It's nearly 2am and I can't sleep. I tried praying. I tried worshipping. Nothing. Still restless. I went to write an email and the first thing I saw was the following article. It sent a wave of anger came upon me. Having grown up in the Catholic Church for 20 years, I have a right to comment on this. I don't know why this pope insists on creating disunity within the Body of Christ. I can't believe he has the audacity to say that the Catholic Church is the "only one church" that Jesus established. Futhermore, for him to claim that people of other denominations don't have the "means to salvation" goes against everything that Jesus came for!!!
Um, Mr. Holier-than-thou pope: Although our Bibles differ in terms of the addition of apocrypha in your Bible, the Gospel remains the same. Mr. pope, I highly suggest you take a look at the Book of John (yes, it's the 4th Gospel and it comes right after Luke). Two things stick out for me: John 1:12-13, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
Second: The famous verse, John 3:16, 18, "For God so loved the WORLD, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life...He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
So, my dear brother in Christ, for if you follow the Lord, we are family, you are dead wrong to judge and alter the condition for the salvation of others!! God said himself that one only need to believe in Jesus. He didn't say the condition for salvation is that you follow the pope or some other man who claims authority in Jesus' name. He says only believe in the Son of God.
Mr. pope, do you believe in Jesus Christ? If you do, then you are saved. I do, and therefore, I know I'm saved. Salvation does not come by works as the Catholic Church so often teaches us; it comes through faith. (And yes, it's true that faith without works is dead...but if Jesus changes your life, you don't have to keep your check list of works. If you have Jesus, it should come naturally).
Mr. pope, Jesus came to bring UNITY, not division!!! God desires us to be ONE!! Denominations mean nothing in the sight of God, don't you know this? Denominations were created by man. Jesus said, "Go and make disciples of the nations." He gives this command to every follower, regardless of denominational affliation. satan is loving the division you're causing. he thinks it's great. And moreover, how many unsaved people look at this and say, "Oh look, the Christians are fighting again...."
Come on!!
Finally, since you seem to know everything about God and His design and plan for the "true church," perhaps you can answer some questions for me that no one in the Catholic Church has ever been able to answer. I only ask this because you claim that Jesus established only 'one true church,' the Catholic Church. Why is it you can make this claim, however, the Church doesn't seem to follow the laws and commandments given by God? There are so many that I can pick out, but the biggest one for me is the fact that God is a jealous God. He clearly, clearly states that we should not worship any god but Him. But yet, you pray to saints to interceed on your behalf. The Bible is clear when it says, that no one can go to the Father except through Jesus Christ. So are you equating saints with Jesus?!? When you pray, you are worshipping them. They're dead. They have no power. If you read Revelation, you'll find that they're worshipping God!!! They're probably so excited to be with Jesus, that they don't care (not to mention they can't protect you).
So, I don't get it. Do you pick and choose what you want to make to give credibility to your Church and hold people back from having a true relationship with God?
I know that God grants authority to some people (see God's calling for five fold ministry in Ephesians), however, I can't apologize when I say, I choose to follow Jesus and not a man. In the end, it will be God whom I answer to when I die, not you and not any pastor or leader placed in authority in my life. (This should not be read as rebellion as I am fully committed to a church and submitted to its leadership).
I pray for you and that God would give you HIS heart for the world and for just a select few. I pray that you would come to know the Lord's heart for unity among HIS people and not just yours. (I call them yours because YOU have said that one must follow the pope [the person of apostolic lineage from Peter]). Mr. pope, you are in an awesome position of leadership. I pray that you will use it to glorify God and bring many souls into the Kingdom.
(And I would seriously send a revised letter to the pope if someone could tell me where to send it to. I say revised because it is 2:30 am. We all know what happens when we write at 2:30 am).
Pope: Other denominations not true churches
Benedict issues statement asserting that Jesus established ‘only one church’
NBC News video
MSNBC News Services
Updated: 8:52 a.m. ET July 10, 2007
LORENZAGO DI CADORE, Italy - Pope Benedict XVI has reasserted the universal primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document released Tuesday that says Orthodox churches were defective and that other Christian denominations were not true churches.
Benedict approved a document from his old offices at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that restates church teaching on relations with other Christians. It was the second time in a week the pope has corrected what he says are erroneous interpretations of the Second Vatican Council, the 1962-65 meetings that modernized the church.
On Saturday, Benedict revisited another key aspect of Vatican II by reviving the old Latin Mass. Traditional Catholics cheered the move, but more liberal ones called it a step back from Vatican II.
Benedict, who attended Vatican II as a young theologian, has long complained about what he considers the erroneous interpretation of the council by liberals, saying it was not a break from the past but rather a renewal of church tradition.
In the latest document — formulated as five questions and answers — the Vatican seeks to set the record straight on Vatican II’s ecumenical intent, saying some contemporary theological interpretation had been “erroneous or ambiguous” and had prompted confusion and doubt.
It restates key sections of a 2000 document the pope wrote when he was prefect of the congregation, “Dominus Iesus,” which set off a firestorm of criticism among Protestant and other Christian denominations because it said they were not true churches but merely ecclesial communities and therefore did not have the “means of salvation.”
In the new document and an accompanying commentary, which were released as the pope vacations here in Italy’s Dolomite mountains, the Vatican repeated that position.
“Christ ‘established here on earth’ only one church,” the document said. The other communities “cannot be called ‘churches’ in the proper sense” because they do not have apostolic succession — the ability to trace their bishops back to Christ’s original apostles.
‘Identity of the Catholic faith’
The Rev. Sara MacVane of the Anglican Centre in Rome, said there was nothing new in the document.
“I don’t know what motivated it at this time,” she said. “But it’s important always to point out that there’s the official position and there’s the huge amount of friendship and fellowship and worshipping together that goes on at all levels, certainly between Anglican and Catholics and all the other groups and Catholics.”
The document said Orthodox churches were indeed “churches” because they have apostolic succession and that they enjoyed “many elements of sanctification and of truth.” But it said they lack something because they do not recognize the primacy of the pope — a defect, or a “wound” that harmed them, it said.
“This is obviously not compatible with the doctrine of primacy which, according to the Catholic faith, is an ‘internal constitutive principle’ of the very existence of a particular church,” the commentary said.
Despite the harsh tone of the document, it stresses that Benedict remains committed to ecumenical dialogue.
“However, if such dialogue is to be truly constructive, it must involve not just the mutual openness of the participants but also fidelity to the identity of the Catholic faith,” the commentary said.
‘Not backtracking on ecumenical commitment’
The document, signed by the congregation prefect, U.S. Cardinal William Levada, was approved by Benedict on June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul — a major ecumenical feast day.
There was no indication about why the pope felt it necessary to release the document, particularly since his 2000 document summed up the same principles. Some analysts suggested it could be a question of internal church politics, or that it could simply be an indication of Benedict using his office as pope to again stress key doctrinal issues from his time at the congregation.
Father Augustine Di Noia, undersecretary for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said the document did not alter the commitment for ecumenical dialogue, but aimed to assert Catholic identity in those talks.
“The Church is not backtracking on ecumenical commitment,” Di Noia told Vatican radio.
“But, as you know, it is fundamental to any kind of dialogue that the participants are clear about their own identity. That is, dialogue cannot be an occasion to accommodate or soften what you actually understand yourself to be.”
