Understand The Times, International

Comment from UTT:

We strongly recommend that all those who profess to be Christian and have a desire to be in ecumenical union with the Roman Catholic Church read the following article. According to an American archbishop, there is no salvation outside of the Roman Catholic Church. This would mean that any fellowship or denomination of believers that does not bow down to the pope and embrace the sacraments and particularly the sacrament of the Eucharist, can not receive forgiveness for sins and go to heaven through faith in Jesus Christ and the finished work of the cross alone. The Roman Catholic Church, it is stated, provides the only key to salvation.

Any thinking person who has read the Bible and the words of Jesus Christ should know that this is heretical, unbiblical and an abomination to the gospel of Jesus Christ according to the Word of God.

The road to Rome is a one way path.

Sydney, Jul 16, 2008 / 10:18 pm (CNA).- World Youth Day pilgrims attended catechetical sessions on the theme: "The Holy Spirit, soul of the Church" throughout Sydney, Australia on Thursday morning. In one address to young people, Denver, Colorado's Archbishop Charles Chaput stressed that,"Without the Church, there's no way we can have a lasting, personal relationship with the true Jesus Christ."

Archbishop Chaput explained to the youth that Jesus formed a community of believers, what we today call the Catholic Church, to bring salvation to all humanity for all the generations to come. "No matter how flawed or sinful individual Catholics may be, the Holy Spirit dwells in the Church and guarantees that she will always remain the sacrament of Salvation," stated the archbishop.

"In fact, as a believer, I have more respect for someone who rejects Jesus as an impostor or lunatic, than for someone who conveniently rearranges the Christian faith to say that Christ was a 'great ethical teacher'," Chaput told the youth.

Recalling that Pope Benedict XVI has been talking about the relationship between Jesus and the Church in many of his weekly talks in Rome, the archbishop noted that the Pope focused on those who first surrounded Christ and the different persons mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. Chaput explained to the youth that these talks deliver a clear message: "We Catholic believers today are part of the same, living, community of faith founded by Jesus Christ Himself."

"If you want a full, meaningful life in Jesus Christ, you will only find it in the Catholic Church," advised Denver's archbishop. He called on his young listeners to have a true passion for the Catholic Church, citing the example of the many early Fathers of the Catholic Church and the great Catholic saints who gave their lives to prove their love for the Catholic Church.