Why Be Catholic and Not Just Christian? – Video of the Week

Have you ever been asked about the differences between the Catholic Church and other denominations? Father Mike Schmitz discusses one of the main differences: authority. The Catholic Church has the ability to teach us authoritatively, in the name of Jesus, with the power of the Holy Spirit and in the glory of God the Father. The Church is able to establish doctrine and tell us what is true and what is not true.

This authority comes from Jesus himself, who founded the Church in Matthew 16. He gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven and established a visible structure and hierarchy for the Church. The Holy Spirit leads the Church to all truth, as seen in the Acts of the Apostles when the apostles were faced with a crisis about whether Gentiles had to be circumcised before being baptized.

However, this concept of authority is often a problem for people, as the idea of “Bible Alone” or “Scripture Alone” became a pillar of the Reformation. But the Bible itself teaches about the importance of authority and tradition in understanding God’s Word.

What do you think about the role of authority in the Church?