Vatican: Non-Catholics 'wounded' by not recognizing pope

**imported_elp6n** · July 10th, 2007, 09:37 PM

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -- The Vatican on Tuesday said Christian denominations outside the Roman Catholic Church were not full churches of Jesus Christ.

A 16-page document, prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which Pope Benedict used to head, described Christian Orthodox churches as true churches, but suffering from a "wound" since they do not recognize the primacy of the Pope.

But the document said the "wound is still more profound" in the Protestant denominations -- a view likely to further complicate relations with Protestants.

"Despite the fact that this teaching has created no little distress ... it is nevertheless difficult to see how the title of 'Church' could possibly be attributed to them," it said.

The Vatican text, which restates the controversial document "Dominus Iesus" issued by the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 2000, said the Church wanted to stress this point because some Catholic theologians continued to misunderstand it.

Ratzinger was elected Pope in April 2005. The document is his second strong reaffirmation of Catholic tradition in four days, following a decree on Saturday restoring the old Latin Mass alongside the modern liturgy.

The document stressed that dialogue with other Christians remained "one of the priorities of the Catholic Church."

The document, issued by Benedict's successor in doctrinal matters, Cardinal William Levada, complemented the Latin Mass decree in aiming to correct what it called "erroneous or ambiguous" interpretations of the Second Vatican Council, which took place from 1962 to 1965.

Church modernizers interpreted the Council as a break from the past while conservatives, like Benedict, see it in continuity with 2,000 years of Catholic tradition.

The document said the Council's opening to other faiths recognized there were "many elements of sanctification and truth" in other Christian denominations, but stressed only Catholicism had all the elements to be Christ's Church fully.

The text refers to "ecclesial communities originating from the Reformation," a term used to refer to Protestants and Anglicans. Father Augustine Di Noia, under-secretary 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."

**plantsman** · August 17th, 2007, 09:25 PM

Such arrogant tripe. Where's Luther when you need him?

**Shooter** · March 13th, 2008, 12:15 AM

Sounds like the Pope thinks you should worship him and the catholic church instead of God.

**1inStripes** · March 13th, 2008, 09:37 AM

What a pile of junk. The church that makes to confess to a man so they can ask forgiveness for you is saying others are not a full churches of Christ. HMMMMM.

**USA Ranger** · August 30th, 2008, 10:46 PM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Shooter</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Sounds like the Pope thinks you should worship him and the catholic church instead of God. </div></div>

Here is an excellent article about this , read it.

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=43089

**imported_ut1** · August 31st, 2008, 07:14 AM

"Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
Heb 4:14-16 (KJV)

Enough to show that the Catholics have it wrong to start with, as Jesus is our High Priest, and no where in the New Testamant do we have a model or selection process to have one man in charge of the spiritual state of the church. There are guidelines for choosing pastors and deacons, and advice on choosing teachers, but no Pope guidelines. I remember very well one prominent local minister who held that in general Catholics were not saved, as by their teachings, they had no true conversion experience. He also held that some would be saved but out of their geniune search for the truth, and not for the dogma and rituals of the Catholic church. Having family members that are Catholic and having attended Catholic services, I tend to agree with his assessment. They think they need to reach out to Protestant faiths, when in fact the very opposite is true.

**USA Ranger** · August 31st, 2008, 10:20 AM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ut1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">"Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
Heb 4:14-16 (KJV)

Enough to show that the Catholics have it wrong to start with, as Jesus is our High Priest, and no where in the New Testamant do we have a model or selection process to have one man in charge of the spiritual state of the church. There are guidelines for choosing pastors and deacons, and advice on choosing teachers, but no Pope guidelines. I remember very well one prominent local minister who held that in general Catholics were not saved, as by their teachings, they had no true conversion experience. He also held that some would be saved but out of their geniune search for the truth, and not for the dogma and rituals of the Catholic church. Having family members that are Catholic and having attended Catholic services, I tend to agree with his assessment. They think they need to reach out to Protestant faiths, when in fact the very opposite is true. </div></div>

I know and the sad thing is it is the biggest denomination in the World.It is said when people think that by doing rituals it will draw them close to God in fellowship and worse than that is that leaders of the church are deceiving the people.I remember a while back I was talkinig to someone and I ask them where they went to church and they responded with I am Catholic. I then ask them why they chose to be Catholic, their response was because my mom and dad are Catholic. I then proceeded to ask what the Catholic believed (already knowing but curious if they knew)and they said I really dont know.I think that is a problem with a lot of Denominations.

**Shooter** · August 31st, 2008, 11:58 AM

I've always believed the Catholic Church, and the Pope himself, will be part of the great deception the antichrist will smother the earth in. I think the Pope will be one of the false prophets who proclaims Jesus has returned when in fact it is the Antichrist.
The Catholic Church in my opinion is very corrupt. They control information to control the members of their faith.

**USA Ranger** · August 30th, 2008, 12:02 PM

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: elp6n</div><div class="ubbcode-body">VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -- The Vatican on Tuesday said Christian denominations outside the Roman Catholic Church were not full churches of Jesus Christ.

A 16-page document, prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which Pope Benedict used to head, described Christian Orthodox churches as true churches, but suffering from a "wound" since they do not recognize the primacy of the Pope.

There are many denominations out there and if people are not careful they will begin to listen to the voices of deceptive men and be led astray. In my view the Catholic Church has a lot of teachings that does not line up with Bible teaching.

But the document said the "wound is still more profound" in the Protestant denominations -- a view likely to further complicate relations with Protestants.

"Despite the fact that this teaching has created no little distress ... it is nevertheless difficult to see how the title of 'Church' could possibly be attributed to them," it said.

The Vatican text, which restates the controversial document "Dominus Iesus" issued by the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 2000, said the Church wanted to stress this point because some Catholic theologians continued to misunderstand it.

Ratzinger was elected Pope in April 2005. The document is his second strong reaffirmation of Catholic tradition in four days, following a decree on Saturday restoring the old Latin Mass alongside the modern liturgy.

The document stressed that dialogue with other Christians remained "one of the priorities of the Catholic Church."

The document, issued by Benedict's successor in doctrinal matters, Cardinal William Levada, complemented the Latin Mass decree in aiming to correct what it called "erroneous or ambiguous" interpretations of the Second Vatican Council, which took place from 1962 to 1965.

Church modernizers interpreted the Council as a break from the past while conservatives, like Benedict, see it in continuity with 2,000 years of Catholic tradition.

The document said the Council's opening to other faiths recognized there were "many elements of sanctification and truth" in other Christian denominations, but stressed only Catholicism had all the elements to be Christ's Church fully.

The text refers to "ecclesial communities originating from the Reformation," a term used to refer to Protestants and Anglicans. Father Augustine Di Noia, under-secretary 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."
</div></div>

There are many denominations out there with one of them being the ROman Catholic Church. If you wil do a careful study of their beliefs and practices you possible come to the conclusion that they follow a lot of false teachings "according" to the Holy Bible.

**centennialdawg** · August 30th, 2008, 12:22 PM

I don't think that you could call them false teachings, but they are rituals. All churches in all denomonations have some rituals. The Roman Catholic Church is full of rituals as are the Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, and Church of God, just to mention a few. Rituals give man a sense of belonging and of repentance. All-in-all, the rituals should give man a sense of being closer to GOD and Christ and it gives them the feeling that they are more in obedience to GOD'S wishes. These are how diverse Christianity's denominations have become. The early Lutheran Church, if I am not mistaken, worshipped GOD much in the same way the Catholic Church did then. All forms of Christianity have pastors, preachers, and evangelists in their respective forms. It is in our hearts as to how we worship the Lord. If rituals make one feel more comfortable and at ease with worship, then that is how you should worship.