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Catholic Pride in 'One True Church' Makes Enemies, Says Coptic Pope

Pope Benedict XVI’s pride in the primacy of Catholicism is making him enemies, said the head of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox church.

Tue, Jul. 17, 2007 Posted: 10:45:42 AM EST

Pope Benedict XVI’s pride in the primacy of Catholicism is making him enemies, said the head of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox church.

“The man (Pope Benedict) makes enemies every time,” said Pope Shenouda III, leader of the 10 million Coptic Christians in Egypt, according to the state-run daily Al-Ahram.

“In his first statements a few months back, he lost all the Muslims,” he said Saturday, referring to the Pope’s speech in Germany last year when he associated Islam with violence. “And now this time, he lost a lot of the Christian denominations because he has begun to err against Christians themselves.”

Shenouda was reacting to the pope’s approval of a document last Tuesday that reasserted the Vatican’s position on the primacy of the Roman Catholic Church as the “one true church,” while all non-Catholic churches are simply “ecclesial communities.”

“Other Christian communities are either defective or not true churches and Catholicism provides the only true path to salvation,” the pope was quoted as saying.

The Coptic head said the statement was the result of Catholic pride, as though “they were the only Christians in the world,” according to Reuters.

“We’re not opposed to Catholics having pride in their church, but that doesn’t mean that every church that doesn’t join them isn’t a church,” he said.

Protestant leaders have also expressed disappointment at the Vatican’s position as it came amid the growing ecumenical dialogue between Protestant churches and the Catholic Church.

“We are puzzled by the release of a statement of this kind at this time in the history of the church,” wrote the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) general secretary, the Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi, in a letter response. “An exclusive claim that identifies the Roman Catholic Church as the one church of Jesus Christ … goes against the spirit of our Christian calling toward oneness in Christ.

“It makes us question the seriousness with which the Roman Catholic Church takes its dialogues with the Reformed family and other families of the church,” Nyomi added. “It makes us question whether we are indeed praying together for Christian unity.”

However, many Protestant denominational heads and scholars have also pointed out that the Vatican’s statement is nothing new.

“Similar statements and perspectives precipitated the 16th century Reformation nearly 500 years ago,” Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick, president of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod.

“At that time Martin Luther said, ‘Popes and councils can err.’ Apparently that is still true today,” he added.

Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr., one of the nation’s preeminent evangelicals, was also not surprised by the Vatican’s statement, and therefore “not offended.”

In a recent blog, the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary – the Southern Baptist Convention’s flagship school – said the latest development “is not news in any genuine sense.”

“It is news only in the current context of Vatican statements and ecumenical relations,” Mohler wrote.

“No one familiar with the statements of the Roman Catholic Magisterium should be surprised by this development,” he also commented.

Mohler further noted that evangelicals should appreciate the “candor” in the document.

“I appreciate the document’s clarity on this issue,” he stated. “It all comes down to this – the claim of the Roman Catholic Church to the primacy of the Bishop of Rome and the Pope as the universal monarch of the church is the defining issue.”

The Southern Baptist theologian argues that the issue is “worthy of division.”

“The Roman Catholic Church is willing to go so far as to assert that any church that denies the papacy is no true church,” Mohler wrote. “Evangelicals should be equally candid in asserting that any church defined by the claims of the papacy is no true church.

“This is not a theological game for children, it is the honest recognition of the importance of the question,” declared the scholar, who is often seen on national television representing the Christian voice.

Despite the disagreement over who belongs to the “true church,” many Protestant denominational organizations have publicly stated their continual commitment to ecumenical dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church. These groups include the Lutheran World Federation, the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Catholic Pride in 'One True Church' Makes Enemies, Says Coptic Pope (http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070717/28483.htm)

The vatican doesn't think the Christian churches are the true church of Jesus Christ because we don't adhere to the primacy of the pope.

BUT....

This current pope whose life was almost cut short by Muslims because he read something outloud they didn't like, went to Turky last year to make amends with them.

The previous pope-John Paul, was photographed kissing the koran, ISLAM'S sacred book...

Follow the Bouncing BALL y'all. (http://bestsmileys.com/bouncing/8.gif)

Dreamweaver can i give you a spiritual gift, as you read it it will unwrap its self as a revelation for you alone but you got to pay attention to every word ..KJV  or  is  nasv or NKJ cause there is a key for you in there.OK the Gift is""isaiah,51",in Jesus, Def

Religion will make a person stumble...because it is made by man who try to put themselves higher than others by enforcing what they can't even do...The Lord told us in His word that we are acountable for our own salvation...that we should study to prove ourselves worthy of His calling...not the calling of man...The gate is narrow and few will find it due to ignorance of the word of God because without it..many will fall away and will stumble on religion thinking rituals will get them into heaven...it is simple..for the Lord made it so that every man would understand...People travel from all over the world to kiss the Pope's hand...without knowing that all who com to Christ and believe..and know the word..woul know the verse..Christ in us the hope of glory...there is none righteous...God is not a respector of persons...What God sees is the blood of Jesus shed for all mankind...

Brothers and Sisters,

I'll simply say this is a pitiful and incorrect statement to make, especially for this time of history in the Catholic church. This is a time when the Catholic church is fighting for survival, and statements like this don't help at all. In fact, these statements are ignorant and divisive.

I will agree that while Roman catholics are the true church ( you have not proven other wise ) they should not put down others.

Hello Brother David,

This type of proof is so easy to provide that it's already all over the forum. I realize that you're biased in this area, so it's hard for you to see. For now, I'll just say that the Pope is in charge of ZERO. CHRIST is the HEAD over the ONE TRUE CHURCH, and I've recently cited countless portions of Scripture that prove this.

The Catholic church is just another brick and mortar building on earth, and it's obviously of this world. The ONE TRUE CHURCH isn't of this world, and it certainly doesn't have a man running it. The ONE TRUE CHURCH is also NOT associated with molesting children. This should serve as one tiny example of separating a man-made building from the LIVING ORGANISM WHICH IS THE BODY OF CHRIST.

Brother David, this shouldn't be too difficult to figure out. Do a forum search for "BODY OF CHRIST" and you will find everything you want to know about the ONE TRUE CHURCH.

Love In Christ,
Tom

let's continue this over email but for now good night

Goodnight Brother David,

Sweet dreams. My mother is in the hospital, so I doubt that I'll have much time over the next week. Regardless, there's already more than enough information on the forum about the BODY OF CHRIST. My suggestion would be for you to take your time and study it for yourself. Don't take any man's word on this because the Holy Bible is exceptionally clear and blunt on this subject.

One of the big things you will find is men having a really hard time with man-made doctrines because they aren't in the Bible. SO, a BIG and first question to ask is:

Is that from the HOLY BIBLE, or is it just the traditions of men? The answer for hundreds of things WON'T BE THE HOLY BIBLE. In fact, the HOLY BIBLE has teachings that expose many traditions of men as completely FALSE! I don't think you're going to know one way or another until you look for yourself. I could give you a list of things to look for, but I think that you already have a list. The unquestioned answers are in the HOLY BIBLE, so check your list first and I'll give you another list later when things slow down for me.

I'll give you a hint. Humans say all kinds of things that aren't the truth at all. We have the HOLY BIBLE to tell us who is telling the truth and who isn't. Don't take my word for anything - LOOK TO GOD'S WORD.

Love in Christ,
Tom