Years ago, after I first believed at the witness of a Methodist whom the Lord appointed for that purpose, I looked for a suitable church. I still believed after that, that I had to find exactly the right church, the right congregation. I looked into Roman Catholic and others, perhaps oddly using a book that my aunt had recently given me, Leo Rosten’s “Religions of America.” What spoke to my heart was the Lutheran pastor’s presentation in that book, which spoke of responding to God as a loving Father rather than as a stern monarch. And I started with a Lutheran church, and they were loving people. But a quest for certainty eventually brought me to the door of a bible church.
The Catholic “world” inasmuch as I have viewed it on FR, is full of debate which, frankly, can get very catty at times. Oh look what this person said to that person! Not very often (I wouldn’t say never) do I see “look how the Lord is moving here, and He personally is separating chaff from wheat.” With the prime actor being the Lord. No, it’s all about the people most of the time, which makes it look like the no-win game that it has more and more become. What is happening to the Catholic world looks frankly like what is happening to the political Democrat world. If they WERE honest to God at one time, they’re now busy tossing it all to the winds. Luther and the classic Protestant reformers only noticed it early. No perfection themselves, but they swore to put their trust on the Lord that they were convinced would perfect them, based on His promises.
According to typical trad. Catholics when they malign and or reject their pope, it is because they are committed to Truth, based upon their judgment of what sound teaching is according to past Catholic teaching.
But according to the same Catholics when conservative evangelicals malign and or reject the pope, it is because they presume to judge what sound teaching is according to Scripture, rather than submitting to the pope.