great affection for the Catholic church
not catholic because
birth control
What do you define as the purpose of human sexuality, and why would it be okay to artificially prevent the purpose which God designed for it?
Same question I asked above about Matthew 16.
Christ was a man. This is an important aspect of his eternal body. The Catholic Priest acts “in persona Christi,” which means that he acts in the person of Christ. Given that the priest is acting in the person of Christ when confecting the sacraments, and given that the distinction between male and female is more than a mere physical separation, it would be impossible for a woman to act “in persona Christi” because it is impossible for a woman to be a man. Since it is absolutely necessary for a Priest to confect the sacraments, it is therefore necessary for a a priest to be male, specifically because of Christ’s masculine identity.
open Eucharist ( lack of)
To Catholics, the Eucharist is the literal body and blood of our Lord and Savior. To take the Eucharist while simultaneously rejecting this reality is gravely sinful because it is a direct rejection of Christ. We do not prevent non-Catholics from taking the Eucharist to keep it to ourselves, we prevent them from taking it to prevent them from falling into sin.
Paul makes this abundantly clear in 1 Corinthians: (11:23-32) (Specifically, 27-29)
23
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,k that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread,
24
and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
25
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
26
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
27
Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord.
28
A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup.
29
For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.
30
That is why many among you are ill and infirm, and a considerable number are dying.
31
If we discerned ourselves, we would not be under judgment;
32
but since we are judged by [the] Lord, we are being disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
As Catholics, we wish that all people
could partake int eh Eucharist. We cannot, however, ignore the reality that most Protestant religions do not have a proper understanding of what the Eucharist is and would therefore be bringing judgment upon themselves by taking it unworthily.
Perpetual Virginity of Mary
Assumption of Mary
I’ll direct you to Tim Staple’s new book “Behold your Mother.” It addresses pretty much every objection to these doctrines in detail; far more detail than I have the knowledge to go into offhand.
This is a matter of discipline and has little to do with the substance of the faith. However, it is mentioned at least once in Paul’s Epistles that the life of a celibate man of God is, in many ways, superior to married life. Several Eastern Rites of the Church allow for married clergy, however, so this is more an issue specific to the Roman Rite.
…You dislike the Church… because people in an area are Catholic…?
All of which are Biblical:
Mortal and Venial Sin
The distinction between grave/mortal sin and non-mortal (venial) sins is made clear
Nothing unclean can stand before God. If a person dies with any sin on their soul then they are, by definition, unclean. As such, some form of purification is necessary prior to entering into God’s presence. This is what we call Purgatory.
