Catholicism

The Roman Catholic Church is misunderstood by almost everyone and so has acquired a pretty bad name. I was visiting a Protestant website and the publisher said he had the requirements that Roman Catholics believe are necessary to enter Heaven, here they are:




"The Vatican teaches that salvation is through the church.
According to the Catholic church you must do all of the following in order to receive salvation:

• Confess your sins to a Roman Catholic priest.  
• "Receive" all appropriate Roman Catholic sacraments.
• Believe that Grace comes only via Rome's sacraments, and only through Mary.
• Buy or earn as many indulgences as possible so as to avoid Purgatory.
• Believe that Grace can only be distributed to you by Mary.
• Attend the Roman Catholic Mass on all Sundays and holy days.
• Obey all of Rome's rules (i.e., precepts of the Church).
• Be a member of the Roman Catholic Church.
• Submit yourself to the Pope."

Clearly this uninformed individual has know idea what he is talking about. As a Roman Catholic I know Grace does not come from Mary, but from The Holy Spirit good works, good faith, etc. We do not buy or earn indulgences to get out of purgatory, though I see what he is doing here.

Roughly 500 years ago there was a false Priest selling indulgences to Catholics and he was unchecked by the leaders of the Church because they were lazy and cared mainly for money. Actually this guy was one of the reasons Martin Luther tried to reform the Church. Of course we attend Church on Sundays and Holy days, God told us to in the third commandment: "Remember to keep Holy the Lord's Day." We obey all of Romes rules because They are given to us by Christ, duh. You do not have to be a member of the Church to enter Heaven, as Vatican 2 asserted, but if you are it may mean less purgatory time if you were a true Catholic. As Catholics we must submit ourselves to the Pope because Jesus started the whole Pope thing anyway. 

Here is the link to his website: www.prophecyandtruth.com