Posted on 07/10/2007 6:55:28 PM PDT by indcons
Pope Benedict XVI declared yesterday that Christian denominations other than his own were not true churches and their holy orders have no value.
Protestant leaders immediately responded by saying the claims were offensive and would hurt efforts to promote ecumenism.
Roman Catholic- Anglican relations are already strained over the Church of England's plans to ordain homosexuals and women as bishops. The claims came in a document, from a Vatican watchdog which was approved by the Pope.
It said the branches of Christianity formed after the split with Rome at the Reformation could not be called churches "in the proper sense" because they broke with a succession of popes who dated back to St Peter.
As a result, it went on, Protestant churches have "no sacramental priesthood", effectively reaffirming the controversial Catholic position that Anglican holy orders are worthless.
The document claimed the Catholic church was the "one true church of Christ".
Pope Benedict's commitment to the hardline teaching comes days after he reinstated the Mass in Latin, which was sidelined in the 1960s in an attempt to modernise.
The timing of the announcement fuelled speculation that the pontiff - regarded as an arch-conservative before his election in 2005 - is finally beginning to impose his views on the Catholic Church.
The Vatican said it was restating the position set out by the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in 2000 in a document called Domine Jesus because theologians continued to misunderstand it.
At that time, Anglican leaders from around the world made their anger felt by snubbing an invitation to join Pope John Paul II as he proclaimed St Thomas More the patron saint of politicians.
Bishop Wolfgang Huber, head of the Evangelical Church in Germany, said the Vatican document effectively downgraded Protestant churches and would make ecumenical relations more difficult.
He said the pronouncement repeated the "offensive statements" of the 2000 document and was a "missed opportunity" to patch up relations with Protestants.
“Pope Benedict XVI declared yesterday that Christian denominations
other than his own were not true churches and their holy orders have
no value. “
I suspect the response of a lot of Prot/fundamentalist Christians
in the USA would sound like the GEICO Cavemen:
“What’s ‘holy orders’?”
I say that as a friendly observation as a fellow raised in a non-denominational
and fundamentalist Christian church. (and will quietly let pass the
good Pope’s claim of owning an exclusive franchise)
If you ever hear a Baptist say that you will know that he or she doesn't represent Baptist doctrine in any way, shape, or form. A person's salvation has nothing to do with his or her denomination, it only has to do with his/her personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Romans 10:9-10. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
That is the pure and simple Gospel of Christ. Anyone who truly, openly, and verbally puts his or her faith and trust solely in Jesus Christ and His blood atonement for their sin is saved from condemnation and is a member of Christ's body on earth, whether Protestant, Baptist, Pentecostal, Catholic, Orthodox, etc.
Galatians 1:8, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."
And that is the Word of God's judgment on those who pervert the true Gospel of salvation by grace through faith alone into a false gospel of salvation through the works of man. What the bible says in those verses is either true or a lie. If those verses aren't true, then the bible is not the inspired Word of God and we are left to our own devices as to how to gain salvation and escape eternal damnation in a place the kind and loving Savior Himself called the lake of fire.
But they are true words from God Himself to the people of the world, and where a man or woman will spend eternity is determined by his or her response to the Gospel of Christ as proclaimed by the divinely inspired authors of the New Testament, not by membership in a denomination.
A little less theological dispute and a little more imitation of Christ would do us all good.
Take it from me, an improper Christian!
I just hope the pope doesn’t get himself a holy roman emperor any time soon. We all know how that turned out.
I’ve heard all this from my neighbors, and believe me they got an earfull. Try living with 11 neighbors, all RCs, and they are all attempting to be “the one” who bags the Protestant. lol Patrick Madrid’s book has really fired them up. They are all over 75...so you know I am respectful, though.
You have to give the pope a break though. It can’t be easy, even for a pro, to court the religions of the world and not tick off the faithful. You have to let them know they are extra special.
Yeh...I’m a smart*ss. Sorry, but I’ve had enough of this garbage. If RCs believe this teaching please get back to me in after we’re dead.
ping
Good grief, this guy is nuts. He ought to read the Bible sometime and learn how God said to have no other God’s before Him. The pope is no God not even a little. He is just a man that has been dedicated to his religion.
He is obviously not a uniter either. The world has one main enemy and that is Islam and those that follow that cult that want to kill all of us and rule over us. The Pope should be more concerned about that, too bad he would rather just BS about other infidels. Sad really. I hope he apologizes and see’s we all need to join together to fight the enemy as best we can.
Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic Ping List:
Please ping me to all note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of interest.
Your rather unChristian comments reflect both on your ignorance and your character.
An example, you say: “He is obviously not a uniter either.”
Our Lord said: “I come not to bring peace, but to bring a sword”
You claim the Pope is a “god”, he is not and no one claims he is - he IS the valid successor to the Apostles, just as Timothy was a valid successor to Judas.
You ought to apologize for your insane insults and slurs, but I doubt that you will. I will remember you in my prayers.
Discuss the issues all you want but do NOT make it personal.
Insulting the Pope IS personal.
Please cite to me where Pope Benedict XVI claimed to be a "God".
I'm pretty sure He said a lot of other things too, even if you take them out of context as well.
Insulting the Pope IS personal.
One could make the case that the Pope's statement that Protestants aren't "proper" Christians is a personal insult also...
I believe this is a reference to the Pope deciding which Christian denominations are "proper"...
How does that make him a "God"?
We believe he is Christ's vicar on earth and therefore has some sway to make pronouncements like these... but this in no means elevates him to the status of deity.
Yes that is what I was referring to, thank you for understanding what I was saying.
Sure am glad I’m not Catholic.
Ok...what does his pronouncement mean then, exactly? That if you aren't Catholic, you aren't a proper Christian? Is it illogical to extrapolate then that you aren't entitled to eternal life in Heaven?
In my humble opinion, only one being has the power to make that decision, and it is not the Pope...
This was never said at all. He said there was One True Church (with a capital "C") and that is the Church that Christ founded, i.e. the Catholic church. No where was it said that people of other denominations are not Christian.
And I strongly disagree with the assertion that anyone can be entitled to life in Heaven. That is presumption of the highest order.
No problem...I have a feeling that not everyone has understand my points on this post either...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.