I've heard of the creed through this forum but never heard of it before then.
Well, let me re-emphasize the Creed, because it is central to what Catholicism/Orthodoxy IS. It is repeated by the whole congregation at virtually every mass, and I can only assume that the Orthodox do something similar in their liturgy. This is the definitive statement of Catholic beliefs, and has been the unifying belief of the Church since 325 AD.
It's not a little thing - this creed - it's a big thing. In fact, it's THE faith statement of the Catholic Church, and the Orthodox Churches. One word's difference (in Latin) is the original (putative) reason that Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism split apart.
What do Catholics believe? What is stated in the Creed. What about...INSERT YOUR FAVORITE CATHOLIC THING NOT IN THE CREED...? Catholics might also believe that, but it is not central to the Catholic religion. Everything in the creed is.
As a Catholic, you can doubt the extent of the Pope's wisdom or the practical reach of his authority, and you can be as enthusiastic or unenthusiastic as you choose to be regarding things like devotions to saints and to Mary. But you must believe every single point in the Creed. If you don't, you're not a Catholic. You're something else.
It is worth reciting it - and because we say it just about every mass, many churchgoing Catholics can do just that. This is the CHECKLIST of what Catholics believe. If you asked me "What do Catholics believe?"
I would answer you truthfully:
I believe in one God: the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord: Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day, in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who, with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
THAT is what Catholics believe - every single word of it.
The Eastern Orthodox and the Catholics split apart in 1054 because the Catholics say "I believe in the Holy Spirit...who proceeds from the Father and the Son." The Eastern Orthodox say "I believe in the Holy Spirit...who proceeds from the Father." The Eastern Orthodox say, as a mandatory article of faith, that the Holy Spirit does NOT proceed from the Son. The Catholics say, as mandatory article of faith, that the Holy Spirit DOES proceed from the Son.
If you believe as the Catholics do, you cannot be Orthodox. Period.
If you believe as the Orthodox do, you cannot be Catholic. Period.
It is a fundamental difference in the belief about God himself.
Is the difference reconcilable? No. The leaders of the two Churches would like to believe it is, and work out scholarly constructions, but Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit proceeds from Jesus and will never say they don't. And the Orthodox do not believe it and will not accept the Catholics as their co-religionists as long as we believe it. Leaders have tried to reduce the matter to a simple linguistic difference and a misunderstanding, but Catholic and Orthodox people don't really think it is a misunderstanding: for all of the bonhomie and good feelings of different years, this is not a trivial difference, and neither side can ever back down without simply becoming what the other is.
And that will never happen. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son - it's OBVIOUS - and Catholics are not going to stop telling the truth.
The Orthodox feel exactly the same way, and will never change their minds either.
And so the Churches will never reunite until Christ comes again. It's unfortunate, but they CANNOT reunite and it be honest, because they both honestly and deeply believe one different, fundamental thing about God.
I love the Orthodox. I don't think they're stubborn. I don't think Catholics are stubborn either. I think that we really believe two different things, and to state the opposite prospect would be, to a Catholic or to an Orthodox, to mangle the truth about God - essentially to lie about what we really believe in order to effect a political union. It will never happen.
That's all provided by way of example.
I've noticed over the years that Protestants want to talk about the Pope, about birth control, about child molestation by priests, about Saints and confession and sacraments and Mary.
To a Catholic like me, that's a bit like standing around a Mazerati and talking about the paint color, but not looking under the hood. What's under the hood is what makes a Mazerati a Mazerati.
The Creed is what makes a Catholic a Catholic. You don't ever have to pray the rosary, or pray to a saint, or pray to Mary as a Catholic. If you use birth control, you're a sinner and you're supposed to confess it, and if you don't, you're a sinner again. We're all sinners, and we all handle walking around without our burden of sin pretty well.
But you have to believe every clause in the Creed, or you're not a Catholic. That is the part that's not optional. So if you really want to talk about Catholicism, you should focus on THAT.
You say that you have a real problem with some of the things in the creed. THAT is where your differences lie with Catholics. THAT is the marrow of the differences. This business about praying to Mary? That's a bell, a whistle. Hundreds of millions of Catholics never pray to Mary. Most pray to Jesus. All pray to the Father (the "Our Father" is part of the Mass).
Focus on the Creed, because that IS Catholicism. THAT'S the mandatory part. Wherever you disagree with the Creed, THAT is where you and the Catholics part ways. Pope and Mary and saints - way down the line in matters of importance. The contents of the Creed are what every Catholic actually believes about God. Because if a Catholic doesn't believe a part of the Creed, he isn't a Catholic at all.
