But that is a lie. The Catholic Church is one as we profess in the Creed. There is no other Church. All other faiths are just a shadow of the Truth, they might contain a semblance, but never the whole thing.
There is but one Church. We read in the Vatican II document Lumen gentium that the Church is the "instrument for the salvation of all" (LG 9.2). The Catechism states that the Sacrament of Baptism is "necessary for salvation" for all who have heard the Gospel message (CCC 1257).
We are playing a very dangerous game when we are not clear about the Truth that other Christian denominations are not just another path to salvation among many.
Ever since Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the doors of the Wittenberg cathedral in a supreme act of pride, Protestant denominations have been multiplying like, well, like Catholics. Including all the different separations within the denominations, there are something like 30,000 Protestant churches. Just because one man did not feel like reforming the Church from within as have so many saints since the days of Paul, there remains to this day a rift in Christianity between Catholicism and Protestantism, the Truth and imitation.
Note that I am not attacking Protestants personally but rather the theology of Protestantism. There's a difference.
There are several very real problems with the Protestant faith. Chief among these are the absence of Apostolic Succession, a reverence of the Blessed Mother, and the Sacraments.
There is a clear breach in Apostolic Succession in every Protestant faith whether it was founded by a lay person or by a fallen clergy. Apostolic Succession has two parts: tradition and authority. The Catholic Church has an unbroken line of bishops, cardinals, and popes going all the way back to when Jesus said to St. Peter "Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18). This is why we can trust that the Catholic Church is true. And this lineage of tradition leads to authority. The Pope in Rome can speak with the backing of Apostolic Succession and respond to the challenges of today as Christ's vicar on earth.
Some Protestant churches hardly even have people that can be called clergy. Pastors can get online degrees and then go off to lead congregations. Others allow votes to decide their course instead of the Word of God. Even denominations with hierarchies are insufficient because they are not valid successors of St. Peter. Their words have no authority.
And all of this leads to confusion. Without authority derived from Christ or even a hierarchy to establish order, many pastors are free to do as they please, as long as the congregation does not revolt. They simply interpret the Word as they see fit. Some unfortunately exploit the power and influence of their position. For some this means greed and money laundering from the offering plate without oversight. Others twist the Word to mean whatever benefits them leading to godless ultra-progressives like the Unitarian Universalist Church or file and hate-filled groups like the Westboro Baptist Church (which isn't even Baptist). Some Protestant churches can't even follow their own rules like the United Methodists who just recently elected their first openly gay bishop.
This is not to say that priests or even bishops cannot be guilty of the same flaws. The difference is that the structure of the Church means two things: they cannot change tradition and there is a higher authority with the power to rebuke them.
Outside of the Catholic Church and Apostolic Succession, the Truth can be hard to find and often comes packaged with lies.
The most negative comments I have ever received about my writing came when I published an article on Catholic365 about the importance of a devotion to Mary. And the attacks weren't from atheists or pagans but from Christians! Any Protestant attack on Catholicism always includes the claim that we worship the Blessed Mother and then goes on to demean her importance. This, of course, is enough to get the temper up of any red-blooded Catholic. We love our Mother - in his early stages of conversion, St. Ignatius of Loyola nearly killed a man for insulting Mary.
But perhaps instead of just defensively explaining the reasons behind our rightful veneration of Our Lady, we should question why the Proddies feel that they have to make this attack so consistently. Why are they so threatened by Mary?
St. Louis of Montfort writes that "An infallible sign by which we can distinguish a heretic, a man of false doctrine, an enemy of God, from one of God's true friends is that the heretic and hardened sinner show nothing but contempt and indifference for Our Lady. He endeavors... to belittle the love and veneration shown to her." Sounds just like the standard line of Protestant attack.
If you truly love Jesus, you cannot help but love His Mother.
A serious issue with Protestantism of today is that it shows a lack of reverence and sometimes even an "indifference" towards the Mother of God.
Thankfully, this is not the case for all Protestants. Some show a very healthy and commendable love for Our Lady. My grandfather was an Episcopalian, but in the years before his death he faithfully prayed the Holy Rosary.
The single greatest failure of Protestantism is that it lacks the Sacraments. Martin Luther himself began dismantling the Sacraments very early on. When he was done, only Baptism and Communion remained. And even then he denied the True Presence!
Now some denominations (or non-denominations) don't even pretend to have a communion service. The Unitarians don't even have baptisms (or a creed for that matter). The Eucharist is the "source and summit of the Christian life" (LG 11). Without the Eucharist our faith would be empty!
And that is the problem with Protestantism. It is empty. It can only ever offer fellowship and a chance to pray in a group, not the "Bread of Life" (John 6:35).
What would you or I be without the Eucharist? The Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of God Himself sustains us along our spiritual journey, gives us strength through grace.
That is why we must protect and educate our youth. Teach them that it's not all the same to God whether you go to Mass on Sunday or a non-denominational praise and worship service. That the "communion" offered at another church is not the same as Holy Communion.
Not all denominations are the same, but there is only one Church.
Certainly a great number of Protestants are authentically trying to journey with God. But some Protestant churches are worse than others. And these we must be watchful against.
Too many denominations openly approve of the massacre of innocents that is abortion! They condone murder and trample every teaching of Christ. Some go so far as to attack the pro-life movement. For so many years, abortion has been thought of as just a "Catholic issue" simply because only the Church had the courage to stand in the breach and defend life. Make no mistake, any "church" that supports or is even indifferent to abortion is not Christian in any sense of the word. They are collaborators.
Too many Christian churches have backed away from defending marriage. They allow openly homosexual clergy, "open" in the sense that they revel in their sinful behavior, take pride in it. They perform gay "marriages" eagerly, without a thought to what example this sets to young people honestly struggling with homosexual attractions. These are cowards who when the world said "Move" they replied "How far?"
The problem with Protestantism is that they are, to varying degrees, away from full communion with the Truth. You will only find the fullness of Truth, of life, within the arms of the Church.
Therefore, when we are engaged in ecumenical ministries, let us not forget the flawed reality of Protestantism. Let us engage in a Crusade for Truth to bring our Protestant brothers and sisters back into the fold. Spread the fullness of the Gospel where it is lacking in their chosen faith. Bring them home.
DEUS VULT!
Outside of the Catholic Church and Apostolic Succession, the Truth can be hard to find and often comes packaged with lies.
The most negative comments I have ever received about my writing came when I published an article on Catholic365 about the importance of a devotion to Mary. And the attacks weren't from atheists or pagans but from Christians! Any Protestant attack on Catholicism always includes the claim that we worship the Blessed Mother and then goes on to demean her importance. This, of course, is enough to get the temper up of any red-blooded Catholic. We love our Mother - in his early stages of conversion, St. Ignatius of Loyola nearly killed a man for insulting Mary.
But perhaps instead of just defensively explaining the reasons behind our rightful veneration of Our Lady, we should question why the Proddies feel that they have to make this attack so consistently. Why are they so threatened by Mary?
St. Louis of Montfort writes that "An infallible sign by which we can distinguish a heretic, a man of false doctrine, an enemy of God, from one of God's true friends is that the heretic and hardened sinner show nothing but contempt and indifference for Our Lady. He endeavors... to belittle the love and veneration shown to her." Sounds just like the standard line of Protestant attack.
If you truly love Jesus, you cannot help but love His Mother.
A serious issue with Protestantism of today is that it shows a lack of reverence and sometimes even an "indifference" towards the Mother of God.
Thankfully, this is not the case for all Protestants. Some show a very healthy and commendable love for Our Lady. My grandfather was an Episcopalian, but in the years before his death he faithfully prayed the Holy Rosary.
The single greatest failure of Protestantism is that it lacks the Sacraments. Martin Luther himself began dismantling the Sacraments very early on. When he was done, only Baptism and Communion remained. And even then he denied the True Presence!
Now some denominations (or non-denominations) don't even pretend to have a communion service. The Unitarians don't even have baptisms (or a creed for that matter). The Eucharist is the "source and summit of the Christian life" (LG 11). Without the Eucharist our faith would be empty!
And that is the problem with Protestantism. It is empty. It can only ever offer fellowship and a chance to pray in a group, not the "Bread of Life" (John 6:35).
What would you or I be without the Eucharist? The Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of God Himself sustains us along our spiritual journey, gives us strength through grace.
That is why we must protect and educate our youth. Teach them that it's not all the same to God whether you go to Mass on Sunday or a non-denominational praise and worship service. That the "communion" offered at another church is not the same as Holy Communion.
Not all denominations are the same, but there is only one Church.
Certainly a great number of Protestants are authentically trying to journey with God. But some Protestant churches are worse than others. And these we must be watchful against.
Too many denominations openly approve of the massacre of innocents that is abortion! They condone murder and trample every teaching of Christ. Some go so far as to attack the pro-life movement. For so many years, abortion has been thought of as just a "Catholic issue" simply because only the Church had the courage to stand in the breach and defend life. Make no mistake, any "church" that supports or is even indifferent to abortion is not Christian in any sense of the word. They are collaborators.
Too many Christian churches have backed away from defending marriage. They allow openly homosexual clergy, "open" in the sense that they revel in their sinful behavior, take pride in it. They perform gay "marriages" eagerly, without a thought to what example this sets to young people honestly struggling with homosexual attractions. These are cowards who when the world said "Move" they replied "How far?"
The problem with Protestantism is that they are, to varying degrees, away from full communion with the Truth. You will only find the fullness of Truth, of life, within the arms of the Church.
Therefore, when we are engaged in ecumenical ministries, let us not forget the flawed reality of Protestantism. Let us engage in a Crusade for Truth to bring our Protestant brothers and sisters back into the fold. Spread the fullness of the Gospel where it is lacking in their chosen faith. Bring them home.
DEUS VULT!
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