Matthew 16:15-19; Matthew 18:18; John 20:21-23.
Yes, the foundation is exclusive-- the keys were given to Peter. And, no that does not mean non-Catholics are automatically condemned. I suggest a couple of things you can read to understand the Church’s role, mission, and salvific function along with othere Christian groups and their relationship to the Catholic Church.
Article 9 in the
Catechism, all 6 paragraphs.
The declaration from the Vatican,
Dominus Jesus.
No. Christ is not the author of confusion. Christ is not the author of conflicting doctrines.
The Council of Trent is the reformation of the Catholic Church. The Protestant movements broke from unity and the visible headship, renounced the authority of the Church and the priesthood. They were not a reformation. They were a departure.
I suggest you read this encyclical of John Paul II:
vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25051995_ut-unum-sint_en.html
(a) The Catholic Church is not unique in the Seven Sacraments. The Orthodox Churches have the same Sacraments.
(b) All seven are rooted in biblical truth.
(c) The Bible is not the sole rule of faith. Scripture AND Sacred Tradition are both the living doctrine of the Church.
This is simply untrue. Lydia’s entire household was baptized. There are several other references. Nowhere does the bible exclude those under the age of reason or mentally challenged individuals. See more
here.
The sixth century is a very late dating of infant baptism. Not sure where you get that.
Here are several of the Early Church Fathers on infant baptism, dating back much earlier.
Short answer is, yes you must confess your mortal sins to a priest and receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation to restore grace to your soul and no, the things you mention in no way contradict any biblical teaching. You have asked a LOT of questions in one post. The typical forum protocol is to create individual posting on each topic as threads become unwieldy when so many topics are intertwined. I invite you to do this with your questions.
I also encourage you to read these short articles on all the
Sacraments.
Because there can be only one, and Christ gave the keys to Peter.
I think you misunderstand both what you perceive as an exclusivity of Catholicism AND also I think you fail to grasp that in the Protestant rushto be “inclusive” their doctrine has become
meaningless. Many do not preach Christ crucified, as Paul would say. They preach “do whatever” and “God doesn’t really care what you do as long as you are a nice person.” In fact, there are groups claiming to be Christian that don’t even believe Christ is God.
There is ONE Doctrine and ONE Faith. The fullness of that Truth can be found in the Catholic Church.
Reading the documents I linked to touch on this issue. I hope you will take time to read them, and also get a copy of the Catechism and read it.
