A Catholic building a "Christian Coalition" with Protestants. Isn't that an oxymoron since the Catholic Church believes those outside the Church are heretics?
Interesting I could not find anything mentioned of John Giles Protestant denomination.
St. Thomas (II-II:11:1) defines heresy: "a species of infidelity in men who, having professed the faith of Christ, corrupt its dogmas". "The right Christian faith consists in giving one's voluntary assent to Christ in all that truly belongs to His teaching. There are,therefore,two ways of deviating from Christianity: the one by refusing to believe in Christ Himself, which is the way of infidelity, common to Pagans and Jews; the other by restricting belief to certain points of Christ's doctrine selected and fashioned at pleasure, which is the way of heretics.
What would you have us do? Abandon Protestants to incorrect dogma or seek to correct what has been corrupted? Before you answer... consider Protestant missions. Do you leave others to flounder in incorrect dogma?
Also, Catholics have a common purpose with our Protestant brothers in Christ...
Luke 9:49 Master, said John, we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us. 50 Do not stop him, Jesus said, for whoever is not against you is for you.
We of the Catholic faith follow the Apostolic succession of the faith given to us from Christ. Those who preach the name of Jesus and do great works in His name, and are yet outside of this tradition, are not our enemy.
"Isn't that an oxymoron since the Catholic Church believes those outside the Church are heretics?"
Yeah - but at least Protestants are Christian heretics!
Technically, the term "heretic" is usually reserved to a Catholic who denies a dogma of the faith. Persons who were never Catholics aren't usually considered to fall under that classification.
The Catholic Church has no trouble calling anyone who is validly baptized (which includes almost all baptized Protestants) a "Christian". I believe Vatican II said that pretty clearly.
And then there's that whole Council of Trent thing, never repealed, "If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified; in such wise as to mean, that nothing else is required to co-operate in order to the obtaining the grace of Justification, and that it is not in any way necessary, that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema" (Sixth Session, Canon IX).