WHAT YOU BELIEVE IF YOU ARE CATHOLIC
INTRODUCTION
There are over one billion people alive today who are members of the Roman Catholic Church, the word Catholic itself literally means universal, and the Catholic religion is seen by most people as the universal Christian religion of the world. However it has become very clear that most Catholics are totally unaware of the official doctrines and beliefs of their religion, and it is for this reason that I have decided to create this publication. This short book will expose the dark secrets hidden within the official Roman Catholic doctrines and help you to better understand, what you believe if you are Catholic.
CATHOLICS DON'T BELIEVE THE BIBLE
The first and most important thing you need to know is that Catholics do not believe in the Bible or its Authority. It is a common misconception that the Roman Catholic religion believes that the Bible is the infallible word of God, and that all Catholic doctrine comes from the pages of the Bible. However nothing could be further from the truth, while the Catholic religion claims that the Bible is the core of what it believes, the truth is that the doctrines of the Catholic Church do not come from the Bible at all, but rather from a book known as the Catholic Catechism. Real Christians hold the belief that the Bible is the word of God, Christians believe that the Bible contains all the information one needs to receive forgiveness, and eternal life through accepting Jesus Christ. Catholicism on the other hand teaches that the Bible, on its own is not sufficient for salvation or a true understanding of Jesus and His message, but rather the official Catholic doctrine is that the Catholic Catechism and the authority of the Roman Catholic Church is needed to properly interpret Bible scripture, and that salvation can only be achieved through the mediation of the Roman Catholic system.
To illustrate this point I would like to show you a quote from Monsignor Brian Bransfield, General Secretary of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C. “People ask if everything Catholics believe is found in the Bible. The answer? Both “yes” and “no.” The Church “does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the Holy Scriptures alone”.
It is a historical fact that the Roman Catholic Church passed a law in 1229 A.D. that made reading or owning the Bible a serious criminal offence, and although this might seem hard to believe, it is true and this law was enforced for over one thousand years by the Roman Catholic system. In order to properly explain how the Catholic Church could outlaw the Bible, it is important to understand that around the year 500 A.D. the Catholic institution was at the peak of its power. At that time Rome became concerned that the people of its empire would read the contents of the Bible, see through the lies of the Catholic religion and question its authority. As a result of this, the Roman empire (The Catholic Church) moved to make it illegal to read the scriptures. Several laws were passed that officially made it a crime to even own a Bible. Here are a list of these laws and when they were passed:
“We prohibit also that the laity should not be permitted to have the books of the Old or New Testament; we most strictly forbid their having any translation of these books.”
(The Church Council of Toulouse 1229 AD).
“No one may possess the books of the Old and New Testaments, and if anyone possesses them he must turn them over to the local bishop within eight days, so that they may be burned.”
(The Church Council of Tarragona 1234 AD).
This attitude toward the Bible and the passing of these laws led to the most horrible persecution of Christians in history, which was perpetrated by the Roman Catholic Church. This persecution resulted in the torture and murder of over fifty million people, many of whom were Bible believing Christians that refused to comply with the laws listed above. This time of suppression and mass murder is known today as the dark ages, starting in 500 A.D. and lasting all the way to 1500 A.D. It is important to note that even most Catholic Priests were not allowed to read the Bible, and it was illegal to own a Bible in Italy until the late eighteen hundreds. With the information listed so far, it can be said with certainty, that the Catholic Church does not believe the Bible, but rather that they have always seen it as a hindrance to their authority and power. Finally I would like to list two fundamental Bible scriptures that make up the core of the Christian faith and compare them to the Roman Catholic system of belief, so you can see for yourself that Catholics don’t believe the Bible.
The Bible teaches in (Ephesians 2:8-9) For 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. And also in (Romans 10:9) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
The Catholic religion denies these scriptures and it claims that Christian salvation can only be obtained through faith and obedience to the Roman Catholic system of salvation by works. To illustrate this point I have listed official Catholic canon law passed at the council of Trent.
"If anyone says that the sinner is justified by faith alone, meaning that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to obtain the grace of justification and that it is not in any way necessary that he be prepared and disposed by the action of his own will, let him be anathema" (Council of Trent- session 6-canon 9)
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that salvation (eternal life) is gained only through participating in sacraments (works), mediated through the Catholic priesthood. Catholics believe that by participating in the sacraments of the Roman system they will be justified before God and obtain salvation. With that noted let us now examine what Catholics believe about the Pope.
THE POPE HAS MORE AUTHORITY THAN GOD
If you are Catholic you believe that the Pope has more authority than God, you might be reading this and saying to yourself “this is not true”, but believe it or not, this is the official doctrine of the Roman Catholic religion. In this chapter I will prove that the Catholic religion teaches and believes that the Pope is in place of Christ. In order to show this statement to be fact, it must be brought to your attention that the official title for the Pope is Vicarius Christi (Vicar of Christ), which literally means in place of Christ. According to the Catholic religion the Pope is the infallible spokesperson for God on earth, meaning the Pope (not the Bible) has supreme authority to define all teachings concerning the laws of God, faith, salvation and all morality even if his teachings are in conflict with the Bible and Jesus Christ. The office of the Pope exercised this authority in 1562 at the council of Trent, when under the Pope’s direction, Gaspare de Posso, Archbishop of Reggio, declared that the traditions of the Roman Catholic religion were above all Bible scripture. The council sited as proof of this authority the fact that the Catholic religion had already changed the Ten Commandments of God given to Moses.
“The authority of the Church is illustrated most clearly by the scriptures, for on one hand she recommends them, declares them to be divine, and offers them to us to be read, and on the other hand, the legal precepts in the scriptures taught by the Lord have ceased by virtue of the same authority. The Sabbath, the most glorious day in the law, has been changed into the Lord's day.” (Gaspare de Posso Archbishop of Reggio, Council of Trent).
Yes this is true the Catholic religion has changed the Law of God, specifically the second and fourth commandments. The definition of the second commandment has been completely changed in order to allow the worship of idols, which is a terrible sin forbidden by God. The fourth commandment has been modified in order to designate the first day of the week (Sunday) as a holy day of rest and worship, contrary to the biblical sixth day Sabbath (Saturday) designated by God in (Exodus 20). It is important to remember that Christians believe the Bible is the very word of God and the final authority on all subjects and anyone who would attempt to change God’s word is cursed according to the Holy Scriptures.
(Revelation 22:18-19) For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life.
No man has the authority to change the word of God, especially the laws God gave His people to live by and properly serve Him. Catholics believe that the teachings of the Roman Church under the authority of the Pope are infallible. Therefore if you are a true Catholic loyal to your beliefs, you have rejected the Bible as the only source of truth and you believe that the Pope has more authority than God. With that noted it is important to know exactly what the Pope says about Jesus and the Bible.
WHAT THE POPE SAYS ABOUT JESUS, AND THE BIBLE
(Matthew 7:15) Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
As we have already established, the Pope is the leader of the universal Church and according to official Catholic doctrine, he sits in place of Christ on earth (Vicar of Christ). The Pope is seen by Catholics as the spokesperson for Christ on earth with the supreme moral authority to define all doctrine concerning Jesus and the Bible. With this in mind I would like to list a number of quotes made by the current Pope, in regards to the subject of Jesus Christ and the Bible.
JESUS WAS A SINNER
On the 27th December 2015, Pope Francis (Jorge Bergoglio) stated during his preaching, that Jesus had committed sin, in his sermon Pope Francis perverted the Bible by claiming that Jesus had broken the fifth commandment and needed forgiveness. When speaking of a scripture found in (Luke 2:41-52) which describes Jesus remaining in Jerusalem, rather than returning home with his family, the Pope stated, “For this little escapade, Jesus probably had to beg for the forgiveness of His parents. The Gospel doesn’t say this, but I believe that we can presume it”.
Now on the surface this might not seem like a big deal, but you must remember that the Gospel of salvation rests on the fact that Jesus fulfilled the law by living a sinless life. So for the Pope to declare that Jesus had to beg for forgiveness, implies that Jesus did not honour His parents as ordered by God in the fifth commandment (Exodus 20:12). This statement made by the Pope is blasphemy and in contradiction to the Bible scripture.
(1 John 3:4-5) Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is transgression of the law. And ye know that he (Jesus) was manifest to take away our sins ; and in him is no sin.
THE LIFE OF JESUS ENDED IN FAILURE
Pope Francis blasphemed the Lord once again on the 24th September 2015 at St Patricks Cathedral, where he stated, “The cross shows us a different way of measuring success. Ours is to plant the seeds. God sees to the fruits of our labours. And if at times our efforts and works seem to fail and not produce fruit, we need to remember that we are followers of Jesus Christ and his life, humanly speaking, ended in failure, the failure of the cross.”
This statement made by Pope Francis was a veiled public denial of Jesus as the Messiah and blasphemy against His death and resurrection. No true Christian would ever say that the life of Christ ended in failure, because the Bible teaches that through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, those who believe have forgiveness of sin and eternal life. The life of Christ did not end in failure as the Pope professed, but rather His death was the greatest victory of all time. (1 Corinthians 15:57) But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
HAVING A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS IS DANGEROUS
Pope Francis using his supreme authority to define all doctrine stated very clearly what the Catholic religion believes about people seeking a relationship with our Saviour Jesus Christ. In June 2014 Pope Francis made this statement, "At times one hears someone say: 'I believe in God, I believe in Jesus, but I don't care about the Church’. How many times have we heard this? And this is not good. There are those who believe they can maintain a personal, direct and immediate relationship with Jesus Christ outside the communion and the mediation of the Church. These are dangerous and harmful temptations."
So according to the Pope and the Roman Catholic institution, it is dangerous and harmful to seek a relationship with Jesus outside of the Catholic Church. However, Jesus said in (Revelation 3:20) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. The statement made by the Pope in regards to seeking a relationship with Jesus, is just reinforcing the Catholic ideology that true knowledge of the Bible and a relationship with God can only be found through Roman Catholicism. The Bible however teaches that once you accept Jesus through faith in the Gospel and call upon Him to be your personal Saviour, you will receive the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit will teach you all truth concerning the scriptures.
THE BIBLE IS A LIE
(1 John 2:27) But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
As already stated, real Christians believe the Bible to be God’s infallible word, and that it contains no lies or contradictions, especially in regards to the creation of the world and mankind. Through study of the Bible we are even able to determine the age of the earth. Scripture teaches us that God made the earth in six literal days (Genesis 1:1-31). A Bible student can quite easily use the scriptures to determine the approximate age of the earth, using the precise genealogies contained within the Bible. And while there is some disagreement among Christians on the exact age of the earth, the general consensus among Bible believing Christians, is that the scriptures teach the earth to be approximately 6000 years old. Pope Francis does not seem to share this view, nor believe the scriptures. For example, when speaking at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in 2014, the Pope said “The Big Bang, which today we hold to be the origin of the world, does not contradict the divine creator but rather, requires it.”
So to clarify, the Catholic doctrine on the subject of creation is not that God created the earth in six days as clearly written in (Genesis 1:1-31), but rather that God used evolution to create the world and God is not powerful enough to create the world in the manner recorded in the Bible. To further illustrate this point, Pope Francis also said while speaking at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences “When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything. But that is not so.” So to be very clear the official doctrine of the Catholic religion is not the biblical account of a six day creation around 6000 years ago, but rather a belief in Darwinian evolution, and that the world is around 4.5 billion years old.
BELIEVING IN JESUS IS NOT THE ONLY WAY TO GOD
The Bible teaches that the only way to be accepted by God, is through accepting Jesus and His death as payment for your sin. Jesus said in (John 14:6) I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me.
The Bible teaches that there is only one path to God and that is through Jesus. This fundamental principle is the very core of the Christian faith and this is the truth of God’s word. But not according to the Pope. Pope Francis wrote in a letter to the founder of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Eugenio Scalfari, in response to questions Scalfari publicly published directed at the Pope on the 7th July 2013, in regards to non-believers who don’t seek Christianity.
Pope Francis wrote: “You ask me if the God of the Christians forgives those who don’t believe and who don’t seek the faith. I start by saying – and this is the fundamental thing – that God’s mercy has no limits if you go to him with a sincere heart. The issue for those who do not believe in God is to obey their conscience. Sin, even for those who have no faith, exists when people disobey their conscience.”
This statement, issued by Pope Francis is declaring, that as long as people obey their conscience and have a sincere heart, God will forgive them, regardless whether they believe in Jesus or not. The Bible however teaches in (John 3:18) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
According to the Bible, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). God’s word says that no man or women will be forgiven for their sins unless they believe in Jesus, and call upon Him as their personal Saviour (Romans 10:9-10). Although I could have listed many other statements made by the Pope that contradict the Bible and the message of Christ, I chose only these few for time sake. It is important to remember that the Pope is the final authority when it comes to what every Roman Catholic believes, and it makes no difference whether these doctrines agree with the Bible or not. According to the Roman Catholic institution, anyone who openly defies or disagrees with the Bishop of Rome is to be considered a heretic and will swiftly be excommunicated from the Roman Catholic religion, with no exceptions.
THE BOTTOM LINE
This publication was not written to offend anyone, including those of the Roman Catholic faith. It was written rather, to help people understand the true spirit that is behind the beliefs of the Catholic Church. There are many good hearted Catholics who are genuinely attempting to please God, but due to a well formulated method of indoctrination established over the last one thousand years, Catholics have wandered away from the narrow way that leads to eternal life, which is trusting in Jesus. Roman Catholicism has put every Catholic on a path to destruction. It has taught its followers to put their trust in the Roman Catholic institution and its doctrine of salvation by works. It has lied to them about the Bible and tried desperately to keep people away from the truth of Jesus Christ and the simplicity of the Gospel. The truth is that the Roman Catholic institution is a counterfeit religion that is not Christian at all, Catholicism is the mystery religion of Lucifer and the Catholic Church is the Jesuit faction of the Synagogue of Satan.
JUDGEMENT
(2 Corinthians 5:10) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. One day we will all stand before Jesus Christ and be judged. Only those who have complete faith in Him for their salvation will be allowed into the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 7:21-23). As I have demonstrated in this book, the Roman Catholic religion rejects the Bible as God’s word, and Jesus as the only way to God. If you are a Catholic and are relying on the Church and its beliefs for your salvation, the Bible says that Jesus will declare to you on the day of judgment, “I never knew you; depart from me ye that work iniquity”.
If you are Catholic you can not put your trust in Jesus because you have put your trust in the false teachings of Roman Catholicism, and have chosen to follow the traditions of the Pope rather than the doctrines of the Bible. If you disagree with the beliefs and the system of works instituted by the Catholic religion, God has a message for you.
(Revelation 18:4-5) And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
If you are Catholic I urge you to renounce the Catholic religion and call upon the name of Jesus Christ for your Salvation and you will be forgiven for every sin you have or will ever commit. Put your trust in the true Christ of the Bible and God will give you eternal life, and He will welcome you into the kingdom of heaven as His child.
WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?
If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and you accept His death as payment for your sins, you will receive eternal life (John 3:16-18). God has a plan to save you and that plan is faith in His Son. If you believe in Jesus and you want eternal life, God has a simple way for you to receive it.
Step 1. You must know that you have sinned and because of this, you fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). You must also understand that you are not righteous (Romans 3:10).
Step 2. You must understand that the result of your sin is death, but God wants you to have eternal life (Romans 6:23).
Step 3. You must believe that Christ died for your sins (Romans 5:8).
Step 4. You must confess verbally that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9-10).
ETERNAL SECURITY THROUGH FAITH ALONE
It is very important to understand that salvation is received through faith alone in Jesus Christ and you cannot trust in your own righteousness or good works (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is also essential that you know that once you are saved you are always saved, nothing can take away your salvation or separate you from the love of Jesus Christ (John 6:37). These foundational beliefs are the true meaning of faith in Jesus Christ and without them there is no salvation or chance of eternal life.
(FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SUBJECT SEE : THE JESUITS: SOCIETY OF SOLOMON)
