11. The True Church

"The One and True Church is the community of men brought together by the profession of the same Christian faith and conjoined in the communion of the same sacraments, under the government of the legitimate pastors and especially the one Vicar of Christ on earth, the Roman Pontiff" (Cardinal Robert Bellarmine in 16th Century). While there are seven particular sacraments of the new dispensation, the Church herself is the great mystery by which we sacramentally encounter Christ.

The word "catholic" (meaning universal) has logically come to be identified with the Roman Catholic Church which was founded directly by Christ and which rests upon the Rock of Peter. Totally around one billion adherents, there is no other Christian ecclesial body which can compete with such a manifestation of her universal character. However, even if the Church was reduced again to seventy or twelve, she would still be Catholic because she is the universal community in which Christ desired to transmit his truth and to dispense the gift of salvation. We are Roman because we possess an allegiance to the See of Peter in which the Pope (Bishop of Rome) resides in shepherding Christ's universal Church.

One cannot legitimately assert that one church is as good as another. As a visible society, the Catholic Church is distinctive. Other ecclesial communities may possess some very basic elements in common with her, such as a profession in "One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, One God and Father of us all," (Ephesians 4:5); however, Vatican II emphasizes that "these elements, as gifts properly belong to the Church of Christ, [and] possess an inner dynamism toward Catholic unity" (Lumen Gentium, 8). The council was quite decisive in asserting that "This Church, constituted and organized in the world as a society subsists in the Catholic Church . . .," (Lumen Gentium, 8). Since the Catholic Church is essentially whole, any projected Christian reunion through ecumenical overtures will consist of a return to the source, the Mother Church.

First, through the person of Christ and now through his sacramental presence in his Church, the kingdom of God is continuing to break into human history. God has made a new and eternal covenant with us, the new People of God. Appointed by Christ, the twelve apostles and their lawful successors, the bishops, govern the Church. Peter was selected by our Lord to be the head of his Church. When Jesus ascended into heaven, he left Peter and his successors to be his visible substitute (Vicar). Peter went to Rome and was crucified there upon an inverted cross. Over time, his successors were given the title of Pope.

The marks of the true Church are clearly enunciated in the ninth article of the Nicene Creed (451 AD) which reads, "We believe in the One Holy Catholic (worldwide) and Apostolic Church." This is the most ancient decree in tradition about an authentic conception of Christ's Church. It is the standard against which all other communities are evaluated. Each of the marks is interlocked with the others in such a way as to lend security to the whole. The true Church of Christ must teach with honesty and with compromise all that Jesus taught. Moreover, it must provide adherents with all the means to divine grace rendered by the Lord. Membership must be inclusive, open to anyone seeking salvation. Finally, it must be faithful to the apostolic tradition. While it was once unimaginable, there seems to be the emergence of a counterfeit Christianity wherein these marks are utterly repudiated. The New Age movement is both anti-Christian and anti-Catholic. The teachings of Jesus are stripped of any challenge and a share in his Passion is disavowed in the pursuit of unqualified pleasure and the drastic avoidance of struggle and pain. Pagan values, or worse yet, values which would have made the ancient pagans blush, are lived out instead of those of the Gospel. More and more such a religion identifies itself with an elitist, self-preoccupied, and materialistic culture. A failure to really investigate the Scriptures and/or to review Christian history, leaves such people unable to credibly follow the legacy and example of the early Church. Indeed, they might substitute goddess worship, going so far as to give Jesus a feminine name. Others profess to a kinship with the ancient heresy of Gnosticism. Still others have brushed off the Christian trappings of their disguise and acknowledge their participation in the occult. The marks of Christ's Church stand against such religion as a testimony to its falsehood.

ONE - All Catholics throughout the world are united. We believe the same teachings, obey the same laws, receive the same sacraments for sanctity, and are all united under the authority of the Pope, the bishops, and our pastors.

HOLY - The Church is holy because her founder, Jesus Christ, is holy. She teaches sacred doctrine because it insures sanctity. Nurtured by the well springs of Christ's truth, saints have emerged from our number. The holiness of the Church does not depend upon the righteousness of her membership but upon Jesus who remains with her.

CATHOLIC - As mentioned already, this adjective means universal or worldwide. The Church beckons to all peoples the world over throughout the ages. "She is called Catholic, because she alone has the privilege of being known to the whole world, having subjects in all parts of the world," (St. Cyril in 4th Century). The extra-biblical word "catholic" was probably first applied to the early Church by St. Ignatius of Antioch in 110 AD. The passage of time brought various sects or breakaway churches into the scene. Increasingly, the term "Catholic" was tagged to the true Church to distinguish it from the others. The Church's continued growth and life spanning two millennium is quite miraculous.

APOSTOLIC - While Jesus Christ is the supreme authority over the Church, he extended his authority to his apostles and disciples with the commission to go out and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Trinity. They and their successors have been faithful in this charge, bestowing grace, especially in the Eucharist, and governing God's holy people. The bishops and priests today can trace their orders down through the centuries to the apostles who were the first bishop-priests.