Dear Angbarrientos,

We have answered most, if not all of your questions, in our knowledge base.

You may want to search for answers using it next time. Nevertheless, I'll take the time to answer your questions or at least show you answers from our database.

You said:

1. Why do Catholics pray to saints when one of the Ten Commandments are:
   
   
   8 You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 9 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, 10 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
   
   Deuteronomy 5:8-10
   
   
2. Why do Catholics confess to a man, when it is not necessary?

I found these web postings in our database that should answer the previous two questions:

• Why do you pray to Mary and the saints instead of Jesus and why do you confess your sins to a priest rather than Jesus?
• Can you explain the Church's economy of salvation and praying to Mary which I find distressing?
• Can you explain to a Baptist, thinking about converting, the value of praying to Mary and the Saints?

You said:

3. Why don't Catholics read from the Bible and teach the Congregation from the Scriptures?

Catholics are encouraged to read from the Bible on a regular basis. If there were more Catholics reading the Bible, we would be a stronger Church.

As far as teaching the congregation goes, most, if not all, homilies or sermons that Catholics hear are based on the Scriptures for each specific day. We have two different cycles of Scripture readings:

• Catholics who faithfully attend Mass every Sunday hear the entire Bible over a three year period.
• Catholics who faithfully attend daily Mass hear the entire Bible over a two year period.

Even Sunday, Catholics hear one reading from the Old Testament, two readings from the New Testament and one reading from the Gospel.

For each Mass a Catholic attends, the celebrant's job in to base his sermon on the Scripture readings for that day. He does this, or should do this, based on the guidance of the Teaching authority of the Church, the Magisterium. So the Church does teach the congregation from the Scriptures. If one reads the Scriptures without the proper context they can fall into the problem that St. Peter warned about in his second epistle:

20 First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, 21 because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

2 Peter 1:20-21

The men moved by the Holy Spirit are the priests of our Church who have been trained to teach the Catholic congregation from the Scriptures they just heard for that Sunday.

I found these additional web postings in our database that should address any part of your question that I missed:

• If Catholics believe the Bible is the sole authority, why can't I find these teachings?
• Do you have to have a Bible to become a Catholic and are the only Scriptures you hear at Mass?
• Why don't Catholics bring their Bibles to Mass so they can really understand the Word of God?

You said:

4. Why baptize a baby when a baby or small child has no sin?

This posting should answer your question:

• When did the Church start baptizing babies?

You said:

5. Why do you believe they will be saved from baptism automatically?

This posting should answer your question:

• Where is original sin in the Old Testament, will non-Catholics be saved, and what about Purgatory?

You said:

6. Why can't a person without catechesis receive the Eucharist?

These postings should answer your question:

• As a future Catholic, why can't I receive communion at my previous church with my family?
• Can Catholics receive communion at a Episcopal Church wedding?

You said:

7. Why are priests called fathers and the Pope called Holy Father, when Matthew 23:9 states:
   
   
   9 And call no [man] your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in Heaven.

These postings should answer your question:

• Can you answer some questions on the Pope, Jesus, Mary, and the Saints from a Scriptural guy?
• From Catholic Answers: Call No Man "Father"?

You said:
In Scripture, the only Holy Father is Our Lord. This title is not meant for any man. I have more and more questions but all that is taught in Catholicism is unbiblical and even against God.

This is not true. Jesus founded one Church: the Catholic Church and this can be historically proven. Any perception that it is unbiblical or against God is a distortion you have heard from others.

• Are you exclusionary saying, "the Bible was written by Catholics, for Catholics, for use in the Catholic Mass"?
  

You said:
I believe so many people are confused in this religion because 9 out of 10 Catholics can never answer my questions.

You may find my Scripture Passages web page interesting. It scripturally defends Catholic doctrines and teachings.

A Biblical defense for Catholic teachings
https://www.AskACatholic.com/ScripturePassages

I hope this helps and that you feel that you have finally met a Catholic that has answered all your questions. : )

I know these postings make up a lot of reading, but if you really want to understand what Catholic Christians believe and who we are, you'll read everything . . . and pick up a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Take care,

Mike

Dear Angbarrientos —

Sorry to be late to the party here but I have a few things to add.

There are a few key verses here. One is John 20:22-23:

22 And with that he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.'

Jesus is speaking to the Apostles and this is only the second time God breathed on a man
(the first was when man was created). Jesus is giving them the power to forgive sins and in order to forgive sins, and judge whether they are to be forgiven or retained. To do this they have to hear what the sins are.

Confession of sins should not be a surprise to you. James 5:16 calls on us to confess our sins to one another.

• Does your church do this?

Clearly, God is not calling us to only confess them to Him privately, if he commands us to confess them to one another! God ordained Confession as a way of humbling ourselves and keeping ourselves accountable to men.

The verses before this one, verses 14-15, (all verses: James 5:14-16), demonstrate that the priests, (priest comes from the Greek word presbyter, sometimes translated elder), have the power to forgive sins. In this particular case, the context is the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, not Confession, but it establishes that forgiveness of sins is a power Christ gave to men.

St. Paul alludes to this ministry of reconciliation in 2 Corinthians 5:19-20, where he says that Christ reconciled the world to himself and

19 . . . committed to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore we are Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.

This is precisely an illustration of the way in which the priest shares in the mediation of Christ,
as we all do in various ways. As others pointed out, even evangelism is a form of mediating in that we attempt to reconcile people to God by bringing them together.

Catholics believe that only, what we call mortal sins, — murder, adultery, apostasy, other sexual sins that are done deliberately and knowingly — must be confessed in this sacrament, although we do believe that the sacrament provides grace for lesser sins. This illustrates a point: Paul says that there is a connectedness between members of the body of Christ:

26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. (1 Corinthians 12:26)

This applies to sin as well, as it did in the Old Testament: When one member sins, the whole body is affected, just as when one part of your body is injured, the whole body is affected. When you sin grievously, it is not just a matter between you and Jesus. It's between you, Jesus, and His Body, the Church. Therefore, you must be reconciled to the Body through the priest.

Eric

Dear Angbarrientos —

You said:
When I gave my life to the Lord, as a sinner that I am, the Lord started to changed me.

It wasn't because I went to:

• Catechism classes
• Mass, or
• confessed my sins to a man.

I never opened a Bible because we weren't supposed to read from the Bible.

• Why?

It was, and is, what the Lord wants us to know.

It is truly sad that you have been given the impression that reading the Scriptures privately is of little importance.

As I said earlier:
As far as teaching the congregation goes, most, if not all, homilies or sermons that Catholics hear are based on the Scriptures for each specific day. We have two different cycles of Scripture readings:

• Catholics who faithfully attend Mass every Sunday hear the entire Bible over a three year period.
• Catholics who faithfully attend daily Mass hear the entire Bible over a two year period.

Even Sunday, Catholics hear one reading from the Old Testament, two readings from the New Testament and one reading from the Gospel.

For each Mass a Catholic attends, the celebrant's job in to base his sermon on the Scripture readings for that day. He does this, or should do this, based on the guidance of the Teaching authority of the Church, the Magisterium.

Now:

• if the homilies were not inspiring enough to change your life, or
• CCD classes were poorly taught

for that I apologize but like I said earlier:

We don't leave Peter, due to Judas behavior.

My question is whether there is something you have not mentioned that is behind your questions. When someone replies like this, there are usually other moral issues that are being evaded for some reason.

The sacraments of the Church are the Divine Dynamite that powers our faith and love for the Church, yes, with all its failings and shortcomings.

Hope this helps,

Mike