Part I, Chapter VI — Catholic Church. Communion of Saints

105. What is the Church?

The Church is the society of true Christians, that is, of the baptized who profess the faith and doctrine of Jesus Christ, share in His sacraments, and obey the Pastors established by Him.

106. By whom was the Church founded?

The Church was founded by Jesus Christ, who gathered His faithful into a society, placed it under the Apostles with Saint Peter as its head, and gave it the sacrifice, the sacraments, and the Holy Spirit who gives it life.

107. Which is the Church of Jesus Christ?

The Church of Jesus Christ is the Roman Catholic Church, because she alone is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, as He willed her to be.

108. Why is the Church one?

The Church is one because all her members had, have, and will always have one and the same faith, sacrifice, sacraments, and visible head, the Roman Pontiff, successor of Saint Peter, thus all forming one body, the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ.

109. Why is the Church holy?

The Church is holy because Jesus Christ, her invisible head, and the Spirit who gives her life are holy; because the doctrine, the sacrifice, and the sacraments in her are holy, and all her members are called to sanctify themselves; and because many have indeed been, are, and will be saints.

110. Why is the Church catholic?

The Church is catholic, that is, universal, because she is established and adapted for all human beings and is spread throughout the whole earth.

111. Why is the Church apostolic?

The Church is apostolic because she is founded upon the Apostles and their preaching, and is governed by their successors, the legitimate Pastors, who without interruption and without alteration continue to transmit both her doctrine and her authority.

112. Who are the legitimate Pastors of the Church?

The legitimate Pastors of the Church are the Pope, or Supreme Pontiff, and the Bishops united with him.

113. Who is the Pope?

The Pope is the successor of Saint Peter in the See of Rome and in the primacy, that is, in the universal apostolate and episcopate; and therefore the visible head, Vicar of Jesus Christ the invisible head, of the whole Church, which for this reason is called Roman Catholic.

114. What do the Pope and the Bishops united with him constitute?

The Pope and the Bishops united with him constitute the teaching Church, so called because she has from Jesus Christ the mission to teach the divine truths and laws to all human beings, who from her alone receive the full and certain knowledge of them that is necessary to live as Christians.

115. Can the teaching Church err in teaching us the truths revealed by God?

The teaching Church cannot err in teaching us the truths revealed by God: she is infallible, because, as Jesus Christ promised, "the Spirit of truth" (John XV. 26) assists her continually.

116. Can the Pope, by himself, err in teaching us the truths revealed by God?

The Pope, by himself, cannot err in teaching us the truths revealed by God; that is, he is infallible like the Church when, as Pastor and Teacher of all Christians, he defines doctrines concerning faith and morals.

117. Can any Church outside the Roman Catholic Church be the Church of Jesus Christ, or at least a part of it?

No Church outside the Roman Catholic Church can be the Church of Jesus Christ, or a part of it, because no other Church can possess together with her those singular distinctive marks — one, holy, catholic, and apostolic — as in fact none of the other Churches calling themselves Christian possesses them.

118. Why did Jesus Christ institute the Church?

Jesus Christ instituted the Church so that human beings might find in her a sure guide and the means of holiness and of eternal salvation.

119. What are the means of holiness and of eternal salvation found in the Church?

The means of holiness and of eternal salvation found in the Church are the true faith, the sacrifice and the sacraments, and the mutual spiritual helps such as prayer, counsel, and example.

120. Are the means of holiness and of eternal salvation common to all human beings?

The means of holiness and of eternal salvation are common to all who belong to the Church, that is, to the faithful, who in the apostolic writings are called saints; therefore their union and their sharing in those means is the communion of saints in holy things.

121. Why are the faithful in the Church called saints?

The faithful in the Church are called saints because they are consecrated to God, justified or sanctified by the sacraments, and bound to live as saints.

122. What does "communion of saints" mean?

"Communion of saints" means that all the faithful, forming one body in Jesus Christ, share in all the good that is and is done in that body, that is, in the universal Church, provided they are not impeded by attachment to sin.

123. Are the blessed in heaven and the souls in purgatory in the communion of saints?

The blessed in heaven and the souls in purgatory are also in the communion of saints, because, joined to one another and to us by charity, they receive — the former our prayers, the latter our suffrages — and they all repay us with their intercession before God.

124. Who is outside the communion of saints?

Outside the communion of saints is whoever is outside the Church, that is, the damned, unbelievers, Jews, heretics, apostates, schismatics, and excommunicates.

125. Who are the unbelievers?

The unbelievers are the unbaptized who in no way believe in the promised Savior, that is, in the Messiah or Christ, such as idolaters and Muslims.

126. Who are the Jews?

The Jews are the unbaptized who profess the law of Moses and do not believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah or Christ.

127. Who are the heretics?

The heretics are the baptized who obstinately refuse to believe some truth revealed by God and taught by the Church — for example, the Protestants.