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March 12, 2023“Who founded the Catholic Church?” The short answer: Jesus. The longer (but not as complicated as you may think) answer is below, but first a short story. When I was in the seminary I had the opportunity to spend a summer interning as a hospital chaplain at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Il. It was an interesting ministry to say the least. The other chaplain interns were students in various protestant seminaries (Lutheran, Presbyterian, Disciple of Christ, United Church of Christ, and a Baptist). One day over lunch the protestants were going around talking about the “founder” of their denomination. Some are obvious like Martin Luther founded the Lutherans, but some are trickier like Baptists and the UCC. When the conversation led to me, I looked at them and said with full confidence, “Jesus Christ founded the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.” They all rolled their eyes and mocked me (Matthew 5: 11-12), but then they all agreed that the Catholic Church was founded by St. Peter. While they’re wrong, I said I’d go along with it because St. Peter knew Jesus before and after His resurrection where all their founders came along 1,500 years after Jesus Ascended into heaven.
Protestants get their name from the word “protest.” Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Henry VIII, and all the other “reformers” were protesting some aspect of the Catholic Church that they didn’t like. The Church was in obvious need of reform, but not via leaving the Body of Christ and starting one’s own church, as many did. Protesting beliefs is ingrained in protestant culture which is why you’ll see more than one “First ____ Church of Chicago.” When protestants don’t like their pastor or elders they move on to another church/denomination or just worship at home on their own. I’m not mocking them, so please don’t read this in any particular tone of voice, I’m stating facts and history. Martin Luther raised some very good questions, but so did St. Catherine of Siena. John Calvin made some interesting points, but so did St. Theresa of Avila. What’s the difference? The saints knew that the Catholic Church is what Jesus Christ left us for salvation. Do the humans in the Catholic Church get everything correct? Absolutely not! We’re human, which means we’re imperfect. But the Catholic Church is still what Christ left for the salvation of the world. So, we must continue to work within the Body of Christ to evangelize and bring as many people to heaven as possible.
There’s a distinction that needs to be made between the Church as the Body of Christ and the church building we worship in. The Church, which is the Body of Christ, is made up of baptized disciples who hopefully adhere to the teachings of Christ as found in the Sacred Scriptures and through Tradition. God fully reveals Himself through Jesus, God in human nature, and Jesus left us the Scriptures and our Tradition to continue revealing God’s plan to us. Our One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, while run by imperfect humans who sin, is the Body Jesus left us for interpreting the Scriptures and Tradition. The Church as the Body of Christ is different from the church we worship God in. Church is the people, where church is a building. That building may be run by the ELCA, UCC, Baptists, Presbyterians, Catholics, etc. but at the end of the day a building is a building. People inside churches will let you down. I’m sure some of you reading this have been let down by me. I’m far from perfect and I make mistakes almost hourly. We should never chase “churches” to join. We are called to be part of one Church, the Body of Christ.
Jesus Christ left us His Body, the Church. We enter His Body through Baptism, and we’re fortified in His Body through the other Sacraments. Only our One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church offers the Sacraments that Jesus left us. It is only through our One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church that the world is set free from its slavery to sin. Does this mean disciples of Jesus in other Christian denominations can’t get into heaven? No. But remember, there’s more to following Jesus than showing up to a worship service on Sunday. There’s more to following Jesus than holding the door open for a stranger. There’s more to following Jesus than tithing. There’s more to following Jesus than praying the Holy Rosary. Can a good Lutheran get into heaven? Absolutely. Can a Catholic who goes to Mass every day go to hell? Absolutely. The actions/exterior practices of following Jesus are only part of the equation. The disposition of our heart is extremely important.
Did Jesus start/found the Catholic Church? Yes. Is Jesus also the founder of other Christian churches? No. Our Lord desires that we all be one and worship Him in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church that He left us. I hope this was helpful.
