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Originally posted by Mulhollanddose
No man is capable of absolving sin except Christ Jesus, as advocate to his Father...We are to call NO MAN "father" except God himself, there is no Biblical foundation for a Papacy, idol worship of what you call saints is no secret in Catholic orthodoxy.
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Nope. That's why a priest absolves sin in God's name. The priest is a vehicle through which sacraments are delivered. The usual rite that the priest speaks as a penance:
Quote:
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God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
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Do you see anything in there about the priest doing the forgiving, or is he just the mediator? (Hint: it's the latter.)
In terms of biblical foundation, how about Christ referring to Peter: "On this rock I will build my Church?"
There is no idol worship. We ask the saints to intercede for us. If you (I hope not) get sick and ask for my prayers, I pray to God to help you. There's no difference, and nothing wrong with veneration of exemplary men and women. Stained-glass windows are not idols; they were orignally picture books to the illiterate peasantry of medieval Europe.
I'm Catholic, so don't lecture me how I supposedly worship. I pray
through saints, ask Christ to forgive me of sins through the priests, and fully support the concept of papal infallibility on moral and spiritual matters. As a former altar server, I've assisted many fine and honorable men, of whom form the vast majority of priests.
BTW, while IMO you're flat-out buying the
vicious lies your leaders tell about Catholicism, I won't go out on the offensive about it. I wouldn't have posted here if you hadn't posted what you said.
Also to all: I'm not out to convert, I believe that if you make the choice to not belong after honestly and fully seeing what the religion has to offer, then that's the choice you made, and I won't pester you about it.