such false assurances. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther For a Christian, there is but one teacher Christ. This touches on what I wrote in my missing post.Matthew 23 8-10
But you are not to be called Rabbi, for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth father , for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called teacher, for you have one Teacher, the Christ . "I am aware of the "
proof texts " Catholic apologists use, to make Christ's statement of no effect. However, his intent was to denounce those who set themselves up as great, and Lord it over others, just as the Popes and prelates do. Christ followed his statement with these words -
The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. That the Popes exalt themselves is a matter of record, and there are reams of statements like this one:
I am all in all and above all, so that God Himself, and I, the Vicar of God, hath both one consistory, and I am able to do almost all that God can do . . . Wherefore, if those things that I do be said not to be done of man, but of God. WHAT CAN YOU MAKE ME BUT GOD? Again, if prelates of the Church be called and counted of Constantine for gods, I then, being above all prelates, seem by this reason to be ABOVE ALL GODS. Wherefore, no marvel if it be in my power to dispense with all things, yea, with the precepts of Christ . See Decret. Par Distinct 96 Ch. 7 Edit Lugd. 1661.
Antichrist Exalts Himself Above God So, getting back to the initial question of this thread should Catholics put their faith in their priests, or in God - my answer is God (the true God of the Bible, not the Pope).Some Catholics, in my native land, put their faith in their Priest/Father, and were raped by him (
Father Hickey for example).Just as we saw in the Boston cases, under Cardinal Law, the
directive from Rome was to cover it up. They moved the Priests around, kept them on the payroll as Shepherds of the flock, and let it happen again, and again, and again.Ratzinger (the present Pope) was responsible for the
cover up , since at the time, he oversaw the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office that once presided over the Inquisition, and is now tasked with enforcing policy.These atrocities, have been repeated over and over again, all over the world. How many times must it happen, before Catholics will accept the fact that their leaders and Church are corrupt, and come out of Babylon (cf. Rev.17).I don't say any of this to offend, condemn, finger point, or any such thing. I am simply stating the facts, hoping that your eyes will be opened - also to adequately respond to your points, and the initial topic of the thread.I also agree with you, that many Protestants, also lean on their leaders too much, and need to be more like the Bereans - proving things for themselves.Acts 17:11
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. One last point, you seem to think that one should overlook, or accept falsehoods, for the sake of unity. The Bible does not teach this - it is false ecumenism.Biblical unity, stands in stark contrast to the ecumenism promoted by Rome. We are to be in
unity with the Father (John. 17:22), spiritual unity (17:5; 10:30), unity in Truth (17:17), and in agape Love (17:23,26). For those truly in Christ, this unity already exists.
The world sees hundreds of denominations; God sees the One Church, the Body of Christ, which includes some from many denominations. The only way to be in the true Church is to be placed into the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit in regeneration: ...the Body is one .. . .all the members are one . . .for by one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body (1 Cor. 12:12-13). You are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:28). What Is Wrong With "Ecumenical"? With love and respect,Ken
