The True Church

There is no doubt about it that the Pope has succeeded in provoking outrage among the believers worldwide after he endorsed a document from the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that claims the Catholic Church as the "one true Church of Christ" and other Christian communities are either defective or not true churches.

The document says that Protestant denominations of the Reformation "have not preserved the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic mystery [and] cannot, according to Catholic doctrine, be called 'Churches' in the proper sense."

"Christ 'established here on earth' only one church," the document says. The other communities "cannot be called 'churches' in the proper sense" because they do not have apostolic succession – the ability to trace their bishops back to Christ's original apostles.

The document adds that Orthodox churches are indeed "churches" because they have apostolic succession and that they enjoyed "many elements of sanctification and of truth." But it says they lack something because they do not recognize the primacy of the Pope – a defect, or a "wound" that harmed them.

"This is obviously not compatible with the doctrine of primacy which, according to the Catholic faith, is an 'internal constitutive principle' of the very existence of a particular church," the document says, adding, it is "difficult to see how the title of 'Church' could possibly be attributed to them."

At the outset, it must be said that the Pope's comments, supposedly meant to boost the faith of the Catholic flock, has come in the most inopportune time.

At a time when the world is reeling from the effects and fear of global terrorism, the Pope's 'terrorizing' comments could have been well avoided.

One Indian Catholic archbishop says that the statement is "positively worded" and it "calls for dialogue and not increasing differences."

It is interesting to note that the Pope himself made a similar remark last year, saying that his intentions had been misinterpreted, after he associated Islam with violence in his University of Regensburg lecture in Germany in September 2006 – a statement that triggered violent demonstrations in Muslim countries and brought global condemnation.

How amazing it is that "positively worded" statements can evoke such negative reactions. I also wonder what will be the Pope's response this time to the global criticism arrowed at him.

The latest controversy brings into my mind the dispute that arose in the early church.

In the early church, a debate arose whether Apostle Paul could be called an apostle for he fulfilled neither of the conditions to be called an apostle: [1] The person should have been with Jesus all the time. [2] The person should be a witness to the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.

Apostle Paul not only failed to fulfill the conditions but also he was a persecutor of Christians till Jesus took hold of him. But when the Jewish Christians came and tried to create rift by saying that Apostle Paul was not a true apostle, he responded, "I am an apostle through the grace of God." What does he mean? He means that the grace of God forms the core of the Gospel, something that we all should know. We are all here through the love and grace of God, by the blood of Christ Jesus. If it were not for the love and grace of God and the blood of Christ, none of us would be here as Christians – neither me, nor the Pope.

When the Pope speaks of apostolic succession, he speaks of tradition. Protestantism emerged in the 16th century because the tradition of the then–existing church made people feel burdened. The grace of God was lost within all the tradition. Tradition is man–made. As Christians, when we speak of the "true" tradition, we should look at the tradition of Christ, the tradition of the Holy Spirit, the tradition that God wants us to follow. We should not attempt to establish the supremacy of one man–made tradition over another. For everything is by grace of God and, in the eyes of God, we are all sinners.

Let us not be confined to tradition lest we forget once again the true meaning of grace of God. Traditions should not become a doorway in our search for salvation. It should, at best, be the pathway. Tradition kills, grace gives us life.

The recently published document also says the Catholic Church alone has "the fullness of the means of salvation."

It reminds me of the viewpoint of the Jews during the time of Jesus. The Jews thought that only their nation is blessed and saved and all others are condemned.

The Jews called themselves the chosen people, the promised ones of God. Confining themselves in their traditions, laws and rituals and in their temples, they could not recognize the Living Temple – Christ Jesus Himself – when He came. So what did Jesus do? He said He has come for the sinners, the sick, not the righteous and those who are well. He revealed the great love and grace of God to everyone. The Gospel was opened up to everyone and was not confined to the Jews alone.

Likewise, in the era of the early church, the Jewish Christians were creating a schism within the church. They were saying that Apostle Paul is not an apostle. Can anybody today deny that he is not an apostle? Had it not been for Apostle Paul, Christianity would not have been what it is today. Apostle Paul was perhaps the one and only true founder of global mission – Apostle Peter may have been the head of the Universal Church, the church founded by Christ, but Apostle Paul founded the "global" church.

In the days of Apostle Paul, the Jewish Christians also asserted that one is not a true believer unless he is circumcised. Why? Because only the chosen people, those who were circumcised, could accept Christ and receive the Gospel. But again, Apostle Paul, a Jew himself, said that this is not true. He said that salvation comes from the grace of God alone. By saying this, he wanted to condemn ritualization of circumcision and not circumcision itself. He wanted the believers to truly understand the Gospel. Rituals distract us from true worship of God and truly seeking God. No conditions made or added by man can become the condition to receive salvation. Apostle Paul said that if salvation is received through circumcision, then the great love and grace of God gets covered up, the core of the Gospel becomes lost.

Remember, if we make ritual or tradition a condition for meeting God or receiving salvation, then the grace of God would lose its meaning in our lives.

When Jesus Himself removed every obstacle in our way so that we could all meet God and have true fellowship with Him, why are we now putting conditions and obstacles in our way?

When Apostle Peter and other apostles themselves recognized Paul as a fellow Christian and an "Apostle to the Gentile" (Galatians 2:8, NIV) who are we to claim today that this is a "true" church and that is not a "proper" church? We should not forget the words of Apostle Paul: "What, after all is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe – as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." (1 Corinthians 3:5–7, NIV)

Remember, before God, just as no man is master, no church is superior than another.

In conclusion, only God knows the true intent and purport of the published document. But I know this: In 1 Corinthians 12, Apostle Paul says: "The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it" (verses 21–26, NIV).

Indeed, let us be careful with our speech or action lest we make others suffer. For when one part suffers, every part suffers with it and when one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

What is the true church? The church which is founded on the blood of Christ Jesus is the true church. The church which accepts Jesus as Christ and Saviour is the true church.

Let us admit it. The Pope may have had good intentions but he has committed a faux pas. Instead of making or endorsing statements that creates schism, the Pope will do better to enter into constructive and fruitful dialogues with other denominations and religions so that we can all find eternal rest and salvation in God. Let us not attempt to alienate others. For we may end up alienating ourselves.