Is Catholic and Christian the same thing?

Short answer is this: All Catholics are Christians but not all Christians are Catholics. The Church was one before the Great Schism and then with the Reformation people chose to leave the Roman Catholic Church. So all Roman Catholics are Christians because we believe in Christ, who is Jesus Our Lord. But not all Christians are Catholics because some Christians could be part of the traditions that broke off from the Catholic Church during the Reformation and other movements since then. So, again: All Catholics are Christians BUT not all Christians are Catholic.

Why do Catholics worship Mary?

This is a very common misconception. As Catholics we DO NOT worship Mary. We honor her. Why? Well why do we honor anyone? Why do we congratulate people? Why do we honor our parents (or at least we should!) and elders? We honor Mary because (1), she is the mother of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and (2) she’s an awesome woman! If we profess to be Christians and we believe that Christ is the Messiah, how can we not honor His Mother? After all Jesus did put us under the care of Mary at the Cross. “Behold, your mother.”

Why do Catholics pray to saints?

Have you ever asked someone to pray for you or someone you know is going through a tough time? If your answer is yes, then apply that answer to this question. We also do not worship the saints. Only God gets our worship. We ask the saints — people who have died and gone before us and some have been recognized as canonized saints by the Church — to intercede for us because (1) we need prayers and (2) they’re much closer to heaven than we are!

What do Catholics believe about the Trinity?

Catholics believe that there is only ONE GOD in THREE DISTINCT PERSONS — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There are of the same substance. We also very often hear Jesus say “The Father and I are one.” Again, there is only ONE GOD but THREE DISTINCT PERSONS.

“Why does the Catholic Church hate gay people?”

I’ve heard this question asked before, hence it is in quotation marks! First, the Catholic Church does not hate gay people or people with same-sex attraction. In fact, if we were to hate gay people we could not call ourselves Christians. God is love and Christ is one with the Father, and so Christ is also love. So to be a Christian means we ought to have the same love, which means there’s no room for hate. It would make us a living contradiction. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we are told that people who experience same-sex attraction “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided” (2358). So if you see a professing Catholic who hates gay people, it’s not the Church that hates them, it’s he/she who made the decision to do so. You ought to challenge their behavior with the Catechism and the Scriptures.

Why is Communion so important to Catholics?

For Catholics, communion or the Eucharist is the “source and summit of the Christian life.” As Catholics we believe that Jesus is truly present — body, blood, soul, and divinity — in the Eucharist (the Communion wafer). For us, it’s not just a wafer symbolizing Jesus’ body, it’s really Him! Why do we think this way? Because at the last supper Jesus told His disciples “This IS my body,” not “this is a symbol or sign of my body.” So, Communion or the Eucharist is so important to us because the Eucharist IS Jesus.

Why do Catholics need to confess their sins to a priest, who is a man?

As Catholics we have the great gift of the Sacrament — efficacious sign of God’s grace, instituted by Christ, and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us — of Reconciliation or Penance or Confession (CCC, 1131). We get this from Jesus’ encounter to Peter and the Apostles “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Mt. 18:18) and “whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained” (Jn. 20:23). We believe that the bishops are the successors of the Apostles and because of this Apostolic succession the priests have a share in that faculty. When priests absolve sins, it is God who absolves. Priests act in persona Christi (in the person of Christ).