Hi Jaiden,

I am happy that you found what I sent you helpful. At your young age, there is so much you can learn just by searching for answers to questions from our database.

As Administrator of this site, I never want to give any impression that we are brushing off any question that a sincere faith seeker is looking for but if you, like many others, know nothing about our Catholic faith, it can be best to buy an on-line Catechism.

Let me now address your questions.

You said:
This has helped very much!

However, if Jesus founded a Church, He would have said so and if He wanted us to change the day we worshiped, He also would have said so.

He did say that He founded His Church. The Gospel of Matthew tells us in verse 18:

18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build MY Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Matthew 16:18

The rock Jesus is referring to is St. Peter and because in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, there is only one word for rock: Kepha so He would have said in Aramaic:

You are Kepha, and on this Kepha I will build MY Church, and . . .

You said:

"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”

Matthew 5:18

This clearly states that nothing will pass from God's law. He also says in Deuteronomy 4:2:

"Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you."

These two verses say that no one can change God's laws and no one should try to.

Jesus was referring to the Old Covenant and Scriptures, not the New Covenant of His Body.

You said:
Remember that Jesus quoted the Bible every time He was tempted in the wilderness by the devil, and that every time someone asked Him a question, He made reference to the Scriptures!

Jesus quoted from the Old Testament Scriptures, as the New Testament had not been written.

I am not saying that reading the Scriptures is bad. It is not. What I am saying is we have to understand the context in which we use a Scripture passage that we quote. St. Peter said as much in the following passage and when referring to Paul's writings:

20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 1:20-21

15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.

2 Peter 3:15-16

You said:
I have a few other important questions too:

• What do Catholics believe to be higher:
  • the Holy Bible
  • the Catholic Catechism, or
  • other Catholic material?
    

I hesitate answering because I'm not sure you have a good understanding of what we believe about the Bible, the Catechism, or other Catholic material.

What Catholic Christians do believe is highest of everything you mentioned: the Bible, the Catechism, and other Catholic material derive their grace and holiness from Our Ultimate High Model, Jesus Christ, the savior of all mankind.

What Jesus teaches and the Church has passed on to the faithful can all be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, so if you want to know what Catholics believe that would be the best choice.

There is so much that can be said about the Bible and its important role in Church services, my best advice would be to read this portion from the on-line version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, here:

• Article 3 Sacred Scripture
  

The body of beliefs that all Catholics believe is referred to as the Deposit of Faith. When new issues arise that would never have arose in Jesus' Day, Catholic Christians can have a peace of mind because they are able to turn to the Magisterium, which is the Teaching Authority of Jesus' Church, led by the Pope.

In times of moral confusion, the Pope and Magisterium will give any Christian the correct moral path to follow.

You said:

• Do Catholics think that the pope is higher than Jesus Christ?
  

No, no, no!! That is almost as bad as saying,
Do Catholics worship Mary? Again, No, no, no!!

• Let me ask and answer the question: What is the role of the Pope?
  

The role of the Pope, also known as the Holy Father, is to protect, safeguard, and preserve the Divine Teachings Jesus left the Church before His glorious Ascension into Heaven. The Pope does not, cannot, nor is interested in inventing or creating new teachings. He just passes on and safeguards what the original Twelve Apostles have passed on.

• If the Pope is called Holy Father, does that mean he is always holy?
  

No, no, no. Holy, in Holy Father, refers to the office in the Church he holds, not the person holding the office. As a matter of history, some of our biggest sinners throughout history have been popes!

The pope has its biblical roots in Matthew:

18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Matthew 16:18

In order for the Catholic faith to be passed on from generation to generation, when a pope dies the Church or more specifically, all the Cardinals in the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, gather together in Rome and choose the next Pope.

You said:
Another very interesting point is this: Comparing Jesus to the pope.

Jesus was the most humble and servant-like person ever to have walked the earth.

1. He gave up all He had to spread the Gospel.
2. He was persecuted and poor.
3. He was humble.
4. He did not boast about what He had nor made a great show of anything.
5. He dressed simply and was content with what He had.

• Why then does the pope need to be in a mansion that costs billions of dollars and be decorated with gold and all the luxuries of life?
  
• If the pope is really Christ's representative on earth why does he live a life so opposite of Christ?

I'm not saying that the pope is a bad person. I believe he is a very nice man.

These postings should answer your question:

• Why is the Church so wealthy when Jesus tells us to sell all our possessions and give to the poor?
• Why doesn't the Church give its riches to the poor and why withhold information from the public?

Finally, I admire your willingness to look into what other faiths believe. I wish more teenagers would do this instead of accepting bias Mass media stereotypes via the (T.V., radio, and internet) against the Catholic Church. Again, reconsider buying a cheap Catechism here.

Or search our database here because we have already answered many of the questions you are asking:

https://www.AskACatholic.com/SiteSearch

I hope this helps,

Mike