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- The Church. Jesus established one Church that will remain for all time. The Catholic Church is the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church that Jesus Christ founded upon Peter, one of the 12 apostles. “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18)
- **The Pope. ** The Church has an unbroken chain of apostolic succession for two thousand years, starting with St. Peter, to his current successor Pope Francis I, the 267th Pope. “I will give you the keys to 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.” (Matthew 16:19)
- **Holy Orders. ** Jesus commissioned the apostles to spread the good news of salvation. And Jesus said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”(Matthew 28:18-20)
- Sacred Tradition. The apostles and their immediate followers were the vehicles for divine revelation; they spoke the “words of the Lord”. The apostles left to the Church not only their writings but also their oral traditions and practices. St. Paul wrote “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter.” (2 Thessalonians 2:15)
- **Sacred Scripture. **The Catholic Church collected the inspired (“God breathed”) writings of the apostles and their immediate followers and declared the canon of the New Testament with the twenty-seven books. This was accomplished at the Council of Hippo (393 A.D.) and the Third Council of Carthage (397 A.D.), almost 400 years after the Resurrection of Jesus. The Catholic Church has always taught that public revelation ended with the death of the last apostle. There can be no additional public revelation. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the only divinely inspired writings of God given to his Church. They are infallible and inerrant.
- The Magisterium. The Scriptures were meant to be read, interpreted, and practiced within the community of the Catholic Church, under the leadership of the Magisterium (teaching office of the bishops), and in light of apostolic tradition. The Church and her saints have been teaching and defending the faith for two thousand years against those who choose to distort the truth of the faith through private interpretation of Scripture. “First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (2 Peter 1:20-21)
- Baptism. Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:5) In Baptism not only is sin forgiven, but with it all the punishment due to sin is mercifully remitted by God . . . By virtue of the Sacrament we are not only delivered from what are justly deemed the greatest of all evils, but are also enriched with invaluable goods and blessings. Our souls are replenished with divine grace, by which we are rendered just and children of God and are made heirs to eternal salvation. (The Catechism of the Council of Trent, 1566)
- Confession. Jesus gives the disciples the power to forgive sins. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20:21-23)
- The Eucharist. As of all the sacred mysteries bequeathed to us by our Lord and Savior as most infallible instruments of divine grace, there is none comparable to the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist. The Catholic Church professes that the true body of Christ is contained in the Sacrament. (The Catechism of the Council of Trent, 1566) And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the chalice after supper, saying, “This chalice which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22:19)
- **Salvation. **We are saved by faith and baptism (John 3:16, John 3:5), we are being saved by repentance and our works (2 Peter 3:9, James 2:24), and we will be saved by the grace and the blood of Jesus (Acts 15:11, Romans 2:6).
Te Deum laudamus, te Dominum confitemur