Worried about ecumenism, synods, and the relationship between the Church and non-Catholics? Allow me to present to you the reaction of conservative Lutheran pastor Paul T. McCain to the 1999 Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification between the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
What was regarded as one of the most groundbreaking events in the history of Catholic-Lutheran relations is, in the words of Mr. McCain, "a sell-out by revisionist Lutherans to Rome". The Catholic Church remains undefiled to the end, will you remain faithful in return?
What was regarded as one of the most groundbreaking events in the history of Catholic-Lutheran relations is, in the words of Mr. McCain, "a sell-out by revisionist Lutherans to Rome". The Catholic Church remains undefiled to the end, will you remain faithful in return?
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"...a true apostle looks for opportunities to announce Christ by words addressed either to non-believers with a view to leading them to faith, or to the faithful with a view to instructing, strengthening, and encouraging them to a more fervent life" (Vatican II's Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity: Apostolicam Actuositatem)
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The following selection is from paragraph 1257 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I have inserted the referenced scripture passages into the text to give a fuller picture.
The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation:
"Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (Jn 3:5).
He also commands his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to baptize them:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28:19).
Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament:
"He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned" (Mk 16:16).
The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are “reborn of water and the Spirit.” God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments.
The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation:
"Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (Jn 3:5).
He also commands his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to baptize them:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28:19).
Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament:
"He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned" (Mk 16:16).
The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are “reborn of water and the Spirit.” God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments.
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Jimmy Akin's Dating of the New Testament Books (Taken from his book "The Bible is a Catholic Book" and his article "Jesus Without the Gospels")
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"Pope Pius XII wonderfully testified to the immanent or internal principle of unity in the souls of the just being that of the power of the Holy Spirit which binds the members of Christ together. But it must not be thought that by this there is no place for an external criterion for the visibility of the Church, in particular the Church's mediatorial function. Just as the Holy Spirit was poured out on mankind not without the mediation of the visible apostolic office on the day of Pentecost, so likewise the Spirit internally unifies the Church not without the divinely established visible hierarchical government, whose head is the successor of St. Peter. There is no denial of the immanent principle of the Holy Spirit ruling and sanctifying to consolidate the baptized together, but, as Pius XII made clear, 'We must not think that He rules only in a hidden or extraordinary manner. On the contrary, our Redeemer also governs His Mystical Body in a visible and normal way through His Vicar on earth.' As will be shown, this principle is eminently testified by prominent witnesses in the Church Fathers all throughout the first millennium." (The Papacy, Erick Ybarra, p. 43)
St. Paul Center
The Papacy: Revisiting the Debate Between Catholics and Orthodox
The Lord Jesus Christ intended his kingdom present on earth, the Church of God, to be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. Prior to the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century, history tells of the most egregious division in the Church between the…