The Catholic Free Press: Christ did not institute a hierarchical Church

Monday, January 13, 2014 The "Catholic" Free Press: Pope Francis' example makes it possible to accept heresy

The Catholic Church claims, and has pronounced on many occasions, the infallible truth that Christ both willed and established a hierarchical Church. Father Kenneth Baker, S.J., in his book entitled Fundamentals of Catholicism, Volume 3, notes how, "In the course of her long history, there have been many heretics and dissenters who have denied, in one way or another, the hierarchical constitution of the Church. Some have said that Jesus had no intention of establishing a visible Church with bishops, priests and sacred authority; for them, the Church is an internal, invisible reality of the heart that arises from the preaching of the Gospel and faith in Jesus. Others rejected the special priesthood and the hierarchy, and acknowledged only the general priesthood of all the faithful. Against them the Council of Trent solemnly declared: 'If anyone says that in the Catholic Church there is no divinely instituted hierarchy consisting of bishops, priests, and ministers: let him be anathema.'" (Fundamentals of Catholicism, Vol. III, p. 102, citing Canon 6 of the Council of Trent's Canons on the Sacrament of Order).

The word anathema comes from the Greek meaning hated or accursed. An anathema is an excommunication. Saint Paul employs this term to describe those who have separated themselves from the Christian community by sins such as teaching a false gospel [See for example Galatians 1].

Those who produce The "Catholic" Free Press [Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts] have now separated themselves from the Church's communion by embracing the very notion that the Council of Trent anathematized: that the hierarchical constitution of the Church is not divinely instituted.

That’s a straw man argument, made up by you, not me.

Not at all. Look at the words of Christ:

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

There can be only ONE truth. Taught by Christ, through the Church Christ established. A Church that has existed for 2000 years. The Catholic Church.

There cannot be multiple truths. There is only one truth.

No one is arguing THAT truth.

Actually, they are. They claim that their interpretation of Scripture is the Truth taught by Christ.

Paul warned us this would happen, "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." (2 Tim. 4:3–4).

Fortunately, we have Christ’s promise that heresies will never prevail against the Church. They will arise, endure sometimes for centuries, like Protestantism, but we can be confident in Christ’s promise that the Church will always teach the Truth.

Martin Luther was one of these men Paul warned us about. He so wanted to believe in his “Truth” his view of salvation by faith alone that he tried to remove James from the Bible. But the only place in Scripture where ‘faith’ and ‘alone’ appear together is in James, where it is refuted. "You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone." James 2:24. You have to go through mental and verbal gymnastics to say the clear language of the Bible does not really say what it really says.

So yes, many want their Truth instead of the Truth Christ taught.

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