Most necessary belief to be Catholic?

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Please answer this simple poll concerning what you consider to be the most important facet in being Catholic.
 
kozlosap said:
Please answer this simple poll concerning what you consider to be the most important facet in being Catholic.
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That the Catholic Church is the only source of truth in the world, and that all who have truth (including non-Catholics) got it from the Church.

Once you understand that, everything else falls into place. 🙂
 
kozlosap said:
Please answer this simple poll concerning what you consider to be the most important facet in being Catholic.
Click to expand...
To be in a relationship with the most incredible guy in the Universe, Jesus Christ and to believe He is the Eternal Son of God! To answer your poll it would have to be the true presence of Jesus in the Holy Sacrament. It is awesome that God can be contained in such species as bread and wine.
 
I’m sorry but I find that poll to be inaccurate and incomplete.

Yes, Catholics believe in the charism of infallibility, papal and otherwise, when duly exercised.

Yes, Catholics believe in assent to dogma and doctrine and disciplines, yes, Catholics adhere to tradition (even the most ‘progressive’ ones, somewhere).

Yes, Catholics believe in transubstantiation which itself is a great MYSTERY.

But the most necessary belief to be Catholic is in a sense ALL of the above and, more than that, belief in the Trinity and God’s grace of salvation which He has given us through the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

You can (sadly) find Catholics who believe in infallibility (often INCORRECTLY to boot) and who thus ‘miss the boat’ on many Catholic teachings and in effect, wind up preaching their own ‘small c’ catholicism and not the Truth.

You can also find those who adhere to tradition (as well as those who jettison every scrap they can find) and completely lose sight of the Being whom they claim to be following.

You can find Catholics who believe in God’s real presence (though many who claim to believe still think it’s symbolic or worse, a ‘charm’) but who reject every other teaching which this effects.

So all of these, while either basic beliefs (plural) or proper helps for the Catholic (again, too many wildly misinterpret many of these), are still not ‘the most necessary belief’.

Actually I would check out the Nicene Creed. While it doesn’t specifically mention papal infallibility, ‘tradition’, ‘transubstantiation’, what it DOES set forth is what all Catholics do believe, and which these other doctrines etc (revealed Truth of the Holy Spirit) help us to keep on proclaiming the Truth (who is Christ) through His Church (the Bride) as set forth by God.
 
None of the choices in the poll are the one I’d vote for.
Sorry.
 
None of the above. The poll implies that there is a minimal level of belief or that one can just pick and choose what they can accept or ignore.
 
I reluctantly chose “adherence to tradition”, but I meant Sacred Tradition, which includes the entire faith.
 
Tantum_ergo said:
I’m sorry but I find that poll to be inaccurate and incomplete.

Yes, Catholics believe in the charism of infallibility, papal and otherwise, when duly exercised.

Yes, Catholics believe in assent to dogma and doctrine and disciplines, yes, Catholics adhere to tradition (even the most ‘progressive’ ones, somewhere).

Yes, Catholics believe in transubstantiation which itself is a great MYSTERY.

But the most necessary belief to be Catholic is in a sense ALL of the above and, more than that, belief in the Trinity and God’s grace of salvation which He has given us through the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

You can (sadly) find Catholics who believe in infallibility (often INCORRECTLY to boot) and who thus ‘miss the boat’ on many Catholic teachings and in effect, wind up preaching their own ‘small c’ catholicism and not the Truth.

You can also find those who adhere to tradition (as well as those who jettison every scrap they can find) and completely lose sight of the Being whom they claim to be following.

You can find Catholics who believe in God’s real presence (though many who claim to believe still think it’s symbolic or worse, a ‘charm’) but who reject every other teaching which this effects.

So all of these, while either basic beliefs (plural) or proper helps for the Catholic (again, too many wildly misinterpret many of these), are still not ‘the most necessary belief’.

Actually I would check out the Nicene Creed. While it doesn’t specifically mention papal infallibility, ‘tradition’, ‘transubstantiation’, what it DOES set forth is what all Catholics do believe, and which these other doctrines etc (revealed Truth of the Holy Spirit) help us to keep on proclaiming the Truth (who is Christ) through His Church (the Bride) as set forth by God.
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Even to a non-Christian such as myself, this sounds about right concerning what is absolutely necessary to believe as a Catholic, in particular the last paragraph.
 
“Quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est”
(That Faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all).
  • St. Vincent of Lerins
But, of course, if you think that means chasubles, surplices, albs, altar candles, and Latin, you are gravely mistaken. Sacred Tradition may be expressed in these elements of the liturgy and culture of the Church. But underlying those elements is a way of life, laid out by Christ and passed on through the Apostles and their successors.

Sacred Tradition is the sum of the Apostle’s teachings, and therefore covers all of the things you’ve listed and many more.
 
For me the Church’s authority. If you believe in it that means that not only believe in Jesus but also believe everything he taught his disciples, which has been handed down to us for 2000 through the Sacred tradition. Of course that also means you believe in the Trinity, Eucharist, immaculate conception and the Bible which was compiled by the Catholic Church in the first four centuries.
 
jmcrae said:
That the Catholic Church is the only source of truth in the world, and that all who have truth (including non-Catholics) got it from the Church.

Once you understand that, everything else falls into place. 🙂
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You took the words right out of my mouth!
 
The essential Catholic beliefs are in the Nicene Creed:
The Nicene Creed
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I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
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I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.
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I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
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I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
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None, because the poll does not mention Jesus Christ. There is no Church without Jesus Christ.

The other stuff is secondary and means absolutely nothing without Jesus Christ.

Even if one is trying to distinguish what non-Catholics believe from Catholics, the answer is the same. The belief in Christ is absolutely the most necessary.
 
Usige said:
None of the above. The poll implies that there is a minimal level of belief or that one can just pick and choose what they can accept or ignore.
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👍

St. Thomas says that actively and obstinately disbelieving a single article of faith means that you do not actually have faith; and those teachings such a person does assent to are therefore not assented to by supernatural faith, but by mere natural opinion.
 
Is it me or does everybody around here seem cranky the last month or so? :doh2:
 
babochka said:
The Nicene Creed doesn’t mention the Eucharist, which, as the “source and summit” of our faith, seems pretty essential.
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Some things go without saying, don’t they? I think that the reason is that there was no dispute about the Eucharist in the early Church, so they didn’t think that it needed mention.
 
pianistclare said:
None of the choices in the poll are the one I’d vote for.
Sorry.
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I humbly apologise for my lack of correct form when posting my poll/question. In my professional life I was a special educator with fast more expertise in behavior mod than in theological issues.

I was just interested in which of the major beliefs concerning the Church are necessary for one to be a Catholic without being labeled as cafeteria or even heretical. There must be other Catholics such as myself who were cradle Catholics and believe in the True Presence but struggle with some social dogmas. In other words, are there those such as myself who believe fully in the miracle of transubstantiation but not the teaching of the Church on social issues? Are those who follow all social dogma but do not believe in the True Presence any more or less Catholic than as I am?🤷

Once again, please accept my sincere apologies for being so inept at my first attempt on submitting a poll. April in Northern California
 
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