Well, he did also ask the following questions of us:
Now lets look at what the catholic church infallibly teaches on speaking in tongues. What do they say that all catholics must believe?
I don’t think the Church has issued an infallible pronouncement on the issue, at least not any time recently. It hasn’t really come up as a disputed issue for us since the time of St. Paul.
So, with him, the Church would teach that tongues are a gift of the Holy Spirit; that they are to be used for building up the entire Body and not for one person’s aggrandizement; that they are best when interpreted at the same time; etc. I do know that the Church doesn’t teach any “passing away” of the charismatic gifts after the first century, as some other groups do. Nor does she teach that tongues are a required part of every Christian’s experience.
Some Catholics actively seek out and embrace the charismatic gifts as a regular part of their worship; most don’t, but accept that they could be granted if God so chooses. As long as all stay with the teachings the Church has definitively settled and remain united to their bishops and the Pope, they’re all still Catholics.
There are a number of different lists of popes. Which one is the correct one?
If you mean which one is absolutely correct, that is a question of history, and I am not an historian. Nor can a question of history be settled infallibly by the Church.
The closest thing to an “official” list is the one issued every year by the Vatican in the
Annuario Pontificio.
To the best of my knowledge, none of the small number of disputed cases has resulted in a dispute over doctrine.
Or take purgatory. How long is a catholic soul there?
That has not been revealed to us by God. If purgatory even exists in time, then it seems that different souls are there for different lengths of time. If “time” is not even a meaningful concept in purgatory, then the question is unanswerable.
Or can one be a catholic and still support abortion?
One can “be a Catholic” in the sense of being baptized in the Faith and never having apostasized from it, yes.
The actual teaching of the Church on the subject is clear, however, and such a Catholic would not be acting in accordance with that teaching. Grave sin would most likely be involved, and excommunication could be incurred if the person were to actively participate in or aid an abortion, or publicly oppose the Church’s teaching on the matter. Even then, though, the person would still technically be a Catholic, just one in dire need of correction.
Finally, what must a person believe and practice to be considered a catholic?
Again, to be considered a Catholic, a person must be baptized (either as a Catholic specifically, or as a Christian in a non-Catholic community and later be received into the Catholic Church) and never have apostasized from the Church.
To be a Catholic
in a state of grace, one should not obstinately deny any truth that has been defined as a matter of faith by the Church, nor deliberately refuse to perform any practice to which the Church has bound its members on pain of sin, nor deliberately defy the moral law.
If you want to know exactly what those truths and practices are, and how Catholicism sees the moral law, you will have to look to a more detailed source. The *Catechism of the Catholic Church * is quite handy in that regard.
Usagi
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