Frequently Asked Questions

Seeking the Truth? Start Here

Questions about God, Christianity and the Catholic Church can begin from very different places.

You may not yet believe in God. You may be exploring Christianity for the first time. You may be Protestant or Orthodox and wondering whether the claims of the Catholic Church are true. You may have always considered yourself Catholic but have become confused by the changes that followed the Second Vatican Council. Or perhaps you already know the traditional Catholic Faith and are trying to understand the present crisis in the Church and the arguments concerning sedevacantism.

Wherever you are starting from, you do not need to begin at the end.

We encourage you to examine the questions step by step: first asking what is true about God and Jesus Christ, then what Church Christ established, what that Church has historically taught, what changed during and after Vatican II, and finally what those facts may mean for Catholics today.

The purpose of this FAQ is not merely to tell you what to think. It is to help you examine the evidence, understand the traditional teaching of the Catholic Church, consult the primary sources, and reach conclusions based upon truth rather than assumption, fear, habit or popular opinion.

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God • Jesus Christ • Resurrection • Catholic Church • Bible • Protestantism • Orthodoxy • Papacy • Vatican II • Traditional Latin Mass • Sacraments • Sedevacantism • Salvation • Heresy • Canon Law • Holy Orders

[SEARCH THE FAQ]

Where Are You Starting From?

Choose the path that most closely describes where you are now.

I am not Christian, or I am unsure whether God exists

Perhaps you are atheist, agnostic, belong to another religion, or are simply beginning to investigate questions about God and Christianity.

You do not need to begin with the Pope, Vatican II, the Mass or sedevacantism.

Begin with the most fundamental questions:

  • Does God exist?

  • Can God's existence be known through reason?

  • Are faith and reason opposed?

  • Why is there evil and suffering if God exists?

  • Did Jesus Christ really exist?

  • Are the Gospels historically reliable?

  • Who did Jesus claim to be?

  • What evidence is there for His Resurrection?

  • Why believe Christianity rather than another religion?

  • Did Jesus establish a Church?

  • If He did, how could we identify that Church today?

  • Why does the Catholic Church claim to be the Church founded by Christ?

You are invited to investigate these questions carefully and without being expected to accept the conclusions in advance.

Begin with the question of God, Christ and Christianity.

[EXPLORE CHRISTIANITY FROM THE BEGINNING]

I am Christian and want to understand Catholicism

Perhaps you already believe in Jesus Christ but have never seriously investigated the claims of the Catholic Church.

You may be wondering:

  • Did Christ establish one visible Church?

  • Why isn't Christianity simply a personal relationship with Jesus?

  • What are Scripture and Sacred Tradition?

  • What is the Magisterium?

  • Why does the Catholic Church claim authority to teach in Christ's name?

  • Why are there seven Sacraments?

  • Why is the Mass a sacrifice?

  • What did Christ mean when He gave the keys to St Peter?

  • What exactly is the papacy?

  • What does it mean to belong to the Catholic Church?

  • Is the Catholic Church really necessary for salvation?

Before examining the modern crisis, begin with what Catholics historically believed the Church itself to be.

Begin with the foundations of the Catholic Faith.

[EXPLORE THE CATHOLIC FAITH]

I am Protestant

You may already have a strong faith in Jesus Christ and a deep respect for the Bible, while having serious questions about Catholicism.

Some of the most important questions are:

  • Where does the Bible teach that Scripture alone is the final rule of faith?

  • Who determined which books belong in the Bible?

  • What did the earliest Christians believe about Church authority?

  • Are Catholics saved by works?

  • Can salvation be lost?

  • Why baptize infants?

  • Why do Catholics confess sins to a priest?

  • Is the Eucharist really the Body and Blood of Christ?

  • Is the Mass a repetition of Calvary?

  • Why do Catholics pray to Mary and the saints?

  • Do Catholics worship Mary?

  • Why believe in Purgatory?

  • Why does the Catholic Bible contain books omitted from most Protestant Bibles?

  • Did Christ give St Peter authority over the whole Church?

  • Why should a Protestant become Catholic?

We encourage you to examine these questions from Scripture, history and the teaching of the early Church.

Explore Catholicism from a Protestant starting point.

[QUESTIONS FOR PROTESTANTS]

I am Orthodox

Catholics and Orthodox Christians already share many important beliefs: Apostolic succession, the Sacraments, the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, Sacred Tradition, devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the saints, the Fathers and the ancient liturgical life of the Church.

The central questions therefore concern the constitution and authority of the Church itself.

You may be asking:

  • What authority did Christ give to St Peter?

  • Was Peter merely first among equals?

  • Did the early Church recognize a special authority in the Church of Rome?

  • What did the Fathers say about the Roman See?

  • What is the difference between papal primacy and papal infallibility?

  • Is universal papal jurisdiction a later medieval invention?

  • What really happened between East and West?

  • Did the Orthodox Church simply begin in 1054?

  • What happened at the Councils of Lyons and Florence?

  • What is the Catholic position on the Filioque?

  • Are Orthodox Holy Orders and Sacraments valid?

  • Why cannot Catholicism simply accept an Orthodox-style federation of independent Churches?

  • If Vatican II created a crisis in Rome, does that prove Orthodoxy was right about the papacy?

  • Why should an Orthodox Christian become Catholic?

Explore the Catholic and Orthodox questions from the foundations.

[QUESTIONS FOR ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS]

I am Catholic but confused about Vatican II

Perhaps you were raised Catholic, attend the modern Mass, or simply assumed that the Church before and after the Second Vatican Council was essentially unchanged.

You may now have encountered older Catholic books, catechisms, papal encyclicals or the Traditional Latin Mass and begun to notice apparent differences.

You may be asking:

  • Can Catholic doctrine change?

  • What is the indefectibility of the Church?

  • Can an ecumenical council approved by a true Pope teach error?

  • Can the Church impose harmful universal disciplines?

  • What did Catholics traditionally teach about religious liberty?

  • What did the Church teach about ecumenism before Vatican II?

  • What changed at the Second Vatican Council?

  • What does “subsists in” mean?

  • What changed in the Mass?

  • What changed in the rites of Ordination and Episcopal Consecration?

  • Why did missionary activity, ecumenism and interreligious practice change so dramatically?

  • Can Vatican II be interpreted in continuity with earlier Catholic teaching?

  • If genuine contradictions exist, how should a Catholic understand them?

The first step is not to assume either that Vatican II must be wrong or that every apparent contradiction must somehow be reconciled. Begin by establishing what the Catholic Church traditionally taught.

Examine Vatican II and the present crisis.

[UNDERSTANDING VATICAN II]

I am investigating sedevacantism

The word sedevacantism can sound alarming when first encountered. It comes from the Latin sede vacante, meaning “the seat being vacant.” Every period between the death or resignation of one Pope and the election of another is technically a vacant See.

Modern sedevacantism is the position that the Holy See has remained vacant for an extraordinary period because the men publicly claiming the papacy during the post-conciliar crisis cannot possess the papal office if they publicly adhere to doctrines or practices incompatible with the Catholic Faith.

That conclusion should not simply be assumed.

The important questions include:

  • What exactly is the papacy?

  • What does the Church teach about membership in the Catholic Church?

  • What is heresy?

  • What is the difference between material and formal heresy?

  • Can a Pope become a public heretic?

  • What did St Robert Bellarmine and other Catholic theologians teach about this possibility?

  • What does the 1917 Code of Canon Law say about public defection from the Faith?

  • Does “the First See is judged by no one” make sedevacantism impossible?

  • Is sedevacantism merely Protestant private judgment?

  • Can the Church exist without a Pope for an extended period?

  • Doesn't Vatican I teach perpetual succession in the papacy?

  • If there is no Pope, where is the visible Catholic Church?

  • What happens to Apostolic succession and jurisdiction?

  • What about universal peaceful acceptance of a Pope?

  • How could a future true Pope ever be elected?

  • What if the sedevacantist conclusion is wrong?

Sedevacantism itself is not a separate religion, nor is it a dogma of the Catholic Faith. It is a conclusion drawn by certain Catholics from traditional Catholic teaching concerning the Church, the papacy, heresy and the events following Vatican II. Nor is it necessary to accept every historical theory associated with the crisis.

You do not have to believe a particular theory about Cardinal Siri, Freemasonry, secret societies, intelligence agencies, private revelations or hidden motives in order to investigate the theological question.

The argument should first stand or fall upon Catholic doctrine and demonstrable facts.

Examine the case carefully from Catholic principles.

[UNDERSTANDING SEDEVACANTISM]

Explore the Complete FAQ

If you prefer to work systematically through the entire collection, the FAQ is arranged in the following parts.

Part 0 — Is Christianity True?

For atheists, agnostics, non-Christians and anyone beginning at the very beginning.

Questions include the existence of God, faith and reason, evil and suffering, the historical Jesus, the reliability of the Gospels, the Resurrection, the truth of Christianity and why Christ's claim to have established a Church matters.

[EXPLORE PART 0]

Part 1 — Christianity and the Catholic Faith

The foundations of Catholicism: Jesus Christ, the Church He established, Scripture and Tradition, the Magisterium, dogma and doctrine, the Sacraments, the Mass, the papacy, Church membership and salvation.

[EXPLORE PART 1]

Part 2 — Questions from Protestants

Scripture and Tradition, sola Scriptura, the Biblical canon, justification, faith and works, Baptism, Confession, the Eucharist, the Mass, Mary, the saints, Purgatory and the papacy.

[EXPLORE PART 2]

Part 3 — Questions from Orthodox Christians

The primacy of St Peter, the authority of Rome, the Church Fathers, the Great Schism, papal jurisdiction and infallibility, the Filioque, the Councils of Lyons and Florence, Orthodox Sacraments and reunion with the Catholic Church.

[EXPLORE PART 3]

Part 4 — What the Catholic Church Can and Cannot Do

Indefectibility, infallibility, the Magisterium, papal authority, universal discipline, liturgy, heresy, Church membership, Modernism, ecumenism, religious liberty and doctrinal development.

[EXPLORE PART 4]

Part 5 — What Happened at Vatican II?

The Second Vatican Council itself, religious liberty, ecumenism, ecclesiology, collegiality, relations with non-Christian religions, the post-conciliar liturgical reforms and the question of continuity with earlier Catholic teaching.

[EXPLORE PART 5]

Part 6 — The Papal Crisis and Sedevacantism

The vacant See, papal heresy, St Robert Bellarmine, Canon Law, Vatican I, indefectibility, visibility, jurisdiction, Apostolic succession, papal elections, universal acceptance and the principal objections to the sedevacantist position.

[EXPLORE PART 6]

Part 7 — Sacraments and Holy Orders

Sacramental validity, the Traditional Roman Mass, the Novus Ordo, priestly Ordination, Episcopal Consecration, Baptism, Confirmation, Confession, Marriage, jurisdiction and what to do when sacramental validity is uncertain.

[EXPLORE PART 7]

Part 8 — Traditional Catholic Positions

The different responses to the post-conciliar crisis, including Recognize-and-Resist, the SSPX, FSSP, ICKSP, una cum Masses, sedevacantism, sedeprivationism and conclavism, together with guidance on evaluating traditional clergy and chapels.

[EXPLORE PART 8]

Part 9 — What Should I Do Now?

Practical guidance for living the Catholic Faith today: becoming Catholic, finding Mass, receiving the Sacraments, keeping Sundays holy when Mass is unavailable, family difficulties, marriage, raising children, preparing for death and developing a sound Catholic spiritual life.

[EXPLORE PART 9]

Part 10 — Advanced Questions

More difficult historical and theological subjects, including the Arian crisis, the Great Western Schism, canonizations, Fatima, private revelation, prophecy, the Great Apostasy, Freemasonry, alleged infiltration of the Church, the 1958 conclave, the Siri Thesis and other controversial questions.

These subjects may be important, but they are not necessary starting points for understanding either the Catholic Faith or the present crisis.

[EXPLORE PART 10]

Not Sure Where to Begin?

If you are already Christian but unsure where to start, we suggest beginning with these six questions:

1. Did Jesus Christ establish a visible Church?

2. How can we know which Church Christ founded?

3. What authority did Christ give to St Peter and his successors?

4. What does the Catholic Church mean by indefectibility and infallibility?

5. Can the Church officially impose teaching or worship contrary to the Catholic Faith?

6. What changed during and after the Second Vatican Council?

These questions establish the principles needed before considering the present papal crisis.

[BEGIN THE ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS]

How We Approach These Questions

Questions concerning religion deserve more than slogans, assumptions or isolated quotations. We therefore try to distinguish carefully between different kinds of claims.

Catholic Dogma

Truths revealed by God and definitively proposed by the Church as requiring the assent of divine and Catholic faith.

Catholic Doctrine

Teachings authoritatively handed down by the Church, even when not every teaching has been defined by a solemn dogmatic pronouncement.

Theological Conclusions

Conclusions reached by applying established Catholic principles to particular theological or ecclesiastical questions.

Historical Claims

Questions of fact that must be evaluated according to documents, testimony and the quality of the available evidence.

Theological Opinions

Questions upon which approved Catholic theologians may historically have disagreed without thereby rejecting the Catholic Faith.

Speculation

Possible explanations for events that may be interesting or plausible but which should never be confused with established Catholic doctrine or demonstrable historical fact. This distinction is particularly important when examining the present crisis.

The Catholic Faith does not depend upon proving a conspiracy, identifying someone's secret motives, accepting a particular private revelation or resolving every disputed historical question.

Where possible, our answers therefore refer to Sacred Scripture, the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, Ecumenical Councils, papal teaching, traditional Catholic theologians, the 1917 Code of Canon Law and other primary Catholic sources.

We encourage readers to examine those sources for themselves.

A Note to Those Who Are New to These Questions

Some of the material on this website may initially seem extraordinary. If you have only recently encountered traditional Catholic teaching, there is no need to reach conclusions about every controversy immediately. Begin with the fundamentals.

Ask first:

Does God exist?

Then:

Who is Jesus Christ?

Then:

Did Christ establish a Church?

Then:

What did He promise that Church, and what authority did He give it?

Only after establishing those principles does it make sense to ask:

Does the institution commonly identified as the Catholic Church today correspond with what the Catholic Church historically claimed that Christ's Church must be?

That order matters.

Truth Is Not Determined by Numbers

A teaching is not true merely because many people accept it, nor false merely because few people hold it. Neither age, popularity, social respectability, institutional power nor personal sincerity determines religious truth.

At the same time, extraordinary claims require serious examination.

The purpose of this website is therefore not to encourage suspicion for its own sake, nor to replace the authority of the Church with internet opinion. It is to examine what the Catholic Church herself historically taught and to ask what follows from those teachings when they are applied consistently.

Seek the Truth Without Fear

If Christianity is true, sincere investigation has nothing to fear from the truth.

If the Catholic Church is the Church established by Jesus Christ, then discovering what she has always taught is not merely an academic exercise. It concerns our relationship with God and the purpose for which we were created.

Christ did not ask His followers merely to adopt a label. He called them to believe the truth, receive His grace, keep His commandments and remain faithful to Him.

The ultimate purpose of these questions is therefore not Vatican II, sedevacantism, controversy or ecclesiastical politics. It is something far greater:

to know Jesus Christ, to embrace the Faith He revealed, to belong faithfully to the Church He established, and ultimately to attain eternal life with God.

Wherever you are starting from, begin with the truth and follow it wherever it leads.

[BEGIN EXPLORING THE FAQ]