Free Republic

Serious evangelical dialogue with Roman Catholicism finds it virtually impossible to avoid the issues raised by the institution of the papacy. These issues were central in the sixteenth-century division, and they remain problematic for modern discussion as well. It is hard for many Catholics in the West to understand the serious concerns evangelicals have regarding the papacy, since they often think of John Paul II as a benevolent and kind gentleman who warmly radiates love for Christ and non-Catholics. In a special commentary on the Feast Day (1971) honoring St. Peter and St. Paul, the Vatican radio declared, “The Church...

THE PROTESTANT Churches of the Reformation are proper Churches, the newly elected chairman of the German Roman Catholics Bishops’ Conference told the weekly magazine Der Speigel. Protestants 'are proper Churches' In a Feb 16 interview Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of Freiburg also criticized the Catholic Church’s traditional ties to the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), questioned the necessity of clerical celibacy, and deviated from the Church’s stated views on childcare. Conservative members of the Bishops’ Conference were quick to distance themselves from the archbishop’s comments, while others claimed his words had been distorted and there were no plans to abolish mandatory celibacy...

Summary A crucial starting point in an appraisal of the Roman Catholic church is to understand some of the unique sociological features of contemporary Catholicism. Erroneous classifications of Catholicism frequently fail to grasp the significant diversity within the church. While the church's unity is of central importance, Catholicism possesses incredible diversity — the church is anything but monolithic. This diversity is illustrated by the six major theological types of Catholics: ultratraditionalist, traditionalist, liberal, charismatic/evangelical, cultural, and popular folk. A Protestant appraisal of Catholicism should then examine the areas of genuine doctrinal agreement between Catholicism and Protestantism (especially evident in the...

I was baptized in a Greek Orthodox Church as an infant. Since the Orthodox Church was too far away, my mother got permission from a Catholic priest for me to attend Mass and CCD. He told us since I was not Catholic I would not be able to take part in the Sacraments. I remember all those years attending Mass and watching all my classmates go to Confession and receive Communion, but unable to participate. I questioned, even as a child, these man-made laws. Yet, I dreamed as a young child of becoming a nun. The nuns told my mother...