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The fact that there are many religions, all holding different and often contradictory doctrines about God and man strikes the Catholic as a travesty. In this essay, I will account for the doctrines of the Catholic church, and its view on the validity of other Christian religions.
Catholics believe that Christ, the Son of God, founded the Church and promised to remain in it, "even unto the consummation of the world." However, when Catholics say that theirs is the only true religion, they do not mean that they alone are the children of God, or that they alone are righteous or God-fearing. Many non-Catholics are saints; some Catholics are scoundrels. Nor do Catholics believe that only Catholics go to heaven. Pope Pius IX once wrote, "it is to be held as of faith, that none can be saved outside the Apostolic Roman Church... but, nevertheless, it is equally certain, that those who are ignorant of the true religion, if that ignorance is invincible, will not be held guilty in the eyes of the Lord." Catholics believe that in the sight of God, all who love Him and sincerely desire to do his will, are related in some way to the Church which His Son founded, and so can be saved.
The Catholic Church, claims four distinctive marks: it is one in doctrine, authority, and worship, holy, Catholic(unchanging), and apostolic, it traces its ancestry back to the Apostles, and like them, carries the message of Christ to all, regardless of race, nationality, station, or class. This is the doctrine of the Catholic church, and its view on different religions.
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