Q U I C K S C A N

What are the beginnings of the Roman Catholic Church?
How was Jesus’ message passed on after his ascension into heaven?
Has the Church been perfect throughout history?

by Friar Jim Van Vurst, O.F.M.

For the next several columns, I am going to write about the Roman Catholic Church—our Church. Any organization that has been in existence for nearly 2,000 years cannot be covered in just a few words. There are libraries filled with resources on the history, theology and spirituality of the Church. But, hopefully, what I write will be instructive and informative.

What are the beginnings of the Roman Catholic Church?

Perhaps it might be good simply to start with the title of the Church. It is called Roman because Rome is where the Church has strong roots. Because of persecution against the Christians in Jerusalem, many fled and made their way to the center of the Roman Empire. This is, in fact, where Peter and Paul both met martyrdom around 64 A.D., some 30 years after Jesus' death. You’ll recall that under Emperor Nero, Rome burned to the ground, and to find a scapegoat, Nero accused the Christians. With this, a terrible persecution began. We celebrate the feast of the First  Martyrs of the Church on June 30. 

The Roman Catholic Church was given the title Catholic by St. Ignatius of Antioch, who was martyred around 107 A.D. Catholic means “universal,” and by Ignatius’s time, Christianity had spread throughout the whole empire and the title became part of the Church’s identity. It is important to remember that the Christian Church of the Acts of the Apostles was and is the same Roman Catholic Church we know today. Incidentally, the term Christian (believers in Jesus as the Christ) was first used in the community of Antioch, one of the largest and key churches (besides Rome) that was established after Christians fled Jerusalem (see Acts 11:26).

As Catholics, we have a very strong identity with the Roman Catholic Church. In fact, identity as a Catholic requires union with the Church. That’s the way it should be since the Church is not a man-made institution. The Church represents the Body of Christ on earth, while Jesus himself is the head and the Holy Spirit is the soul.

What we see with our physical eyes is the Church as 1) the People of God and 2) the institution that Jesus founded to teach and lead his people. A Catholic’s relationship is not simply with Jesus as Lord and redeemer, which is what other Christians hold. Our faith in Jesus is essentially linked to our union and membership in the Catholic Church.

How was Jesus’ message passed on after his ascension into heaven?

After Peter confessed to Jesus that he and the disciples believed Jesus was the Son of God, Jesus made this historically monumental statement: “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah. For flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth, will be loosed in heaven” (Mt 16:17-19).

Those are powerful and defining words illustrating Jesus’ intention to establish a Church that would continue his work on earth following his ascension into heaven. On Pentecost Sunday, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, including Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and the Church began its work of spreading the Good News throughout the world.

Peter was appointed by Jesus as his first representative on earth. Peter has been followed by 264 other popes to this very day, including Pope Benedict XVI. The term pope comes from the Latin and Greek words meaning “father.”

Has the Church been perfect throughout history?

Has the Church, the Body of Christ on earth, been perfect throughout its history? It has had a glorious history, but because it is made up of sinful human beings, its history has been marred with human failings and mistakes. However, we need not be surprised at that. After all, Jesus’ own handpicked apostles were not exactly mirrors of perfection either, as we know through Peter’s denial and Judas’s betrayal. All the serious mistakes in our Church’s history only point out that Jesus’ promise was and is true: Even the gates of hell have never and will never conquer the Church.

I said earlier that Christianity as lived by Catholics is essentially tied to the Church. This makes our faith based not only on Scripture but also upon the teachings and tradition of the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In fact, the New Testament itself is the recording of some of the early preaching and teaching of Jesus. Tradition actually came first, before the written document we know as the New Testament. What this means is that the Church has authority on earth, given by Jesus, to instruct and guide the Body of Christ on earth in all those things essential to salvation.

Finally, the Roman Catholic Church is worldwide and very large. It was during the funeral of Pope John Paul II that we were reminded of the Church’s impact on the entire world and the size of the Church’s membership. There are 1.1 billion Roman Catholics all over the world—about 17% of the world’s population. The major numbers of Catholics reside in South America (307 million); in Europe (280 million); in Africa (137 million); in Asia (110 million); in the U.S. (70 million).

Send your feedback to friarjack@americancatholic.org.

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