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‘Unfortunately many are doomed who fail to believe it.’

With respect, why would you say this? Salvation comes through Jesus. I ask because maybe I am misunderstanding the intent. I have lurked on a lot of Catholic threads recently since attending a Catholic funeral and realizing how little I knew about the Catholic faith. I am not trying to debate but am asking a sincere question.

God Bless you for home schooling your kids.

In the Catholic Church, only certain people are allowed to teach with authority. As an analogy, I can tell you about the laws of the USA >BUT only a Judge has actual authority about the law.

But since a Priest is not here & I don’t know if Salvation will answer you, here goes:

The Roman Catholic Church is >The Body of Jesus Christ. When the Church speaks to all of us with the >authority of the Church, it is something God >obligates us to believe. A Protestant would assent to “Jesus is Lord” as something we are obligated to believe. I, as a Roman Catholic, am obligated by Faith to believe in God & >all that Holy Mother the Church teaches me about God.

God decides who gets into Heaven & God decides >fault. For God to find fault, it has to be 1. wilful, 2. with full knowledge, & 3. serious matter.

This is from Pope Paul VI “The Credo of the People of God” which is an explanation of the Nicene Creed. (August 10, 1968.)

#23. “We, believe that the Church is necessary for salvation, because Christ who is the sole Mediator and Way of salvation, renders himself present for us in His Body which is the Church. But the divine design of salvation embraces all men: an those who without >fault on their part do not know the Gospel of Christ and His Church, but seek God sincerely, and under the influence of grace endeavor to do His will as recognized through the promptings or their conscience they, in a number known only to God, can obtain salvation.”

Remember Willfulness & Full knowledge? I am a >Roman Catholic so when Holy Mother our Church speaks to me, I >know it is really from God’s lips to my ears. I will stand in judgment before Jesus Christ as a Roman Catholic. For other people see the explanation on fault by Pope Paul VI.

In case someone reads my comment: “as a Roman Catholic, I am obligated to believe in God & all that Holy Mother Church teaches me about God.”>

The Roman Catholic Church does NOT NOT NOT teach that the Virgin Mary is God. My statement MUST be read as meaning: “I am obligated to believe God chose to have >His mother Immaculately Conceived.”

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth in the Bible addressed the Virgin Mary, “the mother of my Lord.” (That & the Magnificat is why the Virgin Mary is called the Blessed Mother of Jesus Christ +She is!)

The question ALL of us must ask about the Immaculate Conception is “what would >we do?” (A variation of >what would Jesus do?):

You are waking along with your mother on the path of life. You see a mud-puddle (SIN) & you >know your mother will fall into the mud-puddle (sin).

Do you reach out & 1. prevent your mother from falling into the puddle (sin) or do you 2. let your mother fall (sin) & >then reach into the puddle & save her afterwards?

Roman Catholics are OBLIGATED to believe that Jesus Christ >Honored his mother as required by the 10 commandments & prevented His mother from falling into >original SIN at conception. That is the point of the Immaculate Conception. Jesus is Lord & as true man & as True God is WITHOUT sin.

Jesus loves his mother. We ALL need to pray for the folks calling the Virgin Mary a sinner as they will stand before Jesus Christ on Judgment Day. He just might ask, “Why were you talkin’ trash about my momma?”