The election of Pope Leo XIV prompted this blog.
Let me begin with a clear statement. Not only am I not a Roman Catholic, but I also can’t imagine ever becoming one. I don’t believe that Peter was ever THE ruler of the church. There is only one Lord, and that is the Messiah, Jesus. I don’t believe that apostolic succession is Biblical. Matthais succeeded Judas and He had to have followed Jesus from John the Baptist through to the ascension, to be a living apostolic witness to the resurrection. In a few years none could qualify.
The idea that there was a single bishop of Rome, and that he would rule the entire church, would be found in historical developments, but not in Scripture. Among other New Testament books, 1 Timothy weighs against the titles and rules of the Roman Catholic Church. So, I’m not a Catholic.
But I’m not writing this blog to tell you that I’m not a Catholic, but to warn those who agree with me not to slip into a hateful sectarianism that judges others with words we would never like issued against us.
It was in 1960, when I turned twelve, that I became aware of a powerful anti-Catholic bias in the otherwise wonderful church we attended. We were warned that we had to vote for Richard Nixon, otherwise the Catholic Pope, John XXIII, would control our country. Of course, John F. Kennedy was elected, and those fears were never realized during his tragically brief presidency.
While this bias has lessened, it remains. Since the election of Pope Leo XIV, I have read vicious vitriol from brothers in Christ. While some simply disagreed with Catholicism, some were utterly graceless and compassionless. What lessened this anti-Catholic fervor for my sister and me in 1960 was having good neighborhood friends who were Catholics. Janie and Joe DiMassa were from a devout family, and we would never condemn them the way some seem to casually do so today. Now, we have a family member through marriage who is delightful and joyous, and her nature is fully animated by her Catholic devotion.
At this point let me draw from Alexander Campbell. I am critical of some aspects of his theology. However, in the following, my admiration is high. He viewed baptism as one of immersion given to one old enough to profess faith in Christ and confess Him as the Son of God. However, he spoke about Christians among the Protestants. This prompted a letter from one saying she was a woman from Lunenburg, VA (some have doubted this) and had a pointed question for Brother Campbell. “Does the name of Christ or Christian belong to any but those who believe the gospel, repent, and are buried by baptism into the death of Christ?”(1)
After making the point that if we exclude all but ourselves from being Christians, we would have had centuries without any Christians at all, Campbell then said:
But who is a Christian? I answer, everyone that believes in his heart that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, the Son of God; repents of his sins, and obeys him in all things according to his measure of knowledge of his will. [emphasis mine](2)
Later, Campbell made this striking point:
Should I find a Pedobaptist more intelligent in the Christian Scriptures, more spiritually minded and more devoted to the Lord than a Baptist, or one immersed on a profession of the ancient faith, I could not hesitate a moment in giving the preference of my heart to him that loveth most. Did I act otherwise, I would be a pure sectarian, a Pharisee among Christians.(3)
If someone from the Catholic Church comes to me, asking the same question Jews listening to Peter asked on Pentecost, I would give the same answer Peter gave, inviting them to be baptized as a believer, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. I will try to always use the sweet carrot of the Gospel to seek to draw them to greater truth, but I will not use the ugly stick of sectarianism which will only drive them away!
So, I pray that God will use Pope Leo XIV for His purposes to do good. May the poor and needy be blessed, and may hearts be drawn to Jesus, the Messiah.
Tim Kelley
(1)https://digitalcommons.discipleshistory.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=all_foundationaldocuments
(2)Ibid
(3)Ibid