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FAITH UNDER FIRE
Pope: So, you're not Catholic? Then you're not in true Church
Benedict ignites holy war of words by stating other groups 'defective'
Posted: July 11, 2007
3:31 a.m. Eastern
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
Pope Benedict XVI has ignited controversy across the world by approving
a document saying non-Catholic Christian communities are either
defective or not true churches, and the Roman Catholic Church provides
the only true path to salvation.
"Christ 'established here on earth' only one church," said the document,
reasserting the primacy of Catholicism.
It said other Christian communities such as Protestants "cannot be
called 'churches' in the proper sense" since they don't have what's
known as apostolic succession – that is, the ability to trace their
bishops back to the original 12 apostles of Jesus.
The document said the Orthodox church suffered from a "wound" because it
did not recognize the primacy of the pope, adding the wound was "still
more profound" among Protestant denominations.
It was "difficult to see how the title of 'Church' could possibly be
attributed to them," said the statement from the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith, purporting Roman Catholicism was "the one true
Church of Christ."
"These separated churches and communities, though we believe they suffer
from defects, are deprived neither of significance nor importance in the
mystery of salvation," the document read. "In fact the Spirit of Christ
has not refrained from using them as instruments of salvation, whose
value derives from that fullness of grace and of truth which has been
entrusted to the Catholic Church."
The document, formulated as five questions and answers, repeated
sections of a 2000 text the pope wrote when he was prefect of the
congregation, "Dominus Iesus," which angered Protestant and other
Christian denominations because it said they were not true churches and
did not have the "means of salvation."
The Vatican's statement, signed by American Cardinal William Levada, was
approved by Benedict June 29, the feast of Saints Peter and Paul in the
Catholic faith.
Protestant leaders wasted no time attacking the statement.
"It makes us question whether we are indeed praying together for
Christian unity," said the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, a group
of 75 million Protestants in more than 100 countries. "It makes us
question the seriousness with which the Roman Catholic Church takes its
dialogues with the reformed family and other families of the church."
Today's edition of the London Times gave the story prominence with a
headline reading: "If it isn't Roman Catholic then it's not a proper
Church, pope tells Christians."
Its online edition also features a messageboard where readers from all
over the world are reacting to the pronouncement, including:
# The pope is being honest in saying what all right thinking Catholics
believe. (Brian O Cinneide, Durban, South Africa)
# The Roman Catholic Church IS the true Church, all others are "off
shoots," "break away" or denominations. (Connie, Billings, Montana)
# I guess the crux of it is that if you don't accept the pope as your
leader, then the church you are in is illegitimate. This is most
offensive and insincere considering the Roman Catholic Church keeps
telling us that it wants to reach out to other Christian and
non-Christian faiths. I would say that the Catholic Church is "not
proper" for issuing this provocative article not the Christian churches.
(Niki Saliba, Melbourne, Australia)
# I am embarrassed to be Catholic. I feel as if a major part of my
ongoing and increasingly difficult decision to remain in the Church has
been excised. The pope is going to take the Church back to a time when
it was populated by only a hard-core, self-congratulatory few. I guess
that will mean fewer parishes to keep open and more donations per
capita. (Janet, Ohio)
# Just shows why it is almost impossible to remain a practicing
Catholic. The medium is more important than the message. Do you really
think Christ would think it was more important to belong to one brand of
Christianity than to live by his teachings? (Maria, Sydney, Australia)
# The early Christians set a bad example for everyone. They prayed in
other tongues, engaged in prophesy, laid hands on the sick, cast out
demons and met in services in the catacombs. They stuck together even
until death and crucifixion. They acted like they were in love with God
as a result of a supernatural experience through the Holy Spirit as a
result of Christ's death of redemption. Those improper Christians never
did get it right with their early Church practices! (Mark, Houston, Texas)
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