Does God Want Everyone to Be Catholic?

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I think he does. I think that message has been watered down over the past few decades, but it is still there, and as has recently been discussed and in this article, the Popes have been calling us to evangelize.

It is a scary thing to admit and to realize, but I was bound fore hell before I became Catholic. I had the morals of an ally cat. I knew it was wrong, but I lacked the graces I needed to put such things aside. Those graces did come however when I became Catholic.

The fact that I became Catholic was not enough, I had to live Catholic. We are all still in danger so long as we walk this earth. Is salvation possible outside of the Church? I believe it to be, but the odds are much worse outside the church, especially for former alley cats like me.

I know the CC has tools that aren’t available outside the church, chiefly the sacraments, that makes my fight much easier. Those waiting for a deathbed conversion should listen to what the Saints have said about it. While deathbed conversions do happen, for me it took time, even after my conversion to get a fighting chance to resist temptation. It doesn’t always happen “overnight,” and the battle will not be won or lost until it is time for me to leave earth.

God does forgive me when I ask him to, but being a sinner, my natural state is to be in sin. I have to show overall progress, and I have to take full advantage of the time I have.
So yes, for most or all of us, God does indeed wants us to be Catholic.
 
Yes. At the same time we mustn’t fall into the idea that only Catholics can be saved as the Holy Church has said that is not true.

I can’t say whether I was hell bound before my conversion as my perception of things was warped and I’ve always suffered from depression and anxiety and OCD. My conscience was very undeveloped.
 
The Catholic Church believes that it holds the fullness of truth and is not in error in any of its doctrine.

If we assume that God desires for everybody to live in truth, then yes, he would desire for everybody to be Catholic, as a universal desire on mankind.

However, God also operates within the human context of moving a person or people towards less evil, or preventing more harm than might otherwise occur. For example: that it might be better for a person or even an entire nation to be severed from the Church, then for them to remain in the Church and cause even more severe injury within. In this sense, while God would ideally want everybody to be Catholic, if a person is set in a certain path, then it might be better - or a lesser evil - for them to not be Catholic. This doesn’t mean that God is desiring a lesser good for somebody, since he only ever wants the absolute best for us, but that within the framework of their human limitations and human will, they are not prepared for anything more than that.

Or, if a person is set in certain beliefs, and is not prepared to embrace Catholic teaching, while God would ideally want everybody to be Catholic, it may be better in that moment for that person not to be a Catholic.
 
Yes, It is the Church he founded which is the pillar and foundation of truth and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
 
esieffe said:
I think he does. I think that message has been watered down over the past few decades, but it is still there, and as has recently been discussed and in this article, the Popes have been calling us to evangelize.

It is a scary thing to admit and to realize, but I was bound fore hell before I became Catholic. I had the morals of an ally cat. I knew it was wrong, but I lacked the graces I needed to put such things aside. Those graces did come however when I became Catholic.

The fact that I became Catholic was not enough, I had to live Catholic. We are all still in danger so long as we walk this earth. Is salvation possible outside of the Church? I believe it to be, but the odds are much worse outside the church, especially for former alley cats like me.

I know the CC has tools that aren’t available outside the church, chiefly the sacraments, that makes my fight much easier. Those waiting for a deathbed conversion should listen to what the Saints have said about it. While deathbed conversions do happen, for me it took time, even after my conversion to get a fighting chance to resist temptation. It doesn’t always happen “overnight,” and the battle will not be won or lost until it is time for me to leave earth.

God does forgive me when I ask him to, but being a sinner, my natural state is to be in sin. I have to show overall progress, and I have to take full advantage of the time I have.
So yes, for most or all of us, God does indeed wants us to be Catholic.
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Well said.

Ed
 
Well He founded the Catholic Church through which administers the Sacraments He instituted for us (I will be with you always) and gave the Deposit of Faith (Doctrine…if you love me you will obey my commandments).
 
I would say at least Christian…makes check in at the gates easier.
 
I think the Catholic church is trully “the Way” as early Christianity was called. It is the correct path to holiness and the true religion. Yes the gates of hell will not prevail against her.

That being said, I believe God is a just God and if he sees someone who for example is Buddhist or Muslim and that is all they knew growing up but they lived their life according the the inner conscience we are all given and did not try to offend God though their conscience than I believe God will judge mercifully. Also, each religion has some truth to it otherwise it would not be attractive to anyone, the devil is sneaky. So Muslim religion has some truth to it and they do believe in a God, so if they act righteously, according to the inner law of their conscience and do good to their neighbors and live the commandments without knowing it I believe God will not only accept them but will say “Well done…”

I also believe Protestants will be accepted as well if they believe in the God they know from the Bible and follow the unwritten law in all our hearts.

On the other hand, if someone from any religion is a murderer, a thief, a liar, etc. God will judge accordingly and as the Scriptures say He will not be mocked. Eventually everyone will know the full truth and bow to our Lord Jesus Christ. But for now not everyone knows the truth, or The Way, We are truly blessed to be a part of the mystical body of Christ, the highest calling of faith in the world!
 
elohimrules said:
I think the Catholic church is trully “the Way” as early Christianity was called. It is the correct path to holiness and the true religion. Yes the gates of hell will not prevail against her.

That being said, I believe God is a just God and if he sees someone who for example is Buddhist or Muslim and that is all they knew growing up but they lived their life according the the inner conscience we are all given and did not try to offend God though their conscience than I believe God will judge mercifully. Also, each religion has some truth to it otherwise it would not be attractive to anyone, the devil is sneaky. So Muslim religion has some truth to it and they do believe in a God, so if they act righteously, according to the inner law of their conscience and do good to their neighbors and live the commandments without knowing it I believe God will not only accept them but will say “Well done…”

I also believe Protestants will be accepted as well if they believe in the God they know from the Bible and follow the unwritten law in all our hearts.

On the other hand, if someone from any religion is a murderer, a thief, a liar, etc. God will judge accordingly and as the Scriptures say He will not be mocked. Eventually everyone will know the full truth and bow to our Lord Jesus Christ. But for now not everyone knows the truth, or The Way, We are truly blessed to be a part of the mystical body of Christ, the highest calling of faith in the world!
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The question is ‘does God want everyone to be Catholic?’ Of course He does. That is why He founded the Catholic Church. There is nothing in the question that brings up the question of salvation. For some reason some Catholics are hesitant to proclaim the Truth of the Catholic Church I guess in fear of being accused of arrogance. Which is ironic considering we follow the One who said… I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.
 
I see the situation like this: the Catholic Church has the full instructions for attaining Heaven, and offers a lot of help along the way. It is as if I decided to travel across the country and so I became a member of AAA. AAA would give me directions, help with various expenses, and if I broke down, would help with the towing.

Can those who are not overtly Catholic attain Heaven? Possibly. It is not a given. They do not have good instructions, and they do not have the help we can get.

This is why it is important for Catholics to evangelize, each in their own way. It is why missionaries have travelled to far- off lands, knowing they will never return to their homes, and some being killled for their efforts.
 
The Catholic Church is the Church of Christ. Certainly the ideal would be for everyone to be Catholic.
 
From a Catholic perspective, everybody in Heaven will be Catholic, regardless of whatever they might have been in life. Catholic Church meaning “universal”: there is a singularity (rather than a plurality) of Truth, therefore all roads eventually lead to Rome.

Heaven is the fulfillment of everything that was left incomplete in life. Even canonized saints die in a state where they are to some extent incomplete; there was much more for the Holy Spirit to do with them in terms of converting them, but their time had come. This isn’t problematic since our mission of doing good works in the world is only in its very, very earliest stage on Earth. Our existence here is in its infancy stage.
 
Everyone will not be Catholic, nor Jewish. And our LORD told our father Abraham that He would bless all peoples via His People, via us who are descended from Abraham, still Jewish and we who are in Jesus, knowing him as the Christ, Son of David.

We are in the world to be seen, as light, just as the Spirit of our LORD is light in our souls so that we know our God, so we are in the world so that the world can see God in us, and relate to God by relating to us.

We are servants of our LORD (that is why we were delivered from Egypt, to serve our God).
Anyone dealing with someone’s servant is actually dealing with the Master. So the world, in relating to us, is actually dealing directly with our Master.
When God relates to you, you are alive. When he turns from you, you are devoted to destruction, a curse, anathema. We are the presence of God (in his servants) relating rather than turning away.

So, let’s do it, our service of being the presence of our Master by our works of virtue, rather than sitting and talking amongst ourselves and speculating on people’s fates.
 
anon98328916 said:
I came across this article recently and wanted to get other viewpoints on it thanks.

m.ncregister.com/blog/jmartignoni/does-god-want-everyone-to-be-catholic#.WTrHw0Yo_qD
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If you mean Roman Catholic I do not believe so. God has His Churches in the East and while they are not Roman Catholic they are Catholic in their Apostolic function. There are certain truths however which are solely Roman Catholic meaning it was the Catholic Church which had given them meaning and here the Churches of the East will do well to invest in them as they will enhance what they already taught. This is the same for certain teachings in the Eastern Churches. The Catholic Church will enhance their own by discovering some of the important teachings of the Eastern Churches. No Church is ever self-sufficient for we are in need of each other. I am referring to the original Apostolic Churches, the Catholic Church and the Orthodox/Eastern Churches. The way of life in both Churches while it points to a different exterior form of discipline has with it the same goal to give to everyone an interior discipline which when it is acquired is the same for everyone in both Churches.
 
“It is possible, according to Catholic doctrine, to affirm correctly that the Church of Christ is present and operative in the churches and ecclesial Communities not yet fully in communion with the Catholic Church, on account of the elements of sanctification and truth that are present in them.[9] Nevertheless, the word “subsists” can only be attributed to the Catholic Church alone precisely because it refers to the mark of unity that we profess in the symbols of the faith (I believe… in the “one” Church); and this “one” Church subsists in the Catholic Church.”

vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20070629_responsa-quaestiones_en.html
 
I don’t think God wants everyone to be Catholic.
In order to get to Heaven, everyone must accept Jesus as the Messiah, since He died on the cross for mankind.
Therefore, every Protestant denomination believes in Jesus and if they follow Him & His Commandments, they will merit Heaven.

A lot of Catholics think if they go to Church on Sunday & don’t kill anybody, they are in God’s favor & are going to Heaven when they die…not thinking about the gossip they may commit or dirty jokes they tell & movies they watch.

Many Protestants live more holy lives than Catholics and I think Jesus is pleased with them more than with a Catholic in name only.

Bottom line is you must love Jesus and live according to His Commands and ask for forgiveness when you depart from them.

I don’t know what to say about those religions that don’t accept Jesus. 🤷
 
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