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This article refers to Roman Catholicism, which is the: One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church: this is what is called the four marks of the Church.
The word Catholicism means universalism. Its root word is the word catholic, which comes from the Greek katholikos, which means universal. This word, in religion, refers to a universal authoritative and orthodox society, broadly defined as the undivided Christian Church as founded by the Lord Jesus Christ. This Christian Church took effect on the day that the Apostles many disciples and of Jesus and Mary the mother of Jesus, received the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus at the day and the event that is called Pentecost, in the place called the Cenacle.
This Christian Church is deemed to be Apostolic, and is Catholic on many points, not the least of which is in her Mission, her Doctrines, her Teaching, her Laws, her Ceremonies.
It is universal in the sense that it professes to reach out to all mankind, as instructed by Christ.
It is universal in that it attempts to make disciples of all nations as instructed to do so by Christ.
It is universal in that its teaching can be practiced by anyone who listens to what it preaches.
It is universal in that it will accept any person for conversion into its fold.
It is universal in the fact that it currently exists in every single country in the world.
The words of Jesus in the holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew the Apostle, chapter 28, verses 18-20, are reported as follows:
“... All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. ...”
Thus did Jesus commission His disciples to propagate what He had taught them, not what He had written, since He had not written anything, but what they had learned from Him not unlike a student learns from his teacher. Jesus had somehow, literally branded their minds with His teaching, in a way that they would not forget His teaching, and commanded them to spread it to the whole world. Thus was the teaching of Jesus to be propagated and the Roman Catholic Church has always claimed to be the embodiment of His teaching ever since.
In order to insure that there would be inherent continuity to His teaching, Jesus appointed someone to be the head of what would one day become a world-wide Church, a Church that would spread the Truth as He had taught his Disciples, to all peoples and all nations. Smart move, after all, He knew what He was doing, He's God, the Son incarnate. So He gave us Saint Peter, who, technically speaking was the first Pope. This Truth is revealed in the words of Jesus recorded in the holy Bible, when He said: “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, … I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” in the holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew the Apostle, chapter 16, verses 18-19.
Of course, that was just the beginning of an unbroken line of succeeding leaders of His Church, and we have the living proof of that legacy. Without a head for His Church, there would be nobody to continue the work started by Jesus; His teaching could not survive without leadership. The Apostles and Disciples of Jesus knew this all too well, such that Simon Peter would make sure that someone would replace him if he was to pass away; it made perfect sense to provide for continued leadership and that would surely be what Jesus would want to occur. That’s exactly what happened, and thus we have had 265 successors of Saint Peter, up to and including Pope John Paul II.
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1. Catholics the world over all believe and profess the same Faith.
2. All Catholics share in the same seven Sacraments, neither more nor less.
3. All Catholics believe in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass which brings forth the Real Presence of Jesus.
4. All Catholics recognize the authority of the successor of Saint Peter, our Holy Father the Pope in Rome.
5. All Catholics believe that the Holy Roman Catholic Church is the sole and true interpreter of Holy Scripture.
In the Catholic Church, any time a group of adherents goes off on a tangent and teaches a doctrine other than what the Church is mandated by Jesus to teach, the Church sheds them as one shakes the dust from his shoes after a walk down a dusty road. The wayward are encouraged to review their false teaching and return to the true teaching, and if they refuse, they are declared schismatic or heretic for their errors and are again invited to return to the fold or are permanently disassociated from the true Church. Those that choose to remain in their “altered communion” become sects of various strengths, which eventually whither away without the leadership set up by Jesus. Many such sects in the past were known by their founders name, such as Arianism, Pelagianism, Jansenism, and the like, and whenever these old errors are resuscitated and show up here and there they are tagged for what they represent, and are usually shunned by most of the faithful. Thus only can the Church that Jesus founded remain one in belief and teaching when faced with false teaching. Just look at how many denominational churches there are, and how they have split up, again and again, as they attempt to reach some unreachable perfection. There is only one truly Catholic Church.
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1. The Church teaches the faithful as if they are “her children” and insists that the Apostles Creed be understood and professed by all of them
2. The Church teaches her children to restrain their passions, cultivate and practise virtue.
3. The Church fosters the practise of the cardinal virtues of temperance, justice, fortitude, and prudence.
4. The Church shows her children the channels of grace that can help to practice a virtuous life.
5. The Church elevates the human relationships of husband and wife, parent and child, ruler and subject to a spiritual dimension.
6. The Church inculcates a morality that knows no subterfuge, no worldly adaptation to convenience, no change.
7. The Church stands squarely against the evils that stem from the weak human condition and challenges people to attain perfection.
Over the centuries, the Church has fostered the greatest works of charity by the institutions She has encouraged to flower, such as the care of the poor, the sick, the elderly, the destitute, always pointing a finger to the Eternal Salvation that awaits those who choose to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Her Sacraments as instituted by Jesus Christ bring grace, peace, courage and joy beyond one’s wildest dreams.
The Church makes people holy and has made millions holy. No one who has any knowledge of history can doubt the holiness of Mother Teresa, of Francis of Assisi, of Teresa of Avila, of Charles Boromeo, of Bernadette Soubirous, of Thomas Aquinas, of Augustine of Hippo, or of Thomas More who said: “I am the king’s good servant but God’s first” as he went to the gallows for upholding the Faith usurped by Henry the VIII. Who can doubt that it was the Church that made these men and women holy. Millions more are unaccounted for, yet they exist in the heart of Jesus, in their heavely life beyond the grave. Thus, all can see that the Church that can move men and women to holiness must itself be holy. One can not give what one does not have.
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As was already mentioned, the word catholic means universal. In fact, no other Christian church has adherents in all the countries of the world. It's popularity continues to grow, fulfilling its founder's command found in the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark, chapter 16, verse 15: "... Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel ..." That is exactly what the Roman Catholic Church has done.
All non-Roman Catholic Christian denominations have not spread very far, and in fact, they have been found to split up into ever smaller and smaller factions and sects. A quick survey of Christian Churches on the Internet rapidly yields over 250 denominational Christian Churches.
One of the sad facts of the non-Catholic Christian Churches is that some of them preach that Jesus Christ is not God. It is also a sad fact that very few of these churches have kept the teaching of Jesus Christ intact. Only the Roman Catholic Church can make and prove that claim for itself. Some Churches even go as far as to preach that we are not sinners, and therefore are all headed for Heaven regardless of living either a moral or immoral life. This is contrary to the teaching of Jesus as found in the Holy Bible.
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Human history gives us the proof of the Apostolicity of the Catholic Church. The history of the Catholic Church goes back unbroken to the Apostles. The doctrine of the Church is the doctrine given by Christ to the Apostles, preached by them, and contained in Holy Scripture and Apostolic Tradition.
The Catholic Church is Apostolic in that it teaches the whole Truth as taught to the Apostles by Jesus Christ. Since Apostolic times, no new dogmas have been revealed. Only clarifications of accepted dogma are pronounced, most often in order to refute some incorrect teaching by misguided people. It is also fairly common for the Church to issue teaching documents to simply confirm and clarify that which is already believed by the members of the Church, as handed down from the Apostles, but which may not have been formalized during Apostolic times.
Apostilicity is also confirmed by the fact that there is an unbroken line of successors to Peter, as already mentioned in the main body of this article. There have been, so far, 265 such successors, including the current Pope.
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The use of the word Roman as applied to the Catholic Church came about because Rome is where Saint Peter died and where the vast majority of his successors had their place of residence and worship. It became common usage after the first century that whenever there was a dispute or division within the Church, most would defer to the Bishop of Rome for a pronouncement on the dispute or division, and would say: “Let us appeal to Rome” in order to conclusively determine the outcome. The Bishop of Rome has always been revered as if he was the Father of all the Bishops and this has given rise to the saying “The Holy Father” as a referrence to him.
The fact of using the phrase "Roman Catholic Church" also serves to differentiate the Church founded by Jesus Christ through His Apostles and Disciples from any other church not founded by Him.
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