There are many similarities and differences between the Catholic Church and the Protestant denominations. Fr. Mike Schmitz narrows the differences down to one thing that sets Catholicism apart from other Christian Churches.
What’s the Main Difference Between the Catholic Church and Any Protestant Denominations or Non-Catholic Churches?
Fr. Mike answers, “Authority.”
He says, “Many of us don’t like authority. We’re like ‘Blah, authority! That doesn’t sit right with me.’ I would say this: The Church can teach us. They teach authoritatively. The Church can teach us in the name of Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and in the glory of God the Father. Authority means that the Church can tell us, ‘This is true, and this is not true.’ The Church can establish doctrine.”
Authority Is Visible
Fr. Mike goes on to say, “I’m not talking about some invisible kind of universal body of believers. I’m talking about the Church that Jesus himself founded back in Matthew chapter 16.
Jesus looks at Simon and says, ‘Simon, your name is now Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.’ Jesus goes on to say, “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.'”
“Now, here’s the interesting thing that you may or may not know,” Fr. Mike says.
“Jesus came to establish the kingdom, right? But it’s not an invisible kingdom. Why?
Because when he says to Peter, ‘I give you the keys to the kingdom,’ he’s referencing the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah, there’s the king obviously, but there’s also the prime minister, the one who is the overseer. When the king is gone, this person is in charge. This person has the authority of the king. It says that in Isaiah chapter 22. And it’s almost word for word what Jesus gives Peter, the keys to the kingdom of heaven. He gives the Church, a visible structure and an actual hierarchy.
Jesus says you can teach now. Teach in my name. The Holy Spirit will lead you to all truth. And this is exactly what happens.”
Authority Answers Important Questions
Explaining the importance of authority further, Fr. Mike explains, “The Apostles were called to bring the Gospel to non-Jews. This is amazing and good because if I am a non-Jew, I get to be brought into the people of God. With this evangelization, though, the question came up: in order to be brought into the fulfillment of the New Covenant, do Gentiles first have to be circumcised, and then be baptized? Or can they just be baptized?
Now you can see at least two ways why this would be a very important question.
- If you were an adult Gentile man, this would be a big question he would want answered, ‘Do I have to do this? Or is this kind of optional?’
- Even more importantly, if I need to get circumcised to get baptized, and I’m not, that means I’m not saved. ‘Do we have to do this in order to be saved?’ That is a big question.
The problem is, Jesus never taught about that. The Bible never teaches about this. This is the problem with a thing called ‘Sola Scriptura,’ or ‘Bible Alone.’ One of the pillars of the Reformation was the idea of ‘Bible Alone,’ or ‘Scripture Alone.’ The idea is that you don’t need the Church. You only need the Bible.”
What About When the Bible Does Not Teach Something?
What do we do in times like these? Fr. Mike answers, “Well, in Acts chapter 15, the Apostles came together. Again, I’m not saying this was a loose, invisible Church. This is a structured Church. Those Apostles, the people that Jesus himself called, got together. They discussed, debated, and prayed. And then they decided.
They said, ‘It seems to the Holy Spirit, and to us, that we should not impose this on Gentiles. They do not have to be circumcised to be baptized.’
In that moment, you can see that the visible Church, the structure of the Church, governance of the Church, has the ability to teach. And not just to teach, but to teach definitively, not merely optionally.”
Authority Resolves Heresies
This is not the only time the Church has had to do this, Fr. Mike, explains. He says, “It comes together again and again and again. People pick up the Bible, and they say, ‘Well, I’ve come to the conclusion that Jesus is not really human. He only looked like a human.’ That was a heresy called Docetism. It was one of the earliest heresies. It suggested that Jesus was fully God, but he was not fully man.
The Church, the physical hierarchy of the Church, came together and said, ‘That’s incorrect.’ Then other people came along and said, ‘Well, he’s fully human, but maybe he’s only partly God.’ That’s another heresy: Arianism.
Again, the Church came together at the Council of Nicaea 325. They said, ‘No, Jesus is fully God and fully man.’ Two natures, human and divine, in one divine person. Now, every Christian in the world believes that.”
Every Christian in the World Believes the Catholic Church Has the Authority to Teach
Fr. Mike says, “Whether they admit it or not, every single Christian in the world believes that the Catholic Church has the authority to teach. Every Christian who believes in the Trinity believes in it because of the authority of the Catholic Church.
People believe these doctrines because the Church came together at the Council of Nicaea, the Council of Constantinople, and all the other Church Councils, and declared the truth.”
Why Be Catholic?
Fr. Mike ends his discussion by bringing it back to why we should be Catholic. “You have 30,000+ denominations of Christianity in the United States. That is because someone picks up the Bible and says, ‘Oh, here’s what I think.’ Someone else picks it up, ‘No, no, no, here’s what I think.’
That is one of the reasons why G.K. Chesterton said he was Catholic. He said, ‘I don’t need a church that can tell me when I’m right. I need a Church that will tell me when I’m wrong.’
So if someone asks you, ‘What’s the big difference between the Catholic Church and all the non-Catholic Christian denominations?’
I would say, ‘I think it comes down to authority.'”
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I’m struggling with publications (Catholic priests/bishops/clergy) and teachings from my local Deacon that is religious indifferentism. “You can’t say being Catholic is better than other denominations.” “It’s theirs you can’t judge them as false, only God can judge (referring to non-christian religions)” “Stop saying one is better than the other, you can’t say that.” “Stop saying the fullness of truth (referring to Catholic church teachings)”
I’m very conflicted on how Catholics can stand our ground if we can’t proclaim our authority through Apostolic teachings.
Hi Fr.,
I’m a little confused because when you’re talking about circumcision and the debate they were having about the necessity of it for gentiles, you say, “the problem is, Jesus never taught about that. The Bible never teaches about this.” But it does… Paul literally talks about this in Romans. Can you explain? Debating with my sister who has left the Church and this article was helpful but then she pointed out that the Bible DOES address this.
Thank you!
Hello, Fr. Mike! I believe all this chatter about what happens after death is ridiculous. We will all find out one day. We should spend all this time and effort on spreading the Good News of God. As we pray in the Lord’s prayer, “Your will be done one Earth as in Heaven”. Bickering about it may not get us anywhere but to an early grave,
Justification of our sins comes not from the pope but faith in Christ alone. Rome is not the church Jesus founded. That other ancient orthodox church would argue with you. You were the church that placed its bishop as pope above the other church bishops and thus caused the first breaking of the church, thus ending the ancient church that you Roman Catholics often elude too. Catholic with the big C is not universal, Rome divorced itself from the churches in the east that collectively made up the original church. The corruption of Rome did not end there as its popes would play kingmaker in the west, get overly involved in politics, declare wars, invent schemes like indulgences and purgatory and involved in crimes and scandals. All this of course led to the second breaking which produced the protestant reformation. Roman Catholics are but the first of many denominations in the Western world and not the universal body of Christ…the real church. Many Catholic who solely put their faith in Christ I call as my brethren but I absolutely reject the wrong and arrogant claim that the original church belongs only to today’s Rome and today’s pope.
I am struggling with this right now in my life. My life’s work has been to reach out marginalized people. I was a Special Needs teacher and now a hospital social worker. I have been a community volunteer working with poor and homeless for many years. Now, I am confused, as a lifelong Catholic, by the Church made rules and practices which seem to stray from the teachings of Jesus. I am solidly committed to His “Love one another as I have loved you.” I understand when the Church speaks to matters of Doctrine. I grew up a Vatican 2 child, and remember what things were like in the Church prior to that. I can’t stand the push to return to the old practices and traditions of the Church. Going to Mass is not the same for me now. I was taught to love God’s children and let Him be the judge of their sins. Orthodox Catholics are bullying those who think as I do away from the Church. They are criticizing the Pope for asking us to extend blessings to nontraditional individuals. I believe Orthodox Catholics feel compelled and entitled to sit in judgement of others. And even though the elements of the Mass are unchanged, the practices around the sacrifice of the Mass and the attitude of the community of believers is something I cannot comprehend. I love God. I love people. I no longer feel His presence in any part of the Catholic Church except for His presence in Communion. God bless you. Thank you for listening. ❤️✝️❤️
Joanne could you please tell me what you mean here? I get the rest of your email but not this point. Thank you, Gailie
Thank you Ascension team, for all that you are doing to spread the Gospel.
Fr. Mike, I understand what your saying, but if I’m being honest I’m tired of hearing who’s first, most know the Catholic church is the oldest and therefore but together most of what we have today. What I know in my heart is the many people in the protestant churches love our Lord as much as we do. My parents were not Catholic but I know I will be seeing them in haven someday. They taught me to love God the father and my neighbors as my self. I’m sorry to say I don’t see a lot of love in our church and that bothers me. I thank God for priests like you, teach people how to love not find fault, we are first Christians then Catholics, Christ should always be first. Thank you for hearing me.
Jesus started the Catholic church … WE ARE TO FOLLOW HIM! (It’s that simple)
Why do Catholics believe when they die their soul does to Heaven? People say, ” such and such is now with the lord”.
The bible is clear that when we die we sleep until Jesus comes back and raises us from the dead.
Those who hold to “soul sleep” assert that once a person dies, he enters a state of unconsciousness until the Second Coming. Some use this claim to argue that saints can’t intercede for us, since they supposedly are asleep.
Isaiah 14:9-10 tells us that the dead are agitated and are speaking. 1 Samuel 28 tells of Samuel conversing with Saul after his death. In 1 Peter 3:19, Jesus preaches to souls in prison. Why preach to sleeping spirits? Talk about a bored audience! Try telling the rich man in the story of Lazarus and the rich man (Lk 16:19-31) not to worry, since he is just sleeping.
If the dead are asleep, one must ask how Jesus communicated with them during his transfiguration (Mt 17:3), how they offer our prayers to God (Rv 5:8), how they cry out in a loud voice in praise of God (Rv 7:10), and how these sleeping, unconscious souls cry out, “How long will it be, holy and true master, before you sit in judgement and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?” (Rv 6:10). That is a pretty windy statement for someone asleep! Those that have died are more alive than we are, and they surround us like a great cloud of witnesses (Heb 12:1).
Fr Mike, I totally agree with your position on the teachings of the Catholic church, I especially like the way you refer to the use of the word Christian. I feel we often forget that we are followers of Christ first who worship and follow the teachings of the Catholic church.
A few years back I was having Lunch with a dear friend, he was our perish priest whose name was also Fr Mike, a young waitress, as she took our order ask “Fr Mike what is the difference between a Catholic and a Christian?” It took us both back a bit and made us realize our young people today really don’t understand that as a practicing Catholic, we are Christians who follow Christs and the churches teachings.
I pray we can do better.
“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Luke 23:43
Jesus started the Catholic church … WE ARE TO FOLLOW HIM! (It’s that simple)