The Catholic Church, or Roman Catholic Church, is the single
largest branch of the Christian faith in the world, with over one billion
members. The Catholic Church has churches spread throughout the continents, all
of which fall under the authority of the pope, who resides in the Vatican, in
the heart of Rome, Italy.
One of the foundations of the Catholic Church is what it
calls the Four Marks of the Church: unity within the diversity of its members;
holiness as the visible Body of Christ; universality as a worldwide Church; and
apostolic continuity to connect today’s Church with the original apostles. Together,
these principles form the nucleus of the Catholic Church. However, within this
broad foundation, there are specific identifiable beliefs that make a Catholic
distinct from other Christian believers. I tell you about these in the next
section.
Understanding what it means to be Catholic
All Christians believe that the Bible is God’s revelation to
humans, but, unlike Protestant Christians, Catholic Christians believe that God
revealed his ultimate and sovereign Word in more ways than just the Bible.
Catholics believe that God reveals his truth through
The Bible, or the written Word of God
Sacred Tradition, or the unwritten (or spoken) Word of God
Catholics define Sacred Tradition as a set of beliefs that,
although the Bible doesn’t mention them, Christians have consistently believed
for centuries, and Catholics therefore consider them to be authoritative. The Catholic
Church says that Sacred Tradition fills the practical purpose of knowing what
to believe and how to act in a changing world. Because the Bible doesn’t speak
to every issue that comes up, Catholics say that Sacred Tradition helps fill in
the cracks to clarify God’s Word on all matters.
Both Catholics and Orthodox Christians differentiate between
Tradition with a capital “T” and tradition with a lowercase “t.” Human traditions
are customs or practices that aren’t directly revealed by God, so they can be
changed over time. Examples include the practice of priests not marrying, specific
fasting days, or the procedures in electing a pope.
Catholics consider creeds, such as the Apostle’s Creed and
the Nicean Creed, the most important part of Sacred Tradition. Other parts of
Sacred Tradition include
Beliefs surrounding the Virgin Mary: Catholic tradition says
that Mary was always a virgin, had no other earthly children, and went directly
to heaven when she died. (To find out how Catholics believe her after-death
situation differed from most Christians, read about purgatory in Chapter 9.)
Role of the sacraments in salvation: The sacraments are the
vehicle that God uses to dispense his saving grace. As a result, sacraments are
required in order for a person to receive salvation (though not all seven
sacraments, such as marriage, are required). Turn back to Chapter 8 for more on
sacraments.
Changing nature of the Eucharist: During the Eucharist, the
elements are transformed into the literal body and blood of Christ (known as
transubstantiation). The bread and wine still appear physically the same, but
their nature changes.
These are examples of a type of belief called a dogma, a
revealed truth that the Catholic Church formally defined either through the
Vincentian canon (what has always been believed by Christians at all times) or
when the pope speaks ex cathedra (see the “Revering the pope as supreme leader”
section later in this chapter).
Although Catholics hold to the foundational Christian beliefs
discussed throughout this book, in this section, I discuss a core set of dogmas
that are uniquely Catholic. These include
Leadership of the pope
Apostolic succession
Nature of the sacraments
Adoration of Mary
Praying to Mary and the saints
Purgatory
Apocrypha as scripture
Precepts to live by
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