Salvation

1. I heard through very unreliable sources that they believe the Roman Catholic church is the only way to heaven (because that is the only place to partake of the true Christ and without this communion, heaven is unattainable).

Ready for this answer: Yes. And no. How's that?

Okay, so I'll clarify. The Catholic position is that Christ founded a single, united Church, that is the Catholic Church. Thus, in the Nicean Creed we say "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church," refering specifiically to the Catholic Church. As She is Christ's Church, he placed all salvation in her.

That does not mean, however, that all those outside of the Church are damned. Rather, if they do get to heaven, they do it through the graces which Christ gave to the Church, and the Church released to the world.

This analogy might help: The Catholic Church is like to a cruise ship, sailing from earth to heaven. Those who are on the ship reach heaven in the greatest 'comfort,' if you will. Attached to this ship, however, are a lot of life rafts. The rafts do not move under their own power, nor are as 'great' as the ship, but they too will reach heaven.

Thus the non-Catholics could be saved (or not, just as some who claim to be 'Catholic' will not taste eternal life), but they are not going about it in the most perfect manner.

Saints

1. So, why do Catholics ordain saints when the Bible already calls ALL who follow Christ saints?

First, a clarification on words. Catholics canonize saints, while Priests and Deacons are ordained. Ordination is a sacrament of the Church, passing on the teaching authority Christ gave the apostles onto the next generation.

The canonization of saints is not what makes someone a saint. Canonization simply declares that the Church has found the canonized to have lived a holy life and that they are sure to be in heaven and we should look to them as examples of holiness.

To explain this deeper, I will look at Catholic feast days. Most canonized saints have their own feast day (such as June 29, the feast day of Peter and Paul). November 1st, however, is known as All Saints Day, and is a feast for all those in heaven who the Church has not canonized. We, as man, cannot know if someone is in heaven (beyond the few who the Church has canonized, only around 10,000) so we cannot declare all who professed belief in Christ to be in heaven, just as we cannot say all who did not declare belief (particularly those who never heard the name of Christ) to be in hell.

So it is not that the saints are the only ones in heaven, but that all who are in heaven are saints. The Church Triumphant is much larger than we will know until we ourselves are among them. All those who have died in the love of Christ are saints, whether we know it or not.

Doctrine and Councils

1. What is the process for establishing and changing Catholic dogma?

This question is slightly misleading and is probably written this way due to a slight misunderstanding of Catholic doctrine and linguistics. The Catholic Encyclopedia defines Dogma as “a truth appertaining to faith or morals, revealed by God, transmitted from the Apostles in the Scriptures or by tradition, and proposed by the Church for the acceptance of the faithful.”

What this means, is the Dogma was established by God and never changes. Thus the Church cannot establish Dogma, only define it, which usually happens when there seems to be a need for it. They are defined by a council called by the Pope. The Pope himself cannot define dogma, rather he needs a major unity of the bishops.

For example, the Church had not dogmatically defined what books were to be included in sacred scripture until the Council of Trent in 1543. This was part of the vast counter-reformation, where the Church explained certain practices and did away with others (usually corrupt) in response to allegations from Protestants. The purpose of defining the books of sacred scripture was to counter the removal of the deuterocanonical books (which Protestants commonly know as the Apocrypha). Other dogmas more recently defined (though ancient in belief) are the infallibility of the Pope or the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.

Dogma, also know as sacred Tradition (always with a capital T), is different than the tradition of man, customs, which is malleable. Customs includes such things as the celibacy of priests and the mass being spoken primarily in the vernacular. These are not statements of faith, rather things that are set a certain way that best fits the current culture and needs of the Church.

Catholic Dogma never changes, while customs are alterable to the age. One only needs to look at what the Church has infallibly declared to know that which is dogma. Everything else follows dogma and obeys it, but is not unchangeable.

2. How was this process established, and what are the theological backings behind it?

The first ecumenical council (or synod) was held in Nicaea in 325 AD. This first council was held in response to the Arianism heresy that Jesus was created by God and his divinity was a gift of God. The authority of the councils to declare what it declares comes from both the Pope calling or overseeing it and the sheer number of bishops present (318 at Nicaea). This authority gave the council the power to be the voice of the Church.

For the theological backings of the authority of the council we turn first to the authority of the priesthood. Christ says to peter that he “will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matt. 16:19). Later, when speaking to all the apostles (except Thomas) he says “ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (John 20:23). From these verses we draw the authority of the priesthood, which then applies to the truth of Christ.

From the priesthood’s authority we can draw the Church’s authority. Additional verses also support this. Paul says “the church” is “the pillar and bulwark of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15).

The most telling support for the validity of an ecumenical council is found in Acts 15. Here some of the Christians were teaching that man needs to be circumcised in order to be saved. A gathering of the Church was then called in Jerusalem to determine the validity of this. This first ecumenical council (though it was not called such) laid down that circumcision is not necessary for salvation, thus paving the way for the future synods.

Further theological support for this position comes from the omnipotence of God. If he is capable of giving many prophecies to one man (as in the case of Isaiah) he is certainly capable of directing a few councils of His Church to reveal the fullness of his truth. “With God, all things are possible” (Matt 19:26).

Barks

1. What is the Bark of Peter?

Bark, or Barque, comes from the Latin Baris, meaning barge, and is found in words like embark and disembark. Literally, the Bark of Peter is the fishing boat of Peter. More figuratively, it is applied to the other vessel Peter steered, namely Christ’s Church. The metaphor of the Church as a vessel sailing the rough seas of this world is particularly apt, and the name Bark of Peter has been retained to this day, though few use it.

Cannon and Purgatory

1. Why does the Catholic Bible have more books in it than the Protestant Bible, and what is the difference?

The simplest explanation for the reason the Catholic Bible has books the Protestant Bible doesn’t is that they were both selected by separate groups. Up until the Reformation the Church had not released a dogmatic statement on what books constituted the Bible. The seventy three books of the Catholic Bible were generally considered to be the Bible, but there was no official Church teaching on this. One of the actions of the Council of Trent was to lay out what Scripture was henceforth to be called cannon.

Some argue that the difference in the Bibles depends on theology, that Luther wanted to get rid of something or the Church wanted to add something. This to a degree is the case (as evident that Luther did not like the book of James and it’s discussion of works and considered deleting it), but it is more based on the source of the Bible. The books of the Old Testament (where all the questioned books reside) are found in primary two forms: first, the Hebrew, and second, a Greek translation known as the Septuagint (named for the seventy scholars who translated it). The Septuagint included the deuterocanonical seven books (know to Protestants as the Apocrypha) while some other versions do not (namely one known as the Palestinian Canon.

The seven deuterocanonical books are Tobit, Judith, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach, and Baruch, as well as part of Esther and Daniel. They are as varied as the Bible itself, covering History to Poetry to Prophecy. There is no one distinct thing which separates these books from any other besides tradition.


2. Why do the Catholics believe in purgatory and other Christian faiths don't?

The reason Protestants do not believe in purgatory are likely numerous and varied. Reason’s for not believing are always harder to pin down than reasons for believing, so I will concentrate on the first half of your questions and try to touch on the latter if I can.

The Catholic understanding of purgatory extends from an understanding of sin. Adam and Eve began their lives with no sin, as they were created before sin entered into the world. Thus they were Holy. After they sinned however, they lost their holiness because perfect holiness and sin cannot coexist. This is why we cannot enter heaven on our own strength and we need the saving and cleansing Blood of Christ to purify us. After Christ first cleanses are sin, he does not continue to wipe it out the moment it appears. If that was the case, we could sin with no repercussions. Rather, he tackles the sin as we come to him, using our free will. “If we confess our sins he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The key to understanding this is the beginning of the above quoted verse. “If we confess our sins . . .” God will cleanse us of our unrighteousness if we confess. What, then, if we don’t confess? Imagine for a moment a man who has lived a righteous life, confessing when he sins and trying not to sin. One day he tells a lie (for whatever reason) and then immediately there after is hit by a car and dies. He did not have the chance to confess the sin, thus he has unrighteousness in him, something that cannot exist before a Holy God. Thus one of two things must come to pass: he must either be separated from God or be purged of his wrong doing. God would not suffer us to hell for a single lie, so how are we made holy? In a word, purgatory. It is the cleansing of sin from our souls, leaving us pure to stand in the reverence of God. The greatest Biblical support for this is found in Isaiah 6:7, where the Seraphim placed the live coal on Isaiah’s lips, thus cleansing him of his iniquity. The coal is a simple of the purifying fire of purgatory.

Protestant opposition to purgatory is centered primarily around one of the two pillars of the Protestant faith (if I can call them that), Sola fide. The idea of faith alone, that works in no way contribute to man’s entrance to heaven (which would allow a mass murderer entrance with no repentance, but that is for another discussion), does not allow for the position of our good deeds effecting how Holy we are, and thus purgatory is lost in favor of a more ambiguous idea of sanctification.

Fullness, Ritual, and Rosary

1. Why is Catholicism better then any other sect of Christianity?

I would not say that Catholicism is better than the other Christian churches, but rather that it is more complete. When Christ established his church on earth he established an organization which would last forever. Even “the gates of hell” would not prevail against it. In this Church Christ placed all the things important to leading a pure and holy life, so that the Church may guide the world to a more Christ-like existence.

Okay, now for an analogy: Let’s say there are two classes for the study of a certain history (World War I). The first class was started just after the war, and the professors were students in the class before they became professors themselves. The knowledge is passed down from year to year and imparted to the students. One day, however, a student decided that he didn’t agree with a certain part of the history (maybe he didn’t like it or had a different interpretation) and decided to start his own class. He still taught from primarily the same text book, but he no longer taught everything the other class taught. Which class would you say was the more complete one? Clearly the older class has a fuller presentation of its message.

This is what the Catholic Church has, the fullness of faith. Christ gave us his Church which would teach and provide. Most Christian churches do this and attempt Christ’s mission, but only the Catholic Church provides the fullness of the faith.

2. Why all the ritual, pomp, and circumstance?

I’m going to divide your question into two parts. In the first, I am going to assume that the ‘ritual, pomp, and circumstance’ refer to the Catholic actions which may seem superfluous (the sign of the Cross, the standing, kneeling, and sitting in Mass). In the second half I’ll examine the visibility of the Church, particularly well decorated churches and many common assumptions about Catholic festivities.

To properly understand the rituals of Catholicism one must first understand both forms of tradition. The first is sacred Tradition (always with a capital T) and it refers to that which has been handed down for years and is considered part of the deposit of faith. The most well know example of sacred Tradition is something all Christian denominations believe in, the Trinity. Nowhere in the Bible is the word Trinity written, nor is the concept explicitly presented. The Church Fathers and Doctors, however, through studying the Bible and speaking with the Apostles laid down the doctrine of the Trinity, defining God as three persons in one nature. Other examples of Tradition include []

The other half of the tradition coin is cultural tradition, without the capital. Cultural tradition refers to things which are either specifically for one culture or one time period. This kind of tradition is not dogma and can be changed. Take the celibacy of the priesthood, for example. The earliest priests (up and through the fifth or sixth century) very often were married. Around the turn of the first millennium all priest were required to be celibate. Because this is not dogma, it has changed before and may change again. Other examples of non-dogmatic tradition include the language of the mass and the vestments of the priest. There are rules handed down on this things, but they can change, just as laws can change.

We are now going to take a brief detour into the nature of God (don’t worry, it’ll tie back in). God is an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent being. There is nothing outside of his power (it’s slightly more complicated than that, but the explanation would be half a dozen pages long) or his knowledge. When thinking on this mystery, people often wonder why God created us in the first place, and why things are as they are. The best answer to his is that we do not, and cannot, know, for God is so much beyond us. Tied to this is that God is in no way limited by us or by the world, yet he chooses to work through the world. In both the incarnation and prayer God does wonders through the frailness of man. God is not bound by things but chooses to act through things, for his glory.

Certain Traditions, particularly the sacraments, are used because God chooses to work through them (I told you I’d tie it back in). The seven sacraments can be viewed as things Christ did while on earth that he told his disciples to emulate and his followers to receive. When God tells you to do something, do it, because you can never imagine what wonders will follow.

This is the way it is with many traditions. God works through them because he understands humanity better than man does, and he knows exactly what we really need. If we sat for the entirety of a church service we soon would be asleep (many fall asleep anyway). We are not limited to receiving pleasure through our ears (as many churches seem to think), but also through our eyes, our sense of touch and smell.

All of the Churches traditions have metaphorical significance attached to them. The sign of the cross not only reminds us of the Trinity but also provides a chance to reflect on the sacrifice Christ gave, as well as physical action to do, something the human body cries out for. The holy water at the entrance to a church adds another layer to that, providing the memory of baptism and the forgiveness of sins there attached. Tradition does not impede us, rather it provides for the fullest experience of God’s love.

For the second half of this I said it would examine the visibility of the Church, particularly in art and festivals. I covered some of this before so I will only touch upon it briefly.

The art that is found in many churches, particularly the older ones, serves a few functions. First and foremost it is a praise to God. He provided man with artistic ability and it is our duty to show our reverence back to him. Secondly, art provides a visual object for people to study and learn from. Only in recent years and in the richest countries are a majority of the people literate. Where people lack the ability to read the word of God there must be something to educate them beyond the readings during Mass. The most common form of this education was art, such as the stations of the cross, which gave the faithful a chance to study the great sacrifice.

Festivals work much in the same way. The provide the parish a chance to get together and celebrate God’s love. Instead of simply listening to a man speak the people are moving, hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling, and touching. The feasts encompass all of man, physically and spiritually. The reflect the teaching of the Church in that both the body and soul of man are good, as God has created them.

Tradition is a powerful part of any Catholic’s life (and every other person’s, though it is often named differently) and plays an important role in the function of the Church. It is built upon the foundation of Christ and provides a stable place on which all people can stand.

3. Why do Catholics pray the Rosary?

Ask a dozen Catholics why they pray the Rosary and you’ll get a dozen different answers. Whatever the reason they give for praying the Rosary, there are some reasons that supercede all others and are found in all praying of the Rosary.

The first and foremost reason to pray the Rosary is simply to pray. We are commanded repeatedly to pray throughout the Bible, and Christ even gives us a prayer to pray (which is recited six times in the course of the Rosary). As a prayer, the Rosary has been examined by generations of scholars and theologians and found to be a strong and Christ-centered prayer. Thomas Aquinas, possibly the greatest theologian of all time, spoke for thirty days on the Hail Mary alone.

This leads into the second reason to pray the Rosary, that it spiritual prayer, one which is deeply theological and holy. Each decade of the Rosary includes a Mystery to meditate on and the are grouped into four categories (Joyous, Luminous, Sorrowful, Glorious). Ask any pastor or theologian what he thinks the greatest correlation of a certain set of mysteries is and you’ll get numerous answers. The Rosary is not only a simple prayer (even a child could learn it) but it is also a prayer that offers many moments of reflection.

A more theological reason to pray the Rosary is that it bestows graces. Various apparitions of both Mary and Jesus have said that the praying a daily Rosary is a powerful and grace filled activity. While the Church does not speak on apparitions as matters of faith (thus it is in your right not to believe in them) almost all Catholics believe in Lourdes and Fatima and it seems very likely (given the miracles involved) that they were real. If we wish a grace filled existence, praying the Rosary is one of our most powerful tools.

These are only some of the more common reasons to pray the Rosary. Given enough time an entire book could be written (and many have). Secrets of the Rosary, by St. Louis de Monfort is a wonderful example (Sainthood essentially grants an Imprimatur [an imprimatur, meaning “Let it be printed” is granted by a Bishop on literature that does not go against fundamental Catholic Dogma. If you wish to learn about what the Church truly teaches, read things which have the Imprimatur, usually found after the title page]). Scott Hahn’s Hail Holy Queen is also a wonderful book covering not only the Rosary but the major Marian beliefs as well.

4. What are the prayers for each bead or "station"? What are their significance?

There are a variety of ways to pray the Rosary, but I will only talk about the most common. The average Rosary consists of a chain of fifty-four beads attached to a pendant or medal of some sort. Attached to this medal is a short chain of five beads with a Crucifix at the end. The main chain of beads is divided into five groups of ten (called a Decade), each separated by a single bead surrounded by a gap. The lower gain has a bead, a gap, three beads, then another gap, then the final bead.

The way the Rosary is prayed is the Apostles Creed is said on the crucifix, the first bead is an Our Father (Lord’s Prayer), followed by three Hail Marys, then a Glory Be (Glory be to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen). The medal marks the beginning of the first decade, where an Our Father is said, followed by ten Hail Marys, a Glory Be (on the gap) and a Fatima Prayer (Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins and save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls into heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy). This is repeated with each decade and after the fifth one a “Hail Holy Queen” is said.

The Our Father is probably the most important prayer, as it was taught to the disciples by Christ Himself. In fact, the Rosary was originally a recitation of fifty Our Fathers. The Hail Mary is an important prayer first off because it is highly Biblical (the first half is straight from Luke 1, except for the names added for clarity). The major significance of this prayer come from a full understanding of Mary’s role in our salvation (for example, she had to say yes or Christ could not have come). She is also considered the great mediator between man and Christ(not God, to whom Christ is the only mediator). Numerous other reasons exist to pray this prayer, not the list of which is Papal support. The Glory Be once again reinforces our praise of God, as well as emphasizing the Trinity and God’s eternal nature. The Fatima prayer is a relatively new addition to the Rosary, only having been added after the Marian apparition at Fatima in 1917. This prayer is part of a request of Mary that we pray daily Rosaries, that Russia may be save from Communism and war end in the world (this is a vary brief and incomplete summary, but the amount of information pertaining to Fatima is staggering).

The key to praying the Rosary, however, is not in the beads or prayers spoken. Rather it is the mysteries on which one mediates during prayer. There are twenty mysteries, lumped into the four previously mentioned categories (Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, Glorious). They all pertain to some part of Jesus’ ministry and provide a glimpse into who Christ is. By mediation and prayer man can gain a greater understanding of the nature of God.