The Pope and the Catholics...

A look at what the Catholic church believes and the role of the pope.

Daryl McCullough

4/29/202511 min read

person wearing white cap looking down under cloudy sky during daytime

This post is in response to some rather disappointing interactions I have had in the last week or so since the passing of Pope Francis. It is an attempt to show we have much more in common with each other than differences. The below is an edited version of a shorter article I wrote about 17 years ago.

Before I start:
This article aims to provide information on the beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) – as I understand them, and I make no claim to being anything other than a part time amateur theologian (not all clergy are theologians… and not all theologians are clergy!)

As a former Roman Catholic, it is really quite disheartening for me to hear my brothers and sisters in Christ make false claims about the teachings of the RCC which are for the most part based on hearsay and speculation, rather than a true study of the teachings of the Church. I hope with this article to explain what the church actually teaches, and demonstrate that Catholics and Protestants have more beliefs in common than they do differences. I also hope to demonstrate that those differences are not irreconcilable, and that there is hope for Christian harmony again in the future.

From my discussions with some evangelical Protestants I have found a common thread of misunderstanding or complete ignorance of Catholic beliefs and practices. However despite their lack of knowledge regarding Catholicism, many on the Protestant side of Christianity are quick to jump on the band wagon when others begin ‘Catholic bashing’. By explaining in this article what the Roman Catholic Church actually teaches, I hope that it can contribute in some small way to help foster a new level of ecumenical cooperation between Catholics and Protestants – even if that’s only at a local level by those who have engaged. It is my hope that people will realise that despite some differences in the way we worship, Catholics and Protestants worship the very same God, and we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.

Canonisation of Saints?

To put it simply, when a saint is canonised, that means that they are added to the list of people whom the church deems there is enough evidence to safely say that this person is now in the presence of God. Of course the term saint in the New Testament refers to all true believers, however there is generally no way for us to be sure that the person next to us in Church is a saint (i.e. someone who has genuine faith), or merely there because that is what they have always done, or they feel they have to go so as not to disappoint others etc.

So Catholics believe that all believers are saints, so why the process of canonisation? Put simply Canonisation says to believers that after careful study of a persons life, and death that there is sufficient evidence available to show that they were genuinely a saint, and therfore are suitable for veneration, and emulation by Christians.[1]

Mary Worship and Prayer to the Saints

The most obvious difference between Catholics and Protestants that will inevitably always pop up is Mary. Don’t those Catholics worship her? As surprising as this may be to many, the answer is no! They don’t actually worship her, though they do venerate her and hold her up as a model of Christian living. Isn’t that something that all Christians do? The difference is that they pray to her, you scream back at me. Well actually, they ask her to pray for them – do you note the difference? A lot of people get upset when they hear that Catholics ‘pray’ to Mary and other Saints. The key thing to remember is that the word pray simply means to ask. When we pray to God, we ask something of Him, and when a Catholic prays to Mary or another saint, they ask something of them – that they will pray to God on their behalf. You see Catholics believe that when a Christian dies here on earth they don’t actually die but live eternally with God.[2] We believe the same thing! Catholics take this a step further; seeing as these Christians aren’t actually dead, but are alive and with God, who better could we ask to pray for us? After all these people have been judged and found just in the eyes of God, and the prayer of the just has much effect.[3]

Of course the standard response is that we don’t need any mediator other than Jesus between us and God[4], we can go directly to him with our prayers. That is true, but the Bible also teaches us that we should pray for each other.[5] So we ask our Christian friends and family, still alive on earth to offer intercessory prayer for us, as do Catholics. If however, we truly believe that when our earthly bodies die, our souls live on, then what’s the problem in asking those Christians already in the “next life” to pray for us as well as those still here?

It’s not Biblical! The standard protestant response is hurled at me. Is that true? Is there really nothing in the Bible that tells us that the Christians in heaven intercede with God for us? Sadly we on the protestant side of Christianity may be wrong in this assumption; there is in fact a reference in the Bible to Christians in heaven, presenting prayers to God;

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 golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.[6]

There is also reference to the Angels presenting prayers as well;

And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel[7]

The Roman Catholic interpretation of these passages is that they show us Christians in heaven (the 24 elders) as well as Angels in heaven, presenting the prayers of Christians on earth (the Saints) to God. So now we see that there is possibly biblical evidence that Christians in heaven present our prayers to God. Of course this doesn’t necessarily prove that they hear all the prayers and know what they are presenting – just that they do bring them to God.

Can they hear us? Most protestant/evangelical Christians would say no. I have yet to see any evidence whatsoever to support this claim however. There is a reference in Ecclesiastes which says that the dead know nothing;

For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.[8]

However If we believe John 3:16 and accept that Christians don’t actually die, then this verse is moot, and there is nothing in the Bible that tells us that Christians who have died physically on earth can’t hear us in heaven.

Mother of God?
Many Protestants struggle with Catholics referring to Mary as ‘Mother of god’.[9] Many on the protestant side of Christianity have the misconception that Catholics by saying this, are making Mary equal to or even greater than God the Father. Many also think that by calling Mary ‘Mother of God’ Catholics are saying that Mary was existent prior to God. What the Catholic Church actually believes with regard to Mary, is that as Jesus is both fully God and Fully man, and Mary is his mother, she is therefore the mother of God in the sense that Jesus is fully God. Thus calling Mary ‘Mother of God’ does not elevate her to God status herself, but merely describes her for who she is – the mother of God incarnate.

Immaculate Conception and Assumption
Another doctrine regarding Mary that causes much confusion and debate between Catholics and Protestants is that of her Immaculate Conception and Assumption. It is important to point out that the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is not a reference to the Virgin Birth. It is just as important to state that the Immaculate Conception doctrine does not state that Mary was conceived of the Holy Spirit as Jesus was. What the Catholic Church does teach regarding the Immaculate Conception is that at the instant of her conception (which was achieved in the normal manner) Mary was kept free from Original Sin, by God. The reasoning for this is that Jesus took his humanity from Mary, for him to have taken his humanity from someone who was stained by the effects of original sin would mean that he too (his human nature) would inherit a sin nature. Rightly the Catholic Church teaches that Christ was born without a sin nature, so they draw the conclusion that His mother must have been preserved from sin also in order to prevent Jesus from inheriting original sin.

The natural response of the protestant is that if Mary was free from sin, she would not have needed the salvation of Christ, but the Bible teaches us that all have sinned[10], and also shows us Mary referring to Jesus as her saviour.[11] The Catholic position on the latter point is that Mary was still in need of Jesus’ salvation. She was just saved by him in anticipation, of his redemptive work on the cross, rather than after the fact. Here is an analogy used to describe Mary’s salvation;

Suppose a man falls into a deep pit, and someone reaches down to pull him out. The man has been "saved" from the pit. Now imagine a woman walking along, and she too is about to topple into the pit, but at the very moment that she is to fall in, someone holds her back and prevents her. She too has been saved from the pit, but in an even better way: She was not simply taken out of the pit, she was prevented from getting stained by the mud in the first place.[12]

Thus the Catholic position doesn’t claim that Mary didn’t need salvation, just that she was set apart by God for a specific purpose, and saved in anticipation of her sons redeeming work. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says Mary was ‘redeemed in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son’[13] With regard to Romans 3:23, the Catholic position is that there are exceptions to this statement, the most obvious being Jesus himself. However children below the age of reason are also another example of one who could not have committed actual sin.

With regard to the assumption of Mary, body and soul, into heaven it is important to correct some common misconceptions. The Catholic position is that at the end of her earthly life Mary was assumed Body and soul into heaven.[14] Note the Church does not teach that Mary ascended to Heaven as Jesus did. When Jesus ascended to Heaven, he did so under his own power. Mary on the other hand is said to have been assumed by the power of God – not by any divine ability of her own. The doctrine of the assumption is directly linked to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception in that, because Mary was preserved from sin, she did not suffer the consequences of it – the grave.[15]

Of course all of these doctrines regarding the Immaculate Conception and Assumption of Mary are generally dismissed by Protestants on the basis that they are not explicit in scripture.

The Pope

The role of the papacy is also often very misunderstood by those on the protestant side of Christianity. I have seen multiple claims in the last week or so that the pope claims to be divine, or to be God on earth. This is a fundamental misunderstanding. The Pope is said to be the "Vicar of Christ", which essentially means the pope is meant to be the representative/ambassador for Christ on earth. The same way that a parish "vicar" is the representative of the bishop in that parish.

There is also a lack of understanding on the meaning of "Papal infallibility". This does not mean that the pope is infallible in all things and can never make a mistake. The Catholic church's understanding of papal infallibility is that when making a formal statement regarding faith and morals, in his official capacity as the successor to St Peter (whom Catholics claim as the first Pope), the pope will be protected from making an error by God. It does not mean the Pope is divine, nor that they have received a direct revelation or inspiration from God - it means only that God would seek to preserve the church from error in faith and morals and thus would prevent any error in faith or morals from being declared officially by the pope.[16]

The Author’s Stand:
With regard to the intercession of the saints I take the same view that has been expressed in the Anglican/Roman Catholic joint statement “Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ” which was released in 2005, also known as “The Seattle Statement”. Former Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia Bishop Peter Carnley was one of the co-chairs for the study.

The Scriptures teach that "there is one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself as a ransom for all" (1 Timothy 2:5-6). As noted earlier, on the basis of this teaching "we reject any interpretation of the role of Mary which obscures this affirmation" (Authority II 30). It is also true, however, that all ministries of the Church, especially those of Word and sacrament, mediate the grace of God through human beings. These ministries do not compete with the unique mediation of Christ, but rather serve it and have their source within it. In particular, the prayer of the Church does not stand alongside or in place of the intercession of Christ, but is made through him, our Advocate and Mediator (cf. Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25, 12:24, 1 John 2:1). It finds both its possibility and practice in and through the Holy Spirit, the other Advocate sent according to Christ's promise (cf. John 14:16-17). Hence asking our brothers and sisters, on earth and in heaven, to pray for us, does not contest the unique mediatory work of Christ, but is rather a means by which, in and through the Spirit, its power may be displayed.[17]

With regard to the other doctrinal views discussed it is my view that while these beliefs are not necessarily contradictory to Scripture, that they have no strong support from it either. I understand the logic that is used to explain why Mary would be without sin – however I see one noticeable flaw. Why couldn’t God just preserve the human nature of Christ from sin in the same way the RCC claims He did for Mary? Why does Mary have to be sinless in order to make Christ sinless? God is all powerful; there is no need for him to pre-emptively save Mary from sin in order to beget Jesus without sin. The Assumption poses me with no real problem either – God has assumed many people into heaven for example Enoch and Elijah – Mary certainly meets the criteria of being a Holy Person of God, and He may well have deemed it suitable to save her from the corruption of the grave.

For this reason I take the view that as long as people interpret the doctrines correctly, they are safe from falling into heresy and elevating Mary above her station. However these doctrines should not be a required belief (as they are in the RCC). Each Christian should have the right to make up their own mind on the matter of Mary’s place in these matters as none of them are linked to ones salvation, which is achieved through Christ only.

If you have a different view, or believe I have major flaws in my logic, or even if you agree with what I have written! Please feel free to post a response!