Capt_Fantastic
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Re: Re: Catholics, help me understand your religion.
Originally posted by Regret
The Vatican's website The Catechism is the core of Catholic beliefs, with other texts supplementary, but often incorporated as they are wholly accepted. The entire Catechism is available at the Vatican's site.My wife was, and her family is, Catholic.
1 Papal infallibility - Yes, Catechism states this to be so.
2 The Pope is to be considered as God on Earth
3 Catholics pray to God through the Saints, not to the Saints, thus not technically breaking any commandments in their view.
4 I have never asked them this type of question, although indulgences existed. So, yes, the Pope should probably have this ability, don't know about priests though.
5 Miracles are highly studied by the Catholic Church, so a good Catholic should have such confirmed prior to actually believing it. My wife never would have.
much of what you have said is bullshit. But, so too, is much of what you've said considered truth by many catholics. And when I say "truth" I speak only from the perspective of religion, where "truth" is considered fact.
1 Yes, the Pope is considered to be the voice of God. Outside of his official role however, the man himself is not considered infallible. This however is a catch 22 situation. Because he is considered infallible through the assumption of extra huamn interaction. In other words, he speaks for god and has no agenda of his own. This is where the catch 22 comes into play. If you believe in god, that's one thing. If you talk to god, that's another. If you think god speaks to you, then you are most likely psychotic. Long story short, if you believe that any human being having been told he speaks as an unquestioned godly vassel doesn't infect his statements and positions with his own prejudice, then you're nuts.
2 The Pope is NOT considered to be god on Earth. He is considered to be the successor to Saint Peter. In other words, so intimately connected to Jesus/God that he is his representative on Earth.
3 Yes. Again. Catholics pray for the intervention of the saints on their behalf. Not to the saints as gods themselves. It's like asking your aunt to tell your mother something you don't want to tell her in person. You want the message delivered, but you don't want to be the messenger yourself. Commandment breaking is irrelevent, in any respect.
4 Makes no sense, is there a question, accustation or implication? Because none seem evident by the wording of your post.
5 "studied and confirmed" are highly questionable. As everyone knows, to have a "miracle" confirmed by the catholic church you have to have witnesses and the intervention of god. However, the observation of a miracle, as confirmed by the catholic organization, is disposable by those who have witnessed it first-hand. If you saw an angel and others told you that you hadn't, you'd still believe what you saw over their "professional" opinion.