History and the Catholic Church - Berean Publishers

The Spirit of Roman Catholicism
What Lies Behind the Modern Public Image?
Mary Ann Collins A Former Catholic Nun Copyright 2002 by Mary Ann Collins.
Contents
Preface 5
Biography of Mary Ann Collins 6 POPES AND POWER A Surprising Discovery 8
Anathemas 10
The Council of Trent 13
Ecumenism 15
The Power of Words 17
Spiritual Coercion 19
Hunting "Heretics" 23
Were the Early Christians 30
Roman Catholics? 30
Forged Documents and Papal Power 43
The Papacy 46
Imperial Popes 50
The Catholic Church and the Bible 53 DOCTRINE AND CREDENTIALS New Age Catholicism 59
A False Comparison 75
According to Tradition 83
What Is Our Source of Authority? 85
The Good Thief 95
The Numbers Game 97
Devotion to Mary 99
Idolaters and Judaizers 111 PRACTICAL PROBLEMS Mandatory Celibacy 115
Mind Control 118
Serving Two Masters 120
Modern Persecution 124
Who Are "The Christian Faithful"? 126
Faith Under Fire 130
The Presence of God 133
Catholic Mysticism 136
Mixing Paganism with Christianity 143 SPIRIT OF CATHOLICISM The Spirit of Catholicism 144
Scriptural Strength to 148
Confront Catholicism 148 APPENDICES For Former Catholics 151
Glossary of Some Catholic Terms 162
Pictures 189
History and the Catholic Church 194
Doctrinal Issues 201
Recommended Websites 209 NOTES Notes 210
Preface In the early 1900's a famous baseball player was accused of cheating.
Unfortunately, the accusation proved to be true. A young fan met the
baseball player and said, "Say it ain't so, Joe!" I have often felt that way while doing research about the Roman
Catholic Church. As I have come to some new discovery, I have often found
myself thinking, "Say it isn't so!" Usually it turns out that it is so.
This caused me grief and distress, but I continued to pursue the research
in spite of it, because I wanted to know the truth. The truth is precious, even when it is painful. Our God is Truth
incarnate. (John 14:6; Romans 3:4) God promised that the truth would set
us free. (John 8:32) We all need God's truth. And we all need the strength and courage to
live according to it. Keeping the long-range perspective of eternity will
help. May the Lord bless you and speak to your heart as you read this book. Mary Ann Collins
December 2002
Biography of Mary Ann Collins (A Former Catholic Nun)
I was raised a secular humanist. When I went to college I started
investigating Catholicism. After two years of intense study I became a
Catholic. I was zealous. I kept studying the lives of the saints and the
teachings of various prominent Catholics. I often went to Mass several
times a week, and sometimes every day. I transferred to a Catholic college
in order to take classes in religion. I entered the convent for several reasons. I wanted to be closer to
God and to serve Him more whole-heartedly. I wanted to learn more about
God and spend my life being more intensely focused on Him. And I believed
that God wanted me to be a nun. The convent was not a healthy place either spiritually or
emotionally. Our self-imposed penances and mortifications and other
attempts to make ourselves more holy actually encouraged self-
righteousness. We were not allowed to have friendships or to be close to
any human being. We were supposed to be emotionally detached. We were
taught to love people in a detached, impersonal way. This is not Biblical. When God said, "It is not good for man to be
alone," He was referring to more than just marriage. The Bible encourages
close relationships. Our example of the perfect human being is Jesus. He was unmarried
but he was not at all emotionally detached. He wept publicly. His heart
was "moved with compassion". He made many statements that showed strong
emotions. He had friendships, including a "best friend" (John). I left the convent after two years, before making vows. I was still
a novice, undergoing training and "spiritual formation" in preparation for
making vows. Some people have asked me why I refer to myself as a "former nun"
when I never made vows. According to the "Catholic Encyclopedia," if a
novice has been accepted into a religious order (I was) and has been given
a habit (I wore it), then he or she is a monk or a nun in the broad sense
of the term. After I left the convent, I was frustrated with the local Catholic
churches. I did not see strong faith or zeal for God. Some of the priests
preached things which were so contrary to Scripture that they were acutely
distressing to me. My parents had become Christians and they were members of a
Protestant church. I visited their church and discovered that I was hungry
for the Bible-based teaching. So for years I went to early morning Mass
and then went to my parents' church. Eventually I left the Catholic Church and joined my parents' church.
And I finally found the personal relationship with God that I had been
looking for all my life. I used to be all tied up in rules, regulations and rituals. But now
I have found a wonderful, vibrant, personal relationship with the Creator
of the universe, who loves me. And with Jesus Christ who loves me so much
that He died for me. And He has put a new song in my heart. Your Word brings life to save my soul.
Your Truth brings light to make me whole. Your perfect love casts out my fears,
Comforts me, and dries my tears. I'm in the shadow of Your wings
Where you teach my heart to sing. Safe and secure from all alarm,
Your faithful love keeps me from harm. I will bless You all my days.
You fill my heart with songs of praise.
Chapter 1
A Surprising Discovery Many years ago, I left the Roman Catholic Church to join a
Scripturally based Protestant church. Since then, I have wrestled with
various issues relating to Catholicism. Some papers emerged from that
struggle. Then one morning I woke up thinking, "I need to look up 'Anathema' in
the 'Catholic Encyclopedia'." It was like this idea had been downloaded in
my head while I was sleeping. I looked it up. That was the beginning of many months of intense
research and writing, which resulted in this book. You may be surprised at
what I discovered. I certainly was. I discovered that there is something behind Catholicism which is not
obvious at first, something which is quite different from the modern public
image. How can we see what this is? By looking at how the Catholic Church
has behaved when it was in a position of power, and therefore it was able
to do what it really wanted to do. We can also look at some official Catholic documents. The new
"Catechism of the Catholic Church" (1992) and modern Canon Law (1983) show
a surprising side of the Catholic Church. So do other official documents. We will travel through history, go to different countries, and meet
some fascinating people (both good and bad). And we will discover that
there is more to the Catholic Church than what we see on the surface. I want you to be able to check out what I have said for yourself.
You probably don't have the books I studied. [Note 1] Therefore, I have
sought out Internet articles which give much of the same information. I have done my best to reach fair and accurate conclusions based on
reliable sources of information. But I'm only human. I have my failings.
We all do. So I encourage you to look up the information and check it out
for yourself. Please pray about it. Ask God to show you the truth. He is
the only one who really understands what is going on. In the final analysis, it's between you and God. It doesn't depend
on me at all. My role is just to introduce you to some information. You
and God can take it from there.
Chapter 2
Anathemas According to the 1913 edition of the "Catholic Encyclopedia," when
the Catholic Church anathematizes someone, the Pope ritually puts curses on
them. There is a solemn written ritual for doing this. The "Catholic
Encyclopedia" article describes the ritual in detail, including extensive
quotations from it. (You can read this article online.) [Note 1] In pronouncing the anathema, the Pope wears special vestments. He is
assisted by twelve priests holding lighted candles. Calling on the name of
God, the Pope pronounces a solemn ecclesiastical curse. He ends by
pronouncing sentence and declaring that the anathematized person is
condemned to hell with Satan. The priests reply, "Fiat!" (Let it be done!)
and throw down their candles. As we will see, the Catholic Church considers heresy (disagreement
with Catholic doctrine) to be a crime. The Council of Trent, and other
Church councils, declare that any person who disagrees with even one of
their doctrinal statements is thereby automatically anathematized. When the Pope pronounces an anathema, he is said to be passing
sentence on a criminal. The "Catholic Encyclopedia" says that the anathema
ritual is deliberately calculated to terrify the "criminal" and cause him
to repent (in other words, to unconditionally submit to