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"Take
Heed" Ministries
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Cecil Andrews, PO BOX 13, Ballynahinch, BT24 8AL, Northern Ireland. Telephone/Fax 028 9756 5511. E-MAIL - takeheed@aol.com WEBSITE - http://www.takeheed.net |
Pope Benedict XVI and Protestantism
Not for the first time in recent
years the individual currently known as Pope Benedict XVI has put the
proverbial cat amongst the ecumenical pigeons. In a document published by the
The document can be viewed on a
number of official Roman Catholic websites including the Zenit news agency and
this link will take you to it –
http://www.zenit.org/article-20090?l=english
The ‘question’ in question was number 5. This is how it read together with the response –
Fifth Question: Why do the texts of the Council and those of the Magisterium since the Council not use the title of "Church" with regard to those Christian Communities born out of the Reformation of the sixteenth century?
Response: According to Catholic doctrine, these Communities do not enjoy
apostolic succession in the sacrament of Orders, and are, therefore, deprived
of a constitutive element of the Church. These ecclesial Communities which,
specifically because of the absence of the sacramental priesthood, have not
preserved the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic Mystery[19] cannot, according to Catholic doctrine, be
called "Churches" in the proper sense.[20]
[19] Cf. SECOND
[20] Cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Declaration "Dominus
Iesus," 17.2: AAS 92 [2000-II] 758.
As I mentioned earlier this is not
the first time that the current Pope has been involved in upsetting the
ecumenists with this Roman claim for her to be exclusively the one expression
of the genuine Christian ‘Church’ – the footnote [20] refers back
to the Vatican’s ‘Dominus Iesus’ document issued by the Congregation
For the Doctrine of the Faith [better known as the office of The
Inquisition] in 2000. The then Pope, John Paul II officially approved
the document that was primarily authored by the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger
who is of course now Pope Benedict XVI.
That document stated in Section
17 – ‘Therefore, there exists a single Church of Christ, which
subsists* in the Catholic Church governed by the
Successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him…On the other hand,
the ecclesial communities which have not preserved the valid Episcopate and the
genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic Mystery are not churches in
the proper sense; however, those who are baptised in these communities are, by
Baptism, incorporated in Christ and thus are in a certain communion, albeit
imperfect, with the Church…Therefore these…communities as such, although we
believe they suffer from defects, have by no means been deprived of
significance and importance in the mystery of salvation’.
* Collins
English Dictionary – Subsist – to be sustained, to continue in
existence, to reside by virtue.
There was not surprisingly quite a lot of ‘hostile’ reaction to this July 2007 document, as the following Roman Catholic reports make clear –
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0703953.htm
Protestant groups dismayed at new document on
identity of 'church'
By Cindy Wooden
ROME (CNS) -- Several
Protestant organizations reacted with dismay to the Vatican's recent document
on the identity of the church, but the Vatican's chief ecumenist, an Orthodox
leader and a Swiss bishop said that, by clarifying its position, the Vatican
actually is helping ecumenical dialogue…It reaffirmed Catholic teaching that
the Catholic Church is the one, true church of Christ, even if elements of
truth and Christ's saving grace can be found in separated churches and
communities.
The most ecumenically sensitive part of the new document was its assertion that
while the term "sister church" can be used to refer to any of the
Orthodox churches, a Christian community born out of the Protestant Reformation
cannot be called "church" in the way Catholic theology defines the
term…The Protestant communities, however, are not churches because they do not
have apostolic succession -- the unbroken succession of bishops going back to
St. Peter, it said…
In a July 11 statement, Cardinal Kasper
said…"The document does not say that the Protestant churches are not churches,
but that they are not churches in the precise sense, that is, they are not
churches in the way that the Catholic Church uses the term 'church,'"
http://www.zenit.org/article-20116?l=english
VATICAN CITY, JULY 12, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The president of the
Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity calls the document on the
nature of the Church, published by the doctrinal congregation, an
"invitation to dialogue." The June 29 document "Responses to
some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church"
from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith caused an initial
"heated reaction among Protestant Christians," Cardinal William
Kasper said….In a statement released to ZENIT, Cardinal Kasper stated:
"This is not a new development and therefore there is no reason for
resentment or to feel as if they have been treated offhandedly. Dialogue
presupposes clarity on differing positions."… "An attentive reading
of the text shows that the document does not say that Protestant churches are
not churches, but that they are not churches in the proper sense, that is, they
are not churches in the sense in which the Catholic Church defines
Church."
Cardinal Kasper affirmed that "according to Catholic doctrine," as
the document explains, "these communities do not have apostolic succession
in the sacrament of holy orders, and therefore lack an essential element of
being a Church."
He added: "The so-called ecclesial communities, that, because of the lack of ministerial priesthood, have not conserved
the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic ministry, cannot,
according to Catholic doctrine, be called 'Churches' in the true sense."
It is quite amazing to
consider very carefully what
Is that reassuring statement fully
what
I hope you are able to fully grasp
the enormity of Rome’s ‘doublespeak’ on people being ‘in Christ’ and
yet not being in ‘Christ’s Catholic Church’ that claims a
monopoly on being ‘the universal help towards salvation’ and that
claims to uniquely possess ‘the fullness of the means of salvation’.
God’s Word draws no such
distinction between some being ‘in Christ’ and yet somehow being on the
outside of or being alienated from HIS Church. The Apostle Paul had to
deal with factional difficulties amongst the Christians at Corinth and he
reminded them in 1st Corinthians 12:12-13 “ For as the
body is one and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being
many are one body, so also is Christ. For by one spirit were we all baptised
into one body” [Cecil’s comment: This is not speaking of water
baptism but of “spirit baptism” that occurs at the moment of Holy Spirit
regeneration/conversion].
In his letter to the Christians at
Colosse Paul identifies ‘the body’ as being Christ’s ‘Church’ – he wrote
in Colossians 1:18 “And he [Christ] is the
head of the body, HIS CHURCH”.
Christ
says to people – Come unto Me and I will put you in
My church.
When it
comes to
In response to Rome’s arrogant and
unbiblical claim that genuine Protestant Christians who belong to ‘Christian
Communities born out of the Reformation of the sixteenth century’ are
merely in ‘imperfect communion with the Church’ I want to close
by reproducing [with gracious permission] an excellent article by Peter
J Gadsden that appeared in the Spring 2007 edition of ‘Our Inheritance’. The article is entitled –
‘Some professing
Christians use the name Protestant with pride, others hold it in disdain. Sadly
a growing number of denominations openly deny that they are Protestant. At
least one of these is a mainline denomination. They claim that Protestantism
began in the 16th Century Reformation, whilst their origins date
back to the Apostles. This claim is made despite the fact that the historic
origins of this group cannot be found before the 17th century! Even
if these claims of apostolic origins are genuine, to deny that they are
Protestants is to deny the faith they claim to uphold.
Many claim the term was
invented at the time of Martin Luther’s stance for the truth, when he declared
“Here I stand; I can do no other”. It might however come as a surprise to some
to learn that the name Protestant derives from the Latin meaning “standing
for a witness”. A Protestant is a person who stands positively for his
faith, just like Luther. However we must go back to the words of the Lord Jesus
Himself, when He said to His disciples “Ye shall be my witnesses” Acts 1:8. The
infant Church was a
In recent years the
news media have given the
It should be pointed
out that despite all the misgivings people may have,
On
Also at her Coronation
the Queen was presented with a copy of God’s Word during which the following
words were used; “Our Gracious Queen, we present you with this Book, the
most valuable thing that this world affords. Here is wisdom, this is the royal
Law, these are the lively Oracles of God”. Protestants
believe that the Bible is the most valuable possession we can have. Tens of
thousands have given their lives for it and many Protestants still suffer today
because they refuse to give up reading it.
Let it be said very
clearly and without any equivocation, true Protestantism is Bible Christianity,
and our Queen is the sworn upholder of it. Protestantism is the Christianity of
the Bible; it is the Christianity of Christ; it is the Christianity of the
apostles; it is the Christianity of the early Church; Protestantism is the
return to the Faith once and for all delivered unto the saints and is revealed
to mankind in the pages of the Inspired word centring on the glorious Person of
the Incarnate word, our Lord Jesus Christ.
As already mentioned, many reject the title Protestant and have
arrogantly adopted the term “We are just ordinary Christians”. There is
no such thing as an ordinary Christian who is not a Protestant. The two terms
cannot be separated from one another.
A Protestant is
a person who believes everything contained in the Bible.
There are many who claim to be Christians and say that they believe the Bible,
yet they ignore parts they do not like, misinterpret others and even follow the
heretical doctrines of the Jesuits, who were commissioned by the Papacy to “confuse
the doctrines of the protestant church”. A Protestant agrees with what the
Bible says about itself “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God”. Since
the Bible is the Word of God, then we must listen to all that He says and
believe all that He has revealed.
A Protestant
owes everything to God. Today people like to
think of themselves as self-sufficient. They approach life with the attitude “I
can look after myself, I do not need anything other than my own abilities” and
are quick to insist on “their rights”. Protestants know that they owe
everything to the Lord Jesus, as He said, “without me ye can do nothing”. Were
it not for His grace and mercy they know they would have nothing. This is true
in every aspect of life, but particularly with regard to salvation. We cannot
save ourselves, or live a righteous and godly life, for the Bible says “our
righteousnesses are as filthy rags” “there is none righteous, no not one” and
furthermore, we learn that “It is by grace are ye saved, through faith, and
that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man
should boast”.
A Protestant is
a person who trust only in Christ. The vast majority of
people live with the impression that as long as they live fairly decent lives,
they will eventually go to heaven. Protestants know that this is not so. They
also know that calling themselves a Protestant will not get them to heaven.
Others trust in human priestly intercession and absolution, in prayers that may
be prayed after they die, in order to get them out of the mythical place called
Purgatory, or in the intercessions of Mary. Let us be clear however, that the
only way to Heaven is through faith [alone] in
the Lord Jesus Christ. What we could never do, He has done by His life, death
and resurrection. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man
cometh unto the Father but by me”.
Cecil
Andrews – ‘Take Heed’ Ministries –