Lewis
Member
I just have to post this latest news from the Vatican' it's a kicker' I tell you. This kind of stuff must be exposed' because many will believe this nonsense. And Benedict XVI will have a hand in sending them to Hell.
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
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)
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.a ... E_ID=56612
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
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)
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.a ... E_ID=56612
:
: Some believe Eternal Security, some OSAS, some think you can loose your salvation. They contradict eachother and cant all be right. But they all know the Catholics are wrong and unbiblical. :-?