White smoke!

[mugsy]

Yes, I am Catholic. I actually chose to be Catholic...not a cradle Catholic a convert.
Is the Pope the shepard for all Christians? If your answer is yes; why do all of the other Christian faiths exist? I'm not tying to be annoying I really want to know. I attended a lot of other Christian churches (various Baptist & Methodist) before taking the classes to become Catholic. I don't remember any of them "following the Pope." Many of the other Christian faiths don't have the regimented lifestyle stance that Catholicism has. Not that what any Christian church does is right or wrong they are just different. The ritualistic nature of Catholic mass is also not been observed by me in the other Christian church services. The stoic boring, constantly consistant nature of the Catholic mass has the opportuntity to breed passive observers rather than nuture active particpants in the church. Years ago, I challenged Father Eichoff to change the order of the mass to wake folks up...he laughed and said he would never do it. Not because it would violate some Catholic tort but because he did not want to shock the flock. Most Catholics I've ever met have a very close minded, laser focused on Catholicism opinion about life. I haven't noticed other Catholics commenting openly about other Christian faiths but I have been confronted by folks from other churches, mainly Baptist and the charismatic churches, about Catholicism. Many of these folks don't even think Catholics are Christians...what the hell is up with that? I'll still not back off of my opinion that the Pope or any other person needs to your intermediary to God. Certainly I know this goes against Catholic beliefs but I know it is difficult to near impossible for anyone to completely agree with everything their church says. We're human we have to have differnces. If we did not have differences of opinions there would not be all the differenct faiths within Christianity...we would all be one church.

Boehlertaught - I would say based upon your statements that you were poorly or incompletely catechetized before entry into the Church. Or that whomever vouched for you did not really challenge you to think through the implications of what you were doing. This thread is not for that discussion but if you wish to, please PM me and I will happily, and without rancor or insult, dialogue with you further on this subject.

 

[SoonerATC]

Yes, I am Catholic. I actually chose to be Catholic...not a cradle Catholic a convert. As am I, which makes me confused even more as to why you chose to become a Catholic, even while disagreeing with the position of the Pope and the nature of the Mass.
Is the Pope the shepard for all Christians? Yes, he is If your answer is yes; why do all of the other Christian faiths exist? Initially they didn't. Most of the protestant denominations developed out of the Reformation, when "enlightened" individuals like Luther, Calvin, and Wesley, started their own churches. I'm not tying to be annoying I really want to know. I attended a lot of other Christian churches (various Baptist & Methodist) before taking the classes to become Catholic. I don't remember any of them "following the Pope." Many of the other Christian faiths don't have the regimented lifestyle stance that Catholicism has. Not that what any Christian church does is right or wrong they are just different. The ritualistic nature of Catholic mass is also not been observed by me in the other Christian church services. As priests, through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, are the only people capable of transubstantiating the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, this is probably the most important missing ingredient in other Christian denominations. The Mass isn't just a part of the church service, it is the REASON for the service. The stoic boring, constantly consistant nature of the Catholic mass has the opportuntity to breed passive observers rather than nuture active particpants in the church. It's not "stoic" and "boring" if you are actively participating. Are you just being an observer, or are you praying and offering up your intentions during the Mass? ....... If we did not have differences of opinions there would not be all the differenct faiths within Christianity...we would all be one church. It is Christ's intention that we all be one Christian Church...the four marks of the Church are that it is one, holy, catholic (universal) and apostolic. There can only be one "truth". If Church A teaches one thing, and Church B teaches that what Church A teaches is wrong, then both cannot be correct. The reason I know that the Catholic Church is the one true Church is because it is the only one founded by Christ Himself, not by a fallible man like Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Joseph Smith, etc. If the Catholic Church teaches the truth (which Christ will not allow it to do otherwise since it is an institution divinely created by Him), then no other Church can be completely true in what it teaches (it may teach part of the truth, but err in other ways).

SoonerATC

 

[caojyn]

There can only be one

 

[SoonerATC]

lol, yep

 

[WTJ]

Guess what? So he's human...and life happens. So what? Everyone's got a past and he ain't no saint...at least not yet. Again, so what. If he's a real person that understands life today he will be good for the church. If he's a stick in the mud like most popes have been he will keep the church in the Middle Ages like it has been, well I guess since the Middle Ages. The church definitely needs to grow up and accept that people have changed. As noted in this post a lot of folks, including Catholics, don't care about the pope. That's ok I guess. There's an argument for everything an I can be said that the pope is a position in Christianity that has outlived its usefulness in most of today's societies. I cold be ok with that as I am a Christian and a catholic and I can say with confidence the pope has never influenced anything in my life. Yes, the church has, actually Christianity has, and the pope is certainly part of the church. But unlike folks that are totally consumed by Catholicism I don't require a spokes person or an intermediary to control my prayers to God.

I was referring to Dave's Stripes reference.