Biggest strength of the Catholic Church

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The other thread I started seems to be headed in the direction of “why you aren’t Catholic”. So, to prevent this question from being passed over, I decided to start this thread. 🙂

To non-Catholics: What do you think is the biggest strength of the Catholic Church?
 
From the other thread; The biggest strength, that’s tough. I think there is a definite pull for many non-denominational protestants like me that it would be a relief if we actually believed that the pope was infallible and could just tell us what to do, believe, etc… Kind of like having a leader in an army and everything they say goes, only they were never wrong when issuing direct orders. I also like the connected idea that each parish (in theory) is on the same page, so you can go in any RCC parish and (theoretically) have the same beliefs and actions present.

I’ve always felt that protestants do a good, clear, concise job presenting the gospel, and putting the emphasis on a direct relationship with God, but where we struggle is with the “now what?” lol
 
I’ll say what I said in the other thread: philosophy, mysticism, and social justice (economic issues).
 
The biggest strength of Catholicism is it’s stories. The story central to Christianity is the incarnation of your god. It drives the rest of your theology and is the basic foundation of all Catholic thought. It drives your thinking on sacraments, original sin, atonement.

The story of resurrection and redemption are second in importance and power to the incarnation.

Finally, the multitude of miracle stories are somewhat important, but not as much as the incarnation.
 
I was a complete non-Catholic until 2010 when I was 61 years old. Today even in my decrepit state I still can remember what I thought was the biggest strength of the Catholic Church:

Antiquity.

I held no ill will toward the Catholic Church in my prior life, I just thought it was misguided.

It is somewhat ironic that a sense of antiquity did in fact turn out to be the reason I decided to become a Catholic. As a fog of misunderstanding left my mind in 2008, the first question that came to me was, “This is the Church founded by Jesus Christ. This is the most ancient Christian Church. Can there be any reason for me not to be a member of his body?” My heart answered that there can be no human reason, no “I have a difficulty with …” If there is to be a change between what I believe and that of Jesus’ Church, I must change. 👍

May Christ’s suffering lead us also to his cross,
 
Of course the Eucharist. I’m always amazed and saddened that lapsed Catholics have so many excuses for leaving the church when in the end, they deny themselves the grace of the Eucharist every Sunday. I struggle without Him.
 
The Mass!
I love attending Mass whenever I need to 7 days a week!
I cannot receive communion, but I do enjoy going.
 
From what I see it would be the Foundation of the Church based on the teaching of Christ that Upon this Rock I will Build my Church.

God Bless you all and Regards Tony
 
The fact that they fight against abortion. When it comes to pro-life, there is no difference between the catholic and I (i.e. we are allies). You are of me and I am of you.
 
Eucharist and the other sacraments; unity of belief; oldest living institution on earth; founded and built by Christ; guided by the Holy Spirit; one, holy, catholic and apostolic… The biggest? I have no idea.
 
SteveVH said:
Eucharist and the other sacraments; unity of belief; oldest living institution on earth; founded and built by Christ; guided by the Holy Spirit; one, holy, catholic and apostolic… The biggest? I have no idea.
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Well, from a Catholic perspective, the Eucharist. But I’m interested in hearing what non-Catholics have to say. 🙂
 
CrossofChrist said:
The other thread I started seems to be headed in the direction of “why you aren’t Catholic”. So, to prevent this question from being passed over, I decided to start this thread. 🙂

To non-Catholics: What do you think is the biggest strength of the Catholic Church?
Click to expand...
It’s charity work and it’s art.
 
For me (raised protestant) - the main strength and draw toward the Catholic church is its consistency and authority. And also that it seems to welcome academic thought.

I grew disenchanted with the religion of my youth because everything about my non-denominational protestant upbringing seemed based on personal, emotional, experiences or feelings. This seemed and still seems so wishy-washy to me. How can you be “saved” just because you had an emotional experience and stated that you believed that a guy name Jesus once existed? That never made sense to me. I wanted more to believe in. I wanted more than listening to sermons where each pastor interpreted the Bible however he wanted to in order to fit the message he wanted to tell. I wanted a church that had a backbone, and that stood for something and that had and would stand the test of time.
 
That it is the body and bride of Christ.

papal infallibility, holy spirit’s guidance,charity, authority,unity, holiness, apostolicity,universality, validity of sacraments, all flow from this.🙂
 
.

It’s unity, the current Pope, the ability of its adherents to obey the Pope, charitable works, the teachings which recognise and revere the earnest striving of other religious adherents from non-Catholic religions to be respected, the reverence of the Church for Islam. Its contributions to social welfare, art, music.

There are so many other things 🙂

.
 
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