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Either one has faith in the LORD Jesus Christ who building His church on Peter and the other Jewish Apostles and Prophets, Himself being the chief cornerstone, that church which the gates of hell will not prevail against, or one does not.

Better yet:

Either one has faith in the LORD Jesus Christ or one does not.

Do we agree on this much?

Either one has faith in the LORD Jesus Christ or one does not. Do we agree on this much?

Yes, Catholics agree with Protestants on this much, hence the Catechism :

425 The transmission of the Christian faith consists primarily in proclaiming Jesus Christ in order to lead others to faith in him. From the beginning, the first disciples burned with the desire to proclaim Christ: "We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard."'11 And they invite people of every era to enter into the joy of their communion with Christ:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life - the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us- that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing this that our joy may be complete.12

817 In fact, "in this one and only Church of God from its very beginnings there arose certain rifts, which the Apostle strongly censures as damnable. But in subsequent centuries much more serious dissensions appeared and large communities became separated from full communion with the Catholic Church - for which, often enough, men of both sides were to blame."269 The ruptures that wound the unity of Christ's Body - here we must distinguish heresy, apostasy, and schism270 - do not occur without human sin:

Where there are sins, there are also divisions, schisms, heresies, and disputes. Where there is virtue, however, there also are harmony and unity, from which arise the one heart and one soul of all believers.271 818 "However, one cannot charge with the sin of the separation those who at present are born into these communities [that resulted from such separation] and in them are brought up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church accepts them with respect and affection as brothers . . . . All who have been justified by faith in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers in the Lord by the children of the Catholic Church."272

819 "Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth"273 are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: "the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements."274 Christ's Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him,275 and are in themselves calls to "Catholic unity."276

Toward unity

820 "Christ bestowed unity on his Church from the beginning. This unity, we believe, subsists in the Catholic Church as something she can never lose, and we hope that it will continue to increase until the end of time."277 Christ always gives his Church the gift of unity, but the Church must always pray and work to maintain, reinforce, and perfect the unity that Christ wills for her. This is why Jesus himself prayed at the hour of his Passion, and does not cease praying to his Father, for the unity of his disciples: "That they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be one in us, . . . so that the world may know that you have sent me."278 The desire to recover the unity of all Christians is a gift of Christ and a call of the Holy Spirit.279

Either one has faith in the LORD Jesus Christ or one does not.

Do we agree on this much?

We can agree on so much more than this.

My Mom and Dad were a wonderful example of how a Methodist and Catholic could live in harmony. While they did not agree on everything, they were fully supportive of each other’s beliefs. Dad became ordained as a Deacon in the Catholic Church. That could not have happened without Mom’s full participation and support. Mom was very involved in her local church, the greater United Methodist Church, and Church Women United. Mom was well known and loved at Dad’s church, and Dad was well known and loved at Mom’s church, to the point where he led Bible studies there. They joked that Dad was a Cathodist and Mom was a Metholic.

One day when I was in high school, I told Dad that I was praying that Mom would become a Catholic like us. He told me that I should hope and pray that I could become as good a Christian as Mom.