Answer:

I know it was taught by some, many, many years ago, that the Catholic Church was the "only way", but that's another issue Vatican II has clarified. Vatican II’s Constitution on the Church, Section 16 names several categories of persons outside the Catholic Church who can (not necessarily will) be saved. The list includes non-Catholic Christians, Jews, Muslims, those who seek the unknown God, even those who have no explicit knowledge of God. Persons such as these can be saved if they earnestly seek to respond to God and to love him on the basis of the best information available to them.

The Constitution on the Church (section 49) speaks of the life of the redeemed in heaven in these words: "All of us, however, in varying degrees and in different ways, share in the same charity towards God and our neighbors, and we all sing the one hymn of glory to our God."

But, the Catholic Church does indeed hold itself to be Apostolic, a direct inheritor of the Church founded by Christ upon Peter. Jesus promised, "I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). This means that his Church will never be destroyed and will never fall away from him. His Church will survive until his return. Among the Christian churches, only the Catholic Church has existed since the time of Jesus. Every other Christian church is an offshoot of the Catholic Church. Only the Catholic Church existed in the tenth century, in the fifth century, and in the first century, faithfully teaching the doctrines given by Christ to the apostles, omitting nothing. The Catholic Church rightly, even from a purely historical context, can call itself the "safeguard of the teachings of Jesus Christ." In other words, we believe we really are the oldest Christian Church, and the true one. All others, the Christian/Protestant ones, honestly, are "variations".

That's pretty much exactly the part that gets a lot of non-Catholics hackles up... And I don't get that, at all... I mean, I've been called all kinds of names, including blasphemer, and idolater, just for simply identifying myself as Catholic! I've been vividly, almost violently "evangelized" by different Protestant denominations, yet if I say that I really do believe my Church is the true Church, founded by Christ, I'm "divisive" at best, and other not so nice things at worst. Yet, they can say these things to me? I don't get that... I really don't...

But c'mon, seriously, if that was what you truly believed, ( truly believed that your Church is the best way) wouldn't you deeply desire, even pray, that the Lord would help you, share that message with others? Or just keep it to yourself? Of course you'd share that message! I know many missionaries, many evangelists, not all are Catholic, but all are sincere in their belief that they have the Way. Heh... we are commanded to "shine", and be a light to the world. From this perspective, silence, then, would be a sin, against the express orders of Christ and the Gospel! It's wrong to keep silent!

C. S. Lewis wrote about what he called "mere Christianity," more or less those positions on which nearly all Christians could agree. But "mere Christianity" is also incomplete Christianity, as Lewis pointed out in his book on the subject. He compared staying with "mere Christianity," with only those doctrines all Christians accept, as living perpetually in the hallway of a house rather than entering into one of its rooms, where living is meant to be done. Even though we may have to go through a hallway to get to a room, it is the room that is our destination, not the corridor. Thus Lewis declared that we have the responsibility to accept and embrace that set of particular doctrines which we find to be true upon investigation. We cannot stay in the incomplete no-man's-land of "mere Christianity." It isn't ecumenical to pretend there aren't differences between the Catholic and Protestant faiths. That isn't ecumenical--it's just plain silly.

So, your friend, in the end, sincerely means well. He may not have the doctrine down, but he knows he has hold of a "good thing", and with all sincerity, wishes to share it's blessings and sanctified grace. Indeed, we are taught that we are remiss if we do not at least attempt to evangelize, and spread the "Good News" of Christ.

But I truly believe that denominationalism is not what Christ wanted, and the splintering and hostility between the different sects is against His Will. He spoke of one holy Church, and that is what the Apostles preached. They very obviously believed there were "right ways" and "wrong ways" even in their lifetimes, and their letters to Corinth, Thessilonia, etc. show vividly their attempts to clarify to the people what they should and should not be doing.

I'm not throwing rocks, or pointing fingers... If you do the best with what you have at hand, then God sees that and appreciates that. I've always believed that.

Now, there are those that bear the stain of the sin of pride, or what is called "triumphalism", aggrandizing the Catholic Church above all others, with a boasting that is extremely distasteful. And this is wrong. But there is nothing wrong with praying, in compassion and love, that your friends, family, or indeed, all the world will eventually come to know the fullness of the deep joy and fulfillment of the Church that has "has been endowed with all divinely revealed truth and with all means of grace by which Christ intends to nourish his people."

In His Love,

Lisa Alekna

08/14/1999