I’ve lately been re-reading one of my favorite histories, entitled THE BAD POPES, about all the degenerate, satanist, homicidal horrors who’ve sat on the throne of Peter. Some of the earlier ones made Alexander VI (Borgia) look like a choirboy. But I look at it like this. The Church is a human institution, and humans are fallen creatures, and God works in mysterious ways.
To Alex and Other Protestant Christians with Charity
he Catholic Church’s understanding of the Church (i.e. its ecclesiology) is linked to its Theology about God. The Holy Trinity tells us about the nature of God, which is God is a God of perfect communion and love and relationship. The Father eternally generates the Son and the Son returns of the love of the Father and the bond of love is the Holy Spirit. The second person of the Trinity, Christ, became incarnate (i.e. Christ has a fully human and divine nature) and founded a Church (Mt 16) which St. Paul describes as the pillar and foundation of Truth (1 Tim 3: 15). The Church is described by St. Paul as the body of Christ (1 Cor 12: 12-14), the Bride of Christ (Eph 5: 26-27) and by St. Peter as the People of God (1 Pet 2: 9-10). Since Christ has one Body, and One Bride, and one people, and since God is a God of perfect communion (Holy Trinity), the Church then is also one.
Hence, the Catholic Church’s doctrine of the Church is tied to its theology of God, and Christ and the Church is “Christ’s” instrument for salvation for all people.
The Churches faith comes from Christ, to the Apostles, down to us today via Apostolic succession. Thus, from the Catholic perspective, to be Church proper, requires Apostolic Succession, which leads to valid Holy Orders (Bishops, etc) an thus a valid Holy Eucharist. As St. Ignatius (107 AD) indicated “where there is the Eucharist there is Christ” and hence the Church. In addition, the Catholic Church sees that Christ appointed St. Peter with a special role in the early Church (Mt 16), which is also indicated in two other Petrine texts found in St. Luke and St. John’s Gospel, where Christ tells St. Peter that he prayed especially for him, and for St. Peter to strengthen his brothers, respectively. As a result, the Church of Rome and its Bishop has a Primacy among the Churches.
History supports this claim. For example, St. Clement of Rome, 3rd successor from St. Peter, wrote a letter to the Church in Corinth in circa 90 AD to address a schism that had occurred in that Church. St. Ignatius of Antioch, in around 107 AD wrote of the Church of Rome indicating that it “Presides in Love” among the Churches. In 144 AD, the first named Gnostic Heretic, Marcion, came from the Eastern Roman empire to Rome and stated that the Church should not use the Old Testament, and adopt only St. Luke’s Gospel and certain epistles of St. Paul. When he was told that this not part of the Apostolic Tradition, Marcion hardened his position and he eventually would be excommunicated by the Church of Rome in 144 AD when St. Pius I was Bishop of Rome. St. Irenaeus of Lyon, in 170AD, wrote against the Gnostic heretics and stated that because the Church of Rome can trace its origins back to St.’s Peter and Paul,, that it is a matter of necessity that every Church should agree with this Church, on account of its preeminent authority.
The Catholic Church recognizes that the Eastern Orthodox have Apostolic Succession and thus valid Bishops and Eucharist, as well as the other Sacraments, and thus are proper Churches. The Orthodox Churches welcomed the document as they see themselves in representing exactly what the Catholic Church sees regarding the Church (see EWTN or ZENIT.org for Russian Orthodox response to CDF statement). For the record, they view the Protestant Christian Communities the same way as the Catholic Church. With respect to the Protestant traditions, because they have not maintained proper ecclesial structures, which means no Apostolic succession, and thus no valid Holy Eucharist hence not a Proper Church in the sense of the Catholic and Orthodox Church.
However, what the document did NOT say that Protestants are not Christian. From the Catholic perspective, what makes one a Christian is Baptism in the Holy Trinity and belief in Christ’s divinity and his paschal mystery (passion, death and resurrection). In addition, the Catholic Church states that elements of sanctification (and Catholic doctrine would recognize two valid Sacraments, Baptism and Marriage in the Protestant Traditions) and Grace are present in the Protestant Communities that salvation does happen outside the visible boundaries of the Catholic Communion.
Still, the Catholic Church professes what is indicated in both the Apostles and Nicene Creed that the Church is one, because God is One.
Pax Domine