Pope Views Not News

Spirituality Column #39
August 7, 2007
Current! In Carmel (IN) newspaper

Pope Views Not News
By Bob Walters

That the Roman Catholic Church sees itself to be “the one true church” is very old theological news.

The general eruption of media and talk radio indignation since the Pope seemingly reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s doctrine of exclusive salvation – “We are the only ones who are saved” – seems to be more a case of bad journalism than bad church public relations.

All grumbling to the contrary, the Pope said no such thing. The Vatican’s doctrinal theologians (the current Pope used to head that division) drafted a clarifying document stating that the church actually believes what it says it believes, and the Pope accepted that document as being also what he believes.

Somehow, this was international news.

Any “History of Christian Theology 101” class includes the facts that 1) the Catholic Church views itself as the one true church; 2) sees itself as mediator between congregants and Christ; and 3) that Catholic authority and practice emanate from its traditions as much or moreso than from the Bible.

Classic Protestant denominations – Episcopal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Methodist, etc. – also provided a degree of Holy mediation and “liturgical” (institutionalized, pre-written) worship, but encouraged scripture reading to such a degree that America at its founding through about 100 years ago was a very Biblically literate culture.

Since then the Bible-totin’ Baptist, independent Christian and other Evangelical churches – a religious out-cropping of recent centuries – have taken to heart what it says in 1 Timothy 2:15 about Christ as the only mediator with God, and Biblically inferred that man needs a church (an “ecclesial community” in Vatican parlance … whatever), a Bible and a personal relationship with Christ, Amen.

Catholic or Protestant or Evangelical, what I know for sure is that Christ doesn’t change, God doesn’t change, and the Holy Spirit doesn’t change.

Maybe if we all tried to be more like them – Christ, God and the Holy Spirit – we’d find similarities among ourselves instead of differences. It would make God smile.

And hey, don’t yell at the Pope; appreciate a guy who understands his job.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) would point out that, unlike the Trinity, each of us must change … and it’s hard.