Roman Catholic or Christian?

[Debra_C]

Hmmm…

It seems you have uncovered a wonderful antiCatholic hate site here, RCCDefender. You know, I have always found it odd, even before I’d ever considered becoming Catholic myself, that these folks actually seem to believe that they have created the one true church of Christ through disobedience (a sin) from none other than the Church they claim is Satan’s spawn (evil begets Godliness?).

We should all say an extra decade of the Rosary tonight in petition for their conversion to the truth. Whose intercession is better to call upon for spiritual warfare than Our Lady? She is, after all, the new Eve, chosen by God to bear the Christ child, crushing the head of the serpent under her foot.

All this has inspired me… I’ve finally figured out what to use as a signature!

Still happy to be a Roman Catholic Christian,

Debra

 

[jemfinch]

Correct, through the church, not FROM the church… which is exactly what i said in contrast to the false represenation of the original post that the church teaches it is the source of salvation.

Keep in mind that when we say that the Holy Spirit “Proceeds from the Father and the Son” we really mean “From the Father through the Son,” so there is precedent for us Catholics understanding “from the Church” as “through the Church.”

Incorrect, Holy Orders are a sacramental

I assume you meant “sacrament” and that’s just a typo.

and as such if a satanist were to try to participate in them instead of invoking the sacrament they would just bring sacrilage on themselves and their orders (and thus, powers of ordination) would never become valid in the first place.

It would be a different case, however, with someone who was a loyal catholic to become ordained and then to LATER fall to satanic cults. That was not the case as mentioned, though, which referenced how satanists seek out “ordinations.”

Good point.

Jeremy

 

[DebCWil]

Jeremy gave a good answer in response to the situation posed by jemfinch.
What is left out is the process of discernment that a candidate for the priesthood must undergo. Especially in light of recent scandals, the standards have been tightened. Does the candidate have any psychological(like bipolar disorder) or other impairments that would keep him from performing the duties of priesthood?
In order to enter a monastery, for instance, the candidate must get past the gatekeeper. Can it happen? Anything is possible but would a Satanist want to go through the minimum 4 years of study necessary to become an ordained priest?
The discernment process goes both ways. The ordaining bishop and those who train the seminarian also discern the candidate readiness and ability to assume the priestly role.
Holy Orders is indeed a Sacrament, a sign of God’s grace. Because a Sacrament is a gift from God himself, it is not dependent on one individual’s righteousness.