Phil H:
There were evil popes who were “appointed” by evil Roman emperors and others. That does not give Protestants the right to attack the Roman Catholic Church. However, the fact that this happen does not give you the authority to attact what you call Protestant lies. I pray to God nightly that we will learn to celebrate our faith regardless of our “memberships” in any one of God’s Churches instead of wasting our time attacking. I wonder if God is angered by our bickering?
No popes were appointed by Roman emperors, and if any emperor made such an appointment no Christian would ever follow that ‘pope’.
However there have been enough scoundrels elected to the papalcy to give protestants plenty of ammunition. That does not however make the decrees of the Church any less valid. There was even a time when 2 or 3 popes were elected
The whole infallibilty issue is often misrepresented and misunderstood even by Catholics. NOT everything that the Pope says is infallible. First off the infallibilty only comes in when he is speaking in regards to an issue about faith or morals. Secondly it has to made in the official capacity as the leader of Christ’s church in union with the Magisterium ( the ruling body of the Church consistiing of all the bishops.)
It would be better if a lot of the rhetoric could be toned down, however when disagreements get to the point of outright discrimination and persecution (and it has happened on both sides of the fence), folks get very defensive and rightly so.
One thing, I’ve noticed in various discussions and debates with non-Catholics is the level of misinformation and outright propaganda that is prevalent.
For the most parts Catholics stick to what they know about the protestants or accept what the protestants state as their position. It is rare for a Catholic to mis-state what the Protestant position is on various issues. We don’t feel a need to make up what we think protestants believe. You believe in the Bible, simple enough. Unless you state otherwise there is no need for us to make up something off the wall.
On the other hand, for what ever reason, protestants have a laundry list of popular misconceptions of what it is that they think Catholics believe. It is very frustrating to have to restate or continually debunk the myths that various anti-Catholic elements have spread. Some are so outrageous that we find it very unChrist-like for folks to make up and hold such opinions about other Christians.
Can we be less militant about our reactions to this onslaught ? Yes, that could ease tensions a bit. However the last thing we want is the impression that any of this propaganda has any bases in truth.
Would Christ be upset that we vigorously defend His Church ? … not in the least… rather He would be gravely disappointed if we did not defend the Church with every fiber of our being.
wc
