May 31, 2011
I would like some information about being a Catholic and a question my daughter has, are all churches the same? Do we have to be Catholic to get into heaven? Can a person pick any denomination even though they were baptized a Catholic? What can a person do if they are going to a church and the priest really isn't a good preacher – can they go to a different denomination and find a good preacher at another church?
You ask a litany of short and clear questions and you deserve a litany of short and clear answers. But the questions you ask are really big questions and defy simple answers.
To the first: “are all Churches the same.” Yes and no. In the sense that most people understand the term “church” the answer is “no, all churches are not the same.” The Catholic Church is different from protestant denominations which are different from Jewish synagogues which are different from Muslim mosques. In the sense that there is “only one true Church” then the answer is “Yes.” In essence the Roman Catholic Church and all other “true” Churches (i.e. the Orthodox churches) are the same in so far as they share the same faith, the same sacraments, the same canon of sacred scripture, and the same apostolic succession. The only difference is the recognition of the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome.
Question two: “Do we have to be Catholic to get into heaven?” Again, the answer is yes and no, and depends on what you mean by Catholic. What can be stated with certainty is that anyone who is ultimately saved is saved through the merits of Christ which come to us through His one true Church, which subsists in the Roman Catholic Church. The noble pagan who knows nothing of Jesus Christ or his Church, who nevertheless tries to live his life in accord with the first principle of moral behavior, that is do good and avoid evil, can be saved by the merits of Christ and the grace of God.