Are Catholics “Christian”?  
By Steve O'Keefe, CAA Staff Apologist
The short answer is “Yes”. The Christian faith was delivered by Jesus Christ to the apostles, who were led by Peter.  Since then, the Gospel has been handed down through apostolic succession to the present day.  From the Eucharist to Purgatory, the distinct teachings of the Catholic faith can be traced through history back to the first apostles.  The Catholic Church is the Church established by Jesus Christ and is the fullness of the Christian faith.

In the Vatican II document “Unitatis Redintegratio”, the Church states that anyone who is validly Baptized, believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that He died for the forgiveness of our sins is also a Christian.  Therefore, we recognize that non-Catholic Christians are our brothers and sisters in Christ.  This does not diminish our desire to share the fullness of the faith and work toward bringing our separated brethren into full communion.   Unfortunately, there are certain Christian traditions whose doctrines places antipathy toward the Catholic Church as a central tenet.  Members of these traditions will often have a distorted imagine of what Catholics actually believe.  As Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said, “There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be.”

This animosity means it is only more important to extend the hand of fellowship to people of this persuasion.  Furthermore, it is important for all Catholics to follow the advice of Saint Peter and “always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence” [1 Peter 3:15].  This means knowing the faith, learning the facts, and growing ever deeper in love with Jesus Christ.  

A coworker said he can’t recognize Catholics as Christians because the
Council of Trent condemned salvation by faith alone. What should I say?
by Steven O'Keefe, CAA Staff Apologist
The curious thing about the Council of Trent is that it does not actually condemn a doctrine of “faith alone.” Canon 9 of Session 6 reads: “If anyone says that the sinner is justified by faith alone, meaning that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to obtain the grace of justification, and that it is not in any way necessary that he be prepared and disposed by the action of his own will, let him be anathema.”

Notice that the Council didn’t condemn the slogan “faith alone.” Rather, it condemned a certain understanding of that slogan. Imagine a person who says, “I believe in Jesus. I know all my sins are forgiven. Therefore, I can do whatever I want!” Such a person has a type of “faith,” but both you and your coworker would agree that this hypothetical person lacks a true saving faith. He trusts Jesus, but there is something missing. He lacks an openness to God’s love which turns us away from evil.

Your friend likely knows of this attitude as “antinomianism.” No matter what you
call it, that was the idea which Trent condemned. You can be a faithful Catholic and believe you’re saved by “faith alone.” However, that “faith” cannot be limited to the acceptance of revealed truths and the trust that your sins have been forgiven. A true saving faith is a total giving over of yourself to God and His transforming love. This is why Pope Benedict XVI said in 2008, “Luther’s expression ‘sola fide’ is true if faith is not opposed to charity, to love.”