IRQ Conflict wrote:Truth. I like to give but today I received a solicitation from "CNEWA" (Catholic Near East Welfare Association) Here is what the enclosed card said includes a pic of the pope with his infamous crooked cross staff thingy and 'enlarged bordered garment'
And I quote "The Holy Father is asking for you to help...
By supporting the work of CNEWA
Note the capital letters referring to the pope as "The Holy Father". I'll try to find an image or something and link to it. It truly is reprehensible that man has taken the Fathers place.. or rather attempted to.
I find it rather odd that catholics know to give to the poor but don't know that Christ forbids us to call any man The Father. What part of the Lords prayer are they not hearing? Our Father Which art in Rome?
(Oh boy! here we go again)
IRQ, I know it's really hard but try to put your feelings towards the RCC aside for a second and look at what they claim and assume for just a moment that their claim is right (humor me, ok?). Here's an organization that claims descendency all the way back to Christ, claims Peter was instituted as the head of the church by Christ himself, and claims that the papacy lineage has been unbroken since Peter. Given that Christ gave the authority to Peter (as the leader of the apostles, yet another claim, I know) and to the rest of the apostles that anything they loose on earth will be loosed in heaven and anything they bind on earth will be bound in heaven, this in effect would make Peter (and by extension his successors) the representative (or vicar) of Christ here on earth. As an analogy, think of the President of the United States. When the president wants to meet with foreign dignitaries, he usually does not go himself - at least not at first. Instead, he sends Condi Rice, his secretary of state, his representative, his vicar. When Condi meets with foreign dignitaries, does she claim she is the president of the United States? Of course not, she is his representative and everyone sees her as such. The Pope is not called the Holy Father (capitalization or otherwise notwithstanding) because he is seen as God but because he is the vicar of Christ on earth and precisely because Christ meant it as such - at least that is the claim. It is just silly to see it any other way. There isn't a Catholic I know (and I know quite a few) that would confuse the pope with God or his Word. Why do you?
Seriously, I used to believe the same thing until I questioned several of my Catholic and former Catholic friends. The concensus is that the Pope isn't God and does not claim to be God. I do think that there could be a little more reformation there but that is besides the point. 
