2000 Years Later (and the press finally catches on)

You'd think it would have been brought up before now, especially recently with all the good will toward the Catholic Church and especially the attention given to Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. And yet, just when you think you're out of the gloomy media buzz that is the liberal, naive American media, they surprise you with a whole new level of ignorance.

Today, strewn across media channels all over the U.S., headlines like "Pope: Other Christian Denominations Not True Churches" and "Pope: Other Christians Not True Churches" are being printed, fought over and googled for over and over again. The doctrine in question, which says a lot more than any one headline can boast, has been central to Church teachings since it's conception... and yet, the media has now decided it's something to report on a level that will anger some and alienate many faithful.

And that, is very sad.

Ignatius of Antioch proclaimed it as early as 110 AD, yes, that early. And it was reinforced and proclaimed again and again by the mouths of Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Jerome, Augustine, and several others (all before the year 393 AD), not to mention countless times in modern times. It's been around that long.

What's the doctrine in question state, you ask? It states that the Catholic Church is the church that Christ himself founded upon the trust of St. Peter. It states that the Catholic Church, being apostolic (that is, the authority of its clergy can be specifically traced back to the apostles), is the fullness of truth (of Christ's church) on earth and therefore has primacy (authority).

It goes on to state about other Christian churches outside of the Catholic Church are indeed Christian and vehicles for salvation (those who attend them may find Christ and gain salvation through their teachings), but that the fullness lies within the Catholic Church, not those churches. Therefore they are "spiritual bodies" with "wounds" in their doctrine and authority.

In other words, if the fullness of truth could be explained in a pie chart, the Catholic Church's would be full while a protestant church's would be partially full.


This has been the doctrine of the Church for forever and will continue to be. Pope Benedict XVI simply reaffirmed a document that stated what the Church has been saying for almost 2000 years. The media simply picked it up and reported irresponsibly on the issue, which will no doubt weaken relations with other churches and alienate Catholics in their secular communities. For once I wish the media would have an expert or Church representative explain things to them instead of reporting half-truths and inciting problems.

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