Catholics are as confused about what they believe as any Protestants (which I will grant are confused). Rome is a “unified” mess! How could it not be with its labyrinthine structure? Or it’s rebellious children deciding for themselves which edict, which council, which “Vatican” they will acknowledge—as if they have any warrant from Rome to do so.
Suck it up and obey Francis, all you rebels of Rome!
avenir:
There is a hint of truth what you say, but there is a difference. There are lots of individual Catholics who don’t know dude dilly squat about their Faith, that is most certainly true. There are bad bishops, nuns and theologians as well, not going to deny that. But there is one clear standard of the faith, so if is easy to see who is going in the wrong direction and at times, sometimes very slowly, Rome eventually cracks down. For example, several women have been excommunicated formally for mimicking ordination to the priestly ministry, which is tantamount to potentially causing a schism because it can falsely lead Catholics, most likely the not so solid ones, or just good folks who are misguided, to think they can receive the sacraments from a woman who is no more a priest than I as a man can give birth to children.
In the end, the be fully Catholic is to be in communion with a Bishop and Diocese that is in communion with the Church and Bishop of Rome. Once you break that sacramental bond of communion, one is in schism.
Protestantism is no anchor at the Institutional level, the Methodist will probably split and now you have 2 different groups from the former United Methodist.
Kind of hard NOT to ask the obvious. Where were the Protestants when Jesus died? St. Peter was NOT a Protestant, neither was St. Paul. They were sent by Jesus to "go teach all nations." And, of course, they did what their Savior commanded.
In fact, St. Peter was the first VICAR of Christ, appointed by Jesus to "go teach all nations." Peter did go to Rome, at Paul's request, and there Peter died, martyred, crucified UPSIDE down, as he did not feel that he "deserved" to die at his Savior did.
You KNOW, of course, where he was crucified, on VATICAN HILL, an already existing hill in Rome. Inside the Vatican Church, behind the very front-most altar (There are MANY!), in their museum is a smallish box, obviously hermetically sealed now, labeled: HERE LIES PETER. I don't expect that too much is left of the FIRST VICAR of Christ, but his remains are there where he died.
Luther, a 16th century Catholic priest, OBVIOUSLY did not intend on doing what he did, that is, separate Christians from each other. He merely meant to reform The Church. The Church DID reform but those others who "protested" took on that very name and became the Protestant faiths, now all 30,000 of them.
Hard to think of the Protestants as anything but divisive among THEMSELVES: 30,000 different denominations! I sometimes wonder if Dr. Martin Luther, doctor of the ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, would be proud of what his actions wrought. I don't think so. I believe that he was a GOOD man whose intentions were good. It's my belief that he would have been the first to wish that his Church, the Roman Catholic Church, would have stayed as ONE.
I am NOT a "confused" Catholic. My thinking is straight and clear...well on the important things to me. Since I also attend daily Mass I've gotten, over the decades, to know hundreds of NON-confused Catholics. I'm sure it's the same with you, knowing hundreds of NON-confused Protestants.
Also "Rome," as you call the FIRST Christian church, is not a "'unified' mess." There are some 3.3 billion Christians on this good earth of God's with 1.6 billion Catholics and the rest divided among 30,000 different Protestant denominations.
As for the Catholic Church, founded in 33 A.D.: not BAD for the FIRST church in existence, Catholic that is, Roman or Orthodox [Oh, those Greeks!]. And who knows, the Greek and Roman Catholic Churches may yet unify some day. Language was one of the major causes of the schism, but now, thanks to the Pope, all Masses may be celebrated in the vernacular, even in Greek!