Dear Vanessa:

We know that the Catholic Church is the True and only Church in the fullness of the faith because history proves that the Catholic Church was the first century Church, and so does the Bible.

Jesus made Peter the first "pope" in Matthew 16:18

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.

Protestants interpret this in weird ways, but the Bible tells us what it means. Jesus said, "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."

This is critical language and definitive language that the Church was to be under the Pope's (St. Peter's) leadership. Jesus was quoting from Isaiah 22:22. Jesus did not quote scripture flippantly. He quoted from Isaiah for a reason.

(Isaiah 22:22)And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

The story in Isaiah 22 is about the office of prime minister. Every King has his prime minister. So does King Jesus. In this passage a new prime minister was being installed. As a symbol of the authority of the office the King gives the keys (keys are a symbol of authority) and the Prime Minister may "shut or open", that is, exercise that authority in the king's name. There is no credible Bible scholar anywhere in the world that disputes what is happening here in Isaiah 22.

But, we learn more in this passage. In the previous verses (vs. 19-21) we read:

I will thrust you [the current prime minister] from your office, and you will be cast down from your station. In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah [the new prime minister], and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your girdle on him, and will commit your authority to his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

Thus, we learn that God appoints a Prime Minister for the House of Judah. The House of Judah today is the Church. This Prime Minister is delegated authority by the King and this Prime Minister is the "father" to the Church.

It is absolutely clear, and it is dishonest and delusional, to suggest that Jesus was not making St. Peter the first Prime Minister of the Church.

This Prime Minister is the "father" of the Church. The word "Pope" is merely an English transliteration of the Greek, "pateras", and the Latin, "pater", and the Italian "Padre" "(all meaning "father"). Thus the leader of the Church is the "father" (or Pope) of the Church.

There is a whole book that can be written here about this, but the above is the basic Biblical proof that the Church was established by Jesus with St. Peter as His Prime Minister. Those Christians who remain under the leadership of the Prime Minister of the Church, (the Pope), constitute the True Church that Jesus personally founded.

All Protestant groups were founded by men, not Christ, more than 1500 years after Jesus created the True Church. All first century Christians, therefore, were Catholic. The New Testament was written by Catholics. Without the Catholics there can be no New Testament and no Protestants.

The word "Catholic" was first used to describe the Church, that is the only Church in existence at the time, in A.D. 110 by St. Ignatius of Antioch. It was also St. Ignatius of Antioch who reminded the Churches in Asia Minor to remain loyal and obedient to their Bishops and to the Bishop of Rome.

In around A.D. 86, then Pope Clement exercised what today we recognize as Papal authority over the Church when he wrote letters to the Church in Corinth telling them to straighten up and fly right up upon pain of sin. The Church in Corinth was having many problems as we learn from St. Paul in his epistle. Since Clement was Bishop of Rome and not Bishop of Corinth, he could not have issued such a command unless he had authority over the whole Church. His letter to the Church at Corinth stills exists today as proof of this.

As for how the Pope is treated. No Catholic treats the Pope like God. Any Catholic that would do that would be seriously sinning. The Pope is Christ's Prime Minister and by that office he deserves our respect and loyalty. Catholics worship God alone.

As for history to be re-written to favor the Catholic Church, please prove that. Assertions like this made without proof is dishonest and sinful. History can be re-written by modern man, but original manuscripts from the first, second, and third centuries that still exist today cannot be denied. Those manuscripts prove with documentary evidence the claims of the Catholic Church.

The group that was re-written history to justify their rebellion are the Protestants. And this can be proven in a court-of-law type criteria. The doctrines of the Protestants that vary from the Catholic Church are unbiblical man-made inventions and are not what has been taught by the Church since A.D. 33. The Protestants have actually adopted heresies and claimed they are truth. Modern Protestants are not to blame for this, but their Founders are responsible.

The doctrines of the Catholic Church can be traced all the way back to the 1st century with documentary evidence. I challenge any Protestant to find any legit document from loyal Christians in the first, second, or third centuries that support their errant doctrinal views. They can't, because those Protestant views did not exist in the early Church. There are truck loads of documentary evidence to prove the Catholic position.

I refer you to some resource for further reading:

+The Faith Tracts from Catholic Answers
+Biblical Evidence for Catholicism
+Scripture Catholic: Providing Scriptural Evidence for the Teaching of the Catholic Faith
+The book, What Catholics Really Believe-Setting the Record Straight: 52 Answers to Common Misconceptions About the Catholic Faith by Karl Keating

As for the Freemasons, those videos are probably produced by anti-Catholics (or Catholics who are in rebellion) and thus cannot be trusted. There are all sorts of lies flying about. In fact, most of the things you have probably heard about the Catholic Church are lies, and can be proven so.

The Catholic Church condemns the Freemasons and any Catholic, priest, or bishop who is a member of the Freemasons is gravely sinning and no longer in communion with the Catholic Church. In the past a Catholic who was a member of the Freemasons was excommunicated. Today, they are not formally excommunicated, but they are considered to be in a state of mortal sin and thus cannot receive communion.

My primary retort to all the outrageous lies told about the Catholics is to say to the person, "Nice theory, prove it!"

My job is not so much to convert people to Catholicism but to teach people the truth about Catholicism. Then, if the person still doesn't agree with the Catholic Church, at least they will be disagreeing "accurately." Very few Protestants disagree accurately with the Catholic Church. Rather, they disagree with what they "think" the Catholic Church teaches.

I hope all this helps.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary