The Pope-a... he's a-so nice-a!

I had kind of an interesting experience yesterday and today: apparently, there was a rather major announcement made by the Pope, to the effect that Jesus established "only one Church". My old friend from high school, Jill (with whom I've only just recently re-established contact), sent me an e-mail, saying, "I just wanted to ask you a question since I know you are still Catholic. Do you believe what the pope is saying here? Just interested in your take on this article. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19692094/"

I clicked on the link and tried to read the article. To be honest, I found it somewhat cryptic. So I asked Jim what he thought, and he agreed that it's not the best written article ever... it's not very clear.

This morning, I got up bright and early to do my usual daily workout, and I spent an hour researching this article and formulating an answer, instead. Here's what I wrote back to my friend:
Wow--you really gave me some food for thought!
1.) The article you linked me to is a bit confusing... it was poorly written, in my opinion (and hubby's--I asked him for feedback, to see if it was just me having a hard time with it, and he agreed). I mean, it's hard to understand, from this particular article, what exactly is being talked about. What did the Pope actually say? What's the actual point of the article? I did a little research to see if I could find more info on what was being discussed, but in a little more clear language. Here's a link to what I found:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070710-1255-pope-otherchristians.html

And I like the language of this article even better--I feel it's even more clear: http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=24660

2.) You asked me if I "believe what the Pope is saying here", and what my "take" on it is. I guess I'm assuming you mean, do I agree with the Pope? (You said, since I'm "still Catholic".) Based off of my understanding of the articles I've read (the one you sent me and the ones I've linked above), then yes, I agree with the main point of discussion: I agree that the Catholic Church is the "one, true Church". Obviously, it's not THE ONLY Church out there; rather, it is the one church founded by Jesus Christ himself. To my knowledge (based largely off of my Catholic school education), other churches basically split away from the Catholic Church and its exact teachings when they (the newly split churches) came up with teachings (or perhaps practices) they preferred. Yet the Catholic Church remains the "one, true Church" in that it is (and always will be) the ONLY church Jesus himself founded, directly through St. Peter. Any other Christian Church was founded by someone, years later, who was not an apostle of Christ, living and breathing during Christ's time, following Jesus' direct instructions. Know what I mean?

3.) I feel it's important to note that there is clarification in all three articles (it's best explained in the 2nd link I've added, I believe) that the Pope is not saying other churches aren't valid. The word "ecumenical" is thrown around a lot, and I'm embarrassed to say, I had to look it up. I wasn't sure what it meant (actually, I didn't know at all what it meant). Here's what I found:
ecumenical
1. general; universal.
2. pertaining to the whole Christian church.
3. promoting or fostering Christian unity throughout the world.
4. of or pertaining to a movement (ecumenical movement), esp. among Protestant groups since the 1800s, aimed at achieving universal Christian unity and church union through international interdenominational organizations that cooperate on matters of mutual concern.
5. interreligious or interdenominational: an ecumenical marriage.
6. including or containing a mixture of diverse elements or styles; mixed: an ecumenical meal of German, Italian, and Chinese dishes.

Ecumenical, then, as I understand it, means trying to be inclusive of all Christian churches.
The Pope was basically clarifying, in his statement yesterday, that while the other Christian churches out there are valid and are viable means for attaining salvation, there is only one Catholic (i.e. established by Christ himself) Church. So while "ecumenical dialogue remains one of the priorities of the Catholic Church" (i.e. the Catholic Church wants to be on the same page as other Christian churches, basically), such dialogue must be founded on "not just mutual openness of the participants but also fidelity to the identity of the Catholic faith" (i.e. we've got to recognize that Catholicism was the only religion/church actually founded by Christ himself).

4.) I do agree with this and believe this all to be true--I agree that the Catholic Church is the one, true Church, in that it is the only one founded by Christ. However, I agree, as well, that members of other Christian faiths may still obtain salvation. It seemed, when I was growing up, that there was a misunderstanding about this, and most of my childhood priests taught that only Catholics would get into Heaven--the articles above clarify that the Pope is debunking that idea... however, I do feel that he's implying that, while non-Catholics can get into Heaven, their best path would be through the Catholic Church, since that was the Church founded by Christ--after all, who would have a better idea of how to get there? And we know that the Pope is infallible in matters of the Church, so his teaching or directives with regards to the Church must be true and accurate.

5.) What do YOU believe? What is YOUR take? You make it clear to me that you're not "still Catholic" and I believe your MySpace said something about you being "Christian - other". Does that mean you've switched to some Protestant church? (Presbyterian? Lutheran? Methodist?) Or have you been "Born Again"? Let me know where you are with all this--I'm intrigued. The only other friend of mine who has left the Catholic Church, but remains Christian, considers herself "born again". (I think, for her, she's got an even stronger Faith than she did as a Catholic.)

Anyone out there reading this, I'd be interested in what you have to say. I haven't gotten my response back, yet, from Jill. I would love to know what any of you think, as well. I am definitely no expert, and I'm basically just regurgitating back what I've read online, with my own opinions thrown in for good measure. Still, it's fun to hear other people's opinions... Either leave me a post or e-mail me. Thanks! -tt

p.s. I want to clarify that the MSNBC article omitted part of the statement that was made, thereby making the Pope sound as if he's completely excluding other Churches. Please be sure to read all three of the articles I've linked, as the verbage is a bit different in each. Also, as Jim pointed out (and as each article states, I believe) this statement by the Pope is basically just clarifying what was stated in Vatican II forty years ago--he didn't just all of a sudden come up with this stuff yesterday, or even back in June. Rather, he's clarifying a point that was made years ago. Again, I welcome any comments--this is interesting to me! :) -t