“Perhaps you didn’t read what I sent a whole back at #5141 To summarize, to fail to join, or fail to remain in, the Catholic Church, is grave matter, since God wills us to be members of the Church he built, under Peter the Chief Shepherd and his successors. However it cannot be said to be a mortal sin if you are ignorant of the fact that God wills you to be in this Church.”
MDO,
I realize you believe this from your catholic upbringing or catechism. However, hundreds of millions of Christian believers do not believe:
That the Catholic denomination is the “church He built.”
That it was built under or upon Peter.
That there was an unbroken chain beneath Peter.
That there is to be one earthly central authority over all churches, like McDonalds franchisees under a corporate headquarters.
And finally, we do not believe it is a mortal sin to not be Catholic. We wish that every person, including every Catholic would come to saving faith in Christ. He alone is over every local gathering.
Best.
Just a little bit of a note before I go to bed.
The Catholic Church is not "like McDonalds franchisees under a corporate headquarters." The Dioceses and so forth are not like franchisees at all. They do not comprise a corporation, nor do they have the kind of legal or economic structure tha a corporation does. And the vast majority of its members are neither consumers nor employees.
The best analogy you can reach for, I think, is a living organism. It's like a body.
"And finally, we do not believe it is a mortal sin to not be Catholic"
Well, what the Church says is that it is "grave matter" --- it's not a mortal sin unless you realize you are opposing God's will, and intend that.
It's serious, but it's not an automatic ticket to hell!
"We wish that every person, including every Catholic would come to saving faith in Christ."
I wish that right along with you.
Peace!
They are called Protestants and some of those truths are what they are protesting....but, as usual, they are wrong.