Any One Else Noticed Protestants Calling Themselves 'catholic'?

[concretecamper]

This is the sole Church of Christ which in the Creed we profess to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic,[12] which our Savior, after his resurrection, entrusted to Peter’s pastoral care (Jn. 21:17), commissioning him and the other apostles to extend and rule it (cf. Matt. 28:18, etc.), and which he raised up for all ages as “the pillar and mainstay of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). This Church, constituted and organized as a society in the present world, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him…Vatican II

A freedom everyone enjoys to to call themselves anything they want. But it doesn’t mean it is correct.

 

[Novocastrian]

I think you’re thinking of Bloody Mary.

GKC

I note the lack of an explicit denial

N.

 

[GKC]

I note the lack of an explicit denial

N.

I might have, though. You didn’t mention a mirror.

GKC

 

[Nicea325]

Denominations by definition don’t claim to be the True Church. The closest Catholic counterpart would be a “sui juris church,” of which there are something like 23 within the Catholic Church (though the Roman Catholic Church in the strict sense is by far the largest).

They are called rites and all under the Bishop of Rome.

 

[Nicea325]

Let me just remind you the word ‘denomination’ is a Latin word and came from the Latin language of ancient Rome. So it is not the invention of modern English-speaking Protestant societies.

Denomination means Of a Name or with a name. The church had no name and Jesus never gave it a name. The early 2nd Century believers used the word ‘catholic’ as referring to the church but never gave it a name as Constantine and Lucinius did in 332 AD via the Edict of Milan.

T**here is a difference between ‘catholic’ and Roman Catholic. **The Roman Catholic Church is a denomination, since it is with a name and that is the meaning of the word.

According to who? Non-Catholics? The term “roman” was coined up by reformers to distinguish themselves from the Church of Rome. The “Roman” Catholic Church was always under the Catholic Church.

 

[Peter_J]

They are called rites

Yes, and fairly frequently, but incorrectly. (Some of your readers may not be aware of that.)

 

[commenter]

Hey all,

Before I open here I will share something with you. I am in attendance at a men’s substance use recovery ‘retreat’ of sorts, it is ‘faith based’. Every Sunday we go to different churches, but they are always of Protestant denomination (Baptist, etc).

Well today at a ‘Calvalry Baptist Church’ it opened up with the usual koom-bah-yah, along with some open prayer for various infirmities and illnesses.

Then came the sermon…

The tract revolved around how all Christians who believe in the full truth of the Gospel are part of the ‘one.holy.catholic.apostolic.church’. This is how Jesus intended it. Then how no one is more holy than others, catholic is merely universal for the invisible/visible ‘church’, all Christians are inheritors of ‘apostolic tradition’.

As all of this was being said I was trying to pray and rub the Crucifix on my Rosary that I keep around my neck (but underneath my shirt).

Then the rub…"…but apostolic isn’t about Popes or succession or bishops…" At this point my spirit started to get very angry and on the way out I would not shake the pastor’s hand.

I guess my question is; is my anger misplaced? Should I just love them for the bit’s of true Christendom that they do adhere to and ignore heresy?

I only have two more days left before I start RCIA. Please pray for me and the guidance that Fr. Alfredo will bring to me. I cannot wait to be in the bosom of the Church.

In Christ,

James

Hope everything is going well with you in your faith-based program, and I will certainly pray for you, and the other men in it. There will always be occasional things said in this church or that which can be annoying. Always focus on whatever measure of the truth those denominations preserve, and what good they bring to some people. I hope the RCIA program is going well for you. While the Catholic Church has the fullness of truth, remember it’s loaded with sinners. We can be annoying too, for other reasons besides that one minister you heard. But we’re trying.

 

[James82]

Hope everything is going well with you in your faith-based program, and I will certainly pray for you, and the other men in it. There will always be occasional things said in this church or that which can be annoying. Always focus on whatever measure of the truth those denominations preserve, and what good they bring to some people. I hope the RCIA program is going well for you. While the Catholic Church has the fullness of truth, remember it’s loaded with sinners. We can be annoying too, for other reasons besides that one minister you heard. But we’re trying.

Amen.