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Often times when I introduce myself to others as a Catholic Christian, I am met with odd and long stares, as if they are trying to figure out what I am talking about. In many minds today, there is no such thing as a Catholic Christian. Rather, to most people, there are Catholics, and then there are Christians. It is indeed very unfortunate for me to encounter this same scene time and time again, but it always opens up a window of opportunity to be used as God’s instrument and share the gospel of Jesus Christ – the full gospel – to those who are ignorant of, fallen away from, or rejected the Catholic Church. So are Catholics Christian? It seems strange for me to even ask the question. If somebody asked me, “Joe, are you a man or a human being?” I would say, “I am both.” If the person responded, “That makes no sense, Joe. Either you are a man or a human, so which one are you?” I would probably answer the question with one of my own, “Which planet are you from?” After all, my masculinity does not negate the fact that I am objectively a human being. But this is the irony, as to when people ask if I am Catholic or Christian. I answer with the whole truth—I am both! Neither can be separated, for they are one and the same. To say I am one or the other would be like saying I am a man, but not a human being. But here is a tricky part. All men are human beings, but not all humans are men. Why? There are humans who are women. In a similar fashion, all Catholics are Christian, but not all Christians are Catholic. For the first one thousand years of Christian history, that irony did not exist. Only one Christian Church existed from the day of Pentecost until the early 11th century, and that was the Catholic Church. The word “catholic” simply means universal, and since the commission of Christ to His Apostles in Matthew 28:19-20 was to preach the gospel to the whole world, the early church adopted the name “catholic” for its designation. In the 11th century, there was an unfortunate schism with the Eastern Church, and they split from us and today are known typically as the Eastern Orthodox Church. They are extremely similar to the Catholic Church, and even have valid sacraments and a valid ordination succeeding from the Apostles. This schism deeply affected the Church as a whole; it was as if one lung was missing from the Body of Christ. Today, through continued ecumenical dialogue and prayer, we long for the day when we are reunited as one fold under the one shepherd, all by the grace of God. In the 16th century, the infamous Protestant Reformation occurred, in which several “reformers” broke away from the Church and founded their own denominations. These men (all initially Catholic clergy) had a common battle cry: sola fide (saved by faith alone) and sola scriptura (sole authority is the Bible alone). Aside from those two similarities, they all began splintering off from each other one after another due to continual doctrinal disagreements over key and central issues regarding the faith. The reason why is because each felt that they had the right to privately interpret Scripture according to their own whims, and as an inevitable result, they all interpreted Scripture differently. As well, while all cried out sola fide and sola scriptura, the definition of what those two pillars stood for were varied amongst the various denominations. What reigned among Christianity was anything far from a true reformation; rather, it quickly devolved into real anarchy, as denominations continued to break off from one another and begin their own distinct churches with their own unique interpretations of Scripture. The root problem of this entire revolt was this simple fact: they invented novel Christian doctrines. Christianity, prior to the 16th century, knew nothing of salvation by faith alone, or Scripture alone being the sole rule of authority for the Church. These were novel inventions indeed, and since they had no basis in Church history, or in the New Testament for that matter, these new Christian sects were bound to continually split off from each other. Since they rejected the authority of the Pope, as well as the decrees and canons of the Ecumenical Council of Trent (which was called to respond to the Protestant heresies and novelties), they became a house divided against themselves, and thus could not stand united for too long. The Protestants all had different names spring up for the various sects that developed: Lutherans, Calvinists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Baptists, Congregationalists, Methodists, etc. As generations continued to pass, more and more denominations would pop up onto the scene, all of them adopting the unbiblical and heretical doctrines of sola fide and sola scriptura (Disciples of Christ, Church of Christ, Four-square Gospel, Harvest Christian, Assemblies of God, Calvary Chapel, etc.). As more and more continued to pop up into the Christian scene (each new one doing more damage to the Body of Christ, since the New Testament screams for unity among Christian believers), some of them preferred to not be recognized as “Protestant” denominations, since they saw themselves as protesting against nothing. Instead, they wanted to be referred to simply as “Christian churches.” As a result, many people began growing up with the idea that the Catholic Church was a separate entity from these “Christian churches,” and thus Protestantism as a whole began to be seen as simply “Christianity” verses Roman Catholicism. This is an error of gigantic proportions. If we grant that Christianity is separate from Catholicism, then what we are affirming is that Christianity was not founded until the 16th century, since that is when all these competing denominations, each interpreting Scripture differently and thinking they have the unique true gospel of Christ, first took their root. Or we are saying that Christ founded a church of believers, and then somewhere in early history, His Church was perverted with false doctrines, causing true Christianity to disappear from the earth until the reformers came onto the scene hundreds of years later. To even begin to contemplate such an idea is scandalous, because it effectively turns Christ into a liar, since He is the one who promised that the gates of hell would never prevail against His Church and that He would be with His Church all days, even until the end of the world. Where was He then, when Catholicism allegedly corrupted true Christianity? You see, if our theories turn Christ into a liar, then obviously it is not Christ who is wrong, but rather our theory is. And this is beside the simple fact that the writings of early Christian authors are available for all to read. The Church does not keep them hidden; anybody can ready through them to see what early Christians did in fact believe, from the late 1st century and on. And as Protestants find out time and time again, the early Church was solidly 100% Catholic in its worship and beliefs. In fact, it was St. Ignatius of Antioch in 107 AD who first called the Church “Catholic,” and incidentally it was also in Antioch where the term “Christian” originated as well (Acts 11:26). What is the big deal with this whole “denomination” thing I keep harping on? The bottom line is this... the difference between the Catholic Church and Protestantism is simply one is Christ-founded, and the other is man-founded. That is the core difference. Protestants are truly our separated brothers and sisters in Christ, but what separates them from us are many things, chief of them being that their denominations were founded by fallible men, whereas the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ and has for her earthly head the Pope, who succeeds St. Peter in that office and possesses the gift of infallibility. In modern day Christianity, there are three distinct groups coexisting alongside each other (unfortunate, and absolutely intolerable for true followers of Christ): Catholic Christianity, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and Protestant Christianity. Underneath the Protestant umbrella are thousands upon thousands of competing, distinct denominations, each claiming to possess the truth (the exact number of how many denominations currently exists varies between different sources, but typically the number is somewhere around 30-40,000). The fullness of truth exists solely in Catholic Christianity, since it is the only Church which can trace itself back 2,000 years to Jesus Christ and the Apostles. The Eastern Orthodox can trace themselves back to the 11th century, and no Protestant denomination can ultimately go back further than the 16th century. As Vatican II taught, the true church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church; that is, the true church has always existed in, continues to exist in, and will forever exist in the Church founded by Christ Himself, the Catholic Church. So are Catholics Christian? You had better believe it! We are the original Christians! But this is nothing to pat our backs over. All the glory goes to Jesus Christ, and we must forever pray for the day when Christians can reunite under the one Body of Christ by the grace of God, through the intercession of Mary, the Help of all Christians and Mother of the Church, and St. Joseph, the patron saint of the Church. You might say such a day is impossible, but Scripture says with God all things are possible! The next time someone asks you, “Are you a Christian?” proudly, boldly, and confidently proclaim: “Yes! I am a Catholic Christian! And if you are not, permit me to share with you the fullness of truth found in Catholic Christianity, contained in the full gospel of Jesus Christ (Scripture and Tradition) as interpreted by the Magisterium, sustained and protected from all error by the thrice-holy Almighty God!” Amen. Joe Moreaux All essay text intellectual copyright property of KingdomofChrist.net and JesseRomero.com | Catholic Resources 
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