Why do Catholics believe their Church is the true Church?

Answer 1

We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

-- From the Nicene Creed, 325 C.E. • The Church is catholic • She proclaims the fullness of the faith. She bears in herself and administers the totality of the means of salvation. She is sent out to all peoples. She speaks to all men. She encompasses all times. She is "missionary of her very nature"

Answer 2

Catholics believe their Church is the true Church because it IS. The "true church" is the church which has the complete truth of God, and the manner in which He brought about our salvation, etc. Of course, no church can ever know all the truth there is to know about God, but of the small bit that we do know about Him and His works, that true church must teach faithfully, without error.

In the Catholic Church, traditions may be changed or new doctrines established, but that does not mean that the Church is changing her teaching, and so deviating from the truth. Rather, traditions, such as the exact format in which the Mass must be celebrated, are not doctrine, but things which can be changed to suit the purpose of the Church, for the times should not change to fit the Church, but rather the Church to fit the times. An example of such a change is the "New Mass," which is the celebration of the Sacrifice of the Mass, prayed in English instead of Latin and with the priest behind the altar instead of in front of it. The format may have been somewhat changed, but the main focus is still the same - the Mass is a prayer of worship offered to God, and is the Miracle of the changing of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the Lord. The words of consecration, for example, can never be changed, because to do so would be to turn away from the truth which Jesus set down.

Also, the addition of a new doctrine, such as the Immaculate Conception of Mary, is not "adding" new teachings. It is simply an unfolding of what is already there. As science progresses, for example, new laws of nature, which have always been there since creation, are discovered and laid out as the truth. So it is with new doctrines in the Catholic Church. She is not "adding" to truth but rather discovering more about the Truth.

If you would like to know more about the truth of the Catholic Church, see your local Catholic parish.

Catholic AnswerCatholics believe they are the "true Church", if you will, because Our Blessed Lord only established ONE CHURCH and send the Holy Spirit to guide it to the end of time. Further, He set St. Peter, and his successors over it, to guide it as their head on earth. The Catholic Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, and His Bride, the entire Bible, Old and New Testaments point to Our Blessed Lord, and His Church. All the other "Christian" churches that are around now were started between 1,500 and 2,000 years AFTER Our Blessed Lord established His Church, saving the Orthodox Church which was established only 1,000 years after He walked the earth. Anyone who doesn't believe that the Catholic Church is the only Church that Our Blessed Lord established should read the New Testament, and the Church Fathers - those who wrote from the first to the sixth century. Every single one of them acknowledges the One Church, the Catholic Church. That is why Catholics believe their Church is the True Church, because God told them and guaranteed it.

Answer 3

I believe in God. The Catholic church is the church God created.

Answer 4

The word catholic means universal - Christ's message (The New Testament) was to be spread everywhere.

The phrase The Roman Catholic Church is different.

Answer 5

Catholic believe in the Church for a variety of personal reasons.