What is the relationship of Catholics with the Bible?

The Church existed before the Bible. The Catholic Church, founded by Jesus Christ, was teaching and preaching the word of God for many years before a word of the New Testament was written and for the greater part of a century before it was completed.

The truths enunciated by her divine founder were deep in her heart and fresh in her memory; she was busily engaged in imparting these orally to mankind. Christ wrote nothing; neither did He command the apostles to write. He commissioned them to teach His doctrines to all mankind.

"Go ye into the whole world", He said, "and preach the gospel to every creature". The apostles fulfilled the command of Christ by their oral preaching. Peter, Matthew, John, James and Jude, supplemented their preaching by writing.

It is well to remember, however, that the Church was a going concern, a functioning institution, teaching, preaching, administering the sacraments, saving souls, before the New Testament saw the light of day.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: THE MOTHER OF THE BIBLE

The Catholic Church is not the child of the Bible, as many non-Catholics imagine, but its mother. The canon or list of books which make up the Old and New Testaments was determined by Catholic Church. The declaration of the Catholic Church that the books of both the Old and the New Testaments are all inspired by God constitutes the sole authority for the universal belief of both Catholics and Protestants in their inspired character.

The Catholic Church is the mother of the New Testament. It was written in its entirety by Catholics. If she had not scrutinized carefully the writings of her children, rejecting some and approving others as worthy of inclusion in the canon of the New Testament, there would be no New Testament today. If she had not declared the books composing the New Testament to be the inspired word of God, we would not know it.

With the possible exception of St. John, none of the apostles ever saw all the writings which now make up the New Testament. If the Church had not preserved the Bible, shielding it from the attacks of barbarians, copying it in her monasteries throughout the long centuries before the art of printing was invented, the modern world would be without the Bible.

The Catholic Church derives neither her existence nor her teaching authority from the Bible. She had both before the New Testament was born; she secured her being, her teachings, her authority directly from Jesus Christ. That "the Bible alone privately interpreted is the sole rule of faith" is something not found in the Bible itself. It would exclude from Christianity the countless millions who have not been able to read... Read more...

Ano ang naiambag ng Iglesia ni Cristo (Manalo) sa lipunan at sa mundo?

Para sa Iglesia ni Cristo na tatag ni Felix Manalo noong 1914, ang PINAKAMASAMANG RELIHIYON sa buong mundo ay ang IGLESIA KATOLIKA.  Ang mga KAMPON ni SATANAS ay ang mga KATOLIKO at ang ANTI-CRISTO ay walang iba kundi ang mga SANTO PAPA.

Maririnig natin itong paulit-ulit na sinasambit ng bawat ministro, maging sa kanilang pangangaral (pandoktrina), sa radyo, telebisyon o sa paglilimbag ng opisyal na magasing "PASUGO" o ang "GOD'S MESSAGE".

KINAKASANGKAPAN nila ang Iglesia Katolika at PINAPASAMA lalo upang sila ang lilitaw na mabango, mabait at mga banal.

Sino naman ang mga nakikinig sa kanilang mga BAYARANG MINISTRO?

 Piling-pili!  Mga IGNORANTE sa pananampalataya o ang mga NANLALAMIG at walang pakialam at naturingang Katoliko. 

Ang iba ay dati raw na mga sakristan, choir, Legion of Mary, etc etc. 

Ang iba pa nga raw ay "linggo-linggo" kung magsimba.

Ang iba raw ay nagno-novena sa Baclaran o sa Quiapo weekly. 

Hindi pa GUARANTEE na kapag active member ka ng church organization ay IMMUNE ka na sa mga atake ng mga KAAWAY ng IGLESIA.  Kailangang MALAMAN at PAG-ARALANG ng bawat Katoliko kung BAKIT siya nagsisimba at nagno-novena.

Marami sa ating mga Katoliko ang "caught unaware" o "NASORPRESA" sa mga pangangaral ng mga BULAANG MANGANGARAL at gamit KUNO ang Biblia.  Kahit si Satanas ay gumamit din ng SCRIPTURES noong TINUKSO niya si Cristo (Mt. 4:1-11).

Upang MASORPRESA naman ang mga nagsusurpresa sa inyo, bigyan sila ng aklat na SURPRISED BY TRUTH ni Patrick Madrid.

Marami-rami rin ang  mga Katoliko na nagsisimba lamang kung may BINYAG (kung minsan nga walang Misa sa binyag eh), o kaya'y sa KASALAN o kung IBUBUROL na patay.  Lumang joke na pero ang tawag natin sa kanila ay mga "K-B-L" (hindi Kilusang Bagong Lipunan ni Marcos kundi "Kasal-Binyag-Libing")

Sila ang mga NAAAKAY ng mga BULAANG PROPETA at madaling MATANGAY ng AGOS ng PANDARAYA.

At ngayon ay buong pwersa silang SINISIRAAN ang Iglesiang HINDI man lang nila NAPAG-ARALAN ng husto upang husgahan na lamang ng ganyan.

Hindi kaya nila naitanong sa kanilang mga MINISTRO kung anong NAIAMBAG ng Iglesia ni Cristo sa pag-unlad ng bawat Pilipino o ng bawat tao sa buong mundo?

Nagkaroon ba sila ng tulad ni Bl. JOHN PAUL II? O katulad ni Bl. MOTHER TERESA ng KALKUTA?

Nagkaroon ba sila ng FRANCIS ASSISI? O  MAXIMILIAN KOLBE? O ang katulad ni LORENZO RUIZ o ni PEDRO CALUNGSOD?

Mayron ba silang mga SCIENTISTS? O mga dalubhasang mga HISTORIANS?

Sila ba ang gumawa ng KALENDARYO ating SINUSUNDAN ngayon sa buong mundo?

Mayron ba silang BIBLE SCHOLARS?  O ENCYCLOPEDIA? O OFFICIAL CATECHISM or TEACHINGS? O OFFICIAL IGLESIA NI CRISTO SITES tulad ng The VATICAN STATE?

Ang bawat LOCAL ba nila ay may OFFICIAL WEBSITE katulad ng mga sumusunod?

Antilles Episcopal Conference

Apostolic Nunciature of China

Association of Member Episcopal Conferences of Eastern Africa

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference

Bishops Conference of Argentina

Catholic Bishops Conference of Bangladesh

Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops

Chinese Regional Bishops Conference

Council of European Bishops Conference

Croatian Bishops Conference

Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales

Federation of Asian Bishops Conference

Bishops Conference of France

German Bishops Conference

Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference

Catholic Bishops Conference of India

Irish Catholic Bishops Conference

Catholic Bishops Conference of Kazakhstan

Kenya Episcopal Conference

Catholic Bishops Conference of Korea

Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East of Alexandria and of Jerusalem

Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines

Uganda Episcopal Conference

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

May contribution ba sila in promoting peace tulad ng Catholic Contribution to International Peace?
O katulad ng Catholic Contribution to the world? O katulad ng Catholic Contribution to the Western Civilization na tumawid sa Pilipinas noong 1521?

Kaya sa mga bagong KAANIB ng IGLESIA NI MANALO na dating mga "Katoliko" mangyari lamang pong alamin ninyo kung anong mga MAGAGANDANG NAIAMBAG ng Iglesiang sinisiraan niyo (at NAKIKINABANG pa rin kayo hanggang ngayon) bago niyo ito husgahan.

And mostly, BAKIT di niyo TANUNGIN ang mga MINISTRO ninyo? Tutal sinasabi nilang sila yung may MARAMING ALAM: ANO ANG NAIAMBAG NG IGLESIA NI CRISTO at ni FELIX MANALO sa kaunlaran ng bawat Pilipino at ng bansang Pilipinas? At ano naman ang  naitulong nito sa buong  SANGKATAUHAN?

European bishops call for EU action on behalf of persecuted Christians

Catholic Culture - The Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) has welcomed the Council of the European Union’s decision to condemn violence “against Christians and their places of worship, Muslim pilgrims and other religious communities” and urged the EU to follow up with “concrete action” to assist persecuted Christians.

“The fusion of ‘common sense’ and ‘political will’ has prevailed to secure the strong statement urgently needed to stop the widespread acts of terrorism and sectarianism against Christians worldwide,” COMECE said in a statement. “Yet the security and survival of Christian communities, especially in the Middle East, requires concrete action.”

“COMECE hopes that the EU will implement its conclusions in significant political action, and thus help to eradicate the stark sectarian divide, the war of cultures and religions, and the wave of religious-cleansing.”

Risa Hontiveros, one of the noisiest ladies promoting the deadly RH Bill in the House of Representatives wrote a letter to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines expressing her opposition to the Bishops unmovable stand against the RH Bill. Thanks to The PinoyCatholic

Dear Bishop Odchimar,

Peace!

I will not respond to all the points raised in the Pastoral Letter of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines which you sent us, your Filipino brothers and sisters, last 30 January. Most of them are old points that have been raised and clarified repeatedly in so many debates and too few dialogues in the past decade, though it drives me almost to tears that it seems the good Bishops have not been listening intently or understanding with empathy. 

I would like to respond to just two points. 

Pope praises CBCP’s role in blocking RH Bill

ABS-CBN News, MANILA, Philippines - Pope Benedict XVI praised the Catholic Bishops' Conference in the Philippines (CBCP) for its effort in blocking the Reproductive Health (RH) bill.

The Pope, as quoted by CBCP News, said: “I commend the Church in the Philippines for seeking to play its part in support of human life from conception until natural death, and in defense of the integrity of marriage and the family.”

“In these areas you are promoting truths about the human person and about society which arise not only from divine revelation but also from the natural law, an order which is accessible to human reason and thus provides a basis for dialogue and deeper discernment on the part of all people of good will,” he said. .

The Pope made the statement during the “ad limina” visit of Filipino prelates in Rome on November 29.

In issuing the Pope’s message, CBCP seems to be clarifying his earlier statement with regard to the use of condoms.

The Pope said HIV-carrying prostitutes could use condoms to avoid infecting their partners. This is part of their moral responsibility, he said.

Staunch advocates had earlier welcomed the statement, prompting the Church to go on the defensive.

Some RH bill supporters said the Pope’s statement would show that the Church is now trying to wean itself from conservative ideologies.

Philippine Senator Pleaded NOT to Excummunicate her for Supporting RH Bill

Still there's hope with Filipino Politicians, let not a letter stop their excommunication unless they uphold the Church' Moral Teachings.

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Philippines senator asks bishops not to excommunicate her due to contraceptive bill conflict

Philippines, EWTN News - Responding to reports that excommunication is a possibility in a conflict over the Philippines’ “reproductive health” bill, one of the country’s senators has written to the Catholic Church asking that she not be excommunicated. Her letter also repeats a common dissenting interpretation of the 1968 papal encyclical which reiterated Christian opposition to contraception.

Left: Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago; Right: Bishop Nereo
Odchimar, President of the CBCP

In a Friday letter to Bishop Nereo Odchimar, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago defended the proposed legislation as a way to “liberate the poor from social, political, and economic oppression.

"If I were to be excommunicated, I would be expelled from the Church, more particularly from the Eucharist. I would thus be placed in the same category as those guilty of so-called serious sins, such as apostasy, murder, heresy, and adultery. I plead that I am not guilty of mortal sin,” her letter continued, according to ABS-CBN News.

Citing Church teaching that mortal sin is “a fundamental rejection of God and a reorientation of one’s whole life away from all that is good and just,” Sen. Defensor-Santiago described herself as “a strong advocate of social justice, particularly the anti-corruption crusade.”

The senator said she had been taught to implement “liberation theology,” which in her view means that believers achieve salvation by liberating the poor from oppression.

“This is what I am trying to do with my bill,” she added.

She stated “respectfully” that the penalty of excommunication for bill supporters would be “too extreme and disproportionate” and will raise constitutional issues about the church-state relationship.

The senator also challenged Catholic teaching on contraception reiterated in Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical “Humane Vitae.”

“I am humbly but morally convinced that the arguments for contraception are superior,” she said.

Her letter repeated many common objections of those who dissent from “Humanae Vitae.” She cited disagreement on the commission which advised Pope Paul VI and claimed opponents of the Philippines bill “fail to recognize the evolutionary character of Church teaching.” She also said that natural law theory is “already obsolete.”

Defensor-Santiago also cited the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Religious Freedom, which says no one should be forced to act “in a manner contrary to one’s conscience” or should be restrained from acting in accord with one’s conscience.

“So please do not excommunicate President Aquino, myself, and those similarly situated,” her letter to Bishop Odchimar concluded. “Thank you very much.”

The “reproductive health” bill would require sex education in public primary and secondary schools and would also necessitate that public hospitals stock contraceptives. One of its goals is population control.

Catholic prelates involved in the debate have noted that some contraceptives can have abortion-causing effects.

Fr. Melvin Castro, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Commission on Family and Life, has charged that the U.S. government is involved in promoting the bill.

He said the U.S. and other international organizations are engaged in a “colonization of morality” and are “imposing their morals on us, disrespecting our own principles and morality.”

Stories from Sudan

Jill Rauh, outreach coordinator for the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development (JPHD,) was part of a Catholic Relief Services delegation to Juba, Sudan, for the Sudanese Catholic bishops’ launch of the 101 Days of Prayer for a Peaceful Referendum in Sudan. She recounts some of her experiences below. (Source: USCCB Media Blog)

Last week, all over Sudan, the Catholic Church celebrated the launch of 101 Days of Prayer for a Peaceful Referendum in Sudan. Parades, masses and interfaith prayer services in dioceses across the country were attended by thousands of people. With a delegation from Catholic Relief Services, I was blessed to witness the lively and hopeful celebrations in Juba, the capital of Southern Sudan.

But what left the most lasting impression were the stories of the people with whom I spoke—stories filled with longing for peace after decades of civil war.

Hannah, a young woman working her way through college, shared about her father’s death at the hands of rebels in a rural area of Sudan.

Willy, a father with young children, described the pain of being separated from his family, who are across the border in Uganda. He fears a return to war and will not bring them home to Sudan until he is certain of peace.

Priscilla described her life growing up in a refugee camp after her family fled from violence. The camp provided safety, but Priscilla mourns the loss of years of social development, especially lost educational opportunities.

Taban expressed the sentiments of so many Sudanese: “If you ask me what peace is, I cannot answer. I do not know what peace is like. But I long to know it.”

The Church in Southern Sudan has been one of the only stable institutions during decades of civil war in Sudan, and the Catholic bishops there are leading the efforts for peace. Many fear that war will return if the January 9, 2011 referendum on independence for southern Sudan goes badly.

The USCCB has urged our government to help Sudan find peace. In partnership with Catholic Relief Services, USCCB has pledged to support the Church’s efforts for peace in Sudan. Catholics in the U.S. are invited to Pray, Learn, Advocate, and Give in solidarity with their brothers and sisters in Sudan. College students are being trained to serve as ambassadors to educate and involve fellow students on campus in efforts for peace. All Catholics can send a message to the President urging him to do everything he can to guarantee a peaceful and stable Sudan.