The Unity of the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church is One, which is one of the four marks of the Church. When we say that the Church is One, we affirm the unity and solidarity of the Church. This unity of the Church does not really come from her members, but it comes from God himself. He is the source of the Catholic Church. The Church is One because of her uniqueness, meaning that Jesus established one, single Church, the Catholic Church, that is in accord with the will of God. The Catholic Church is the only Church with unity of doctrine, of Sacraments, and of government under a single leader, the Pope. The Catholic Church celebrates the Seven Sacraments that were instituted by Christ when worshiping in unity. And, there is unity in the Church's leadership, for, through the Sacrament of Holy Orders,  the teachings of Jesus and St. Peter are continued without breaks or interruption because of apostolic succession. You can hurt the unity of the Church by causing heresy, schism, or apostasy. All of these are very serious, but schism is the worst form of harming the Church's unity because it causes an entire group of people to separate itself from the Catholic Church and the truth. And, heresy, which is a false teaching, can be very misleading to the one who proposed it and those who fall into belief of it. Ecumenical Councils are often put together in order to absolve this false teaching from the people who were misled and to clarify on the proper truth.

Some examples of schism are those of the Orthodox Churches and the churches formed during the Protestant Reformation. These churches are not completely wrong with all of their teachings, and the Catholic Church recognizes elements of salvation within them, such as the Sacred Scripture, some or all of the Seven Sacraments, the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Those people that are born into these churches are known as separated brethren, but they are not held guilty for not knowing the truths of Catholicism because it is not their fault. Sin is what cased all the divisions within Christianity, and misunderstandings make even more greater these divisions. Catholics are supposed to become involved in ecumenism, which is the task of working toward Christian unity. We should all make an effort to understand the positions of each other and look for areas of agreement in order to build in Christian unity. To help reach unification, all Christians must pray for a greater manifestation of the unity that Christ desires for his Church here on earth.