Protestants: What would Christianity look like if the Catholic Church were to disappear tomorrow?

[Peter_J]

St. Padre Pio said it would be easier for the earth to exist without the sun than without the sacrifice of the Mass. No Catholic Church means no sacrifice of the Mass…the rest is elementary.

I think the Catholic Church answers this, doesn’t it? Aren’t Churches that have valid orders (in Rome’s view), and therefore valid sacraments apostolic?

ISTM that Padre Pio’s statement is not in conformity to Catholic teaching, at least as I understand it.

The way I read the above post, is that only the first sentence was from Padre Pio, and that the second (“No Catholic Church means no sacrifice of the Mass”) was a commentary by concretecamper. But I could have been wrong.

Edit: I see concretecamper has already beaten me to it.

 

[Peter_J]

(My problem with the claim of the Eastern Orthodox Church is that there are so many of them - churches, I mean - and also that they are not, in fact, Universal … )

Our 23 Churches are all in full communion with Peter’s Successor.

Theirs are not - and in many cases they can’t inter-commune. Ours can.

So, if I understand you correctly, 23 Catholic Churches isn’t too many because they’re in full communion with Peter’s Successor, but 23 Orthodox Churches would be too many because they’re not in full communion with Peter’s Successor?

 

[jmcrae]

Many cases? What constitutes many? I’ve heard from very reliable sources that there was a time in the not-so-distant past when Eastern Catholics were not permitted to receive communion in Roman Catholic parishes, and vice versa. Does that mean that the Catholic Church was not universal at that time, or that the existence of different particular churches was problematic during that time? The criticism that there are multiple Eastern Orthodox Churches–which you just raised–simply makes no sense coming from Catholics, since we have a communion of 23 churches, while the Eastern Orthodox are also a communion of multiple churches.

A “communion” united with what, though? A liturgy? No - they have many different liturgies. A language? No. Each has its own language. Each has its own Patriarch. Each has its own law. In what way are they “united”?

 

[Memaw]

I don’t know whether you consider them to be truly Catholic or not, but the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and the Eastern Orthodox Churches all have valid sacraments, including valid celebrations of the Eucharist.

But that wouldn’t be my choice, it would be God’s. God Bless. Memaw

 

[Peter_J]

I’m sorry, jmcrae, but those three posts you made here are bizarre. (Do you have a grudge against Eastern Christians? )

 

[Eric_Hilbert]

Thread veered off topic.
Closed.