Catholics believe that only God can create life and that from the moment of conception he gives each human being a unique, unrepeatable, and immortal soul. The latest scientific advancements support the fact that human life begins at conception. This understanding leads Catholics to defend all life from the moment of conception until natural death.

Abortion

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations”

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy (emphases added).

Jesus commanded his disciples to pray for and anoint the sick among them, and so from the earliest days of Christianity, the gravely ill have been brought to the Church for prayer. This sacrament provides grace to the infirm so that they can unite their sufferings to Christ’s sufferings and find sanctification and healing.

Anointing of the Sick

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

Catholics believe that today’s bishops are part of a succession that continues in an unbroken line all the way back to the apostles.

Apostolic Succession

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

Neglect not the grace that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with imposition of the hands of the priesthood” (Douay Rheims).

For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his habitation become desolate, and let there be no one to live in it’; and ‘His office let another take.’

So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators, speakers in various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?

Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor participate in another man’s sins; keep yourself pure.

This is why I left you in Crete, that you might amend what was defective, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you, if any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of being profligate or insubordinate. For a bishop, as God’s steward, must be blameless. . . (emphases added).

Jesus made salvation possible for every person by his once-for-all death on the Cross. However, the Bible makes it clear that we work out our salvation through our daily actions and choices.

Assurance of Salvation

If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.

Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off.

A man who has violated the law of Moses dies without mercy at the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the man who has spurned the Son of God, and profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and outraged the Spirit of grace?

Well, I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air; but I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.

The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we endure, we shall also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.

But he who endures to the end will be saved.

As a matter of custom, Catholics refer to priests as “Father.” How does this square with Jesus’ statement, “Call no man father,” and what does the example of the apostles reveal?

Calling Priests Father

And he (the rich man) called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame’.

I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel…

I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning…

Jesus founded one Church to carry on his mission in order to establish a unity of belief, prayer, and common life. He handed on the leadership of the Church to his apostles, who had walked with him throughout his ministry. The Church is one in its foundation (Jesus) and in its teaching, which has been handed down with the guidance of Scripture and the Holy Spirit.

The Church Is One

I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me. [Emphases added]

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all.

He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.

Jesus gave his ministers the authority to forgive or retain sin. He thus instituted the sacrament of confession.

Confession

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

As Jesus sent the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, so too the apostles and their successors anoint members of the Church with the Holy Spirit, giving them the grace to live out the mission of the Church. Catholics call this anointing the sacrament of confirmation.

Confirmation

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit; for it had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve of them in all.

God created man and woman and gave them the gift of sexuality, which includes beautiful, natural ways to cooperate with his plan and have children in responsible ways. However, contraception deliberately thwarts this plan.

Contraception

Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so when he went in to his brother’s wife he spilled the semen on the ground, lest he should give offspring to his brother. And what he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord, and he slew him also.

When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them.

The New Testament teaches that marriage is indissoluble. Consequently, if a couple is validly married, the Church can’t simply permit divorce and remarriage.

Divorce and Remarriage

And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. And he said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’

And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries a divorced woman, commits adultery.

To the married I give charge, not I but the Lord, that the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, let her remain single or else be reconciled to her husband)—and that the husband should not divorce his wife.

The New Testament indicates that salvation is based on faith in Christ. But it also reveals that there is a role for good works in the Christian life, so that faith works through love.

Faith and Works

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.’

If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So, faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

Jesus taught that hell is a real possibility for those who deliberately separate themselves from God and refuse his offer of love and forgiveness.

Hell

Depart from me, you accursed, into that eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

Everyone experiences temptation, and same-sex attraction is just one kind of temptation among many. Resisting temptation and living according to God’s plan is what will ultimately make us happiness.

Homosexuality

You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.

Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise acted immorally and indulged in unnatural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

From the moment of conception, every person has a unique and immortal soul. Death is the moment the soul is separated from the body, not a moment when the soul ceases to exist.

Immortality of the Soul

I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hand, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!’

And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

In order to guard his truth and teachings through the ages, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to his Church and the Church’s leaders. The Church has the authority to teach, govern, and rule on matters of faith and morals with the grace of infallibility. Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit will protect the Church from teaching error when it declares authoritatively on these matters.

Infallible Church

Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Christians have baptized infants since the earliest times, and there are solid biblical principles on which this practice is based.

Infant Baptism

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God

Catholics ask the saints for their intercession—that is, they ask them to become our prayer partners in heaven. Catholics honor our brethren in heaven in many ways, but none replaces the worship due to God alone.

Intercession of the Saints

And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God.

Because Jesus is the Son of God, the incarnate Second Person of the Trinity, and because he is fully God and fully human, Catholics profess that Mary is the Mother of God. Mary carried within her womb God himself—in the person of Jesus. In declaring Mary the Mother of God, the Church affirms the human and divine natures of Jesus.

Mary, Mother of God

And she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

To make her a more fitting mother for the Son of God, Mary was conceived without original sin. This means God gave her a special gift of grace early—for he will one day free each of his children from every stain of sin, by the same saving work of Christ.

Mary’s Immaculate Conception

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.

And he came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!”

Jesus established a new priesthood for the New Covenant in his blood. This priesthood is distinct from the shared priesthood of all the baptized and exists in particular to carry on the sacrifice of the New Covenant: the Eucharist instituted at the Last Supper. Jesus gave this ministry first to the twelve apostles and then to their successors.

Priesthood

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after supper, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”

Purgatory is the final purification for those who have died in God’s friendship but still need to be cleansed of their attachment to sin. It makes us pure and ready for the full glory of heaven.

Purgatory

If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; truly I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.

And they turned to supplication, praying that the sin that had been committed might be wholly blotted out . . .. In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection. For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore, he made atonement for the dead, so that they might be delivered from their sin.

Catholics reverence the physical remains of the dead, including those of the saints. The Bible reveals that God has even performed miracles through the relics of the departed.

Relics

And God did extraordinary miracles by the hands of [the apostle] Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick, and diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.

And Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock; and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed. . . . Now after the sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the sepulcher [tomb].

Scripture condemns the use of idols, but it also reveals that not every statue is an idol. It even endorses the use of statues in religious settings, providing biblical support for the practice of Catholics today.

Statues

And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end; of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark; and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you.

The LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high. . . He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house . . . He carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms. . . He covered the two doors of olivewood with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; he overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubim and upon the palm trees.

Catholics believe that, at the end of her life, Mary was taken, body and soul, into heaven—just as Jesus will one day take all of his followers to be with him.

Assumption of Mary

“And a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars upon her head.…she was with child…and…she brought forth a male child [Jesus], one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.”

Jesus promised that he and the Holy Spirit would guide his Church as it proclaimed the Faith to the world. This means that the divinely appointed teachers in the Church—the bishops—have a special form of guidance, and thus a special teaching authority or “magisterium” (Latin, magister, “teacher”).

Church's Teaching Authority

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, . . . teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. . . .

So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, beware lest you be carried away with the error of lawless men and lose your own stability.

The New Testament proclaims that Jesus is not just a man. He is also God. Since the very beginning, Christians have recognized Jesus as God incarnate.

Divinity of Christ

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The Jews then said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they took up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple.

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus instituted the sacrament of baptism and made it the gateway to the Christian life. It is how we become Christians and participate in the salvation won by Jesus.

Necessity of Baptism

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

And Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The New Testament teaches that, although there are three divine Persons, there is only one God. The doctrine of the Trinity holds that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have one divine nature.

Unity of God

I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God.

And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent

The Virgin Mary wasn’t just a virgin when she conceived Jesus. Instead, as Scripture and Tradition reveal, she remained a virgin throughout her life.

Perpetual Virginity of Mary

And Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be, since I have no husband?”

When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

Jesus made Peter the head of the earthly Church and the leader of the apostles. Today, the successor of Peter—the pope—plays the same role in guiding and shepherding the flock of Christ.

Primacy of Peter

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren.

Jesus declared the Eucharist to be his body and blood. Based on Scripture and Tradition, Catholics realize he meant exactly what he said.

Real Presence

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

[Jesus said,] “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the Last Day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.”

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.

Catholics have long held a special devotion to praying the rosary, which comes from the prayers of Scripture and was designed to help the faithful meditate on the life of Christ. When Jesus’ disciples said, “Teach us to pray,” he gave them the Our Father, which is both a memorized, repetitious prayer and also the key to many other forms of prayer. The rosary takes up this pattern as well.

Repetitious Prayer

At once I was in the Spirit, and lo, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne! . . . And round the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures. . . . And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all round and within, and day and night they never cease to sing, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” [emphasis added]

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this:<blockquote>Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our debts, As we also have forgiven our debtors; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil.</blockquote>

Although there is one God, Scripture reveals that there are three divine Persons. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are co-equal persons of the Holy Trinity, sharing one divine nature.

Trinity

So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.

Though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

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